Caveat: Trips Up North

pictureThis is reminiscence (which is to say, I don’t mean a trip up to North Korea, a half-hour drive from here).

Lately, for some reason, I keep thinking of camping trips to northern Minnesota. It was an old, old tradition among my certain circle of friends, and camping trips to northern Minnesota and Upper Michigan were also a significant aspect of Michelle’s and my relationship.

In a related vein, I ran across a very old and somewhat embarrassing picture of me, possibly from the late 1980’s or early 90’s, standing in a campfire somewhere close to Hibbing, I would guess. It’s pretty funny – I reckon I was trying to stomp out the embers and was caught candidly. Dig the long hair.

Why do I post these things? Let’s just call it the spirit of full disclosure… 

So, sometimes when we drove to Hibbing or Duluth or the UP, we’d stop and camp at Banning State Park, which is just off I-35, pert’ near Sandstone, along the kettle river.

What I’m listening to right now (nice segue, huh?).

Pert Near Sandstone, “Save Me.”

This might be called Minnesota bluegrass. An interesting genre.

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Caveat: Less

This is comedy. Or maybe not. Painful, if it’s comedy.

I think I should have less stuff. I’ve given up owning a car. I live in a 200 sq ft apartment, fairly contentedly. But I still have a storage unit in Minnesota with 5000 books and assorted furniture. I still have more clothes than I wear. I still have 2 (and a half) computers.

Simplify. Keep simplifying.

Here’s something from TED, on a similar theme. I’m not entirely impressed with it – its default starting point is a  level of consumption I never actually reached in my life. But the same point can be recursively applied, and should be recursively applied, relentlessly.

Below is a picture I took in June 2010. Just because I want to put a picture.

picture

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