Dieter.us

I realized last week I needed to drive more or I'll never make it out west. This country is so huge and I hate driving! I achieved 1,500 miles this week so 2,450 in total. Right now I am in "mini-soda" on the western shore of Lake Superior. This week I drove to Buffalo, Niagara Falls then through Canada along the north shore of Lake Erie into Michigan then up along the shore of Lake Michigan across the lakes onto Michigan's northern peninsula. Then headed west along Lake Superior into Wisconsin and finally Minnesota. Tomorrow, I will leave the lakes for good. Main highlights of the week were of course the shorelines of the lakes with their lighthouses and waterfalls, but it was also very interesting to see the landscape change from the farmlands of Ontario and Michigan to the endless forest of northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. These forests look exactly like in Germany and southern Scandinavia. No wonder these folks settled here. However, I'm sure the

This about my first week (mile 0 to 950) from home to Lake Erie. I stayed all days on campgrounds in state or national parks, mostly getting there in the late afternoon to have time to chill, fix dinner and have a campfire.  Day 1, 8/17: Raleigh to Hyco Lake Drove one hour to a friends lake house where a group of us were swimming and drinking all day... In the evening we grouped for a couple of hours around a campfire, but it seemed most of us were pretty exhausted. It was a very warm, humid night in the van.  Day 2, 8/18: Hyco Lake to Shenandoah NP Went swimming for 30 min in the lake, then sausages and salmon bagel for breakfast. For desert mimosas. Farewell from my friends at around 10 AM. Bought groceries in Lynchburg, Virgina, then drove right past rental house we stayed in at hiking Shenandoah trip in July. Almost stopped at Blue Mist brewery. Hiked up Bearface Mountain, then continued in Shenandoah NP to Big Meadows Campground. Got there at 4:30 PM. Thunderstorms were approach