Day 21, 10/07, sunday, Pukaskwa National park, northern lake superior, ontario, 1:00 pm

We made it to Pukaskwa precisely on schedule, 5pm. Not bad for a 220 mile journey, through rain, snow and spendid weather. As we drove to our campsite, the best in the camp once again ( not surprising since we are alone in the camp, except for the bears we are warned about) it startin sleetin really hard. But minutes later, at 5:30, just as we pulled into site 34, the sun appeared and stayed out until sunset at about 7pm. As soon as Erde leaped out of the Defender, she started digging up the entire tenting area (see photo) which i had to fill in lest i sleep in a depression. We finished all the evening's multitudinous chores exactly at 7:30, when the camp fire was started and the dogs ordered into the tent for the night. They really did not need an order and would have entered on their own.

I am still searching fir the optimal mattress arrangement for the three of us. Since the dogs take up so much room with their four legs and tails, Last night i tried sleeping across the 5- foot width of the mattress, using my cozy reclining armchair for the extra foot needed to support my feet. But my feet were freezing all night. I thought that my 40-year old northface winter sleepin bag was letting me down. As it turns out, the lower zipper in the bag (sleeping bags have double zippers) was open an inch and letting in all the cold air.

The only other times i woke up were to make sure Leben was still covered with my summer sleeping bag as all the swimming he did for theraphy and he baths het gets for his skin allery took away his skin oils and i caught him shivering last night. With the sleeping bag over him, he is toasty warm. Erly this morning at about 5:00 i found Erde standing by he front door wanting to go out. Fearing that she had to go badly, i obediently got up and took her out. It was cold and snowing. As it turns out, she started dragging me down he road hot on the trail of some animal she sensed outside our tent. Thanks, erde, but i'd rather have the animal attack us in our tent then carry on following it to god knows here. As i returned to the tent, leben disobeyed my command to stay and was following us down the road, dragging his (i.e., my) sleeping bag behind him.

I know each time that the dogs have shifted positions because the air mattress ripplis with each move or scratch they make. Ripples that would rival those waves crashing on the beach at Pancake Bay.

We're in the town of Marathon now so i could send this off today. Unfortunately, i just discovered that my target campground, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park closes tomorrow when we were scheduled to arrive. I picked up the wrong information on the internet before i left. It said it would be open till Thnksgiving. We will be heading for another provincial park an hour further, 220 miles, which closes the next day. I am now discovering that most of the Ontario provincial parks are closing. Assuming the same goes for other provinces, this will influence where we go on tuesday. More importantly, leben's need for his swim therpy again, the need for better tretment for his skin allery, and the affect of the cold during the night on him will decide where we head on tuesday. As far as i am concerned, this trip accomplished all i wanted. And the joy i get from those dogs knows no locale.

We're heading back to camp now so i can take leben and erde to the beach, leben in his stroller. He has really weakened in his back legs and is where he was the week after i took him home from the hospital. My hope is that he only needs lots of rest to regain his strength. If it is more than that, I 'll figure out some solution. I do know his, this dog is not leaving us anytime soon just because he cannot walk and is difficult to manage.

Ed

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