Now what?

I'm having a problem making up my mind about my travel to Maine in 10 days. I have motel reservations already made but I really don't like motels, not a fan of cost and they are confining.  I'm almost ready to cancel my reservations and camp my way from Novi to Milbridge.  I'm not generally a KOA camper but for a quick stop, they're OK.  I found campgrounds in NY, Mass and Maine that would work.  I don't need electricity so not too expensive.
I just checked out my Coleman 6 person ez setup tent and it took me 3 minutes to put up - not counting staking.  I'll need minimal extra equipment - the tent, mattress, small table and a single burner propane stove (just found one on Amazon).  Anything else, I'm already taking for stay at cottage. Writing this paragraph has just convinced me to do the camping rather than motels. That was easy! Only real negative will be weather but I think I have a plan to battle the elements if necessary.
This will be  good practice for future long trips with trailer.  I could make a quick stopover using tent and then when I make it to destination, use trailer.
Just a bit of advice about tents, my Coleman 6 person tent is a  good size for Mitzi and me but 6 people would be an extremely tight fit.  I think with any tent, if it reads a certain number of people, they mean shoulder to shoulder.
Anyway, I now have made up my mind and will camp for 3 nights on trip to Milbridge.  Looking forward to Maine and once again sleeping on my sun porch at Two Jetties.  Can't wait.  Onward and upward.

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Dear Oprah...

I have often been inspired to do crazy things based on the "why not" philosophy.  Sometimes I'm successful and sometimes, well, not so successful.  As I approached my 60th birthday, I began planning my first camping adventure to Maine, I couldn't find "the best ever" campground and so I decided to contact Oprah and see if she could lend a hand because, after all, "why not".  This letter was written in the Spring of 2005.

Dear Oprah,
I've lived on small farms most of my life.  I've had a good life but sometimes, financially, it's been a bit of a struggle.  Bartering has always been used as a problem solving tool.  In fact, the word "barter" has always been part of the farmer's vocabulary.  Oprah, I'd like to offer you a plan where we could barter our way into a win-win situation.
I'm enclosing a flyer explaining my Farm Lady business.  I'm a former teacher and have been doing farm programs for children and adults for over twenty years.  As my part of the barter, I would take my large tom turkey named Roy, to Chicago and present programs for two or three days.  These programs would be for children in preschools or early elementary schools in disadvantaged areas.  All I would need is a place to camp in my van.
For your part of the barter, well...I don't need money and I don't need gifts - I just need information.  I'm writing to you for your help because I know you can understand my needs; you understand the importance of books, you know the significance of milestone birthdays and you understand events that touch the soul.
I will be 60 in July and like Miss Rumphius (a children's book by Barbara Cooney), I need to go to the sea.  As a child, Miss Rumphius was told by her Grandfather that she needed to do three things:  travel to far away places, comeback to live by the sea and do something to make the world more beautiful. Like Miss Rumphius, I've traveled to faraway places (Peace Corps - Venezuela).  Like Miss Rumphius, I've tried to make the world a more beautiful place.  She planted lupine seeds while, I've planted ideas in the minds of the many children I've encountered through the years.  Like Miss Rumphius, I now need to go to the sea.
I'm planning a trip in September.  My goal is the coast of Maine.  Anne Morrow Lindbergh in the Gift From The Sea wrote, "When the noise stops and there is no inner music to take its place, we must re-learn to be alone."  I've had a productive life but sometimes my life has been difficult.  I've had to put my head down, move forward and tough it out.  I need to hear the "music".  I think the roar of the ocean waves will bring it back to me.  The roar will be my music.  It will renew me and I will move into my sixth decade with a new strength.
Oprah, I have a picture in my mind of what I need to find in Maine.  I know I could write to the Maine Tourist Bureau for information but they won't have your sensitivity.  Just traveling isn't what this is about.  I would like to take advantage of your heart, soul, spirit and resources to help me live my dream.  This is my vision:  a campsite directly overlooking the ocean so that I can not only see the ocean but also hear its waves pounding the shore, I want solitude but with a few people in the area for safety (not close enough to intrude on my privacy), possibly the final destination would be in an area close to Lubec, Maine and last but not least - a place with electricity to plug in my Mr. Coffee.  It's so important to me that this site be just perfect.  I can't trust this to some random person or pamphlet.  I become very emotional when I think of this journey.  Of course, no matter what transpires with this letter, I'm going to Maine.  I can plan this by myself but with your help, there's greater potential of this being the trip of a lifetime.
Roy the turkey and I are looking forward to your response, whatever it may be.  Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.   Margaret Schmidt, The Farm Lady

Well, never heard from Oprah but, unbelievably, I found exactly the campsite I described in the letter but I'll tell you about that in my next blog post.  My letter to Oprah was a bit crazy but I'm so glad I kept it.  Everything detailed in the letter (once past the "barter") is just exact - the why and the where - spot on.  Miss Rumphius, Anne Morrow Lindbergh and also, Rachel Carson, led me on my adventure of a lifetime and Maine has occupied a very special place in my heart since that first visit in 2005.  Maine - my second home.

Women Camping Alone - Safety

I believe in facing fears and I try to do that except regarding flying which I don't need to face, at least I don't think so.  My daughter, Jill and I have talked about camping safety as she is also a solo woman camper.  We both agree that what we fear the most is safety issues relating to men more than wildlife.  The National Park Service gives some comfort with these statistics - there were 83 rapes (one in 3,527,951) on its public lands in 2014, compared with 84,041 reported rapes (one in every 3,794 people) in the rest of the country in the same year.  That may be true, but I think a woman wanting to camp alone, especially in more isolated areas should do it and not be afraid but be smart.  I've given this a lot of thought and would like to share some of my ideas relating to this subject.
1 - when traveling alone, don't put first name on the slip of paper that will go on site post -don't identify yourself as a woman, use last name.
2 - Park your vehicle with the front end facing out.  If you need to exit in a hurry, your vehicle is ready.
3 - Take along an extra lawn chair to give impression that there's more than one person in camp.
4 - Avoid real isolated areas but if you do camp in a primitive area, you might want to do so away from hiking path.
5 - Always keep phone nearby.
6 - Hang a pair of men's underwear on your clothesline.
7 - Know the rangers phone number or the number of someone in charge of area.  If there's a campground host, let him/her know you're camping alone.
8 - When walking alone at night, carry pepper spray (actually carry spray all the time and don't be afraid to use it).  I also have a very heavy flashlight that, if necessary, I can use for protection and whenever hiking alone - day or night - I carry a knife.
9 - I was the only camper in a rustic campground last fall.  An old white van drove slowly down the camp road near my popup trailer around midnight.  I was afraid and felt really unprotected.  I always keep a can of hornet spray and an open knife near my bed but didn't think this would be enough to keep me safe if I was attacked.  After that incident, I seriously thought about getting a gun, have decided not to do that but I know some campers do carry one for safety.
10 - Don't advertise you're alone on social media.  A woman was kayaking or canoeing around Michigan on the Great Lakes as a money raiser for a charity.  She was facebooking and blogging about her adventure.  A guy started stalking her, found her and raped her.  I really am not sure what to do about this issue as I like to share my adventures but want to be safe so going to give this some thought.
11 - Arrange to contact someone daily if possible.  I'm going to message my daughter everyday and just say
 hi. If she doesn't hear me from me for two consecutive days she will need to contact someone to find out what's going on.  This has to do with health issues more than anything.  Don't want to be in a situation where I need help or am totally incapacitated and can't feed Mitzi (don't want her to eat me!!!).
12 - Always keep a close watch on weather.  I'm good at judging Michigan weather but being in a different location can sometimes really throw me off.
There are other safety issues that I could address like safety as it relates to the environment, for example, dealing with wildlife but this is enough for now.
I have friends, especially women, who ask me if I'm afraid and who advise me not to camp alone advising me to take a friend and I always respond that I like camping alone, I like my independence and I like solitude.  I think, for me, I get out and do my solo camping but I try to be camp smart.  I think the most important thing is to use common sense and have a plan.  If your gut says - this isn't safe, don't stay!
I am really proud of my daughter Jill.  She loves camping in her tent and has camped in more isolated areas a few times and will continue to do so in the future. At first she was leery about doing this but did it anyways.  I've shared some of my skills and knowledge with her but she has learned a lot on her own. She makes me think of the poet Mary Oliver's quote, "...and what will you do with your one wild and precious life."  As it regards camping she will get out there and have great adventures.  You go Jill!!!!  Onward and Upward.