OK, at least the Beatles fans among you know what birthday I'm celebrating today. Our little traveling commune did a fine job of making me feel special, including some nice slices of cake from "the best bakery in northern Ontario." (BTW, if this is northern Ontario, then what's the part north of Lake Superior? Just askin'.)
About half of our 83-mile ride from Huntsville to Madawaska today was straight across Algonquin Provincial Park. Last month we rode through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, and today we were priviliged to be in another of North America's great parks. In some ways, the landscape was a lot like territory we've been seeing off and on since Minnesota -- thick forests, with lots of lakes, rivers, and marshes. However, the water is much more visible from the road than anywhere we've been so far, and it's really beautiful. There are lots and lots of canoe trails available. Kathy and I are dreaming of a canoe camping trip here sometime after we move to Michigan.
Unfortunately, my legs were exceptionally dead today, almost certainly due to some "intestinal distress" I suffered yesterday afternoon and evening, so I was pretty slow. We didn't arrive in Madawaska until well after 3:00. I did perk up a bit in the afternoon, so better things should be in store for tomorrow. Better weather, too, we hope. Today was intemittently rainy and overcast all day. Pretty hilly, too, especially in the lst 20 miles.
For those of you who are tracking our route, and perhaps planning to connect with us somewhere, here is what the rest of the trip looks like, at least for now:
Sat, 7/24 Madawaska to Renfrew
Sun, 7/25 Layover in Renfrew
Mon, 7/26 Renfrew to Kemptville
Tue, 7/27 Kemptville to Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec
Wed, 7/28 Coteau-du-Lac to Granby
Thu, 7/29 Granby t0 Canaan, NH (previously listed as Pittsburg)
Fri, 7/30 Canaan to Hanover, ME
Sat, 7/31 Hanover to Portland!
This schedule is somewhat ambitious in terms of mileage, so is still subject to change, but it's what we're hoping for.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Happy Birthday, Joe. Say hello to everyone for me. Enjoying these missives from you, Kathy, and Rich. Funny, the professional writer among you doesn't regularly blog - and, that's what trips like these are for...turning everything upside down. At any rate, I'm grateful for this connection to some of my favorite Sacramentoans.
ReplyDeleteLillian
FWIW Canaan, NH is waaay out of your way. I assume you meant Canaan, VT. We'll plan on meeting you there.
ReplyDelete--Bill
Belated Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteWe were camping for a couple days and biking on the Trail of the Coeur d Lene's-- A 70 mile trail from Mullen to Plummer, Idaho. Most of it along rivers, lakes and marshes. We also kayaked on the Lake.
We continue to watch your progress and marvel. Miss you all.
Happy Birthday (again) from LA.
ReplyDeleteYou're in "Northern Ontario" like Chicago is in the "Midwest." Thankfully, you're not in Moosonee, nor is Chicago on the banks of the Great Salt Lake.
;-)
d