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Friends of a Long Year is a private mailing list bringing stories to your inbox like it's still 1995. It's written in the spirit of Mary Austin. It was originally called Place Without a Postcard, which does a better job of summarizing what I like to write about. Friends is delivered roughly twice a month.

Archive

group photo with the grandparents photographed by luxagraf

Grandparents

Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – Showing my parents around our temporary home of Washburn, Wisconsin.

sunrise over memorial park, washburn WI photographed by luxagraf

August Jottings

Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – Some (mostly) unedited journal entries about our time in Washburn, at the county fair, and by the lake.

walking the lakeshore, little girl point photographed by luxagraf

Around Washburn

Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – Lake Superior has many faces, depending on where you go. We've found quite a few different beaches we love this summer.

kids blowing out candles on waffle birthday cakes photographed by luxagraf

Ten

Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – A whole decade. Happy birthday girls.

Lake Superior from the campground photographed by luxagraf

Midsummer

Washburn, Wisconsin, U.S. – Nice cool temps, nearby water to swim in, somewhere to train Jui Jitsu... what else do you need really?

new zipdee awning on the travco photographed by luxagraf

Holiday Road

Copper Falls State Park, Wisconsin, U.S. – The 4th of July weekend is always crowded. To find a place to stay we hit the road north, to the middle of nowhere.

rainbow over the bus, harrington beach state park photographed by luxagraf

Hello Milwaukee

Harrington State Park, Wisconsin, U.S. – We're not big on cities, but Milwaukee is an exception. It's just big enough to have plenty of great food, but small enough that there's no traffic. Just about right.

swimming in the cold waters of Lake Michigan photographed by luxagraf

Illinois Beach Oddities

Illinois Beach State Park, Illinois, U.S. – It's fun to do something for no reason at all. That freedom of the will, the capacity to choose and act as we wish is the foundation of all human delight.

farmland at sunset, central illinois photographed by luxagraf

Prairie Notes

Prairie Pines Campground, Illinois, U.S. – There's hardly any prairie left, but even as farmland there is something about the middle of America that I love.

Rolling hills of the georgia countryside photographed by luxagraf

Long Way Around

Indian Springs State Park, Georgia, U.S. – Beginning the long journey from the Outer Banks to the Great Lakes, where we'll be for most of the summer.

Val's viewing box with a pipe fish in it photographed by luxagraf

Seining With Val

Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, U.S. – It doesn't happen often, but sometimes you meet people traveling and you just click.

the bus in the ocracoke campground photographed by luxagraf

Back on Ocracoke

Ocracoke, North Carolina, U.S. – Two weeks enjoying the weather, the sand, the sea. Aside from food and good company, there's not much else in life you need.

jackets on the beach, hatteras island, nc photographed by luxagraf

Separation

Frisco Campground, North Carolina, U.S. – Corrinne goes to Atlanta, the kids and I find out what a Nor'easter is like in the Outer Banks.

kids playing on the beach, ocracoke, NC photographed by luxagraf

Ocracoke Beaches

Ocracoke, North Carolina, U.S. – Ocracoke is different. Something in the way the ocean currents move offshore, or the collision of air from the land and sea, or the history, or the isolation, or the combination of it all makes Ocracoke the highlight of the Outer Banks.

Sunrise over the dunes, hatteras island, nc photographed by luxagraf

Cape Hatteras

Frisco Campground, North Carolina, U.S. – From Oregon Inlet we worked our way south, down to Cape Hatteras where the weather finally turned warmer.

kids walking on the beach, sunny day, oregon inlet, north carolina photographed by luxagraf

Whistle Down the Wind

Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, U.S. – The wind never seems to stop here in the outer banks, but it does occasionally slow down to the point that you can enjoy a day or two at the beach.

sunset over the bay oyster point, nc photographed by luxagraf

Back in the Woods

Oyster Point, North Carolina, U.S. – It was nice to get back out in the woods, away from the crowds, if only for a few days.

myrtle beach state park sign photographed by luxagraf

More Adventures in Travco Brakes

Myrtle Beach State Park, South Carolina, U.S. – In which we pass some time in Myrtle Beach to work on our brakes, get a ladder and roof rack built, learn Jui Jitsu, and yes, play a little putt-putt.

walking on the beach, storm clouds. photographed by luxagraf

Slow and Low

Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina, U.S. – Our slower pace has one downside, you can't out run the weather when you're not, uh, running.

mute swan, huntington beach state park, sc photographed by luxagraf

Huntington Beach Birds

Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina, U.S. – Watching birds in the marsh and climbing on one of the best climbing trees we've ever run across.

Atalaya, Huntington Beach State Park, SC photographed by luxagraf

A Tale of Two Huntingtons

Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina, U.S. – One man extends a railroad empire, the other builds a strange, whimsical, Moorish-inspired castle.