Bog River - Part 2

So... thus far we have spent basically one full 24 hour period in Bog River, set-up camp at two locations about 4 miles apart, paddled about 12 miles, drank two warm PBRs, been bitten by dozens of mosquitoes and leaches - including a large family of which Bill took a liking to and wanted me to just let them suck my blood in peace (no way!). Now we are into day three. The weather is nice, not great... just nice. Cloudy but warm. A day trip further up river and lunch on a little peninsula. The kids are having a great time! We arrive back at site 11 and start dinner... chili. Dinner tastes great, add some wine and the last of the PBRs and off to bed. Oh, mixed in there is a wood gathering trip across the river by Bill and I. We absolutely fill my canoe and are forced to but, are more than willing, swim back dragging the canoe. The cool fresh water is so nice after all the sweaty work.
So, back to the end of the evening... all are in bed and the rain begins. All night, all day and all night! It wasn't all bad. I had enough scotch in my coffee by noon to be comfortably numb. I battled the rain and managed to get a fire going (try finding dry kindling after 16 hours of rain!) which lasted into the night. The fire was such a necessary source of warmth and entertainment for the adults and the kids. I think we all would have gone a little crazy. I reached my ropes end at about 8:30PM. As we are starting the tarp the rain picks up our tent fly had reached saturation point and was dripping inside, the floor was leaking and a puddle was forming in the corner. Shelly helped me string up a tarp over our tent but, water was running down the inside of my sleeves, that was it! It was all too much. We had run out of warm PBR's so there was little left to numb the nerves. I was definitely into leaving the next day regardless of the weather. We had talked about staying if the sun came out but, I don't think any amount of sun would have dried out everything and EVERYTHING was soaked!

The next morning was easier. The rain had slowed to an occasional drizzle and after the 30 hours of downpour this was nothing. We packed up everything not caring too much about dirt and pine needles. I think our tent had doubled it's weight when bagged with all the moisture and organic material. Luckily the alcohol(well, maybe not so lucky) and water had been consumed so we evened out the weight gained and lost to balance the canoe. We made it to the dam, portaged and then a quick stop for lunch, cold of course. Didn't even bother taking off the rain jackets and life jackets. We finished with a leisurely paddle back and off to Rochester. Whew, what a trip.

Bog River - Part 1

Now that we are back in society visiting friends in Rochester I can look back and reflect upon the five days of canoe camping. We left VT on Thursday only 4 hours later than our intended departure time. Not too bad I think. I did drive to Dick's Camping goods and Home Depot half an hour away for some last minute supplies: an inflatable mattress; lantern; 100ft of rope. This trip had already been turning into the trip of delays. The day before I, with some help from Bobby, were finishing mounting the new gunnels and seats in the canoe. I would not advise doing this kind of work under the lights from the outside of the garage at 10PM. We hit the road by 2PM and arrived at the put-in around 5:30PM. By six we were on our way. Bog River is not as quiet and private as we had hoped so, we take the first empty site, number 2, on a small peninsula with a fire pit and one good tent spot. Not really ideal for two families. We set-up and spent the night with a nice campfire, smores and a good night sleep.
The next day we set off for some exploring and found a new site, number 11. Very beautiful and several good tent sites, private and good water access. The trouble is, 4 miles and a portage away from site 2 and it's 4:30PM. Group consensus is to make the switch. One parent stays here with the kids and the other three adults paddle back, break down camp, load up and paddle back. I have my reservations but, I agree to go along for the ride. Well, after Shelly and I managed the portage just as dark was taking over it was warm PBR time. After you get the first one down the next is much easier. After all the work the slow paddle for the last mile and a half is amazing. The moonlight and the stars provide just enough light to navigate. The water is like glass and our paddles are the only man made sounds above the crickets and frogs. This is what I came here for.

Nature is undeniably erotic.

This is one of the beautiful and erotic forms nature takes... the closed flower of a cucumber plant. I love the rich colors and the lack of straight lines. I'm looking at my garden again with fresh eyes and a new energy.

Peppers of passion.

I love peppers. Hot peppers, sweet peppers, long peppers, stout peppers, red, green and orange. I've got a real mix in the garden. Chepe picked a few and made this yummy looking (haven't tasted it yet) pepper marinade. It's been cooking in the sun for a few days now and the aroma is divine!

I love the colors and textures behind the glass. I really need a macro lens.

Lego Family.

From left to right(Namid, Mama, Papi, Tata, Koz).

Inspiration from a friend...

I don't often see my friend Molly but, when ever I do she sends me, if unintended, a little spark.

Here is what the spark produced. Appreciation for my garden and a reminder that beauty is all around us. I harvested this garlic just three days ago.

I, at times, drift and forget what pleasure I receive from beautiful objects, especially the simple ones. Thanks Molly.

Finally! I'm imortalized!

Our dear friends Chepe and Olga visited on the weekend. Always a good time of food, drinking and much spanish. While I sat still and Namid bounced on the couch Chepe pulled off this portrait of the two of us. I'm trying to help him with his iWeb site but, turns out once you break the tightly bound iApple software bundle all hell breaks loose.. or should I say stays locked up. Lesson: even my beloved Apple Computer is far from flawless.

You can see more Chepe art here.

Apocalyptic Dream

Was just recounting this dream I had last night about an apocalypse. Myself and friends were at my parents house with a huge storm brewing outside. Inside was calm except for all of us. The storm was very dramatic. The wind was stirring up dirt, trees and anything else it could. It was so strong it was moving stacked firewood into new stack patterns much like the patterns wind creates on sand. Neighbors lost and confused pets starting showing up and we would let them in the house. One pet was referred to as a skunk but looked more like an oversized badger. Maybe this came from watching Princess Bride in the park last night - remember the ROUS's (Rodents of unusual size)? Finally the storm calms down and we go outside to inspect the damage. Shortly after an earthquake begins. The ground cracks open and earth rises and lowers around us in great slices of rock and dirt. The house seems to be the only solid ground but some of us, including me are forced to scramble up and down rock faces to get back. The earthquake ends and we are all standing there wondering what to do next. We set out to try and find others who have survived the storm and earthquake. After a short while we come across a village. This is a very strange place. Statues and art very like what the Mayans and Incas may have created are displayed everywhere. For a few moments, no one appears to be around but, we soon realize we are being surrounded. Very tribal looking people who appear to be in a trace and trying to throw some sort of dust on us which causes a reaction to become zombie like and they are then able place a black cocoon like net over their victims. At this point it was no longer a group effort to survive. I manage to push my way through and escape only to enter another village with more comatose like people, this time dressed western style. As I was trying to break through this group I woke up.

What does it mean? Probably that I feel like my parents house is a safe place but, not a place to rely on forever. Also might be feeling a bit trapped. Anyway... just wanted to get it down before I totally forget it.

I love espresso!

I think the pics speak for themselves. It was soooo nice to have great espresso in France and Suisse. Why can't this exist here, without requiring Starbucks all the time!? FYI - Express means fast, Espresso is coffee!

Heading to the airport... back to USA

Letting you all know I am heading back today. I'll complete the travel log when I get back to VT.
Thanks you all for helping to make this awesome journey!

Ahh, my first Espresso en Paris!

Here is my first morning and first espresso en Paris. This awesome corner restaurant is on a great people watching street. TONS of pedestrians with an expected high ratio of tourists.

Here is my special cup of Joe!

Half star accommodation, by Citroen.

Before we started this trip we thought we could save some cash by sleeping in the rental car whenever we could. Well, that ended up being a little too often. The space available for two grown men is limited. Lucky, or unlucky, the space was just about exactly 5'10" long. Among other issues, heat. We were in the middle of a heat wave so, by 8AM it would get a bit too hot. We tried to keep the bugs to a minimum at night by only cracking the windows, MISTAKE! In hindsight, a tent would have been a good idea and every other night in a hotel. Shower-in-a-can only works for a day or two. At one point we had to restock our underwear supply at the local Carrefore supermarche. Th Citroen Picasso was a cool car. Our only had 5000 kilometers. Some neat features apart from the GPS: auto headlights, wipers and AC; the headlights turned to face into corners; the front window extended above our heads with shades for a bright day; widow shades for all the back windows; seating for 7. If they were available here I would buy one.