Meet Al Barsema

Howdy y'all. We've been in a mad rush to get the gazette to bed, and more than half of the folks placing ads have been late (like three weeks late). It's frustrating for poor Annie. If you think of it, tell Annie you think she's awesome. I would have blown a gasket. But now it's all good, still waiting for a few ad agencies to earn their salt.

I wanted to talk about a speaker every few days to give you a little more insight than you can get from a bio or talk description.

Today I want to talk about Al Barsema. I want to be Al in 13 years. Al took a solo trip at 60 into Quetico Provincial Park. I called Al to ask him why.

"Why did I do this? Well, it was a celebration of my sixtieth birthday. After returning from Alaska, I wanted to do something in the outdoors, and I went to the Boundary Waters with some of the guys from church.

"My work is very intense, starting businesses and using a lot of new technology. Luckily, my wife is understanding. She's not a camper, and she understands that I needed to get away and unplug from everything, to get time to reconnect with the Creator and the creation.

"I go up every May and October, and have beeing doing it for 5 years. I was looking at the map and saw a lake in the middle of Quetico called Allan Lake. So I thought, 'Why not go from the top of Quetico to Allan Lake and back?' So I did, then I thought, 'Why not go from the bottom of Quetico to Allan Lake?' So I did. Then I thought, 'Why not go from the top all the way through?' So I did.

"The best thing about it was MAKING it. Seriously, the best part was being alone for 9 days. I'm not antisocial or anything, but I enjoy being alone, and I get into a different zone and it's a special time for me. The challenges of making it is great ...but with a little confidence you can make it. Its a wonderful park to play in."

As I said, I want to be Allan when I grow up.

Until next time,

Darren