Adventures with less
People worry about hiking alone in winter, but it’s the drive that’ll kill you. What should have been a six hour drive had stretched into a white-knuckled nine as I made my way north along slick-black roads through a Michigan ice storm and into an Ontario blizzard. So it was that I found myself on … Read more
Originally published October 2012 Fall had come to Michigan, and I was ready for an old school adventure. For this trip I set my sights on a section of the North Country Trail in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that I had not yet covered. I decided to add in a section through the Porkies … Read more
I try very hard not to let my dog see me pack for a trip, particularly when he is not coming along. Maybe I’m anthropomorphizing a little too much, but I know how excited he gets when he sees a backpack and I don’t want him to feel let down by getting left behind. I … Read more
A young dog was brought into our hospital a couple of months ago after being hit by a car. She had sustained multiple fractures of her pelvis, femur, and tibia. It had clearly not been an easy life for her up until that point either. Barely a year old, she had already been bred and … Read more
Planning a trip to Pictured Rocks in winter had been on my mind ever since I passed through all too quickly last May. Pictured Rocks had it all; gigantic sand dunes, sandstone cliffs, abundant wildlife, clear blue waters, and many hidden treasures. Problem was, everyone else knew it too. During peak season, Pictured Rocks sees … Read more
Some say the world will end in fire,Some say in ice.From what I’ve tasted of desireI hold with those who favor fire.But if it had to perish twice,I think I know enough of hateTo say that for destruction iceIs also greatAnd would suffice. -Robert Frost Winter’s been slow in coming to Michigan this year. I’d … Read more
“What book do you want to read tonight?” I was taking my girls to bed.My eldest, Keira, hands me one. She likes to take charge of these sorts of decisions. Rowan, our 3 year old, is already curled up comfortably in my lap. “Here daddy, we can read your favorite.”It’s by Maurice Sendak. Where the … Read more
Warning: The following trip report depicts poor planning, long road walks, and minimal scenery. It also features a despicable, though inadvertent, act of vandalism. There will be no uplifting epiphany at the end. This was one of the worst backpacking trips of my life, and was doomed to failure from the start. You have been … Read more
Originally published March 2011 My in-laws have been trying pretty hard to convince us to move to North Carolina to be closer to family. After blindly resisting for years, it occurred to me that all I know of NC is what I’ve seen from the car window during Christmas visits, so I decided to experience … Read more