Sunday morning Molly (my wife) and I head East by car to the starting point of our Grand Gaspe Tour. This 2,000+ mile bike ride (self-supported) is already looking like it will get longer as I think we will add the islands of Grand Manan and Nova Scotia. Posts via NorthStarNerd (this blog) will become rare. You may find my trip diary on Crazy Guy on a Bike (view diary). The starting point for our bike ride will be my old high school, Phillips Exeter Academy.

Here is our planned driving point … North then East then South!

(click upon map to view at full size)

If you enjoy travel magazines like Arizona Highways, or photo/journalism magazines like National Geographic, you will like Lake Superior Waves. This Flipboard magazine is focused upon what makes the Lake Superior region great, and is free via your iOS or Android device, and now also via your computer's browser.

Just yesterday your curator, the NorthStar Nerd, attended the Duluth Tall Ships festival and took the photograph feature below, the Pride of Baltimore.

Learn more; Read the current issue: Lake Superior Waves.

Sometimes it's worth missing sleep! I took this photo a few nights ago at 3 am while bike touring around northern Minnesota. You are looking out over the Beaver Bay Headlands and Lake Superior.

Click to view at full resolution.

I just downloaded my free pdf copy of Fresh Coast. Given I live on the Northshore of Lake Superior, it's understandable how I would love this book. However, even if you are not lucky enough to live in the Northland, you should grab the book. Perhaps this will convince you to make a trip to Lake Superior!

This is just one example of the content you will find in Lake Superior Waves … an iOS and Android Flipboard magazine curated by me, the NorthStar Nerd. Subscribe without charge to Lake Superior Waves.

How do you say goodbye to a dear friend?

Right now, Spot, is sleeping next to me on the floor next to my desk. Ever since we rescued this stray dog at my brother-in-law's wedding years ago, she has by her choice been inseparable from me. Although she was supposed to be the entire family's dog, Spot adopted me. Whether it was hiking in the Northwoods, fishing on NorthStar Lake or just hanging out around the house, Spot has always been next to me.

My dear friend now has extreme trouble walking, can not hear, and often cries at night due to the pain of old age. This past week we vacationed together for one last time up north at the cabin. Every night she looked at me and refused to lie down in her dog bed until I also lay down to sleep. During my Northern Lights photoshoot this past Friday night, I actually pretended to fall asleep and then snuck back outside the bedroom. Please understand that Spot has slept next to me in her dog bed every night since she joined our family. 

This brings me back to my question, how do you say good bye to an old dear friend? Hundreds of times per day she looks up into my eyes with her big black eyes and seems to be asking me … what are we going to do next?

Tomorrow morning I will take Spot to the vet and have her life ended. She trusts me.  I hope Spot will understand; it also hurts me. She will always be in my heart. Hopefully in heaven she will catch all the squirrels!

The photo below was taken years ago during happier times.

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Spot during one of our fishing trips on NorthStar Lake