Off to Alaska

May 30, 2015

Off we go...Alaska bound, in Mark's 24' View Winnebago motorhome, pulling an 8' trailer, with our mountain and road bicycles, kayaks on top. Stopped in Cranbrook for lunch, and more rain came tumbling down. I welcome road-tripping in this moisture, feeling cozy and peaceful on this new 2+ month adventure.

We found this unmarked, inviting road, on the Castle Junction Road towards Lake Louise,
Jasper, and have claimed our spot at Wardle Creek for the night, after driving about 8 hours

from Sandpoint. Beautiful, rushing creek, with majestic view of the Rockies. It's a picnic site, so, we will move if a park ranger asks us to later, but hopefully not. All of the campgrounds passed, thus far, are closed with umteen bear signs, and roped-off areas along the highway.

A great treat for the beginning of our BC journey, was catching a medium-sized black bear, against contrasting green grasses,foliage, dotted with tiny white blossoms. The last time I've come this far, was when Doug and I left 5-6 y.o. Max, and maybe toddler Lucy, with Bruce and Shannon, to stay at Lake Louise; got snowed-in in our '85 Volkswagon Vanagon past our initial departure date, cross-country skied in virgin woods, where Doug broke trail.

Once heading northwest of Lake Louise towards Jasper, I am in brand new territory. Retirement time sense is just beginning to enter me, and I do not find myself expecting to wake on Mondays to go to the clinic,and I do not feel that iron-weighted exhaustion, that bordered on tears anymore, thank God. I look forward to creating more time and space for consistent introspection, creativity, versus being so outward and of weekly service to others. A new form of giving will evolve, I am confident of, so am not worried. Purpose now is to be more still, flexible, play, affirm positivity, and allow happiness to fill me (rather than questioning what that is, all these years, not trusting the reality of it sustaining longer periods).