Season 4

Great Lakes Tour: The Soggy Chronicles

THE GREAT WHITE NORTH

In an effort to practice my motocamping craft further, I leave home and ride around the great lakes, diving into Canada for the first time (kinda). I work on passing through much more isolated areas, border crossings, and getting in touch with a world that’s similar, but not my own.

Canada has a history much different from its neighbor to the south. It’s still a kingdom, it has more ties that go back to Europe longer, and the US and Canada have even had their fair share of fighting long ago.

In this season, I saddle up Cohete for the last long ride and take it from my home in Minneapolis, around Lake Superior, down through Lake Huron, to Niagara Falls and Toronto, then back home.

Oh, it also rains in some sort of precipitation for over 95% of the days on the trip.

PREVIOUS SEASONS

SEASON 1 - The Black hills tour

     I decided I needed a new hobby.

     Life just can't be 'Cradle to Cubicle to Grave'. I need adventure.

     I bought myself a motorcycle and took it camping because it was challenging. The elements work against you and it's not always comfortable on a motorcycle. Once you come out on the other side, however, it's always an emboldening experience. After a few trips at state parks over the summer I was looking for more.

     Then, I decided, I needed a challenge with this new hobby. I need to put my motocamping skills to the test and ride far from home into another world and see what's there. The Black Hills to the west seemed to be calling.

     The Black Hills are known for many things. Mount Rushmore. Sturgis. Some of the Midwest's best highways. Let's do it!

     This first season of 2W1C is proof that no matter how novice you are to motocamping, if you have the will, you can thrive. My equipment was a mix-mash of backpacking supplies from my adventures in Central America combined with camping supplies I wasn't entirely sure were the best for the job.

     I checked websites, inquired on online forums, and tested equipment while practicing techniques. Practicing goes hand in hand with hardship. I'd made many mistakes and things broke down. Every mistake, however, was a learning experience that gave me a better understanding of the motocamper craft.

     This is that first test. The Black Hills Tour.

season 2 - the dakota war

Sibley, Ramsey, Shakopee, Mankato, Little Six, Wilder, Flandrau, Mayo.

     All these names are familiar to us as locations or companies in Minnesota. They were real people with ambitions, adversaries, tragedies, and parts to play in a much less stable time. Some met horrible ends. Some are remembered fondly or revered, while others are either despised or forgotten. 

     Season 2 started out as just Motocamping, Vlogging, and being a tourist.

     I'd find attractions and visit them, get footage, and talk to the locals wherever I can. Museums are always my favorite place to get caught up in conversation.

     After learning the stories of the places I visit I've found out that not only is history fluid but it's also cyclical. I'm seeing patterns arise that we're seeing today. Those will unfold as the season continues.

season 3 - northwest right of passage

When Hollywood spat out its first western blockbusters in the earliest 20th century, many Americans were still alive to remember the settling of the old frontier in the late 1800's.

   The old 'Cowboys and Indians' trope isn't only a genre, it was a way of life for generations of families and wanderers looking for a new life.

  The Native Americans of the regions west of the Mississippi saw their lives take a much harder turn for the worse as their respective homeland regions were subjected to mass migrations of foreign invaders.

  Much of the west still evolves as a product of those first few decades; the days of the Oregon Trail, the founding of the first national parks, the policies of US - Native American relations, and the rugged, sparsely populated back country.

  In this season I ride on my motorcycle, mostly solo, from Minneapolis to the Pacific Coast and back. It was a huge feat and I recorded as much of it as I could. This season is about the history of the places I visited. A first major solo-travel, motocamping endeavor. My Northwest Right of Passage.