Here’s the deal: I’m a water snob. If bottled water wasn’t bad for you, me and the planet, I’d happily sip, sip, sip bottles of the stuff any time I was away from home. But, being that it is bad for you, me and the planet, I’ve been trying to mend my ways and avoid bottled water at all costs. I used to buy the occasional bottle of water at the movies or if I was out and about and really thirsty and I’ve done a good job of breaking that habit. The harder habit for me to break is buying water while on vacation. I always have good intentions and I start out well every time. I bring my Sigg bottle and fill it from whatever tap is available. What inevitably happens after a short period of time is that I’m scared of the water, it tastes funny, and I’m at the store buying gallon jugs of bottled water. I’ve been bound and determined this trip to once and for all rid myself of this stupid habit. I’m doing pretty well so far. I’m drinking far less water than I normally do at home, but no bottles of Dasani or Crystal Springs or whatever has passed my lips. The kind people at Glacier National Park have water that is impeccable and so far Seattle isn’t too bad either. There have been a couple of rough patches, Glendive isn’t going to win any water awards, but I’m really hoping to ditch my snobbery and turn over a new leaf.

So, I know this is a long, relatively boring post, but I just have to add one more thing about water before I finish. A few years ago, Jamie and I went on a kayaking trip in the Apostle Islands just outside of Bayfield, Wisconsin. We kayaked and camped for three nights on various islands and retrieved our water from the islands where we beached. The water was visibly brown with little bits of this and that floating in it. Gross! I drank enough to stay alive, but not one drop more. Me: water snob.