Don's Blog The Need To Be Outside: Camping As Life And Life As Camping - A Memoir II

After our stint in Alaska was over we settled in St. Louis. Much of our "free time"  during this period

was spent out of doors. This is not easy to do when you have a busy academic career  and a young family.  We hiked weekly often at our favorite local park - West Tyson. We camped in state campgrounds and started doing canoe float trips on the cold clear waters of Ozark rivers such as the Mermec, the Courtois, the Huzzah, and the Current. Our favorites were the Eleven Point and the Buffalo rivers further south.We took family vacations to the quartz sand beaches of Florida's Santa Rosa Beach on the gulf coast for thirty years. The magic of going to the gulf was that every year it was different and somewhat the same. We identified fish and crabs and sharks (sand and hammerhead). We snorkeled for sand dollars. We sailed our little Sailfish. One year we were fortunate to see a mother sea turtle lay her eggs in the dunes. A year or two later on another visit we experienced the miracle of a turtle hatch during the full moon.

As an academic physician I was able to travel the world with Jan giving research "slide talks" at medical meetings.. Wherever we went either in the US or abroad Jan and I would hike. We found spectacular hiking in the mountains outside Las Vegas, on the Napali trail on the backside of Kaui, as well as the board walk trails near Crater Lake in Tasmania. We climbed Diamond Head in Honolulu and walk on the shore in Alexandria,

Egypt. Wherever we went we headed outside.

Toward the end of my professional life my son Lee invited me to go on a canoe expedition to the Caribou River 

in northern Manitoba, Canada. The trip boggled my body and what was left of my mind. It was the first of eight canoe expeditions to the Far North to such rivers as the Thelon, Nahanni, Horton, Coppermine, and Kunwak.

There is nothing like lying in your tent on an air mattress in a rolling thunderstorm with the water rising and with the ground vibrating from nearby lightning strikes. Unless it is going through Escape Rapids on the Coppermine River in the bow of an OldTown Discovery canoe plowing down into the standing wave with cold water cascading into your face while you are screaming like a kid. Walking the tundra creates the same  experience as hiking above timberline on the peneplain in the rockies. These areas in the arctic are still magically remote.

On a 3 week trip we might see only one or two other parties. It was these journeys to the arctic that awakened

a long forgotten call to the Northwest Passage and its history.

For almost 10 years we went to Sanibel Island in February. Our favorite areas were the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge between Sanibel and Captiva Islands and the Corkscrew Swamp Refuge west of Naples. 

Two years ago I went to Greenland with a friend and re-lived the Bertram story. I gave several presentations 

about "Going To Greenland" and I started  reading about the Post-Napoleonic explorations of the Brits and Sir

John Franklin. Jan has pointed out to me that taking the Northwest Passage trip on Le Boreal this summer was just like going to camp. An expedition cruise is geared to seasoned travelers who are healthy and fit. Can you imagine a three week period of your life where nobody wants to talk about their ailments? Our cabin on Le Boreal was much more comfortable than my backpacking or canoeing tents. The cook at this camp prepared great tasting healthy food and I don't think two desserts a night was too much. I lost 6 pounds on the trip. The staff almost outnumbered us and was friendly and knowledgeable. Our fellow travelers  were energetic  and excited to adventure into the Zodiacs for our daily tundra walks. The arctic tundra is expansive and royal and bleak, and desolate. We all loved

"being outside". On our treks  we had plenty of opportunity walk alone and experience the peace that passes all understanding or in a group to learn about the " Land" from Mike or Brent in a group. And one day as I was walking alone an arctic fox walked up to me just out of curiosity and that experience was worth a lifetime. Now as I enjoy memories of the passage I am wondering what new outdoor adventure awaits me.