"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." - L. M. Montgomery
The air is crisp,
The colors are vibrant just before the inevitable fade to grey
The drinks get warm and the blankets get cozy.
I love fall
Glacier: for the first time in forever
Living near Glacier NP is such a gift. This park is one of my favorite as far as craggy mountains that shoot up into the wide sky and deep pure lakes that spread around the bases.
The very rugged I find to be the most beautiful.
I love our National Parks, however, this little gem is one of my all time favorites. And it's in my back yard.
The amount of time that's passed since I was purposefully out in some real nature blows me away. Life get's busy and you move to a different state and have to change health insurances as and get the new job figured out and find the good grocery store and get caught up in the busy day-to-day tasks.
When my Annual Park pass showed up in the mail, within an hour I was driving to the park with two visiting girlfriends in tow. We didn't go on any aggressive adventures, we just walked along the lake, sat in the sun, had a picnic, talked to some chipmunks, and soaked up the quiet and peace.
I won't be waiting so long to get back out there. This place is my home now, and I'm going to get the dirt under my fingers, the wind in my hair, and the crips mountain air in my lungs more often.
Bring on the fall adventures.
I Live in Montana Now
You heard right! The state besides Oregon that's burning to the ground? Yes I live there now.
I left the concrete jungle after two years of city living and crossed over a heap 'o mountains to a new home.
I'm beyond thankful for my time in Seattle and the amount of growth it afforded me.
There is a part of me that's going to stay there for good...
I made this!
BUT, life carries on and my heart belongs a bit nearer to mountains, lakes, and oodles of trees!
The few weeks I've lived here have felt more like home than anywhere I've been in a long, long time. The peace I feel in the quiet is magical.
And the traffic? Hah! My "commute" to work takes 5 minutes by car if one of the 3 traffic lights is red. A far cry from the madness that has become Seattle commuter traffic. There was a reason I took the bus everywhere!
My job is at a unique coffee shop run by intentional people and a staff I'm proud to be a part of. In the short time I've been there, each person has taken time to invest in me and help me be a successful barista and team member. The change in pace is wonderful.
All I can say is I'm full of happy and excitement and calm...and that is a good place to be.
I do want to ask for your prayers for my new state. The fires have been devastating here and have gotten no coverage nationally. We've just passed 1 million acres of burned land and there is no end in sight right now. We've been living indoors for weeks as the smoke is so thick it's truly hard to breathe. As someone who's been out on the line fighting those fires I know that when it's horribly smoky in town, it's 1,000x worse for the men and women working tirelessly to contain the fires and protect the land and homes. If you feel led to contribute financially here are a few resources for you
Donate for the fires closest to Whitefish
Be Bold
As a 27 year old woman who spends a great deal of my free time in the outdoors, I am fully aware of the many campaigns pushing women to be bold and confident outdoor women. (Have you ever scrolled through the outdoorsy tags of instagram?)
I call myself a feminist.
I agree that we should be able to walk down a street safely and in peace regardless of our attire.
I agree that we should be paid the same wage if we are doing the same job as men.
I agree that there is still a long ways to go to have equal representation for all the sub-groups in America, not just women.
I appreciate the efforts of those with the vision and energy to champion these causes.
But I realized...
Sometimes I don't want to be bold. Sometimes I'd rather just be quiet. Every second of my outdoor experience does not need to be about proving that "I can do it too" or trying to get validation from others because I'm so daring.
Yes settling for nothing less than equality is valiant, however I still need to be allowed to be uniquely a woman in the outdoors and process my experiences thus. I cry when the sun hits an alpine lake just so. Not out of sadness or grief, but from the overwhelm of the natural beauty that I love so acutely. I'm still a tender and emotional creature and must experience the outdoors my own way. Yes my experience looks different from a man's, however it is no less valid. It is simply and uniquely my own perspective.
Women should be supporting other women's experiences, not creating a template of being a badass tough gal as though that were the standard we need.
What I really want is to hike quietly and touch the flowers and climb the rocks and count the stars and smell the wood crackle in the fire.
First Kayaking of the Year
Oy was I itching to get out on the water! The winter up here has been extra long and extra cold!
The first promise of a medeochre day had me strapping my Oru Kayak together and shoving off into some chilly waters with my music and my snacks.
The day started off POURING rain as I drove out to Rattlesnake Lake, but as I parked and started putting my kayak together the sun popped out and I was actually sweating from the sun's warmth for the first time in...basically a hundred years.
MMmmmmm I felt extatic and giddy, pushing my wee vessel out onto the glossy green waters.
One.
Two.
Three.
I wiggled my way off the ramp until...
Woosh!
*sigh of exhilarating relief*
Out into the expanse I paddled as fast as my very unconditioned arms would take me!
As I circumnavigated the lake I stopped every so often to rest, check out the underwater stumps of the trees of yore, chat with an old man walking his dog on a trail...
feel the wind ripple the water and move me along with it....
soak up the weak rays from a tentative sun
breathe in the fresh fresh oxygen in this green and growing place
eyeball some aggressive dark clouds over East.
As is natural...I reached the farthest point from where I put in just as the wind ripped across the lake quickly frothing white caps and pushing me into places I did not want to be....like the center of the lake. Unconditioned arms be hanged, I power paddled as fast as I could manage. My first thought was "oh this will just pass over real fast" as Washington spring storms are apt to do. However that hope was dashed when there was a deafening BOOM and the bottom of the sky fell out...all over me. The panic rose in the back of my throat as my spent arms struggled to make progress cutting though the rough waters and the boat ramp disappeared behind a veil, nay, drapes of rain.
I took a moment and rested next to a giant stob sticking out of the water and started chuckling, then full on belly laughing.
This is how it goes for me.
I have a grand plan of an epically photogenic Instagram worthy outdoor experience and feeling fulfilled with my outdoor prowess. Instead I am a soggy, weak, and frightened novice kayaker who dropped her sandwich in the lake.
Keep it real my friends.
I'm never going to be one of those girls who has perfect Insta shots and get's a million followers and and sponsored by top outdoor brands. Kudos to those ladies.
But for us normal humans, I'm going to share a little more reality and hopefully encouragement for you all. We don't have to be amazingly skilled before we go out there to experience the outdoors and we don't have to look cool while we're doing it.
OUT THERE is where we grow the skills!
So here's to all you folk like me, just getting out there, learning, trying, exploring, being refreshed by nature and building confidence in our abilities and sometimes...
getting our butt's handed to us, but having a good story after :)
SPRING!
Spring!
Easter has come and gone and up here in Seattle the air is less crispy yet full of pollen. *achoo* Our storms are more volatile and the rain is insane. Boom boom crash. Sudden rivers pop up where streets used to be.
Spring means the restaurant I work at is busy and just going to get busier as we round the bend to summer.
Spring is the last time slot to get that “summer bod”. I’m committing to more gym time, more outdoor time, and healthy eats. Meal prep and I are getting to be icy acquaintances. “Oh…it’s you again.”
Spring light is flooding my window which has my healthy and thriving aloe plants stationed to catch the most rays. Also a few new herbal infusions I’ll be using to make salves and moisturizer to help my skin during the rough and tumble outdoor days of the summer.
Spring is planning time for the summer adventures. Hikes and trips and all the things I’d rather be doing.
Spring means my maps are tacked to my wall as I circle and highlight routes through forests and wildernesses. My dreams are filled with gear lists and trail names and how I’m going to keep my camera safe when I have a tendency to drop it down canyons…it still works even if it’s not pretty!
Spring is the season of wildflowers and renewal. Spring means we made it through another winter. The dormant earth erupts in new life and the promise of bounty as the sun lingers longer in the clearing skies. Spring is a long, full bodied stretch after a nap as we launch into the new season.
Here's to Spring!
A Shift in Voice
I haven’t written in a while because I face a conundrum. This blog was created to encourage mostly women to be confident and try new things and to promote an environmentally ethical and sustainably simple lifestyle. I’ve purposely avoided writing about current events, politics, religion, or really anything controversial. There may be the occasional strongly phrased post but it usually has to do with kindness, practicality, or common sense. Right now I feel like this is a moment in history, or a period in our country when the normal “go with the flow” and “every little thing is gonna be alright”, laissez-faire mindset is no longer appropriate.
Conflict is something I avoid at almost all costs unless I’m forced to deal with it. I’d make a marvelous ostrich. However, I now feel like there are some things I need to say and be open about even if they aren’t fun and delightfully witty. This isn’t a change in the purpose of this medium, rather it is a shift to a more open dialogue and a more personal channel for me to express not just my ideas about herbal oils, but my concerns and feelings about our world today.
I’m committing to you now that I will do my utmost to remain encouraging as that was one of the main foundations of this blog’s conceptions. My goal is not to persuade you to change your views or lifestyles or choices, instead my goal is to challenge you to evaluate them as I have done, am doing, and will continue to do. I will do my best to speak not from a place of ignorance or prejudice, but from an informed and curious place. You may read some stream of consciousness pieces as I wrestle things on my own. I hope you are encouraged by that. My fellow millennials are in the throws of figuring out life and I want to pitch my tent in the camp of those of us challenging ourselves and getting uncomfortable so we can grow and learn and be better for it.
I hope you join me, and are challenged and in turn challenge me so we can grow and learn together. Thank you for your support!
