Looking at my visited countries map:

It would seem I need to get my ass off this continent for my next travels. However with Chicago, NYC, and Williams Lake lined up, I don’t see that happening soon.

I am going to spend a week or two in Williams Lake with family, and hopefully have enough time to head up to my family’s cabin on Francois Lake. In the 40′s and 50′s my grandfather ran a hunting & fishing lodge, catering mostly to wealthy americans (interestingly enough, my other grandparents also depended on american tourists – they ran a cafe/truck stop/tackle shop). It was not an easy or consistent way to make a living. My grandfather eventually joined the forest service and they moved to the coast. He loved the cabin and wanted to retire there. Sadly a stroke and MS crippled his body, he was unable to make it up to the cabin in the later years of his life.

I grew up living not far from the cabin, so we tried to spend a few weeks of the year there. The community that existed around the lake when my father was a boy had long since vanished. The lake now is mostly german vacation homes and some ranches. But there are a few full-timers hanging on. I still love the cabin. The wilds and rotten buildings were the perfect place for a kid, and I was fascinated by the tiny traces of history I would find. Islands, old signs, papers, and bits of life were treasures waiting to be found. Considering my fascination, it is surprising I didn’t go into archeology or join the forrest service. Funny how things work out.

I posted some older photos of the cabin here.