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Low Temperature
12 F High
Temperature
33 F Days to Reach Cross Lake
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Lesson
Plans | |
| |  | Tent
Talk
Listen
to today's Audio Update!
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Daily
Dilemma |
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| Before
Dylan and Andrew arrived, Adam and Dave each did specific chores. For example,
Dave always gathered firewood and Adam always drilled a hole in the ice for drinking
water. While the extra hands were around, the division of labor was even greater.
Now that Dylan and Andrew have left the adventure, should Adam and Dave take go
back to their old routine, or try some new chores? What do you think?
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Thoughts drifting to James Polk
| Today was a wonderful, wonderful rest
day. In the spirit of resting, I was goofing around with our Global Positioning
System (GPS) unit and I noticed our current location: 54*55' North latitude. Exciting,
I know. But then I realized we were very close to 54*40' North and I really
got excited. |  |
| "Fifty-four forty or fight!" Yeah!
But I like history; and if you don't, this may not excite you as much. A
bit of background. You may have | We
look happy but it's all for show. Ladies and gentlemen, Dylan and Andrew have
left the adventure. |
| noticed in passing that a large portion of the US' border with Canada,
from Lake of the Woods in Northern Minnesota to Vancouver Island just north of
Seattle, Washington, runs in a straight line. This is the 49th parallel. |
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But this border was not always just a given geography fact. In 1818, with the
War of 1812 still in the very recent past, the US government and the United Kingdom
(who still controlled Canada) jointly established a claim over the Oregon Territory,
which included all land west of the Rocky Mountains between 42* North and 54*40'
North. For the sake of illustration, 42* North now forms |
| Andrew enjoys his last night of action in
Oxford House by attending a singing contest.. | the
northern borders of present-day California, Nevada and part of Utah. 54*40' North
was chosen because this was the southernmost point of Alaska (which at the time
was still "owned" by Russia). |
| The joint claim worked for a while, but the notion of
American Expansionism was taking ever greater hold of American life with each
passing moment. It soon became clear that sharing land with England was, well,
un-American. Enter James Polk. We all remember him, right? Good. As the presidential
candidate for the Democratic party in 1844, he promised, among other things, to
claim all the land in the Oregon Territory for the US and go to war with Great
Britain if necessary to achieve this aim. His campaign slogan: "Fifty-four
forty or fight!" |
| Polk, of course, won the election, but failed
to deliver on his promise/slogan. Once in office, Polk opted for diplomacy and
compromise over war and settled the issue peacefully with the British. The resulting
Treaty of Oregon was signed in 1846 and gave us the beloved 49th |  |
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parallel that still separates the US and independent Canada to this day. Back
to the adventure. So I checked my maps and found out we crossed 54*40 | Adam
contemplates the tone, pitch and rhythm of Contestant #4 as he judges the singing
contest. The winner took home $500. |
| North Latitude somewhere on Gods Lake last week, and
we will cross it again heading south next week--somewhere on Cross Lake. |
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We generally think of ourselves as "way up north" on this adventure.
So it personally prompted a great change of perspective to think that most of
our route on the Boreal Forest Adventure would have been in the US if a little-remembered
former US president would have simply listened to his own campaign promises. Anyway,
Dave says I'm not allowed to play with the GPS unit any more. It's probably for
the | | Guitarist Mike Muskego rocks as hard
as possible while singing a duet. | best, since I'm
feeling fully rested and we're both ready to set out for Cross Lake tomorrow morning. -
Adam |
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