Until last Saturday, I hadn’t been in a kayak since October 26th, the day I reached the Northwest Angle. I went to take a friend a few miles down one of Florida’s spring-fed rivers. We saw an alligator, some turtles, and a red Valentine’s Day balloon. The balloon reminded me of all the balloons I found on the trip, left to drift in the sky until they floated their way into our waterways. The map above shows the location of all the balloons I found along with a picture if you click on the markers.
You end up in all kinds of interesting places if you set off into the sky. This Friday, I’m going to get on a plane and end up in Madison, Wisconsin, for Canoecopia (here is some more information: http://www.canoecopia.com/canoecopia/speaker.asp?spid=1001695&year=2014. It’s a giant paddling event with tons of presentations, gear manufacturers, and workshops. I’ll be speaking and sharing pictures and videos from my trip on Friday night at 7:30pm and Saturday morning at 11:30am. Please come out and say hello! I miss you all!
Predictably Lost 
I was so excited to get a chime on my computer announcing a “Predictably Lost” installment. Have a great time in Madison (interesting time to be traveling there!) and please let us know what you learn. Warm regards, Steve
What a surprise to see you in the Canoecopia Show Guide! By now you know we couldn’t make it to Madison. We thought of you often this winter…every time we snowshoed Ruth’s “Voyageur” trail. You should see it under four feet of snow and no leaves on the trees…truly magnificent. You are always welcome and wanted in Kaministiquia!
And we miss you too!
Daniel, Great to hear from you. Wish I would have known you were going to be at Canoecopia. We’re going up to the Apostle’s this weekend to see the ice caves. First time Lk. Superior has been frozen over enough to visit the caves on foot since 2009.
Have fun in Madison!
daniel, hello from assateague, md. have a great time, it was nice seeing your post!
Wish i could make it come to mn nexy
In case I don’t see you before then, Have a great trip!!!!!
Your Mom.
love that you did the map and pictures…amazing! Let us know what you’ve been up to!
What a wonderful surprise to see “Predictably Lost” in our email!! We think of you so often and wonder what you’ve been up to. Judy said she had an email from you recently and that you were still considering your options!
We’re both fine. Harlan just returned yesterday from his second snowmobile trip this winter. We were in Florida the first part of February, but not very close to Tallahassee. We have friends that rent a place in a complex on Anna Maria Island for two months that’s right on the gulf and had invited us down, so we were there for about 10 days. Was wonderful to leave the cold weather behind for a little while and enjoy the sun and the beach. When I looked out at the gulf, I couldn’t help but think that you had paddled right by there. One day when the waves were high, I wondered how you were able to do that, and those waves were probably a piece of cake compared to so many of the other areas.
I so wish we were able to come see you in Madison, but we’re leaving on Friday for our place in Minnesota, and on Sat., will be doing a little cross country skiing at Lebanon Park with David and his family to celebrate his daughter, Maddie’s 8th birthday – her request! Wish you could join us! Should be fun, especially since the temps are finally suppose to be above zero! But if we weren’t doing that, we would definitely drive to Madison to see you. The Canoecopia also looks really cool and very interesting.
Thanks for thinking of us – we miss you too!!
Love, Suzie & Harlan
Hi Daniel, Lorry and I are in Ixtapa Mexico would love to see you but it is too great here now. Hope you have a good trip North dress warm!!!
What a wonderful surprise! Have fun in the frigid north. Really like the map and photos. Thanks — will use it to discourage balloon releases around here.
Hurray for you, Daniel! So good to hear from you. Sadly, we can’t take off for the conference, but we’ll be there in sprit. I am going to be painting at a Jupiter plein air event March 20-24. should be fun. All friends are invited to watch us paint!
Jeanette
Paddling to Winter Julie Buckles
Paddling to Winter
Julie Buckles
A Couple’s Wilderness Journey from Lake Superior to the Canadian North
Daniel: Sorry we won’t be able to make it. Our 7.5 month pregnant daughter will be moving this weekend and will require our help. Sounds like quite the paddling show. Never heard about it before.
We just got back from a month at South Padre Island, Texas. No snow there!
Glad to hear you are well.
Wim Smits
I was excited to get your post hopeing for another series. We were at Hastings MN and at Ft. Myers Beach when you came thru on your kayak marathon. Miss your daily reports more than my daily paper. Please plan another “impossible” adventure that we can all dream about.
Really great job in Madison telling us all about your trip this morning. Most interesting one I have seen in 8 years there.