Thu, 09 Feb 2012

Westphalia

I've always been intrigued by the creative potential of unabashed wandering. Whether it's a casual stroll without pace/desire or some mental projection culling lateral movement across seemingly unrelated fields, the process of "making way" most always accompanies a lapse or lull in one's sense of time and space.

This spring carries more than the usual splendor of emerging from beneath the brazen, wind-blown slopes of Mount Royal. With exploration on the air, the populace moves to swap mink top-hats for clean, salt-free bicycles. I keep one ear to the ground keenly aware of early morning dew points. Go West, young man.

In preparation for what is sure to be the most bad-ass adventure in modern history, I've been collecting the makings of a genealogical road trip here in the archives. It'll be a slow boat trajectory through the Lakes Region to explore the places my father's side of the family settled mid 19th century: lower Ontario and later Detroit and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.