I learned a lot of new things from our epic long weekend in the U.P. For example, I learned that while I may be an XL, maybe even an XXL in Chicago, I’m more like a Wisconsin large (Mars Cheese Shop T-shirt selection). But mostly I re-learned that nature is good and so are most people. Like there was this couple in the camper who saw Corey and I make coffee in the rain and insisted we finish doing so under their awning.  Or the other older couple who set us right on our hiking plans and also welcomed Corey inside their camper so that she could check out their kitchen (come to think of it, could they have really been trying to kidnap her?). No politics were discussed, but this was all in a part of the country where Trump flags outnumbered Harris signs 2 to 1. We like to think these folks were the exception, but sometimes their red MAGA hats gave away their point of view.

Really though, should we be surprised that nice people sometimes support bad politicians? My bet is that there were lots of nice people who  attended the Nazi rallies. I can imagine them packing up their families, stopping to have a lovely picnic at the banks of the Spree River then saluting the fuhrer as he drove by. Sorry if this offends you, but I think Vance got it right when he called Trump “America’s Hitler.” Don’t believe us? Just take one second to really listen to what the mad man has to say about immigrants. And what he plans on doing to cleanse America. It’s a scary thing our country is flirting with.

Maybe everything has actually already happened and we are all living through some Schroeder’s cat moment ahead of the election. If so then I like to think that everything came out OK. The right person won and we as a nation moved on. And if that isn’t how it turned out, well then Corey and I will always have the Northern Lights under a U.P. sky in October.

The calm and gentle seeming border agent lost his patience with us after we remembered a few more prohibited items (I get you can’t bring back fruit, but an egg too?). So we found ourselves in a waiting room pressed by an incredibly nice and personable agent. She was just so gosh darn sweet. In-between questions she mentioned her own future road trip. And for each question asked we had an answer. Usually it was Corey who started the answer with me then clarifying before Corey interrupted again to add just a little more detail. What did we see in Canada? Oh let us tell you. And then she left us to search our car. When she came back we remembered one more item to declare (seeds from Butchart Garden packaged, incorrectly it turns out, to avoid being seized by the government). The final hurdle was me opening up the rooftop cab. She didn’t exactly praise us for our packing prowess, but I can tell she was impressed.

Border crossings aside, it was incredibly nice being back in Canada. We love Canada despite its tendency to exaggerate (big difference between 110 KPH and 110 MPH). This exaggeration was especially evident in pricing with a Canadian dollar now worth about 72 cents. It is quite sobering to know now that my $20 bison burger was, in fact, $20.

We are back. Right now in Grand Rapids, MN. Another tiny house tomorrow and then four days with Henna in St. Paul. Home is wherever the three of us are so this summer it will be there.

The bottom fell out at Waterton. It was a frosted mug. Corey and I were celebrating our last night in the park when suddenly the frosted mug lost its bottom and an entire beer spilled on my lap. The waiter did not seem to care. His manager did not care. Not even a little. I asked to speak to him and only did so after the waiter told me that the best they could do was not charge me for the beer (the one on my lap) so long as I ordered another one. I may have used foul language. I may have lost my temper. Five plus weeks on the road and this was the first time I did so.

We were also almost eaten by a bear. Or at least we were within a few feet of one on the Bertha Lake Trail. Bad service and carnivores aside, our stay at Waterton Lakes Park has been a good one. Lots of memories here. Our first one was in 1999 when we stumbled upon the park on our first epic summer trip. Then there was the time with little Henna. And in 2016 when I assured many people Trump would never be elected. Then in 2019 after the big fire which nearly wiped out the Town Site. For this trip it was finding out Biden had dropped out just before entering the park and then speculating on his possible replacement that night with a lovely couple from Edmonton. It was also listening to several Albertans complain about having to pay the full fee to enter their park. Meanwhile the smoke blew in from BC but only got bad on our last night which is tonight (a few stars are out but the smoke is getting thick).

It’s windy too. Strong hot gusts that shake our tent. They will blow us out of here tomorrow and then likely chase us across Canada all the way down to Minnesota and then home. We miss the trip already but are excited to be coming home.

You probably know about the Americano but the Canadiano? Shot of espresso in a cup of coffee. They don’t play up here in the north.

They don’t serve a Canadiano over at Red’s. The coffee menu is actually quite tight but they make up for it in tasty pastries, breads and made to order sandwiches. It follows quite well a morning soak at the Ainsworth Hot Springs/gentle ferry ride over a calm lake.

We spent three glorious nights outside of Nelson. On the first night there was a distant storm. A few lightning bolts, some low rumbles and a little drizzle. The next morning we saw the smoke. White clouds extending straight up from the earth. Within hours the clouds flattened. Everything was contained around Nelson rather quickly but the smoke lingered within the valley and was especially thick on the lake. There was more smoke heading into Cranbrook and then less so at Fernie (where we are now) until the night when it began filling in the spaces between the peeks. Infernos rage more in the interior. This smoke will likely soon blanket most of BC and then follow us east as we make our way home. We wish for nothing more than the safety of those near the flames.

Right Wing Noel looked happy. It wasn’t exactly like looking into a mirror but he had a hat, was probably in his early fifties and wore his gray beard well. Right Wing Noel wore a t-shirt listing what I assumed are his favorite attributes. Conservative. Meat Eater. Gun Owner. At the top of the list though was “Unvaccinated.” Really? This is what we have come down to. A good looking older man is proud, crazy proud (top of his list!), of his higher chance of catching not just COVID but also more traditional stuff like shingles and the flu. He was also Canadian. Shirt had a large Maple leaf on the side. Was surprised by that too.

While swimming at Lake Osoyoos a bald eagle flew low and heavy just a few feet over my head, its talons gripping a large trout. The day before we spied a moose and her calf standing by the side of the road. They waited until we made a full stop before quickly crossing in front of us. Meanwhile back at home the political system is quickly unraveling with the ex-president, a man who has frequently rallied his followers to violence (his behavior on January 6, his gleeful sharing of images featuring a bloody Joe Biden and his celebration of a pro-Biden campaign bus being forced off the road in Texas are the first three examples that come to mind) inches away from being assassinated. That is horrible. It should never happen anywhere let alone in America.

We are now at the southern end of the Okanagan Valley, just a few miles north of the US border. The valley is roughly one hundred twenty miles long and only twelve miles long with Highway 97 running up and down it’s border. Over a hundred degrees during the day. Nothing unusual about that either. It’s Canada’s desert but with what seems to be unlimited irrigation (even the lawns are green ) it produces an incredible amount of fruits and berries with the latter turned into delicious wine. So many wineries. Some fancy. Some less so. Expensive but, with the strong US dollar (or maybe it’s the weak Canadian dollar) it’s not too bad. And it’s a dry heat where the shade and the water make it all better.

It’s been a glorious month on the road with at least a couple more weeks to go. And while Canada is a very nice place to be, it isn’t quite home. Home is our siblings, parents and grandmother plus friends and neighbors whom we all miss dearly. It is also sometimes politics, arguments and tempers. We hate to admit it, but we miss that too.

Those darn seals kept us awake again last night. They make their appearance around twilight and then, as the sea darkens to a shadow, they begin snorting, flattening the water with their fins and otherwise horsing around. Practically no point in even trying to get to sleep. And does the campground care? Ha! They claim there is nothing they can do. They could though post a few signs, right? I know not every seal can read but it still might make a difference.

We enjoyed both islands but liked Mayne just a bit more. Mayne is just so islandy (tiny, few services, everyone knows everyone and if you spend more than a day there they will know you too). Unlike the mega metropolis of Spring Island (population 10,000 with at least two restaurants /bars that stay open past 8 PM), Mayne has just a thousand residents, two small grocery stores, two restaurants plus an incredibly good take out pizza place and a brewery that stays open to six but only during the “busy” summer season.

Even Gilligan eventually left the island. And sadly so will we. In a little bit. We are waiting now in a clean room with views of the bay, fresh water and a place to charge one’s phone. For one used to Chicago’s dysfunctional CTA it all seems so magical. So much so that one can excuse a few unruly seals.

Shirley Delicious is that and a lot more. And they are friendly too; nice people who will laugh at your jokes and talk a bit even while the line builds up behind you. And no one in that line even seems to care. This is the West Coast. People are just happy to be; at beaches where they watch the waves for whales while their kids jump in ice cold water. Or in the rain forest where serious backpackers walk past couples carrying folding chairs. It is expensive to live here but not to visit and even if some of the parking lots fill the beaches never do. There is everything and nothing to do all at once.

Locals call it The Rock. And like Alcatraz, Vancouver Island is surrounded by water. That’s why they call it an island. And just like Alcatraz, Vancouver Island is an amazingly gentle and beautiful place the locals call paradise. OK, Vancouver Island is nothing like Alcatraz. But locals do call it The Rock.

Once upon a time there were three brothers. Albert, Harry and Carl. Harry stayed in Sweden. Carl laid bricks in Chicago and Albert was a lumberjack who worked his way to Vancouver Island. And then decades later two of Albert and Carl’s grandchildren along with their special friends Carmen and Noel hiked a pretty route in Sooke. They saw some whales way off in the distance and then had pints at a local pub. Later they played Cribbage and Noel was disappointed with how that went. And they had a Canadian Mediterranean dinner (fries smothered in tabouli salad- it was good). One of the grandchildren, I won’t say which, came to the party with a massive freshly caught Salmon filet caught on a fishing trip paid for by a lucky Canadian lottery ticket. The other grandchild presented a used paper back book. So it was an even trade.

Yeah it was a pretty awesome day. And the next was good too. Butchart Garden in the morning then Beacon Hill Park in the afternoon. That plus a mug up at a local coffee shop and some wandering around downtown Victoria makes for a pretty fun day. Life on The Rock is good.

I’ll tell you one thing that’s big. It’s our laundry bag. Way bigger now than either one of our two duffle bags. Actually bigger than both duffle bags combined which doesn’t seem right. Last night I bought some underwear at Walmart just so we could make it to tonight’s Airbnb. It comes with a washer and dryer. Corey had to do the same last week a few days before Park City.

A tiny house is not for everyone. After a few days it was not really for me either although the ladder was not as difficult as I had imagined it to be. The toilet though was annoying; had two settings, one for going one and the other for doing a number two. That can be a lot to remember in the middle of the night.

The ultimate big thing of course is the ocean. Hard to top that one. Drive in any direction and eventually the ocean stops you. It’s that limit we search out; that moment when the earth says you can do no more. In a little bit we will drive onto a boat which will then ferry us to a new mysterious land called Canada. Few have ever gone this far north. Those that have returned have been driven mad with visions of hockey, a currency slightly less valuable than our own and a weird tendency to say “right on.” It’s “aboot” time we made it back.