Black and White and GREEN all over!

We're back from our weekend road trip! All the fresh air and long hours in the Jeep have tired us out, but we had a lot of fun. The trees were fully leafed-out in this part of Wisconsin, lilacs were in full bloom - so sweet - and everything was GREEN! The weather was warm and humid and we even had a night of spectacular thunderstorms with quite the light show.

My ten-year-old niece joined us for part of the journey and was glued to Charlie for the whole weekend. It's pure joy to watch a little girl with a dog. And Charlie, of course, was so happy to have someone to throw her ball, rub her belly, scratch her ears, and receive her endless kisses. Adorable.

The weekend was filled with family time, sitting on quiet hillsides, planting flowers, watching birds and deer, enjoying the hazy sunset while grilling food. Laughter drifted across the tiny valleys as we watched Charlie do acrobatics while chasing her ball. The stormy night began with bedtime ghost stories and ended with two girls of very different ages lying in bed and talking late into the night, reminiscent of being at camp.

I did not spend the weekend with rigorous trail walks or explorations, but instead filled my heart with family.

Have fun.

Take care of yourself.

Be good to others.

 

Road Trip! Driftless Area

Charlie and I are heading out on a road trip tomorrow! We'll be traveling down to the Driftless Area of Wisconsin... that would be the southwest corner of the state. This is probably my most favorite part of the state - rolling hills dotted with cows, ancient oak trees, highways cut through limestone rock, meandering streams and the high bluffs along the Mississippi River. Everything is scenic and nostalgic to me in this place.

We'll have a great time romping through wide open fields and woods, splashing through spring-fed streams and absorbing the energy of nature. Plus, Charlie will get to play with her friend, BB - a black lab mix who is dumber than a rock but such a sweet boy. He exudes the patience of a saint while Charlie torments him in her smart-ass way. It's a joy to watch these two very different dogs interact with such playfulness that brings smiles and laughter to everyone in the house.

Drunk Spider Syndrome

Last week at work, I was on the phone with the pest control guy who was reviewing our pesticide schedule for the year. He explained that we shouldn't see any bugs in the office building since they have been treating the outside on a regular basis and if anything, we might encounter a spider appearing to be "drunk" while walking across the floor. As he was telling me of this drunk-spider syndrome, I couldn't help but notice that he sounded like what I imagine a drunk spider might if it could talk. Had this man been around pesticides too much? Were the chemicals beginning to affect his speech?

This got me thinking about workplace hazards in general and how many of our jobs are slowly killing us. I've read reports indicating that office workers who sit for most of the day shorten their lives by years... just by SITTING. I remember back to my first "real" office job where my supervisor had worked for 35 years. Her butt looked as if it had taken on the shape of her chair and I began to mentally label this infliction as "chair butt." I vowed to never get "chair butt" myself and took action to make sure I got regular exercise. Almost twenty years later, I am proud to say I have remained free of "chair butt" but I am often worried what the actual act of sitting all day is doing to me. Am I shortening my life by working in a cubicle?

Hiking is an important part of my life and I would rather be hiking than anything else. I sit in my office and stare out the window wondering how much longer I can take this job. I daydream about what else I could be doing. I mentally write out my business plan for creating a hiking guide service where I can enjoy being on the trail while helping other people get out and enjoy nature. I research trails that I want to explore and to learn about wilderness first aid and am slowly working up my courage to take action on this dream.

Part of my drive to put this dream into action has to do with a family member's diagnosis of esophageal cancer last week, an uncommon and typically untreatable disease. I can't help but wonder if the lifetime spent working in the tool and die industry, breathing metal dust and fumes, contributed to this diagnosis.

I don't want my job to kill me, especially since I have lost the passion for this job. It's time to seize the day and turn dreams into realities. I don't want to sell my precious days, weeks, and years to an employer. I want to earn my living doing what I love while creating unique, enjoyable experiences that await my future clients.

This blog began as a fun way to document adventures with my dog. Then the wheels began to turn in my mind and the project turned into a dream. The dream has become a goal. Now it's my turn to make the goal a reality.

Ready, set, go hiking!

Ice Age Trail - Grandfather Falls, Part 2

I took my own advice and headed into the woods this weekend. I sat on a rock, listened to the wind in the tree branches along with the roar of the nearby falls, and let nature center my spirit. The terrain was all new to me since the last time I was here there was 2 feet of snow covering everything. Rocks, tree roots and leaf debris, combined with dampness from the recent snow-melt and rains made traversing the narrow trail difficult in some areas.

We quickly covered the previously hiked section of trail and were excited to explore the next section above the dam at Grandfather Falls. Having studied the map and trail description from the Ice Age Trail Companion Guide, I was better equipped with the knowledge of where to go. After reaching the dam and crossing the parking lot, I had a little trouble figuring out where the trail was, and then I spotted a narrow stone staircase.

We walked through a brief wooded area and out into the open fields of the hydroelectric plant. This area is immersed in history - all the way back to the Ice Age - and I paused to absorb it all. The logging industry has been a huge part of this landscape dating back to the late 1800's and it's also the site of the Wisconsin Conservation Corps Camp McCord from the 1930's. I was most looking forward to seeing the wood-banded pipelines that carry water down hundreds of yards from a man-made reservoir upriver. The Ice Age Trail Companion Guide describes the "fascinating tubular fountain effect" made by hundreds of small leaks occurring at knotholes in the wood. Amazingly, wood was used for these pipelines because it doesn't corrode or rot under the constant water pressure. I was completely in awe; these tubes were MUCH larger than I had imagined! 

Next up were the 1.8-billion-year-old boulders at Grandfather Falls. If you sit on one of these rocks and think about how old it is, you really begin to appreciate the grandness around you. And also how "small" your lifetime is in comparison. It's a humbling experience.

The trail became quite challenging from this point on. Tree roots wove themselves around the rocks and at times, the rocks and boulders took over the trail so much that I needed to find the yellow rectangles on trees to make sure I was still on the trail.

The trail is beautiful and very remote. I felt like I was the only one out there, although I did pass fisherman along the shore a few times. It's difficult to hear much of anything except the falls roaring alongside the trail. We experienced just about every type of weather on this day and I was grateful to be wearing my winter coat and earmuffs. One minute there would be smurf-blue skies with fluffy white clouds, then with no warning the skies would turn steel-gray with 40 mile-per-hour wind gusts. There would be sunshine one minute, and then it would start snowing. All I can say is, welcome to Wisconsin! And be prepared for any weather conditions on the trail.

The landscape and rock formations are truly magical. I wanted to continue on, but Charlie was showing signs of crabbiness due to being overly tired, so we headed back. I'm looking forward to hiking this trail and the next segment, Turtle Rock Segment, without my dog along. While I know the exercise and fresh air are good for her, I don't get to fully relax when I'm worried about bear and wolves attacking her. Plus, she nearly scared the shit out of me when she got too close to the falls where I thought she might decide to go for a swim. Next time will be just for me.

Amazingly, on our way back, we ran into the same man that we met the first time we hiked the trail back in February. I told him I'd taken his advice and hiked up past the dam where he had told me the landscape was just beautiful. He had hoped that the spring wildflowers would be in bloom this weekend, as they have been on past Mother's Day weekends, but the late winter has delayed them. He recommended coming back in a couple of weeks to see the flowers. I'm pretty sure I will.

Dear Dudley.... Love, Charlie

Follow the weekly pen-pal letters between Charlie and Dudley as they discuss life as dogs. Dudley lives in Massachusetts with his owner, Sarah Kilgallon, who leads dogs on wilderness trail hikes through pristine conservation land. You can view her blog at:  http://trail-dogs.com/blog

To view Dudley's letter to Charlie this week, click here. Charlie's response is below.  Enjoy!