Thanks Norriene and Big Jim for the t shirt!
No truer words have ever been printed.
They know me well.

August 21, 2020 - Friday morning

61 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It's a power write this morning as we're leaving in a bit for the ghost town of Redridge, Michigan, located up on the shores of Lake Superior. Sister-in-law, Debbie's, mother and family have a cabin and we've been invited to join them. We'll stay the day before returning home this evening.

Of course, what fun would it be to romp on the shores of Lake Superior without Hambone? We picked him up last evening so he might enjoy today.

Yesterday was spent playing, literally playing. I ordered an ultralight one person tent last winter and had set it up only once. Yesterday, with Sargie's help, I took the time to see how it really worked, the best tensioning, and so forth.

It's strictly a one person tent with a vestibule on each side for keeping a pack out of the weather or even cooking under cover.

What I hope will be my shelter for six months while hiking the Appalachian Trail has a bathtub floor, complete bug netting, and weighs only 22 ounces. Rather than conventional tent poles, it utilizes hiker poles, something that I'll be using anyway.

Other than its weight and roominess, what I like most is that I can take the tent down without getting the interior wet, something I'll definitely appreciate during multiple rainy or snowy days. Nothing worse than being cold and trying to sleep in a damp or wet sleeping bag or quilt.

I was in the hiker mood so I decided to break out my new pack, also a lightweight model, and become familiar with all the pockets, straps, adjustors, levelers, and other features. It weighs just two pounds, but should suffice as I want to keep my total pack weight to fifteen pounds or less before food and water.

I'll begin carrying the pack (with some weight included) on my daily hikes to break it and me in for the 2,200 mile hike from Georgia to Maine beginning in February of 2022.

We're concerned about little Makenna, our youngest granddaughter. Born two months prematurely and yet to come home from the hospital, she was transported by ambulance yesterday from Green Bay to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee. Seems she's lost some weight, has high blood pressure, and part of her heart isn't quite right.

Prayers are appreciated for Makenna and her family.

OK, it's about time to awaken Hambone from his early morning slumber and think about heading north to Lake Superior. The day's to be hot and sunny with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. Other than the storms, it sounds like a perfect day to frolic and play in the sand and water.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sargie's cutting up a juicy, sweet, ripe, watermelon