Rested and Ready To Go

Even I had doubts, if I could sustain this lifestyle.  Well, not so much, could I?  But, did I want to?  A few years ago, I hit the wall.  I seemed to be growing tired of the constant moving around and changing of jobs.  I figured, I would just settle into one spot.  After all, I have a long list of previous/future base-camps, any of which, would make for a fun-filled home, where I could intimately explore a certain area, for years to come.  That notion seems laughable, now.  I’m rested and ready to go again.  After chilling out, in one spot, for close to a year and half, it is clear, geographical stagnancy is not in my near future. 

Two summers ago, I knew, I needed to mix it up.  Or rather, to stop mixing it up, and just root down, for a minute.  I was suffering from a lack of funds, although, that had never stopped me before.  While, I knew, I could find another job, in some new-to-me, mountain paradise, it was something else.  I needed community.  Some continuity.  But, even the thought of showing up somewhere new and starting over, sounded too tiring.  Nothing on my endless list of possible futures seamed appealing, at the time.  I finished out the summer, bumming around the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, before making my way back to the Sierra, for a fall conference season.  When I settled in to my third conference season, I knew this is what I needed.  Familiar faces.  Continuity.  Structure.  Ease.  A semi-permanent parking spot. 

I left that winter to fulfill a winter position, I had already secured, in Colorado, further convincing me, that the mild Sierra, is where my chilling out would take place.  I moved back to camp that spring and remained in that area for the last fourteen months.  It proved to be exactly what I needed, and ultimately, nothing was sacrificed by remaining in one spot. 

That time spanned three, two-month conference seasons, a perfect Tahoe summer, and my favorite winter, yet.  An ideal mixing of subtle seasonal change, but continuity at the same time.  This favorite winter, being the icing on the “chilling out” cake.  Five months in one big room, with a view, and the best job, I’ve had yet.

That carried me into the spring conference season, which I was not looking forward to, after having camp nearly to myself for five months, but turned out to be one of my favorite yet.  During that time, I started to feel it again.  As the season drew to a close, my problem wasn’t coming up with something to do next, but narrowing down the endless possibilities that were all presenting themselves to me, at once.  I committed to a road trip to Alaska, when offered a free ride.  This sounded absolutely perfect, but when that fell through, plan B, sounded even more perfect. 

The current plan is to meet Kali in our old home of Whitefish, Montana, and make our way to Breckenridge, Colorado...on foot.  And probably some hitch-hiking and bus.  We plan to arrive there in time to meet my family, who will be vacationing there, in a little over a month.  Perfection. 

I’m packed and ready to go.  I leave here (Ashland, Oregon) for Eugene tomorrow, and will take the Amtrak from Eugene to Whitefish on Monday.  It will be my first Amtrak experience.  Every leg of the journey excites me.  A perfect way to start the new leg of the capital “J” Journey.