There are few places, maybe none, in the lower 48, that are as remote, as wild. It is the intersection of boundless land left in a natural state, minimal people, and wild life. The UP is nothing but rock, water, and trees. Flora and fauna extreme. It is not a land for everyone, and perhaps for no one, but him, or so it seemed.
It was not the black bears striding confidently across the trail or in another instance, the road, and not the wolf skull he found in the stream while canoeing, or not even the mother deer standing in grief over a dead fawn, that got his attention and awe as much as the turtle. Yes, the turtle.
He could see something from the top of the hill, still a half mile off. As he drove down the narrow, densely treelined roadway, miles from nowhere in a world so large and complicated, he was needed, right here, right now. He has actually never felt as appreciated as he did upon driving away. But on the approach he saw her on her back in the middle of the pavement, flailing her legs with no success.
Everyone needs a hand at some time or another. Some never ask, and some never offer. But as he and the blonde pup climbed out of the jeep they could hear a real cry of distress. They knelt down and looked at this large dinosaur and realized that once on their back...err shell, turtles are helpless. Then they looked to the side of the road to see what was causing the terror in her eyes, baby turtles in the grass, waiting.
Once righted, she marched defiantly to her young, the little blonde puppy a curious escort. She looked back and said thank you in some universal language. He knew there was a reason for him to be here now. Then of course, he never really needs a reason to go anywhere. He just goes.
