I captured the feature image above as we approached the Black Hills from the east. In my view, it perfectly represents why the Lakota Sioux called them the Pahá Sápa. The Pahá Sápa were considered sacred by native plains tribes, because they had for centuries provided tribes a place to pray and sustained them with…
One night campground layovers are a thing of the past. Who needs that kind of tight, challenging schedule and the stress that comes with it? We’ve evolved to staying for a minimum of three nights, driving no more than about 230 miles (300 max) between overnight stops, taking non-interstate routes whenever possible, and camping in…
Lake City (population 5,063) sits on the south side of Lake Pepin, where 100 years ago Ralph Samuelson invented the sport of water skiing. After some trial and error, both in making the skis and developing the technique for rising out of the water on them, the 18-year old Samuelson, while being pulled behind a…
Our next major stop was Lake City, MN for projects at the Zugay House; however, we were running too early for the agreed arrival date. To bide our time, we found a decent park in the small Village of Dorchester, WI (population 876), which sat quietly in the middle of Wisconsin dairy farms. The town…
As part of the requirements for entering Canada, we needed a negative COVID-19 test, current within 72 hours. We planned on using the new border crossing at Calais ME (pronounced “callous”) but learned all the local and nearby pharmacy appointments were booked. The pharmacy closest to Calais with available appointments was in Farmington ME. So…
MFI and I enclosed a 2-sided postcard in our 2019 Christmas card to family and friends. The purposes were to inform recipients of our next plan for retirement, and solicit projects with which we could help them during our visits. We received a fair number of cards indicating “no help required” but open to a…
MFI and I planned on spending summer and fall 2020 ASing north along the Atlantic coast ending in Maine, but that was all pre-pandemic. We instead decided it would be best to err on the side of caution and limit our travels before returning early to our home base in the DFW area. The modified…
