Tenting in the national campgrounds

 Since I am in a campground for only one or two nights during my tours, I need quick set up and take down, about fifteen minutes each.  Minimal camping gear is all I need.  Besides my little pop up tent, there's a sleeping bag, self inflating air mattress, pillow, fold up chair, one burner propane cook stove, a pot set, one plate, one set of utensils, water carrier, and two cups (one for possible company),  and that's about it.  In a downpour, I can always sleep in the back of the station wagon.  I have some fire starters, but I usually am too tired or it's too late to bother with a campfire.  In the summer, I warm myself to the glow of sunsets and sunrises over lakes and streams. 

Then I move on. 

The Road Goes on Forever

The bookings are coming in.  The trip is a "go".  By tomorrow, I will have contacted all the libraries I can in Idaho and will start on Oregon.  It's a slow and steady process but enjoyable. "The road goes on forever," wrote J.R.R.Tolkien.  I am right there with Bilbo Baggins when it comes to maps.  Each state map is tacked on my bulletin board so I can circle the cities as the bookings come in.

Once the library performances are organized, I'll move on to churches, nursing homes, assisted living residences, and daycares.  I tell to anyone from pre-schoolers to the elderly.  I've told in prisons, group homes, hospices...anywhere people gather.

No stopping me now.

And now it's Idaho

Up until now, I've been sending out e-mails to public libraries in states I've already visited.  I have a good idea of the kind of highways, scenery, and cities I will encounter and a good sense of how long it will take me to drive from one library to the next.

However this week, I am working on a state I've never visited:  Idaho. I know it is a mountainous state.  The Rockies' ridge runs through the entire state.  If the place names are anything to go by, I will be visiting some of the most beautiful places in the United States.  So many of them have "falls", "lake" or "mountain" as part of the city name.

The names are lovely, but  mountain roads are often curvy and slow.  I will have to rely on the librarians to tell me what to expect as I travel through.

On the shore of Gordon Lake, Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin

Moving along

Yesterday, I heard from the head librarian at Devil's Lake, North Dakota.  I remember that strange lake well from a previous visit.  The water level on this deep lake rises and falls dramatically, for no discernible reason.  It isn't connected to heavy rain.  In the last few years, there has been the threat of flooding.  There are few buildings at the edge of Devil's Lake, no point in trying to build when the waters come to tear down.

A librarian from Ashland, Wisconsin wrote and we found out that she is a constituent of my brother, Rev. Carl Doersch, who sits on the city council.  Ashland is situated on the shore of Chequamagon Bay in Lake Superior. It's a beautiful, progressive city with murals painted on walls all over town by the art students at Northland College.  Nearby Washburn and Bayfield have artists' colonies.  The Apostle Island National Park lies across the waters.  I haven't been there....yet.

Each e-mail reminds me of the dramatic geography and personalities in this nation.  Indeed, One World, Many Stories.  
 

Election Day

We will soon be going to the polls.  Vote everyone!

Last night, I finished sending e-mails to North Dakota.  Today I start Montana, another beautiful state. While I am working out routes, I learn geography.  I always figure two possible routes per state since I am never sure until spring which I'll take in the summer.  I include places I've never been visited.

Yesterday was the beginning of NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month.  The goal is to write 1,667 words a day for a total of 50,000 words.  When I'm done I'll have a short novel in rough draft shape.  Yesterday, I wrote 1,765 words, a good start.

This is my third time around.  Last year's NaNoWriMo novel is now in the second draft.  I will work on it again in January and February and finish it by May.  

North Dakota

I'm midway into contacting the North Dakota librarians.

North Dakota is one of my favorites among the states.  For those of you who don't know:

North Dakota public schools usually score the highest in tests among all the United States.  When I am performing there, I urge the kids to study less so that Wisconsin can have a chance.  (We usually come in second or third, depending on Iowa.)  They laugh at me and keep right on studying.

The North Country trail runs from Lake Sakakawea to Crown Point, New York.  I've hiked some of the Wisconsin stretches and want to add some from North Dakota this time around.

North Dakota has some of the cleanest campgrounds anywhere.  I like Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Turtle River State Park and many more.  The Peace Garden goes over the border to Canada and is maintained by students from both countries.  There are good campgrounds on either side.

North Dakota has spirit.  When the Red River overflows, students and adults are out manning the banks, sand bagging the levies.  One of my fondest tee-shirts was "Fargo, where the beach is in a bag."  Fargo is cosmopolitan, with its own ballet troupe and fabulous restaurants.   Also of note, they saved their elm trees on either side of the river, so Moorhead and Fargo have giant groves.

The libraries are fantastic, well stocked with enthusiastic children.  What more do I need?

Hallowe'en

Oh dear!  The Hawaiian library sites do not include e-mail addresses, only phone numbers and snail mail addresses.  I will call the Hawaiian library association and see what I can do about that.  So far organizing this trip hasn't cost me anything but a $5.95 blogging class.

As well as being a storyteller, musician and writer,  I am the choir director at the United Methodist Church here in Seymour, Wisconsin.  Sunday mornings are taken up with preparing, choir practice, and the service itself.  This afternoon, I will help decorate the church for this evening's Hallowe'en party.  Tonight, a community party with free food, snacks, and a movie for the munchkins.  With all that, I won't be home for trick-or-treaters this year. In previous Hallowe'ens, I sat on the porch with my one time neighbor Traci who brought a barrel of candy.  We caught up and roared with laughter as we remembered our days together, old pets, and ex-husbands.  Now she lives in another town.  

Oh well, I've missed before when I've been out and about telling ghost stories.