June 5, 2011
Hi Dad and other readers,
I'm in the lush green North woods of Lower Michigan. Three nights in a row I've slept in deep forest. The summer nights have been warm and wonderfully rich with the sounds of nature. I think last night that an owl came and landed on the peak of my tent. At least it sounded like that's where it was. Most of the time if I am awakened by animal noises in the forest it's a simple matter of turning on my flashlight and they flee, but this owl kept hooting into my ear for nearly an hour before it finally found a farther perch. Dad knows I'm a pretty hearty soul that doesn't scare easily, but the eerie sound of the owl so close was starting to creep me out. It went away about 3 am and I was able to get a little sleep. A quick wash in a stream the next morning and I felt ready to go. Tonight I'll be in a medium small town called Manistee and I'll find a motel room, hopefully one with HBO, so I can catch up on sleep and shower. There is a little mom and pop restaurant here called Glory Diner which is purported to have unusual dishes made partially of jerky. We shall see! I will be showing up there about three pm today, if the calculations and road signs are correct. There is a dive between here and there called Tony's that I plan to try for lunch. I fear that their deep friar is used frequently for most of the dishes though. I'll report more later.
Tessa Gates
