Mohican State Forest, Ohio, Thursday
I continued my journey to Loudonville and the Mohican State Forest area for a family reunion today. I began my journey at the midway point in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is not a quiet campground. It is surrounded by highways and railroads, and is too far away from the beach to have any noise cancelling effect. Tents are already not good for light or sound insulation. The constant traffic from the road, trains, and the early sun caused Gus to be awake most of the night. Gus is an early riser anyway, rising at first light so we don’t lose a moment of play time. I have to keep my room at home dark or I end up being awoken at 5:00 AM in the Summer. He will sit with complete dedication on the bed, his head...
Indiana Dunes
Gus and I packed up on Wednesday afternoon and headed down I-94 to the Indiana Dunes. I had a family reunion in Ohio scheduled for the weekend and wanted to get past Chicago. Loading my truck took longer than I expected. I’ve been living out of a hotel room for 2 months. My life is organized into clear Rubbermaid tubs with fliptops, making transport easy if bulky. 9 tubs, 1 mighty squirrel hunter, camping equipment and 11 cases of beer… well, almost 11 cases of beer. I ran out of room. Fortunately, a group of guys and girls in front of the hotel were grilling and graciously helped me relieve myself of a case of beer. I hit the road for the Dunes at around 4:30, which was the worst possible time. That put me in Milwaukee rush hour towards...
Surfing the Indiana Dunes
I’m leaving today for my family reunion in Ohio, but along the way i will be stopping at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore for a night. Indiana Dunes is 150 miles from Brookfield, but is conveniently located on the other side of Chicago. The campsite is a bit off from the beach, but I’m hopeful I can hear the sounds of waves crashing throughout the night. I miss my yard and garden (and my bed), so I am pretty excited to get back into nature. I spent most of last year cultivating a nice garden in my front yard. I ripped out two massive hedges and replaced it with a french drain, terracing, and a garden of perennials. What amazed me was I put in one butterfly plant and the garden attracted all sorts of butterflies, bees, and other good...
Breezing Across the Country
Growing up in Nebraska, one becomes accustomed to a constant 15-25 MPH wind. I jokingly reason that we have this wind because there is only one tree separating us from the North Pole, but in reality the prairie is unique situated for wind. I’m not a climatologist, but I suspect the warm, moist air that is generated over the Pacific rises up as it warms, then hits the mountains, cools, and descends along the prairies generating a constant wind. I took a trip from Omaha to Minneapolis by way of Des Moines. In the north central part of the state is a massive array of wind turbines. It’s an amazing drive through the area, and I suspect that we’re only slightly leveraging the capacity of wind in the area. It seems T. Boone Pickens has an idea...
Chicago Road Trip
I met my friend Menucha while I worked at the pot pie company. She was my counterpart at a vendor for a substantial contract, so we worked together quite regularly. We both inherited a very challenged situation, but quickly turned it around due to our partnering on the problems. Menucha’s greatest personal assets are her organization and persistence. I’ve never seen her eat spaghetti, but wouldn’t be surprised if she straightened the noodles – and maybe gave them firm instruction to the effect of “now noodles, you will get in my mouth so I can eat you” – before eating them. She’s no nonsense, which makes her very good at what she does. It also makes giving her a hard time that much more fun. I hadn’t...
Westward to the Rockies & Back
I headed out to Omaha this past weekend to work on the house, with an eventual destination of Denver. This took me through Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. With the exception of Colorado, those are all states that have been hit by floods. Iowa The state of Iowa smells like a marsh. I know too well what marsh smells like and that tea tree oil can help remove it from dogs, but I don’t think there is enough tea tree oil to wash the state. You can only imagine the mold, mildew, and fungus that is growing and causing the smell. Interstate 80 crosses the entire state and had been closed for several days. The area near Iowa City and Cedar Rapids was the hardest hit. Crops are devastated and I imagine the health impact from disease, mosquitos,...