Last night I was out in the canoe, and the lake was beautiful. Even the trout cooperated (for a while). We’re “catch and release” anyway, and a beautiful brown jumped several times and threw the hook on the third jump. That’s called a “long distance release.”

There's magic and mystery when fog blankets the lake. It can be a very introspective experience or at the extreme you can get lost. On a really big lake, or Superior, you need a compass. That's true whenever you leave the roads and wander about in the U.P. And wandering is important: Just like anywhere else you have to leave the big roads to find what makes an area unique and wonderful.

When I first visit the city I hear lots of noise, feel lost, and the city is a strange and of threatening place where I'm "on alert". But then instead of noise I start to identify the sounds of a bus, and garbage collection, street vendors and neighbors. As I learn where to go, what to do and how to get there it becomes a place I know and appreciate. The wilds of the U.P. are just like that: Familiar and friendly to us; mysterious and strange until you learn where to go and what to see. You have to learn the territory. And we can help with that.