JAMs Jams. Pure. Real. Fresh.

Whoever said there is no such thing as a straight line in nature had never been to a karst landscape like Manitoulin Island. The island was formed by glaciers cutting through limestone and Dolomite rock and has such an interesting geology. Not that I’m a geologist by any means but I have become fascinated by rocks on this trip. In Michigan we searched for and found Petroskey stones and other fossils. We have a whole bag of rocks in the trunk to take home since there aren’t any shells on the Great Lakes. Now in Manitoulin we see these big lines cut in the rock and wonder what the hell. Kendall consults his other wife, Reddit, and learns they’re called Grikes (or grykes) and are totally natural as well as a very special geological “thing”. It literally looks like someone cut lines into the rock. The big square boulders are Clints. Again, looks like someone cut them into squares and dumped them. And then you see these vast areas of rock that look like parking lots almost. These are called...

We made it round the top of Lake Superior! Stayed in some “interesting” motels and are now back in Michigan for the weekend before returning to Canada tomorrow. Sault Ste Marie is an interesting little town whose livelihood seems to be 1000% based on the existence of the locks here that lower boats from Lake Superior to Lake Huron. We are going on a tour this afternoon so will learn more. From our little Airbnb you can actually see the river. Too bad there isn’t a front porch from which to observe. In Ontario we discovered delicious apple fritters - at a gas station. One of my favorite things because it reminds me of my mom who also loved them. We also saw some beautiful waterfalls and amazing scenery, although the haze from the wildfires in Manitoba put a damper on the views. We went to the beach at a state park and were the only ones on the entire beach, which to dogs just loved! After SSM, we are off to Manitoulin Island to swim and play in Lake Huron. Wednesday we head east toward...

We have been traveling for 4 weeks tomorrow and are on stop #9 of the journey. Decided we needed a little break from lake cabins so staying in hotels or chalets this week. Tonight we are in Lutsen MN at a ski condo. Time for the doggos to learn some manners for civilization! We are off to Canada tomorrow, for stops 10-13 and will be back in the US Friday for a weekend watching ships in Sault Ste Marie. By now I can write a literal book on what an Airbnb listing says/shows vs what it is - and I now understand why ours was booked all the time😂 This was the “full bathroom” at our last place. I mean they didn’t lie. It was a full bathroom. In the damn utility closet🤦‍♀️ That little cabin had more pipes than our 6000sf house! To be fair the water here is like from another planet because there are so many minerals in the earth and we did appreciate the treated water. Yesterday we did a boat tour of Voyageurs NP (the only way to see it we learned), and had dinner on the deck of Thunderbird ...

Today we stumbled on the most awesome wildlife sanctuary- the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary . This guy (Vince) was a logger who had a camp for his workers in the woods. He would make them blueberry sourdough pancakes & sausage for breakfast every day & the bears were always trying to break in & steal his food - so they shot them. This was in the 50’s. One day he got tired of killing them & realized they weren’t mean, just hungry. So he started feeding them & befriending them ( Jane Goodall style). Eventually his peers formed a trust & when he died created this sanctuary. It’s a viewing platform in the middle of the woods where they feed the bears in the evening in the summer. Really rustic. The interns who work there (think cute college girls wanting to be bear biologists) live in cabins with no power or bathrooms. We loved it there. Sharing some pics (you know I love wildlife so bear with me). No pun planned! And a couple sunset shots from our way home.

I’ve mentioned we are traveling this summer with our pups. We have 3 standard poodles who just love adventure! I’ve captured tons of funny pics of them so far. Thought I’d share. I got this new Navigator before the trip, and it has a cool self driving capability called Blue Cruise. We don’t need it though because Mazzy is a great driver, and Jagger is a good navigator. Elvis demands to ride behind the driver, and Mazzy demands to sit or lie wherever she wants - which results in some “curious” configurations! Their first trip to the beach on Lake Michigan. Hard to believe this was 3 weeks ago and they have improved so much! We took them (accidentally) to the parade at the Cherry Festival- worried they would freak but figured it would be good socialization for them. They acted like they go to a parade every day! We walked/hiked to a few waterfalls in the UP. Always seeking treats!! Stealing my s’more even after I made them each their own chocolate-free one. Then this happened! Jagger go...