Baffin Island to the Everglades
Another successful Quiet Water Symposium wrapped up. I get a wee bit taaaaared of wo-manning a booth after a while and I wasn’t all that interested in walking around to look at the other exhibits. Been there done that and I am a terrible schmoozer who doesn’t like to collect swag. (Disclaimer: I was one of something like *8* people helping run our booth today so I was NEVER ALONE for more than a few minutes!)
Today, I broke it up by actually attending a couple of presentations. I am usually a bit reticent about those. I don’t like to sit and there are a lot of topics that aren’t all that interesting to me, like safety precautions for wilderness trips and tick prevention, etc. Those are all important topics and I’m sure the presenters are wonderful but…
But then I saw that there was one on hiking and kayaking/canoeing on Baffin Island. I have never been to Baffin Island. I doubt that I will ever go to Baffin Island. I will NEVER hike in the remote netherlands of Baffin Island ALONE. Like the presenter did. A small Amazon Woman who teaches art to children somewhere in Indiana in her regular life.
It was absolutely fascinating. The scenery was soooooo much different than our scenery here in the Great Lake State. No trees, for one thing. I knew there wouldn’t be any trees but it is so hard for me to visualize that without seeing pictures.
I enjoyed that presentation so much that I went to another one, kayaking/canoeing the Everglades. Heck, I’ve already been to Baffin Island today, I may as well go the other direction. I have never been to the Everglades. I may well go to the Everglades some time. I may even KAYAK in the Everglades. I will NEVER kayak for seven straight days in the Everglades, camping in what few small dry spaces the mangroves have to offer or on chickees built where there is no dry land at all. Like the small Amazon Woman presenter did. Albeit not alone.
Knock on wood, I have made my peace with our sorta sketchy lodgings, although I much prefer the Kellogg Center (alas, they had no rooms by the time we tried to make reservations). We’ll be outta here in the morning for a slow ride home to the Planet Ann Arbor on the back roads and the young man who runs the desk is excited about his upcoming summer internship at the yooperland’s Seney Wildlife Refuge. Not your typical Norman Bates at least.
March 3rd, 2018 at 11:15 pm
I’m glad he doesn’t remind you of Norman Bates! That would be terrifying. I would have enjoyed those presentations too, even if I had no desire or intention to emulate the presenter. I would like to visit the Everglades, but I doubt that it will happen.
March 4th, 2018 at 8:50 am
We saw one kayak tour leaving the road access as we drove through the Everglades. When I saw a map of the areas accessible only for kayaks, I thought of you and Bill.
(Mostly Bill, for the longer, camping trips, but for the day trips, such as the one we saw, you’d definitely rock it.)