Day 22

It’s another day on the water. This morning we left our home of three days, tearing down our tents and tucking all our belongings into two dry bags which we then strapped in a canoe. We were off to find a new home for we will never be content to stay in one place. We must constantly push on toward the river that always draws us nearer.

As we paddled, I fell into the rhythm of the canoe. Stroke after stroke, we moved forward, a caravan of canoes. Looking around I saw the blue skies, the calm waters and the abundant forests. A thought occurred to me as I paddled, simple though it was: This is going to be my life for the next fourteen days. Take down camp, paddle, set up camp. Take down camp, paddle, set up camp. Take down camp, paddle, set up camp. Deconstruct our home, paddle, build a new home. As I thought about these things, the pattern of our lives on the river, I was reminded of a song often sung around the fire at Camp Nicolet:

The life of a voyageur

That of a sojourner

Travelling around and round

But not from town to town

Paddles the lakes and streams

Follows the distant dream

Peace on the waterway

Blue skies or cloudy day

My heart has but one home

From which I’ll never roam

Land of true happiness

Canadian Wilderness

The call of a lonely loon

Coyotes howling at the moon

Wind rustling through the trees

That’s the Canadian breeze

Smoke rising from the fire

Up to the trees that stately spire

All is calm in the evening glow

Sun goes down, no North winds blow

My heart has but one home

From which I’ll never roam

Land of true happiness

Canadian Wilderness

Jillian Ross