Aspiring to Travel

I am the first to admit that travel is a privilege and when we have the opportunity, it should not be abused or wasted. Early on we were destination travelers, rushing from one place to another, squeezing in as many destinations as we could in the time available. With retirement and relatively good health, have become wanderers, as I have written about many times before. But one aspect of wandering has only become clear in the last few days. We now travel aspirationally!

I first learned to appreciate aspiration during my tenure as Pastor of First Christian Church in Plattsburg, MO. I met a gentle lady named Mary Ellen Dedman who, through her book on the history of the congregation, helped me to understand the power of aspirations to give shape and substance to our life’s journey. Her book was called A Spire to God. The copy she signed and gave to me remains in my library, 43 years later. To aspire was to commit to living into our highest self, knowing that we would not always live up to that self. Aspirational living brings breath to the clay and depth to the soul’s experience of the world around us. It opens our hearts, minds, and senses to the opportunities for the good life that abound in creation. Thank you, Mary Ellen. You have enriched my life in immeasurable ways, especially when I am on the road. 

 

This week we aspired to live the good life in Upper Wisconsin and Michigan.

Kewaunee RV & Campground

Our week began on the doorstep of Door Peninsula in Kewaunee, WI. This small town began as a Potawatomi village in the 1600s. The French Jesuit, Jacques Marquette, celebrated All Saint’s Day with the  people of this village in 1674. Later French explorers and fur traders would make the village a regular stop in their travels along the Great Lakes. In the 1700s, the Potawatomi abandoned the village, and the Menominee people claimed the area. They named it after a local duck, the Kewaneh. The French established a trading post but when the US purchased the land from the tribe in 1831, the native people moved on, and Anglo settlers began moving in through rumors of gold. When they arrived, they did not find gold, but they did find abundant timber and a natural harbor. Czech and German immigrants moved in throughout the 19^th century. Today, tourism dominates the peninsula, but this small town offers a quiet respite from the traffic and crowds farther north.

Lake Michigan at Egg Harbor

On Saturday we drove the scenic loop through Door County along HWYs 57 and 42. Apart from a few towns crowded with vacationing young families, the drive was rather uneventful. I may have aspired to grand vistas and rich history, but what we ended up with was a nice drive to the tip of the peninsula and back. It was a lovely day, and we spotted a few places we will check out in the next few days. Here are a few pictures of the Sturgeon Bay Canal Light, the Sturgeon Bay Lighthouse, and a walk through the forest at Murphy County Park south of Egg Harbor. It may have not been what we expected, but it was worth the drive.

Here are some pictures from Sturgeon Bay. 

A Wayside on HWY 57

Lake Michigan

Downtown Sturgeon Bay

The Sturgeon Bay Canal Light

Coast Guard Station at Sturgeon Bay

The Sturgeon Bay Canal Lighthouse

The walkway to the Lighthouse

 Here are some shots from the forest at Murphy County Park.

Green Bay from the Overlook

Forest Trail

 

After fighting crowds on the Peninsula, we chose to spend a quiet Sunday in Kewaunee. We went to the harbor and toured the WWII Tug Ludington. This tugboat ferried ammunition barges across the English Channel during the Normandy Invasion. It is now on display as a Corps of Engineers Tug in the harbor. Here are a few picks of the tug.

Tug Ludington

The Galley fed the crew of 18

The Mess

Engine Room

Engineers Seat

Boilers

The Tow Line and Wench

Forward Engine Room

One of two generators

The View from the Engine Room

Mates Bunk

The Head

Officer Country

Captain's Cabin

The Helm

Corps of Engineers Logo

The hallway

Marlene going atop

A Mighty Tug with a Valiant History

The Kewaunee Breakwater

We then walked out to the end of the breakwater to see the Kewaunee Lighthouse. When we reached the lighthouse, we knew that it was not scheduled to be open. But it was a nice day and we needed the exercise. As I walked up the steps to look inside, the door opened and a couple of volunteers from the Historical Society were there preparing to open it next weekend. They invited us in and we were able to see the interior. It was built in 1911 to serve a busy harbor. In 1931, the structure was damaged when an Auto Ferry rammed the dock. The Tower was removed and reconstructed in the Port of Chicago. The present tower we built and continues to serve today. It was automated in 1981 so the machines and keepers were reassigned to other lighthouses. A local historical society is restoring it as time and money allow. We enjoyed visiting with the volunteers, a young couple who are also involved in much of the restoration work. Their passion for history and Kewaunee was infectious. Thanks for your hospitality. Our aspirations for Kewaunee Harbor were fulfilled in ways we could not have imagined earlier in the day. 

The Lighthouse

Channel Marker

Interior of Gutted Lighthouse

Upstairs Cabin

Former Coast Guard Lifeboat Station

 

For our final day on the Peninsula, we decided to return to Door County hoping the weekend crowds had left the area. For the most part, they had.  We were able to return and walk The Ridges Sanctuary in Bailey’s Harbor and then stop by a Cherry Orchard for a wine tasting and a little shopping. 

 

Wood Lily

The Ridges Sanctuary is a beautiful collection of hiking trails set among the ridges of sand that have built up along the lakeshore over the 1,100 years or so. The ridges and swales provide space for a boreal forest that benefits from the moist Southern breezes. This is a unique habitat with a variety of flora and fauna. It includes the Hidden Brook Boardwalk, The Baileys Harbor Range Lights, and a small Nature Center. Here are a few pictures of our afternoon at the Sanctuary.

Creek with Tannin Colored Water and Bed

Lakeside Range Finder to Line up for harbor with Inner Range Finder

Inner Range Finder with light in upper window.

A Well camouflaged critter

No fear

Striking a nice pose

Prairie Lily

Reindeer Lichen

A Swale Between the Ridges

Orange Hawkweed

Thistle

Pond in the Swale

Painted Turtle catching some rays.

On our way back to pack up and prepare for our drive to Upper Michigan, we stopped by Lautenbach’s Cherry Orchard. We love finding cherries in season during our travels.  We spotted this orchard store during our scenic drive a couple days before. It became a mandatory stop before we left Wisconsin on Tuesday. We sampled several of their cherry candies and treats.  Then we sat down for a tasting that included wine, ciders, and ales. We purchased a sweet cherry wine called Cherry Splash. We also picked up a small bag of Dark Chocolate Cherry Pecan Clusters and Cherry Hand Pies. Sometimes, we must live a little when we aspire to joy. We must seize it when we can.

The Road to Munising

Our drive day to the Upper Peninsula arrived with clouds and occasional rain. The winds were also picking up. This made our trip to Munising, MI more of an adventure than I had wanted. The “fun” also included discovering that our site did not have a sewer connection, necessitating using the “Poop Tank”. For those unfamiliar with RV Travel, a poop tank is a holding tank on wheels that we carry with us. When our black and gray water tanks need dumping and we do not have a sewer connection, we transfer the contents to the poop tank and drag it to the dump station where we dump it. It allows us to empty the tanks without unhooking Koko from power or water. Generally, we can go 3-4 days between dumps so our five nights in Munising would require a mid-week trip to the dump station in the park. We saved this little chore as a celebration of the 4^th of July. (It seemed strangely appropriate, this year.)

To complete our “joy” for the day, Nakai needed some TLC as well. When we arrived, the keyless start did not work.  We had to override it. Then the keyless door locks would not lock or unlock. We figured the batteries needed replacing, but the fact that both keys went dead at the same time kept nagging me. We set out for the nearest Walmart in Marquette, a 45-minute drive. On the way the Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS) quit working. This felt like more than bad batteries. I turned around and headed back to the campground to gather a bit more information. After some research online, I found a temporary work around and got everything working. At some point we will need to have it checked out when we arrive at a town with a Jeep Dealership. Until then, we will keep our fingers crossed and remember the work around. Aspirations are not defeated by problems. As friend on FB reminded me, “Don’t let anything kill your joy!” Thanks, Dena, I needed that! Our aspirations are still out front, and I need to keep them in mind. Unfortunately, aspirations require a good amount of patience, as well.

From Our Seats on the Tour Boat

Wednesday dawned with sunshine and light winds. We were told that we had two full days of good weather to get out and enjoy our wandering on the South Shore of Lake Superior. We had booked a Boat Tour of Pictured Rocks National Seashore for the afternoon.  After a run to pick up some keys for Nakai’s Key Fobs we picked up some local pasties (Welsh Miner’s hand pies filled with potatoes, hamburger, and veggies). We enjoyed them in Chez Koko before heading downtown. We toured the Picture Rocks Interpretive Center and then queued up for the boat ride. The next 45 were spent standing in line to get good seats for the ride. Fortunately, there were good people to visit with and so the time passed quickly. The early arrival worked! We were the first on the boat and had our pick of the seats on the upper deck.

The next two and half hours were magical. We traveled along the shoreline and were treated with waterfalls, 200-foot cliffs, arches, and beautiful geology. I cannot do justice to them with words so I will allow the pictures to speak for themselves. Fortunately, we got back just in time. After eating supper at Lil’ Abner’s Dogpatch Cafe, we got back to Koko before a surprise shower moved overhead. We were “good tired”, unlike the day before. It had been a day that had fully lived into our aspirations. However, between the time change to Eastern Daylight Time and a full day in the sun (with wide-brimmed hat), I was ready for a good night’s sleep. This is a sure sign that it had been a very good day!

The East Pass around Grand Island

The Topaz Waterfall

Miner's Castle

Bridal Veil Falls

Pictured Rocks stained with minerals.

Twin Falls

Another Tour Boat

Caves

Lover's Leap into 3 feet of water

Castle Rock

Grand Arch with collapsed ceiling

Looking into Lake Michigan toward the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Chapel Rock

Chapel Falls

Taking the boat into the cove.

The Flower Vase

Battleship Row

Storm Clouds Brewing

Former Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse

The East Channel

Downtown Munising

July 4^th arrived on Thursday with many mixed feelings. The time change meant I woke up an hour earlier than usual. That hour was spent in a very dark place. 

 

Generally, I enjoy July 4^th but this year, my enthusiasm for celebrating was not very high. I grew up in an era when we believed that the US was in its ascendancy. But the last few years have eroded much of that optimism and replaced it with a pervasive dystopian view of the future for our country. Many people believe and act as if our best days are behind us. They are going to extreme measures to reverse the inevitable tides of history that have been lapping at our shores for the last 60 years. In the process, they are creating the very dystopia they are trying to avoid. I woke up to this gloom and it hung over me for most of the day. 

 

Amid this sadness, the book title came to mind, A Spire to God. I began chewing on the idea of aspirations and I slowly began to see our recent national journey in a different light. Even though it was poop tank day and much our national life needed to be dumped into a really large poop tank, I began to see the sunshine through the clouds. Aspiring does not mean having. It does not require completion. It only demands that we keep moving ahead, despite the headwinds.  I gave myself permission to feel crappy about our immediate future. But I must be willing to look for the rays of sunlight that break through the clouds of each day along the way.  Nor could I allow events beyond my control to steal away my enthusiasm for the aspirations that have guided our national life for 248 years. Before the day ended, we took a walk along the lake and looked for joy along the way. Here are a few of those pictures.

Orange Hawkweed

Friday dawned and the rain returned. It was the perfect day to sit back and explore the aspirations that move us forward. I spent the day pondering and writing.

 

248 years ago, the leaders of the Continental Congress adopted a resolution that they called the Declaration of Independence. This document was not fulfilled until 13 years, but it offered the reasons and rationale for independence from Great Britain. These ideas were prefaced with a clear statement of the aspirations that had led to make this decision. It began with the words we all learned in elementary school. 

 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

 

This is what they aspired to! These words began life as Thomas Jefferson’s words. But the ideas they inspired has been adopted by every generation of American’s since. 13 years later they were reframed as another Congress met to adopt The Constitution of The United States of America. 

 

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

 

Again, these were the aspirations of the people who envisioned a future for the 13 colonies. They knew that these ideas would need to take root and grow in the people themselves. They knew that they were aspirations that would not be achieved with a decade, a century, or even a millennium. They were eternal and required patience, devotion, deep commitment, and an even deeper resolve by each ensuing generation. Those 18^th Century people knew there would be setbacks, and major ideological battles to be fought. But they believed that these aspirations were immutable. And that their future would depend on our faithfulness to them, into the 19^th Century and beyond. Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying as he looked on a carved sunrise in the Convention President’s Chair, “I have often looked at that behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now I… know that it is a rising… sun.” Later, following the adoption of the text of the constitution, a Mrs. Powell asked Dr. Franklin, ‘Well, Doctor, what we have got, a republic or a monarchy?’ His reply? “A republic if you can keep it.” Do we have what it takes to keep it?

 

In 2024, we must aspire once again to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our future posterity. No one knows what the road ahead will bring. All we can know is what we bring with us for the journey. Let us load up our aspirations to fulfill the promise that our life together offers. May be carry with us generous amounts of patience, deep devotion, and commitment to the self-evident truths; that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. If we can keep our aspirations out in front of us, I do believe we will be able to keep our republic!

 

Happy Fourth of July, My Friends. May we all travel aspirationally well through the next year!

 

Bob