Dear friends,
Today, Canada beckons. And it’s only three short hours away.
Since it’s our first day with no schedule, we hope to take the morning easy. Sadie, though, has different ideas. She wakes up at 6 for her morning call. As I sleepily slip into my clothes, I can see that morning is just breaking. Outside, fog rises in the meadow, the nibbling horses just silhouettes.
We return to sleep for another hour, then have a leisurely breakfast before we slowly pack up and get ready for the last part of the road trip.
First, we reach the 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge that connects the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan. We’re always amazed at this engineering feat and marvel at the turquoise water on display today. The land becomes more desolate as we cross the upper peninsula on our way to Sault-St-Marie.
We cross the border into Canada and the guard checks our passports. “I have two questions,” he says. “How long are you staying in Canada and how old is your golden retriever? Mine is 7 months old.” We laugh as we answer then pull through the gate. Pancake Bay Provincial Park is now only fifty minutes away!
Since we’ve been here before, we can already anticipate a bit. The campground spreads out, on what used to be Ojibwe land, over a three and a half kilometer sand beach that fronts a protected bay of Lake Superior. You could almost imagine you are in the Caribbean when the sun glitters across the aqua water. But if you step into the water, the cold tells you otherwise. And when the weather turns, you know you are in the north where the angry waves of Gitche Gumee can claim freighters to its waters. We are always checking the weather report at the park gate so we’ll be prepared. The campsites are nestled in among the pines and birches, a nice shaded area to sit after spending time on the beach.
We find a perfect spot, set up camp then head to the dog beach for some playtime. The sun is out and the water is not too cold. Sadie loves swimming and retrieving toys from the water and does so to her heart’s content. I get some running in with her as well. Then it’s back to the campsite for relaxation. A dinner cooked on the campstove and a long linger around the campfire as night falls. Once again, the stars shine so bright out here away from the city lights. And the camper waits, snug as a bug, to put us all to sleep.
Sights of the day: two Sandhills cranes flying overhead, the tucked in bays of Lake Superior, a tired and wet dog, the piney scent of the northern forest.
In the car as we drive or over the smoke of the campfire, there is time to ponder the life we’ve momentarily left behind and the one we will return to. What is working and what isn’t. What we can make happen and what we are letting go. Or just sit and listen to the wind in the trees as the embers sizzle and pop and a shooting star flies through the nighttime sky.
Tomorrow will be waiting.
Until then,
Rachel
This looks so idyllic! A teardrop has been a fantasy of mine for years. Do you keep yours mostly packed and ready for spontaneous journeys?
Yes! It makes it so easy to take off on a whim.