September is my favorite month to travel. University students who spent the summer backpacking Europe are back in class or looking for a job, while the Europeans are back from their summer trips. On the American coast, the beaches are far less crowded, but the waters are just as warm as summer. And in Eastern and Southern Africa, the summer high peak safari season is over, yet the summer rains won’t arrive for a good six weeks, so there are a lot of deals to be found. Yet, arguably my favorite place to be in September is inside a canoe, paddling the tranquil rivers and lakes of the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota, Wabakimi Wilderness in western Ontario, the Adirondacks in upstate New York, and the Maine woods, where I’ll be paddling later this month. Those nasty mosquitoes and black flies are gone, foliage color is already starting to appear, and moose are lining the shores in heat, more talkative than Bullwinkle. So grab a paddle and find your own placid retreat.