Day 6 – September 8, 2014 – Day of Rest (no walking)

“Every night a little bower, either with spruce, hemlock, or pine branches was prepared by the young warrior for their lodging place, who commonly with 1 or 2 of his companions, occupied and lodged on one side of the place”

in Captive Histories, Mohawk Narrarives section,  chapter “The Fair Captive” by Charles B. de Saileville, p. 231

We slept inside our sleeping bags, inside our small tents inside a “wooded lean-to” in the campsite named Aspen, with Spruce and Box Elder up the hill.  At 3 am I heard what I thought was a bird! Dean informed me that it was a chipmunk.

Later in the day, after a delicious breakfast of pancakes made from scratch by Dean, grapeseed oil that I fortunately bought in a restaurant in St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, and du sirop d’érable offered as a gift by Art Currie and Bev Parent for their daughter’s recent marriage, we went off exploring the area.  There is an “isle of La Motte” and there was a preserve where we saw fossils, some spiral shaped and another called sponge fossil.  

Those were definitely around at the time of the story of Abigail and other residents from Deerfield in the forced march of March 1704.  Wonder what the natives of the area thought of the fossils.  We also visited the shrine of St. Anne which commemorates a mass that was held at the time Champlain was here with Capt. Paul…, sieur de La Motte (don’t hold me to this info as being exact as I am going from memory!)

After supper, Pauline and I decided to buy wood and we made a fire.  I figured I’d sleep better than if I finished the evening on the computer. I stayed up later than either Dean and Pauline, and enjoyed the full moon, the fire/embers/smoke and a little quiet solitude.

Didn’t need to sleep in sleeping bag as it is quite warm.  Just covered myself with it.

Drifted in and out of sleep with surround sound of insects and leaves.  Had a dream/nightmare that I think was a message from my subconscious about making the most of life as it is short. Or maybe the dream was influenced by Gauguin's painting, which was referred to at the fossil area: "D'où venons-nous? Qui sommes-nous? Où allows-nous?"