This is one of them.
Why are we here?
photography
Here we are
It has taken me a week to absorb it all and be ready to write about it.
We are in a cabin in northern Manitoba on the southern shore of Egenolf Lake in a wilderness area that spans 6 million acres. Just like home in the Adirondacks. Except it’s not.
The nearest road is 250 miles away but travel is made easier, for some, in the winter, when the lakes freeze. We met one man who rode a snowmobile 6 hours to get here one winter.
We are in an off the grid cabin, designed to provide most of the comforts, in the harsh Manitoba winters. How harsh ?
There is a column in the cabin with the low temperatures marked for several years dating back to 2003, entitled, “The Bushmen Will Survive.”
And we are pretty sure they did.
Every system has at least one, sometimes two, back-up systems, and we have spent the week learning them all and thinking of many of the what ifs. We have had a great teacher, who has spent two winters here and who will continue to provide advice and support from afar. We have internet! And satellite communication.
Right now, the place is buzzing with activity as they close this vast fishing and hunting lodge in the wilderness. On Tuesday, that will change when they all fly off.
This is not our cabin. It’s an old trappers’ cabin near the lake, where two trappers once weathered -60 degrees and lived to tell about it.
The moon was beautiful last night as it rose to the northeast.
And a stunning sunrise greeted us this morning. We have hiked the esker that is behind the lodge and look forward to skiing and snowshoeing it. We’ll use a snowmobile and gas powered auger to get our water once the lake freezes.
Should be quite an adventure.
Making the rounds
In a whirlwind, I have been on planes, trains, automobiles, and ferries. We’re making a grand tour to catch up with family at summer’s end.
It began with family, beach, and lobster in Maine. Despite increased shark activity, even I went swimming.
Union Station in Washington, DC, where I visited my daughter, had this one footed pigeon walking around…to the delight of one, but unnoticed by most.
In New York, we visited the World Trade Center Memorial and took a peek at the new Perelman Performing Arts Center.
Then we boarded the SV Frank Sinatra to stay at lodgings outside the city.
Frank competed with jet skies to get to her destination.
The view from the other side of the Hudson River was spectacular.
Finally off to Long Island to play with monster trucks and grandkids.
Then back to work before our next adventure !
Cold wet summer
While the rest of the country and world broil, we have had a cool, damp summer in the Adirondacks. I read that based on historic trends, forests in temperate climates including those in New York may experience less stress and more vigor due to the warmer and wetter weather that climate change is bringing. It is certainly true here.
Look at this heat map from one day this summer. The brown area had heat warnings.
Compare it to a map of the Adirondack Park from the Adirondack Almanack.
All those trees are keeping us cool – and wet.
How wet? As of today, we have already had a total of 23 inches of rain. The annual average is about 38” over the past twenty years.
So wet, the frogs want in.
This very little frog hung out on our window all day. How little?
So little! That’s him compared to a pen.
How cool? So cool the last time I swam in my favorite pond, I had to cut it short due to an ice cream headache and concern for hypothermia. I thought I was done with pools for the summer. But then we headed south for a family event, to Rockville, MD.
I brought my swim stuff, just in case. And lo and behold, we found this beautiful facility.
8 lanes, 50 meters long! And underused. That’s something we don’t have in the Adirondacks.
Now I’m back home and sleeping under two blankets again.
Scene in my backyard
An adorable fawn, until it starts nibbling on my garden.
Hopped right by me.
Bees at work.
Red skies at night.
Camping au nord
We packed up Ravioli, our Rav4, named by the grandkids, and headed north to camp along the Gaspé peninsula, which is located south of the St. Lawrence River, east to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Canadian campsites run by SEPAQ were beautiful, private, and pristine. We only car camped one rainy night with a tent gizmo that failed. The air mattress also died but not on that trip.
SEPAQ offers much more comfortable options. We spent three nights on our own little lake, complete with rowboats, deep in a forest preserve in a fishing and hunting cabin. There was even a place to weigh our deer.
The Ranger told us the lake was too warm for fishing and it was too shallow, for my taste, to swim but Tim swam anyway.
We had an adventurous 10 mile detour suggested by Apple maps that put us on a dirt road running under transmission lines, interrupted by a fallen tree and so narrow the brush was scratching Ravioli! We debated Apple vs. Google maps a good part of that day…after we managed to turn around and retrace our miles.
When we arrived in Gaspé, we took a lovely hike up to the tower on top of those cliffs. The views, when the fog lifted, were stupendous.
SEPAQ offers several ready -to-camp options, which may include cots or beds. Tim opted for the teardrop shaped Oasis, set just off the Atlantic ocean beach, in Gaspé proper.
How cute is that? Oasis, not me. The first floor had a table that converted to a double bed and above there was a trampoline that could support 165 pounds. We each had a floor to ourselves. Guess who got the upstairs?
I finished the trip by booking us in a plush resort on the way home. We had a delicious dinner, slept in a real bed, and headed home recharged and ready for anything.
Sparky’s back!
After a year of being on the hard, Sparky, our 15’, 1972 Starcraft Sprint, with its original Mercury motor is back! We spent last summer at Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, and even coastal Maine was too much for our little lake boat.
I finally had the windshield replaced and a professional motor servicing because I was too chicken to remove the lower unit myself. I knew I could remove it, but putting it back correctly is another matter.
Our maiden voyage took us to two lakes. Someone up here who loves swimming and lists has created the Adirondack 47 Lakers for adventure swimmers (like us?). Tim has a new Adirondack quest and Sparky will play a role. We hope to swim for at least 30 minutes in 47 lakes. Several will be with Sparky’s help. The rest will require a hike.
We spent our first outing in the Pharaoh Lakes wilderness in two beautiful settings: Paradox Lake and Eagle Lake. In both places, I assumed we would be confined to a small portion of the lakes.
Paradox has a narrows, which I thought might be too shallow and weedy to navigate.
My co-captain had other ideas. And it turned out fine. The beaver dam, the park host warned us about, was not a problem and we saw pontoon boats navigating the channel. The swim was glorious.
I need to remember Sparky is a tiny vessel but a champ.
Then we hauled Sparky and relaunched in Eagle Lake, where a very low bridge under the road separates the boat launch from the main lake.
I, once again, expressed concern and was overruled. I had visions of losing our new, crystal clear windshield on its first outing.
There’s the little bridge on our return trip. I was too nervous during the first pass to take pictures.
No problem, we had 4 inches to spare and made it back to the other side. I took my hat off though.
Both 1/2 mile swims were delightful and I look forward to many more. We capped this off with sandwiches and a beer at Paradox brewery. A good time was had by all.
Whimsical mosaics of Aniane
This post has been updated to include new finds and put them all in one place.
These appeared subtly. First we casually saw a few, then we looked harder and finally it was like a scavenger hunt. Tim found six more one day when he walked on his own through the village, with an old camera that lacked connectivity. Here’s our complete set.
First, we noticed a blue beetle on the wall.
Then a ghost on the wall of the cemetery.
Next a frog and submarine by the aquaducts.
A flying pink pig above the charcuterie.
A fly on the wall of Rue Font Picotiere, with a panda for good measure.
A glass of wine with grapes across from the Caviste.
A slice of cake at the boulangerie
And 2 little hedgehogs possibly near the day care
All adorable and subtle. Perhaps more will appear during our stay in Aniane. They give a modern, whimsical nature to this village, which grew around its ancient abbey built in 782.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aniane
Then Tim hit the jackpot.
It starts with an idea and then a lightbulb goes on.
Here’s me on the old road. I spent a lot of time knitting a Shetland baby blanket during our travels. That’s what I was doing when he found this image.
There wasn’t a hospital in the village so babies arrive by stork. True fact.
Be prepared.
Over one of the village watering troughs.
This next one isn’t part of the series but it’s still a mosaic in town.
We couldn’t find anyone who fessed up to being involved in this project but it made us smile.
Slow and steady
We had quite the outing planned today. We boarded an early bus to St. Guilhem le Desert to hike. I saw this snail at the bus stop and took it as a sign to go slow and steady.
St. Guilhem may be one of the prettiest cities in France. It has an Abbey from the 7th century with, reportedly, a relic from Christ’s cross.
The Abbey is surrounded by stunning cliffs. On the way to our walk I heard a swarm of bees in a tree. They were gone by the time we finished.
The path joined one of the pilgrim paths to Compostello. We even saw a couple of pilgrims busking in the square with a donkey! We walked up the river valley and around the back of a gigantic rock formation.
I recalled from our last trip a bridge, which I thought harked back centuries. Tim poo pooed me until we came upon the bridge.
The path was well maintained and made it easy to rise above the valley.
We were surprised to come upon burnt forest and learned there was a fire in April.
My phone kept track of our progress. Slow and steady. We missed our bus home so we finished the hike with lunch in the swuare by the Abbey under the 150 year old Plane tree.
Then we hitchhiked home and were picked up by a lovely couple who only spoke french and I was delighted I was able to make small talk, even if I had to repeat myself a couple of times.
Aniane is its own pleasant valley
We live in what is considered Pleasant Valley. The High Peaks of the Adirondacks trap the storms headed east and they miss our little town. Seems the same is true in Aniane.
When we arrived, the weather report looked dismal, rain, rain, rain, which never materialized.
We took a trip to the cities of Carcassone and Narbonne. Tim bought reduced fare train tickets but we managed to ride the TGV, which Tim insisted wasn’t the REAL TGV,
and express commuter trains. Conductors scoffed at our stupidity but didn’t kick us off.
The walled city of Carcassone is quite remarkable although filled with restaurants and gift shops. It isn’t under the “Pleasant Valley” spell and it poured while we were there. An exhibit celebrating some anniversary allowed an artist to apply concentric aluminum circles for a temporary exhibit. Apparently it wasn’t really temporary.
When a bartender and I reached an impasse discussing, in French, the Occitanie cross https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occitan_cross, he said Google help, and it did. It is an emblem dating back to the 12th century with lots of symbolism.
There is a canal, the Midi Canal, which connects the Atlantic Ocean yo the Mediterranean Sea. It was Europe’s first long distance canal and Leonardo DaVinci was given a shot at it in 1516 but it took another 150 years to get built. It includes more than 100 locks!
Our journey continues, mostly on foot. We shopped at the weekly market this morning and bought fresh mussels, ravioli, veggies and cheese. Tomorrow I will eat in my first Michelin restaurant, right in town. We have tickets to a concert in a medieval abbey on Sunday and our host had arranged rides with friends. Life is good!
Island and North Country Life 