Once our boat is out of the water and wrapped up under her cover for the winter, we begin the season of planning. Midwest winters are long and cold! There is plenty of time to think about launching in the spring and the adventures that will unfold next cruising season. Planning makes our dreams seem tangible.
We were blessed with a visit from our sailing friends Dan and Nena Mooney in October. We spent a lot of time with them this summer; our two boats moving together along the panhandle of Green Bay. We had a great time buddy boating together, even on the days spent navigating side rollers and foul weather. We are planning a six week trip to the Georgian Bay next year.
Dan and Nena drove up from Oklahoma, making a detour to Minnesota before moving on to their destination in Egg Harbor, Door County. The weekend before their arrival was unseasonably warm but the day before their visit the temperature dropped and a big wind knocked down many of our leaves. This changed our world from beautiful fall colors to barren winter. In spite of the chill in the air, we spent a lot of time hiking with them during their stay. We visited the Taylor's Falls pot holes and the Franconia Sculpture Garden. We hiked in William O'Brien and Afton State Parks. We spent a morning at Como Zoo in the warm and tropical rain forest. We put in a lot of miles in three days but our greatest accomplishment was confirming our accommodations for a spring Rim to Rim hike of the Grand Canyon. This has been on our list of adventures for some time. The Mooney's have agreed to join us.
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| Hiking Taylors Falls |
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| View at O'Brien State Park |
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| Fall Colors at O'Brien State Park |
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| The fire tower at Franconia Sculpture Park |
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| Dan and Nena at the top |
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| Como Zoo Turtle |
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| Como Zoo Tortoise |
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| Como Zoo Sloth Chloe |
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| Dan & Nena Afton State Park |
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| Sailors in the off season hiking Afton State Park |
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| Dave & Dan checking out the weather conditions |
Dave and I have been trying to plan this hike for some time but have never quite firmed up the details required to make it happen. Once Dan and Nena showed an interest in joining us, the plans came together in one morning. We are not new to long hikes. Dave and I have run 13 marathons and have done a lot of day hiking throughout our travels in the US. Dan has hiked portions of the Appalachian Trail and Nena hiked the Camino Trail in Spain. I don't think stamina will be an issue. For me, it will be the heights. My greatest fear is the narrow trails with massive drops only feet away. Nena thinks that the south Bright Angel Trail out of the canyon may be more challenging than the short segments of drop offs. We both know that each section of the Rim to Rim hike will challenge us in it's own way, kind of like sailing does. Nena reminds me that we won't face anything alone. We've got each others back just like we did while cruising.