Hike, bike, read, write, eat - repeat

The UP was an amazing time. It had been over 10 years since I was up to the cabin and there was a surreal feeling being back there and nothing had seemingly changed. Once I finally made it there, after passing the almost hidden driveway the first time down Ramsden Road, it all came back. The dark brown exterior of the cabin, with its large front porch facing the fire pit. There were several reminder of Aunt Vi and Uncle Ken, who own the cabin on little door hangers and yard posts. It brought back lots of fond memories of Aunt Vi. She had the softest hands of anyone I ever knew, amazing skin, and blazing red hair until the day she passed. She was a wonderful cook and baker and the kitchen had definitely had her touch.

I arrived just a tad before 4p after stopping at the IGA in town on my way. After bringing all of my stuff in and settling down I had the Pasty I purchased from IGA and got to work on making my chicken noodle soup. I spent most of the evening reading through the cabin journal, in which visitors leave notes and details about their trips. (A pre-Internet blog of sorts) It was great to read of vacations my family took, surprises from friends who came to visit. Honeymoons and anniversary trips, little get aways and first time visitors. It is such a great piece of our family history to have this journal and I happily contributed the adventures of my trip.

Over the course of the trip I finished the last few chapters of two books I was reading, read another cover to cover in one day (something I had never done before) and started a third. Organized my pictures on the new Macbook - love iphoto. I did some writing and typing of old journal entries I brought with me, but not nearly as much writing of 'new' stuff as I had hoped. I thought a bit about what my barrier is to actually writing most of the stories floating around in my head and came up with two. 1) Some things are still to close, in time that is and need more distance. However, this is a bit of a conundrum because with the passing of time, so does go the passing of my memory. I have started to writing the general ideas of the stories to came back to. 2) I do not have a theme, a central idea to keep coming back to. I think that knowing overall my story is about a 'single mom,' or 'a recovering addict,' makes it a little easier to have focus. None of the stories would really change, they are what they are, but their individual spin and the continuity of the whole would be easier. I am hoping to work on these two issues, well more the later, since I can't control time. I have found several writing groups in AA and hope to join one, even if just to have some accountability.I also spent sometime seeing a few of the local sites, including Kitchitikipi Springs. and the Pictured Rock National Lake Shore. Kitchitikipi is an amazing natural sulfur spring that is clear to the bottom, 45 feet below and is always 45 degrees. At Pictured Rocks, I saw several waterfalls and was a little disappointed that the trails between the sites, The Backcountry trail, was not bikeable. I should have looked in to that more. I was going to hike from Sand Point to Miners Castle, only 4.9 miles, but once I got on the trail and I came across a sign stating I had only gone just over a mile, I realized hiking was not going to be nearly as fast as walking 4.9 miles. I had a hunch once I was on the trail and realized how slow I had to go in portions that were wet, muddy, or just plain treacherous. Needless to say, once I got the map and my location straight, I realized I could just drive there - again, I was hoping for bike ride.

All in all, it was a great trip and I hope that in the future I don't have to drive 6 hours in to the woods to allow myself a few days to relax, although I'd do it again. After several days of self reflecting I am hoping to do some things different in this new chapter of my life. I have no regrets from before, but have, as one would hope, learned and want to grow from those experiences.