Flying Solo
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Heat Wave
It is ironic how I leave the Arizona summers to get out of the intense heat and this year, in the Northwest, there are record breaking all time highs. So in this past week I had to brave 113 degree temperatures that came right after I sprained my foot. I had double the reason to stay in the camper with the air on and my foot elevated
I found myself riding my bike early in the morning and late at night just to prevent myself from going stir crazy. Even with the foot issues, I’ve been able to ride, which is great. The loop I have been taking along the back country roads is exactly eleven miles and takes me approximately an hour to complete. It is a blissful hour with fields, meadows, pine forests, streams and ponds along the way. The smells are delightful. I just take it all in, all the while, letting it all go.
The interesting part of this chapter of my journey is how life just sort of came to a halt. Everything became focuses inward. With the last years of the Covid Craze, we’ve had a lot of inside retreating going on. But this time, I was in such a small space that there wasn’t much activity to be had, unless I was writing or working. So there was ample time for reflecting and allowing the demons to emerge from the closet.
I suppose the demons I talk of are really the things we distract ourselves from on a daily basis through our busy-ness, our projects, our addictions and all that keeps us looking outward, rather than inward. Sometimes there are things we don’t want to look at, or see. As a therapist who helps people to examine deeply, their inner landscapes, I have made it a practice to examine mine on a regular basis.
Dr. Gabor Mate, a Hungarian-Canadian physician and expert in addictions, tells us that some 95 percent of our population are addicted. We are a society of addicts. But our addictions aren’t what we might think they are. It isn’t just about drugs and alcohol, gambling and sex. It is anything that distracts us from our inner world, which can be work, food, television, obsessions, relationships, projects and just about anything else. Not only do our addictions distract us from our inner worlds, but they distract us from our connection with self, with God (as we know him/her) and with each other. Mate tells us that lack of true human connection drives most of our addictions. Although we are more connected than ever with the Internet, we are also more isolated than ever, because our lives have gone Online.
There was a point where I thought all this empty space I had been given was a sign that it was time to write my next book, but then I realized this was just another preoccupation. It wasn’t yet time for that endeavor. It was time to be in the stillness and know myself on deeper and deeper levels, face the loneliness, the isolation and the disconnection within myself.
Things are cooling down a bit here in Eastern Washington. Next week I will be heading over the North Cascades Pass, now a National Park, to Western Washington, the land of my birth. It is much cooler over there and so I will emerge from the camper and be out in the world much more. I look forward to it, but for now, I will enjoy the sabbatical and hopefully emerge having slayed the dragons of the past and embracing a more authentic and renewed SELF.
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Flying on my E-Bike
When putting together my setup for travel I decided that my tow vehicle would be an electric bike. This was quite the setup as I needed to figure out how to haul it and secure it. There were very few options, being that my trailer hitch is in the back of my truck where the door to my camper is. So a normal heavy duty bike rack would block my door. So I settled on a Rocky Mount swing away bike rack. This rack swings out to the side of my camper, but since I got a hitch extension as well, I can still crawl up into my camper to have a rest or make lunch while traveling.The bike I decided to buy after much research is the Rad City E bike. And I have to say, after having it for a couple months, I LOVE IT! This is one of the best investments I have made in myself, to get me outdoors, living life.
Many RV’rs have tow vehicles so they can leave their RV set up in a park or where ever, and can zip around in a smaller, gas saving vehicle. This is what I use my E-bike for. Although I could take my truck and camper almost anywhere, pretty easily, when I am stopped, it is nice to just take the bike out to explore the area, pick up groceries and other necessities, and so on. I get a lot more exercise and enjoyment this way.Some people have the wrong idea about E-bikes. They believe that if you want exercise you should not invest in an Ebike. But I find this is not at all true. I am out on the bike so much longer and put so many more miles on it, than I would with a regular bike. I can easily go out for a ten mile bike ride down long country roads and be pedaling the whole time. I adjust the “pedal assist” and gears so that I am always pedaling. I’m just not working as hard as I would with a regular bike and I’m not burning myself out early.
The other day, I was out riding on a desolate country road above the Columbia River near Canada and I got off the bike to take a photo. I lost my balance, fell backward, sprained my foot and bruised my tailbone. I was in pretty bad shape and there was only me and the bike to get back to the camper several miles away. I allowed the bike to do the majority of the work, pedaling mostly with my non-injured foot.
The most difficult part of the E-bike set up is getting it up on the rack and back down. It weighs about 71 pounds, so difficult to lift as a whole. I have learned to lift the front end up onto the rack, secure it and then lift the back end. This is doable, but was a bit more difficult when I was injured as I have to stabilize myself before I lift. But I managed. Fortunately, the pain of my injury didn’t really kick in until I got back to my campsite, dumped my tanks, filled my water and hooked my camper back up to shore power. I came inside and made dinner, then decided I should put my foot on ice. Fortunately I had ice in the freezer and so I put it in a plastic bag, wrapped a towel around it and laid down with my foot elevated. It started to throb in pain and I realized I had injured it much worse than I originally thought.
At the same time there was excessive heat warnings in the area I was camped in and I knew I probably wouldn’t be spending much time outside over the next week or so, unless I traveled across the mountains to Western Washington. I wasn’t ready to make that journey yet, so I took this as a sign that it was time to stop and rest. It was time to reflect, to heal, and to write.
A friend of mine, who works with NLP asked me to visualize something that was very freeing to me and I pictured myself on my bike riding down a long Country road, hair blowing in the wind, a big smile on my face. In my vision my arms were out like wings, which I wouldn’t attempt with my 70 pound bike, but I love the vision. So many times since I was given this image of freedom had I actually found myself riding down a long, isolated country road, hair blowing in the wind, a big smile on my face and a feeling of freedom. Sometimes I have my headphones on and listening to music, a perfect background to a perfect experience.I’m getting in shape for my long bike ride on San Juan Island in Western Washington where I will bike as much as a battery charge will allow me to bike, which may be about thirty miles round trip. I’m really looking forward to this journey and hope to see some Orca Whales.
I remember being out in the Bay in a speed boat with an ex boyfriend and his kids and my son and we came across a pod of thirty or so Orca Whales. It was an amazing experience. And San Juan Island is known for its whale watching spots. It may not be the right time of year, but I will enjoy the journey. And…I will let you know how it goes and take photos, of course.Meanwhile, I will never pass up an opportunity to enjoy the country roads and bike paths along the way.
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Don’t Quit When You Are Near the Top
Every day, every experience is an opportunity to learn something of value. And today was a day I decided to park my camper at a familiar place near Roosevelt Lake / Columbia River and go for a hike. I say familiar because I lived in this area for a year and this was always a favorite place to come. There is a nice hike through the forest, where this time, the Ravens were very active, flying through the forest, and making their haunting calls. The forest felt alive with deer every where. I also saw two bald headed eagles.I reached a point where there was a very steep hill leading up to an old graveyard. There was something very mystical about this place and I always climbed the hill. But this time the weather was pretty hot, mid afternoon and the hill seemed particularly steep. I climbed and climbed and when I reached the first landing, my memory failed to alert me that an even steeper hill was ahead. So as I looked up, I started the climb. A few steps into the climb I asked myself if I really wanted to do this, this time, and I heard a voice saying “don’t quit when you are so near the top.”
Oh, of course, I thought. Another lesson. So I continued to climb and as I emerged at the top, there was the graveyard sign. I found it ironic that I finally made it to the top, after a hard climb and at the top was death. I told the story to a friend, who was struggling with some things and she said “oh death and rebirth.” So perhaps after a long, hard journey, we often must die to the old in order to make room for the new to come in.
The steep climb, represents the journey and its trials and challenges. We need to be sure not to quit right before we reach the top. Just when it feels we can’t go any further, we need to take a deep breath and keep going. In the end, when we reach the top, we are victorious. And perhaps it is the victory that brings about the rebirth.
In my flying solo journey, I have had to face a lot of challenges and trials. It causes me to be very self reliant and know that I can face just about anything and get through it. It may not be easy. There may be times I don’t think I can go the next mile, but in many cases, I don’t have the option to turn around and go back. I have to keep going forward. There are times I don’t know how I am going to solve a problem, but then the solution presents itself. I learn to trust that a solution will always present itself and not give up. Giving up is simply not an option. And so, I take that deep breath, and I keep climbing. Pretty soon, I have reached the top and looking down at the view; looking back at where I have been and celebrate that I have overcome, yet another challenge. There is strength and resiliency there. There is a knowing that whatever presents itself on my journey, I have the courage, the strength and the resiliency to get through it. -
A New Way to Fly
Well after several years in the Mystical Mini Van, I decided to upgrade to a truck and camper and left the first part of June on my third “Flying Solo” journey. Being in an actual RV is a game changer. It is a lot more to lug around and not so good on gas but it is so much more a home on wheels and when hooked up to power and water, it is a life of luxury, in many ways.I ended up selling my van bed to a beautiful friend who is launching her own “flying solo” journey in her new minivan. So the very comfortable van bed lives on and continues to travel.
Many people asked me if I would be blogging this journey and there were so many options of what I could be doing with my time, I wasn’t sure. I have a book, wanting to be written, and yet this summer seems like the time to heal, grow and expand in order to be in the best place to write the book.
Rather than being a travel blog, “Flying Solo” has been more about the deeper, spiritual path of traveling alone and embracing the relationship with myself, and the God within. I enjoy being an inspiration to others who may not have considered the ventures of traveling solo. Because when we fly solo, we need to become very self reliant. We need to solve all of our own problems, and when traveling, there are plenty.There is also the issue of loneliness. There are long stretches of time, and road, where there is just me and no other human contact. I have to make very good friends with the inner voices; and I say “voices” because there are sometimes more than one. There is the voice of intuition, the voice of inspiration, the voice of frustration, the voice of self-defeat, and mostly the still, small voice within. There is a whole tribe of us, living within one being. Yet it is important to choose which voice I really empower. I can say to myself “I understand that you are frustrated right now, and tired and you just want to be over this ordeal you are facing, but you will make it through and everything will be okay.”
It is in our ability to offer ourselves that kind of love, attention and compassion that deepens our relationship with ourselves and builds our inner strength. The stronger we are in ourselves, the more confidence and courage we have to face what is next.I arrived at my first hook-up campground in SandPoint, Idaho yesterday and had the opportunity to try out the power, my new power surge protector, and hooking up to City Water with my new filtration device. I was making a joke to my kind neighbors that this was the first time I had hooked up to power and water since I left home nine days prior and I talked about the transition from a mini van to a camper. They told me I was very courageous, and without thinking about my response I said “I know!”
What is there to be humble about right? It takes courage to do this journey, regardless of the method in which you choose to travel.I met a man a few nights back traveling on a bicycle. He was about seventy years old and had gone many of the places I had just been, only by bike. I admired his courage, and also how he managed in the pouring rain, with nothing more than a small tent. I’m sure he had hours upon hours of listening only to the wind, and the voices in his own heart, mind and soul.
The more time we spend alone, the more deeply we connect with our inner being and our deepest truth. We become more our authentic selves and have so much more “realness” to offer those we meet on the journey. I am excited to be on this journey and to share it with you who choose to follow and listen. Perhaps I can be an inspiration to you as well.
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Family and Aliens
Columbia River at the Gorge near Hood River, Oregon Okay so family and aliens don’t really go together. Except that my family probably think I am an alien. This journey has been more about family connections then anything else. I had my time between events and visits to put my feet in the sand and listen to the ocean waves. Then headed to visit my parents for a few days. It was a nice visit. I enjoyed my time there in the Portland area.
I left on a Thursday morning and headed to the ECETI Ranch at the foot of Mt. Adams in Washington State. It is a beautiful ranch where I had the opportunity to camp, connect with others, visit the labyrinth and the medicine wheel and sky gaze in the evening.
Although we were at the tail end of a meteor shower and saw a few meteors, we were actually looking for UFO activity. James Gilliland, who owns the ranch, has had many sightings at the ranch and has some stories to tell. Curious seekers come to see if they are lucky enough to get a glimpse of something “out of this world.”
Mt. Adams in Washington State We are never disappointed as there is always something interesting going on. I visited ten years ago and learned about what to look for in the sky. I’ve been seeing unusual activity ever since. What was really mind blowing was to see the orbs in real time, through infra red goggles. Orbs are these round bubble like energies that are thought by many to be “beings.” They often show up in photographs and tend to show up more when there is music, or some kind of spiritual ceremony. You can’t see them with the naked eye, but can see them in the photographs and sometimes in videos.
I was writing a new song a couple years ago and wanted to record it so I could remember it. I set up my video camera on my phone, because the sound was best this way. I had the camera pointing out into the room and when I played it back, there were several colored orbs dancing around the room. they always make me laugh. They are such a playful, beautiful energy.
I believe our Universe is way to big to think we are the only one’s here. And we can’t begin to understand the world that is beyond our comprehension. We learn to see things a certain way, and we can be very attached to our beliefs. I’ve seen so much in my life, I am open minded. Anything is possible.One thing we saw the first evening I was at the ranch was a flash of colored light in front of the mountain. It was almost electrical, but not any kind of storm. It was a clear night and there was just a big flash of light in the sky, that had blue, green and pink hues. We all gasped when we saw it and found it quite exciting. We saw some flashes in the sky as well. Very high up, above where a plane would fly. We also would see something flying along and then flash very bright and sometimes disappear altogether.
River near ECETI Ranch There were flashes of light on the side of Mt. Adams that were going on both nights I was there. James explained that there is no trail on this side of the mountain. It is a solid rock wall that could not be climbed or hiked. People hike up one side of the Mountain but James also explained that the likely hood of seeing someone’s head-lamp from 14 miles away at the brightness we were seeing was slim to none. He had tested it with friends.
James had his explanation for what we were seeing and he believed it was ship activity. Many people who were watching wanted a more “human” explanation. James knew where the satellites and space stations were and when they tended to come by. He even pointed them out. “That’s a satellite,” he would say, or “that’s the space station.” Then he would point his laser at the sky and say “this is a ship.” We all looked up and watched the unusual activity in the sky as if we were star gazing. It was fun and interesting, but nothing landed in the field and nothing came to take me away.
Old Bridge near ECETI Ranch After two days at the ranch I headed out and checked in with myself to see where I was going next. I felt it was time to go home. The tenant renting my house and taking care of it while I was gone, moved out because she was having some issues, so my house was left empty and the yard unattended to. I decided it was time to make the long journey back to Arizona.
The next two days were wheels rolling on hot pavement, music blaring on my speakers and mind zoning out. Everywhere I went was hot. Driving through Idaho the temperatures were nearing 100 degrees and it remained pretty hot all the way home. Normally the trek from the Southwest to the Northwest is two and a half days. This time I did the journey in two days. It was too hot to stop anywhere. I slept a bit at a rest stop and a bit parked at a city park in Nephi, Utah. The temperatures dropped into the seventies in the evening and rapidly climbed back up in the morning.
Lake Powell in Arizona I pulled into my driveway early Sunday evening and even though it was 99 degrees when I arrived home, I was happy to be there. I pulled all my necessities out of the van and settle into my place. It felt good to stretch out, giving the mini-van a break. As much as I love the van, I’m thinking eventually I will get something I can stand up in.
Towards the end of the month, I may take another journey to Colorado. But for now I am settling in and getting some work done.
Sightings at ECETI Ranch