Last week I attended what I believe is the largest collection of 'paddle and trail' vendors, under one roof, in the United States. Located in the Midwest and sponsored by a small, niche-store in a Big Ten community, this event draws people and vendors from all over the world. There were vendors from Canada (including Newfoundland and Nova Scotia), Mexico, Ecuador, and some Southeast Asian countries, just to name a few that I can remember.
Vendor-product lines included all types of canoes imaginable; every size, shape and type of kayak ever known to mankind; all of the paddles you could ever want to chose from; wilderness guides, tours, and excursion companies; every article of clothing ever designed to be worn out of doors - in any kind of weather; the equipment necessary to cart all of the aforementioned 'stuff'; every model of Subaru made (to haul all of the 'stuff'); shoes, boots, socks, socks with toes, shoes with toes, gloves with cut-off fingers; hats of all shapes and sizes.......get the picture?
I had the opportunity to speak to a lone gentleman at a Canadian wilderness-guide booth. He is the fascinating fellow for whom this posting got its title today. He told me that he is originally from Connecticut, but has lived in Canada for approximately twenty-five years and holds dual citizenship for the U.S. and Canada. A member of the Canadian Parliament, he travels weekly, by plane, from his home in Thunder Bay, ON to the Canadian capital of Ottawa, ON. The plane trip is about two hours - by car would be almost fifteen. Thunder Bay is on the northwestern shore of Lake Superior, which means it 'oversees' spectacular storms on "Gitchigami" - the Ojibwa word for Lake Superior meaning 'big water'. He said he loves Canada and can never imagine living anywhere else.
I think what captured my imagination about this man and his 'story' was where he lives, the lake he lives on, his job with its weekly travel demands, and, simply, the size of Canada. The providence of Ontario is huge, in and of itself. I have only tasted but a small morsel of Ontario and its large island, Manitoulin Island. I think he could live in Canada for another twenty-five years and still never fully explore the nation in which he now calls home.
Me? I'd be excited just to get my aqua RV on "Gitchigami" waters.........albeit only on a calm day!
Hope springs eternal. There is a new boating season a-comin'!
Ancora imparo
