The extent of the damage suffered in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 is no secret; however, the communities of the area are still recovering 7 years later. My local church youthgroup at the United Church of Christ in Norwell decided on New Orleans for our annual service project.
On Friday, August 13, all the members met at the church and loaded into a coach bus. 30 hours later (at 1:00 in the morning) we found ourselves at our home for the next week, Camp Hope.
We were allowed to sleep in Sunday morning; we spent the rest of the day bonding. I went for a run with 2 friends of mine around the neighborhood we were staying in. 84 degrees and humid is not my favorite weather to run it, but running of any kind is good enough for me. After closing prayer, we hopped back on the bus and went to the French Quarter for dinner. The restaurant of choice for us was Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, some of the best shrimp I’ve ever had!
Unfortunately, the people in charge of finding work for the group dropped the ball and so we were left without much service to do on our first day on the job. Luckily, Camp Hope (run by The Gathering) charged us to complete some necessary chores for the facility and travel to their community center for more work. Once back home, the group played games, watched movies, and eventually got ready for bed.
On Tuesday, our normal groups split up and the seniors went to a local mission. We cleaned 2 dormitories and some maintenance on a tent building outside. We did not know they were providing lunch for us, so many of the group donated our sandwiches, snacks, and drinks that we brought to people outside who did not make it in for lunch. Our day ended on a particularly powerful note; a local preacher, Richard, came to speak with us. Not only did he tell us about his experience with Katrina and the Hurricane’s effect, but he also got us to open up about our personal difficulties and taught us how to take care of each other.
Wednesday my group began to see more of the construction side of our service project. We were bused to Joe’s house; he is a retired barber renovating his sizable home to rent out for people who need a place to live. We helped build a deck and started scraping paint off of the siding. That night the seniors travelled back to the French Quarter for the annual Senior night of bonding.
On Thursday, seniors and juniors stayed at camp and went through a discernment process run by a member of the Gifts and Call ministry at our church. We helped each other uncover our God given talents and got a chance to know each other (and ourselves) much better than before. In the late afternoon we went to a park and served chili dogs and beans for a local community event.
On our last day, Friday, we walked about 15 minutes away to an ARC center for people with disabilities. Groups split up to help with gardening and fence work. We ended our trip back in the French Quarter for one last walk through the city. Some wore homemade t shirts advertising the Kony 2012 movement on the Cover the Night event. On Thursday and Friday night we sat in a circle at camp and shared memories about each senior.
At last Saturday morning came around. We packed, cleaned, and piled back on the bus for our 30 hour bus ride back home. The project this year was, sadly, my last service project with my youthgroup; yet the memories and bonds formed will last a lifetime.
*Photos courtesy of Valerie Donaldson
The backbone of New Zealand’s south island are the spectacular Southern Alps, the home to many glaciers. Two of these are easily accessible by tourists traveling Route 6 along the western shore: the Fox Glacier and the Franz Josef Glaciers. Both are major glaciers working their way from high mountain valleys down to near sea level. Each has unique characteristics; and both can be seen in a single day if you choose to do a self-guided tour. Alternatively, pick either one -- you can't go wrong with either -- if you prefer to get right on the glacier via helicopter or a guided hike.
Our approach from the south began with a stop for coffee and fresh salmon filets (which we’d have for dinner) at a salmon / coffee shop by a river near the Tasman Sea. (Nice people, god coffee and pastry selection, and the salmon was great) Further up the road was a long sandy beach with inviting surf and broad views. Once we left the Tasman Sea, the road began to serpentine as mountains came closer to the western shore. One of the remarkable aspects of these glaciers is the proximity to the sea; almost as close as Glacier Bay, where glaciers fall right into the ocean. But unlike glaciers falling into the sea, these glaciers leave large moaines and rubble accretions.
The walk in to the Fox Glacier was a short and easy walk from the parking lot across a broad alluvial plain set between steep walls carved out over the past several hundred years. Similar to the two century trend in Glacier Bay in Alaska, the Fox Glacier has retreated leaving
moraines and a broad plain behind. The access road from Route 6 is well maintained on a bed of glacial tailings, and the parking lot provides informative boards on the Glacier’s history and ecosystem.
If you want to get up and actually get on the glacier, you’ll have to pay someone: guided walks or helicopter tours are two primary choices, and several options are available on-line, or right in the towns of Fox Glacier. Glaciers can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing or aren’t familiar with the topography. This ranger stops you from going past a demonstrably safe zone.
Further north on Route 6 (aka Fox Glacier Highway) is the Franz Josef Glacier. The main difference up in to the furthest free walk is the distance. The walk is much longer, though flat and easy going. The walk is definitely worth it if only to watch the river pouring out of a snow cave at the base of the glacier. But the high waterfalls coming down the steep rocky walls were also worth the walk. The combination of thunderous volume and cold humid air remind visitors of the power and size of these rivers of ice.
We were a little disappointed that we couldn’t walk up the relatively well worn path to the glacier itself, but were reminded only a week or so later in a news item that rocks had fallen near the paths in a very close call for some visitors.
The dynamic nature of glaciers may not be readily apparent when snow melts slowly and seems timeless. But the river disgorging from its accretion base is a stark reminder that a lot of snow is melting underneath, and eventually, something in the structure has to give.
If we had it to do over again, we probably would have taken a tour up into the glacier for a deeper look, with trained guides and known safe access. But having seen both in one day, we know that either glacier would be a great choice.
A trip to New Zealand for anyone from the northern hemisphere should include the treat on a clear night sky of a little southern hemisphere star gazing. If you have the good fortune of being away from an urban center, which is easy on the south island, and catch a clear night, be sure to take time to look up to the night sky.
Even if you’re only mildly interested in the night sky, the southern sky is completely different, and has some really cool features. It is another of the mildly unsettling ‘opposites’ that a traveler from the U.S. will encounter, such as driving on the left, or realizing that a southern wind is a cold wind while a northern tropical wind is pleasantly warming.
Back to the sky: There is no star akin to our “North Star”, or “Polaris.” This important northern hemisphere star, easily located if you can find the big dipper, is almost directly over the earth’s northern axis. So if you can find the North Star, you can identify true north; it’s been a pillar of northern hemisphere navigation for thousands of years. The southern hemisphere has no such fixture; instead, it has the iconic Southern Cross. The Southern Cross is a beautiful and easy-to-locate constellation, but it is only generally south; it is not a navigable precise point, it rotates. But you’re on vacation and have a GPS, so who cares? The Southern Cross is distinctive and has some of the brightest stars in the night sky, so it’s visible early or in lightly hazy weather too. The Cross appears on both New Zealand’s and Australia’s flags, so you know for the folks down under, it’s a cultural fixture.
The next really cool object is that our nearest neighbor, Alpha Centauri; this is one of the two pointer stars to the Southern Cross. It is also very bright (after all, it’s only about 4 light years away). Aside from being bright and close, Alpha Centauri is actually a binary star: this means it is paired with another star, and the two rotate around each other in a seemingly perpetual figure skaters’ dance (and are known as A and B). From my childhood, I recall the “Lost in Space’s original mission was to go to Alpha Centauri as our nearest neighbor, and since then have felt cheated that I couldn’t ever see this closest neighbor. It’s easy in New Zealand.
Another well known astronomical fixture that any hobby astronomer has read about and seen pictures of are the two Magellanic Clouds, two dwarf galaxies, rotating closely to our own Milky Way. They appear as small clusters of stars; an early name for these was “The Sheep”, by the Persian Astronomer Al Sufi in the tenth century. They are the brightest objects beyond our own Milky Way, and are classified as dwarf galaxies. They are roughly 7000 light years and 14,000 light years across; our Milky Way is about 150,000 light years across, as a point of comparison. The Large Magellanic Cloud was the source of a supernova in 1987, so you had to be in the southern Hemisphere to see that.
Interestingly, the Zodiac , which includes constellations that early Greek and later Roman navigators watched and named, are visible in the southern hemisphere too. The reason is that they are closer to the earth’s equator, and thus close to the horizon for both northern and southern viewers. The seasonal appearances are caused by the earth’s tilting, making constellations appear in the night sky at different times of the year.
Each of these can be appreciated without the benefit of a telescope, or even binoculars. However, a visit to Lake Tekapo (only a few hours southwest of Christchurch) can get you a lot more. Visit the Earth and Sky Astronomy tours for a visit to the Mt John Observatory or a separate view on a hill top (complete with serious telescopes, too). Either will expose you to some of the many unique southern viewed galaxies, including some of the ones described here by a far more dedicated amateur astronomer than I. It’s a real treat, even if your trip isn’t about astronomy.
The day began with a little exploring around town. The folks at the Holiday Park front desk described a nice walk up the Dog Stream on the edge of town to the back side of Conical Hill, so I began the day with a run up there; we had an after-breakfast walk together as well. Conical Hill provided a broad view of the town and the river bed out of the valley and the mountains behind us. We also found a great little ceramic arts gallery where we bought a few gifts and a neat wall hanging tile on our return to town. Hanmer Springs itself is a definite return destination.
We had seen a horses place on the way into town on the Hanmer Springs Road, and benignly but incorrectly assumed it was Hanmer Horses; but we called ahead for reservations and directions. We had seen a brochure or read in Lonely Planet about Hanmer Springs Horses, so we were really glad to have checked. The directions included “drive out past the hardware store, turn left by the Hanmer Horses Sign [onto] a gravel track with 2 shallow fords to drive through which are ok for normal cars and campervans…” So we figured we weren’t going to be on the main road. We were right. We passed sheep in the road on the gravel road, and were met by two friendly black and white dogs among several loose animals on a working horse farm.
Riding options included two loops, an hour and a half and a two and a half hour loop; we opted for the latter and were joined by an experienced equestrian named Lily from Greymouth. The longer ride included a short stretch on a dirt road gaining elevation, then onto trails through woods and over streams, offering great views of the mountains around us. A few errant Highland cattle occupied one path, and though the trails were muddy and the rivers were high, the route was pleasant.
Our leader, Val, offered a balanced combination of letting us let the horses run from time to time while still keeping things under control. After working our way back around the loop, we began ascending a mountain to our right. Coming out of the woods and onto the hills put us onto sheep grazing land…imagine and entire mountain with grass cut like a golf course fairway. The sheep keep the grass down, but the natural undulations of the mountain topography make for stunning open views. This was when the real riding fun began: Val let us let the horses run, and run they did, cantering on a wild ride up to the summit on zigging and zagging horses.
After coming off the summit, Lily took another direct canter back up; she was mostly impressed with Nell’s demeanor coming down: calm, manageable, unhurried. Thus, the horses were awesome, too. See the vid, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBPYNkz--HY
For us, generally comfortable around horses, but not as in tune to the personality traits and aggression shows (e.g. ears tilted back), the run up the hill nearly ended badly with Kay coming off Briar on the ascent with Tom (my horse) shaking things up. But we paused long enough for everyone to get settled again, and take a few pictures and enjoy the scenery. No harm, no foul.
Overall, our experience at Hanmer Horses was great: the owner and staff, the landscape, the animals. Don’t let the two ford crossings on the way in, or horse personality dynamics on the way up, discourage you. It’s all worth it. We'll be back on our next visit to NZ.
Our visit to New Zealand was prompted by our daughter’s attending university in Auckland, but we spent most of our time far from the capital city. This blogspot is an introduction to our camper van trip on the south island.
Our arrival to Auckland coincided with the finals weekend of the World Cup Rugby tournament so we decided to evade the crowds (without missing any of the national buzz) and get south right away.
A flight from Auckland to Christchurch made the most sense; two tickets were less than NZ$90 each, less than the cost to cross with an RV. One option we did not take was to spend an additional $20 to change flights once at the airport; we would spend the $20 next time, since we managed to get to the airport early enough to watch two unfilled flights depart without us. New Zealand air won’t put you in those empty seats unless you paid the additional $20 at point of purchase. It's not like the U.S. where you can do this without opting in ahead of time.
We stayed at an airport hotel near Christchurch, both for the free courtesy pickup and the offer by Wilderness Campers (http://www.wilderness.co.nz/) for a free pickup from the hotel to their facility. It was here that we really began to get a sense of the general New Zealand courtesy and friendliness. The hotel staff were friendly in a personal way that seemed to go beyond standard industry hospitality. The next morning we immediately liked and felt comfortable with our Wilderness Camper van courtesy driver, Merv, who arrived in someone’s personal Volvo station wagon to shuttle us into town (only about 3-5 klx). In the rental facility itself, Matt was especially helpful. Not only did he explain clearly and precisely how all the legal and financial part worked; he reviewed our internet-planned itinerary and helped us to modify it to fit more top destinations in and make the whole experience flow smoothly and realistically. This was particularly valuable; we like a broad overview on our first trip anywhere, so we can visit it better, with more focus, on subsequent trips.
We grabbed a "Lonely Planet" guide to New Zealand from their borrowing bookshelf, too, a great guide for our kind of travel. Armed with their terrific road atlas, Matt's detailed and personal advice, we were ready to go. We now understood what we would not squeeze in (e.g. Marlborough wine country); all our decisions were based on good information. If you don't get a Matt at the start of your trip, don't worry. One great thing about exploring New Zealand’s south island is that so many great destinations are about 3 hours from one another; even bouncing along randomly will give every visitor a grand experience through breathtaking country.
Before we left on our adventure, we decided to spend the middle part of the day in Christchurch, to see first hand the lingering destruction from the February 2011 earthquake. It reminded me of a service trip to New Orleans about a year after Katrina: empty space, lack of commerce, continued large scale clean-up. Christchurch has lost many people during the recovery, but the attitude of the remaining folks is one of stoic determination. But the destruction still rendered most of the downtown a ghost-town.
The first change that Matt recommended was to visit Lake Tekapo instead of a straight run due south to Donedon (Dun–EE-dun). Here we got lucky both with the location and especially with the weather. The sky was perfect for night sky observation. Anyone’s first trip south the equator deserves an early look into the nighttime sky. The direction you’re looking is indeed, down under. Be treated to the Southern Cross (also on the NZ and Aussie flags), the Magellanic Clouds, Alpha Centauri (the brighter of the Southern Cross’s pointer stars and our Sun’s nearest neighbor), pinwheel galaxies and other uniquely southern sky delights.
Properly introduced to driving on the left, a completely different sky, and even a place where a southern wind means cold and a northern wind comes out of the tropics, we were immediately into our adventure.
See our follow up blogs for details on our generally counter-clockwise trip down the east coast, westerly along the south land, and up along the west coast before turning back east to Christchurch.
-By Geoff Gordon of Andrew G. Gordon, Inc.
From Bourne to Provincetown, New Englanders flock from all corners, fighting traffic and children, to vacation in Cape Cod. A few friends and I decided to adventure out on a day trip to one part of the Cape: Wellfleet.
Travel
Located about an hour from the Cape Cod Canal by route 6, it’s almost a straight shot down the highway after the Sagamore Bridge. Some prefer to take the bus in and fewer fly into Provincetown.
Arrival
For only $15 parking, one can enjoy a day along the long White Crest beach where the sun sets a little earlier due to the enormous sand dunes. These natural hills are state protected so climbing and rolling are strictly prohibited. These dunes are steep enough to cause some damage if not taken lightly. However, once you make your way done the designated path, one can relax on almost rock-less sand and watch the sea. Fortunately, I was with a photographer who was able to capture the surrounding images.
The Beach
Frisbee and lacrosse are common activities, but watch out for the occasional kite flyer. My group was fortunate enough to arrive a few days after Hurricane Irene left her mark, so the waves were about four to five feet high. Not many braved the chilly waters, but kids will be kids. To our rear we had views of 85 ft high dunes with some odd vegetation that d
id not realize it was on a steep sand hill. To our front we could see sailboats and also a few seals searching for oysters.
The Town
Another type of animal searching for oysters was the average tourist trying to find the famous Wellfleet oysters. Previously a whaling port, Wellfleet now makes its fishing successes with mollusk hunting. No Ahabs anymore. Many beaches exist in Wellfleet; however, many are town permit required. The town is also known for its glacier created kettle ponds which provide a freshwater experience.
The Downside
Apart from the distance required to truck to Wellfleet, there were few downsides to this day trip. The restaurant did not provide the most inviting atmosphere and cover charges deterred younger customers. Showers and public restrooms were difficult to track down, but keep your eyes open, they are around. If I were to go back I would probably want more time to spend around town.
More To Do
Wellfleet is a treasure trove of activity during the summer tourism months. Not only is there the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary for more natural tastes, but also a local theater, a museum, and several bike rentals and tours for the entire family. Campgrounds and hotels scatter this part of the Cape.
The day before our Sedona Trip, my family decided that we should see the Grand Canyon. Now it’s worth mentioning that my family, like the countless before us, fell into the vacational quagmire known as ‘mindless sightseeing.’ Not one of us had any particular interest in the Grand Canyon, but we all felt compelled it see it by the almost tangible feeling of expectation breathing down our necks with its hot, rancid breath. So we went anyway. Ultimately I’m glad we did, but it always bothers me when I see things just to say I’ve seen them.
It’s also worth mentioning that I didn’t bring a camera for unfortunate reasons known in clinical psychology circles as ‘terrible decisions’; all these pictures are courtesy of other photographers. These are not my photos, and I deserve exactly no credit for any of them. I’ve added them so our visually inclined readers can slug through my words without feeling the need to jump off the Canyon rim.
If you end up visiting the Grand Canyon yourself, there are many great things to see (see below). But for me, the most enjoyable part of the visit was the 3 hours spent hiking around the rim. Hiking is particularly enjoyable here because there’s ALWAYS a breathtaking view, no matter where you are (unless you choose to hike with a sleeping mask, which I don’t recommend). It’s also great because the vegetation and rocks provide great shady places to stop and eat or just rest.
This is what it looks like when you hike.
Even so, the shade is really unnecessary because of the dry air, which has so little humidity that it feels like 80 degrees when the temperature is supposedly near 100. Hiking in the crisp air and wind made for one of the most comfortable hikes I’ve been on (temperature-wise). Note that the same will NOT be true for your car. The hot Arizona sun will heat the interior of your car to blistering temperatures in only a few hours. Be sure to crack a window, or you might burn yourself on your seat belt when you return like a witless simpleton (see: me).
If you’re not faint of heart, you’ll also enjoy visiting the famous (or infamous, depending on your personal comfort level with heights) ‘Grand Canyon Skywalk.’ This is a glass-bottomed U-shaped structure that reaches out over the canyon unsupported from below. While the views are amazing, you’ll probably find out whether you have more faith in human engineering or gravity.
There are also lots of off-site things to see if you get the opportunity.
One of the coolest places (in my opinion) is called Antelope Canyon. It’s a long drive away from the Canyon, but truly incredible if you have eyes or an interest in irregular geometry (strangely, the ‘chaos of irregularly iterated fractals canyon’ just doesn’t have the same ring). The rock formations in this canyon look both carved and smooth, with edges and warped surfaces. If you visit around noon, you can see the ‘light of God’ at the bottom, like in the picture.
'Light of God' or just really cool optical physics? Both?
If you can make it (it’s a long drive), try visiting the Hoover Dam. I particularly liked how the Hoover Dam is a marvel of human engineering placed smack in the middle of some of nature’s best engineering. If you couldn’t tell already, I’m a huge fan of contrast and corn dogs (you probably couldn’t tell the second part).
The Hoover Dam simultaneously gave me feelings of empowerment and vulnerability. Humans as we know them have only been crawling around for a few thousand years, whereas the Colorado River has been carving the Canyon for millions of years; regardless, we’ve managed to erect a structure to regulate all that natural change in a geological blink of an eye.
On the flip side, when I see the Hoover Dam, I don’t see a dam …well, I do see a dam, but I also see a battle between the concrete it’s made of, gravity, and the billions of gallons of water constantly pressing against it. It’s here today, but gravity isn’t going away any time soon; nature always wins in the end.
Despite its touristy ‘street-rep,’ it’s definitely worth your while to make at least a stop here. It’s the one place on Earth where you can take a picture anywhere under any conditions and have it look awesome. Poor photographers (see: my family) don’t need to worry about lighting or scenery. The Grand Canyon is popular for a reason.
The following account is the tragic tale of how my foot was introduced to Echinocereus fendleri, known to biologists and Jeopardy contestants as the “Fendler Hedgehog Cactus.” But because I am haunted every night by the ghosts of Shakespeare past, I feel obligated to start at the beginning of the story.
My uncle and his family used to live in Sedona, Arizona because, like our family, they tend to accept “familiarity breeds contempt” as a central doctrine and move around frequently. Either that or he’s a repressed linguistic compensating for his semantic yearnings by moving to places that rhyme.
Whatever the case, we decided to travel to Arizona to visit with them and more importantly, to hike. Sedona is one of the agreed-upon most beautiful places in America. It boasts towering mesas, red sand, fresh air, and depending on the season, tourists wearing all the seven major varieties of the “awful polo.”
We spent two days in Sedona after visiting the Grand Canyon (which is another story for another post), so naturally the bar had been set high. However, Sedona did not disappoint; I, unlike WolframAlpha, think that Sedona is cooler than the GC.
Our first day involved some intense road-tripping and poor verb creation. We traveled 3 or 4 hours to Sedona by car. Depending on your personal affinity for driving and how much you like playing “I spy” (ignore the libelous ‘warning’ to avoid playing in cars; the directions were written by ruffians), I would recommend long drives as part of your trip. The Arizona desert is possibly the most gorgeous landscape to drive through. Rock formations smeared with vibrant reds and oranges as well as a variety of plant and animal life will make the drive well worth the while.
We actually got the opportunity to drive part of the way through a thunderstorm, which was also something everyone should be able to see. The winds whip the rain into pseudo-twisters that whip back and forth around you; quite a remarkable sight!
Once we arrived in Sedona, we hiked as much as we could. ‘Hiked’ is a loose term here; there were other people on the trail with backpacks they could drink straight out of and goofy improvised ski poles, glancing at us with disdain as they shuffled past. I suppose they were the ones that were actually hiking; we ‘vigorously walked’ the trails around Sedona. It’s really unfortunate that I was at the stage where I would never take pictures of anything (because I thought that worrying about a camera ruined the experience). The Sedona trails boasted some of the most stunning scenery I’ve ever seen. If you ever have the opportunity to walk these trails, do so. Ski poles or not.
For the most part, these trails are very safe and well marked; but on the last day, I wandered off the path and stepped right on a cactus (a Fendler Hedgehog Catcus to be precise, see above) wearing only sneakers. I may or may not have said some unspeakable things; words that I didn’t even know I had access to. Which leads me to my most important recommendation: WEAR BOOTS.
The Culprit. Looks sinister, doesn't it?
Despite this painful turn of events, I watched an Arizona sunset from a Mesa, which is when I once again felt an irrational urge to scrapbook. Oh well, such is life. Next time, I’ll bring a camera. For now, here's a YouTube video posted by someone who had the sense to bring one.
...Stupid Cactus.
Fishing is a sport for young, old, rich or poor. The pull of a line and an exciting retrieve are the thrills that drive anglers to boats and shores with all the weapons they can afford. But it’s the time in the boats, getting to the shore, and the stories that are the soul of fishing. This is the story of fishing in Quebec, economy class.
Quebec is a vast province, but getting to remote regions doesn’t need to cost a fortune. The Dumoine region is accessed 2 hours north of Ottawa, a day’s drive from Boston, and only 4-5 hours from upstate New York. Our fishing expedition took us another hour across primitive roads, roughly 30 km from Deep River, Ontario where there are great outfitters and less campy fishing opportunities available. There are also fly-in opportunities out of Rapides des Joachims on Air Swisha, just across the Ottawa River in Quebec.
The licensure requirements in Quebec have two levels: the province (Quebec license) and the “Zone Ecologique de Control” (the ZEC). The only real trick is deciding which ZEC to fish; once you do this, you’re limited to that zone. If you’re in for a week, a one week Quebec license and two three day ZEC licenses is a good way to see more country, though a week in a single ZEC is still more water than you could possibly visit in the course of a week. A ZEC map available at the outfitters in Deep River is worth the investment; the reverse side lists the known species to each lake. Ours was mostly a brook trout show, though pike, walleye and lake trout are plentiful, and we caught all these on appropriate water.
Brook Trout cannot compete with many favorite anglers’ favorite catch, bass, nor its co-habitants, pike and walleye (cousin to the perch), as these fish will decimate the small fry trout before they mature. Thus, once a lake has been infested with these species, trout cannot survive. This is the basis for important and tight regulations never to introduce live bait (minnows) into trout waters. If you’re going to fish with minnows, catch them yourself in the water you’re going to fish. Don’t contribute to the eradication of a great fish.
During Quebec’s separatist movement in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, Americans and many English speaking Canadians found Quebec less than hospitable, and fishing by outsiders declined. In addition, the Dumoine region was clear-cut logged, changing the landscape substantially. Today the forest is mostly new-growth poplar and birch, but old growth white pine, spruce and white cedar remain in a few pockets.
A more welcome regulatory structure makes fishing regions more accessible again to outsiders. The old logging roads are the upside to the logging operations of the 1970s. Many lakes, formerly accessible only by extensive wilderness traverse (paddling across water and portaging - - walking around in the woods with a canoe on your head) are today readily accessible by 4-wheel drive vehicles. Secondary unimproved logging roads, accessible by 3- and 4-wheel ATVs will get you even further in. As with any wilderness travel, the further you‘re willing to go in, the more wildlife and fewer humans you’ll see.
Accommodations are primitive, if you’re on a budget. But primitive is a relative term. Our camp is owned by the Dumoine Rod and Hunt Club and includes a gas fridge. 3-burner stove, bunk beds, and a screened porch looking out across the lake. We were delighted to find a fine folding card table and folding chairs where we wiled away non-fishing-hours playing cards. Having spent enough rainy nights in our youth stuck in a tent trying to heat water to make rhaman noodles soft, we were living large. The little tricks we’ve learned over the years to maximize comfort make staying at Camp Cullen as comfortable as the Ritz. And the Ritz can’t touch the view …or the sounds of owls and loons in the short solstice night.
Part of the allure of wilderness camping is the richness of life, even in a place with a growing season of about 60 days. On the final mile in we spotted a large snapping turtle laying eggs in the road sand by a beaver pond. That evening, as we fished our own Lake Cullen, we were shadowed by a beaver whose lodge was just around the corner from ours. A black bear sighting, wolf prints in the mud, watching a loon grab the trout one of us had just released (apparently he hadn’t fully recovered) were other wilderness encounters we won’t soon forget.
The bugs of Quebec deserve more than a footnote. Bug spray isn’t enough, though the Native Americans’ use of bear grease was the best they had. Full head-nets are a must, and a sleeping canopy net can make the difference between a good night’s sleep and a bad one.
A good, but fairly typical day was our third. We began with a delicious hot breakfast then paddled our boats to the landing where the truck was parked. We headed to Lake Benwah, which has only native trout and is closed after a certain number are taken. We caught and kept three fine native brook trout from this mile long lake. After Benwah, we explored two other lakes known for large pike, but were skunked. Back at camp by mid-afternoon, Peter made a fire to fry our fish, and I went for a swim. About halfway to my island destination two loons came in for a close look at the splashy, noisy swimmer on their lake. Later, washing down campfire trout on crackers with a cold Canadian beer while waiting for our evening fish, I wrote in my journal.
My hardest decision for the day still vexed me: would I go with a gold Phoebe, or silver Kastmaster against the pike that night?
Here's a video slideshow of my trip, enjoy!
I’ve always had people tell me about the perks of taking Latin; their eyes widen, they look about as if to make sure that no one is watching, and tell me that it’s going to boost my SAT vocabulary score, look great for college, and help me save helpless baby seals from vicious predators or something like that. Well, I guess they won in the end, because I took Latin for 6 years. I’m not sure I’ve really seen the benefits they promised (the only question I got wrong on the SATs was a vocabulary question), but I LOVED it. I loved reading Roman poetry, being able to translate pretentious Latin mottoes on public buildings, and being able to speak the language (even though that’s a useless skill).
However, one of the AWESOME things about taking Latin that long was that I got to go on a trip to Italy with my AP Latin class two years ago, hands down the most incredible trip I’ve ever taken. So I thought I’d share some of it with you. The trip was 12 days long and I don’t think I could fit everything into a bloated novel, so I’ll just cover my top five favorite parts.
We landed in Naples after a sleepless red-eye flight from a layover in France (the international Parisian airport is about the nastiest airport to travel through I’ve ever seen. Avoid it at all costs, unless you enjoy smelly carpeting that looks like it belongs in a 1970s movie theater and above-100 degree temperatures INSIDE when it’s 75 degrees outdoors). Despite our somewhat rough night, we all felt awake as we drove through Naples. The villas were gorgeous and looked exactly as you’re picturing them now. Our first stop was the famed ‘Solfatara’.
For those of you unfamiliar with the locale, these are massive sulfur pits that spew noxious gas into the air. It may sound like an odd place to start, but the Italians have long claimed that breathing the sulfur-laden air provide health benefits unavailable elsewhere. Not to mention that even the pits themselves were beautiful to look at. There’s also a small café near the pits, where we stopped for our first taste of Italian food. This is not a food blog so I won’t write about how amazing the food was, except that I just did… oops.
After Naples, we stopped at Sorrento, a more touristy resort town in Southern Italy. Despite its touristy feel, Sorrento puts Miami Beach to shame. If you’ll direct your attention to your left, you’ll notice the white sand beaches and the cliffs overlooking them. I’m personally glad I don’t live in Sorrento; if I did, I wouldn’t have any motivation to do anything except sit and watch the sea all day. Sorrento’s nightlife is almost as cool; at night, the town lights up and comes to life. Street vendors haggle loudly under the soft yellow glow of streetlights, nightclubs playing techno music can be heard from the sidewalks, and the good people of Sorrento all go outside to enjoy the crisp night air and the social scene. Our Latin teacher, who knows Sorrento well, took five of us down a labyrinthine system of alleyways to what must have been the best gelato shop we visited during the entire trip. If you find yourself in Sorrento, go out at night and explore. The surface is just the beginning.
- Sorrento
We traveled from place to place by bus, which meant lots of driving time, but I loved it. Our bus had tables, so we played card games, slept, and if we got bored, watched the picturesque Campania countryside roll by.
- Chess Game with Former President of Harvard Chess Club (He Won)
One of the stops we made was to Pompeii, which was awesome for several reasons. Reason the first is that we used the Cambridge Latin course textbooks, which begin in Pompeii. Another is that Mt. Vesuvius (which we climbed, but that’s another blog post) perfectly preserved the town when in erupted. Having been excavated by archaeologists, Pompeii is still intact, just as it was for the Romans almost two millennia ago. If you’re taking a trip to Italy, spend some time in Pompeii; it will really give you a feeling for what Roman life was like.
- Pompeii Just Before Lunch
A few days later we reached my favorite place: Roma! Rome is a spectacular city that has many attractions you can read about on other websites. I’m going to tell you what I loved about it. My favorite part was the balance between the past and the present. You walk through a cosmopolitan urban environment and suddenly spot ruins from the first century right in the middle of the block. It’s like someone sprinkled parts of the Roman civilization onto a modern city. If you choose to visit Italy without experiencing Rome, shame on you. One recommendation I would make for Rome though… buy a traveler’s purse that you can wear under your shirt. One of the most popular tourist destinations in the world naturally showcases some of the most talented pickpockets on the planet. I found it kind of funny almost. There are signs that say ‘Beware pickpockets’, but the thief are clever enough to stand right by the signs. People see the signs and immediately check their purses/wallets to make sure they’re still there. Of course, they just showed the thief exactly where their valuables are… and the pickpocket will follow them. I consider myself reasonably savvy when it comes to keeping money safe, but I almost got pick pocketed walking down a crowded alley with a group of friends. Fortunately, I had my guard up and the thieves trying to steal from me did not escape my notice.
- Waiting Outside of Our Hotel in Rome
- A Deliciously Stereotypical Photo
Our last stop on the trip was Venice, which is exactly as beautiful and cultured as all the cliché romance movies make it seem. The shopping is incredible (city of merchants and all that), but I loved the restaurants and the music. One of my future life goals is to go back and hear a different concert each night for a week (I’m a huge Vivaldi fan). If you enjoy walking, cities in the water, good spectacular food, glass blowing, and classical music, please make Venice a stop on your trip.
- A Huge Bug I Found Outside the Hotel. I Named Him Henry
- Gondola Ride
I hope you’ve enjoyed this entry; I know I enjoyed the trip more than my feeble words here can hope to convey. Arrivederci!
