GET READY!

Rain and I flying into Wood Buffalo tomorrow and being dropped off on a lake at a cabin in the middle of nowhere for 4 days and 3 nights!!! I would have been terrified to do this by myself a year ago. Now I am just sucking up the bliss of not choosing to let fear be in charge of my life.

I also have a plane coming to pick me up on day 2 to go see the Whooping Cranes....Oh my gosh, I am so excited I hope I can sleep...I have to leave at 5am.

Here's a great pic of Jasper...yes the water really is that color.

Into bliss and light (lots of light)!

Love, Karen

Signing off and backpacking comment

I got a GSI backcountry coffee press. It works great other than the fact that the pour spout results in dribbling all over itself and it's spongy material...very dissapointing.

Talk in a few days. Will give Terry my whereabouts. Love Love

WHERE IS EVERYBODY?

The only person I've heard from on the blog is Ann who I have actually never met but feel like I've know my entire life. HI ANN! It's so nice to know you're out there. Thank you for your kind comments. :)

You guys don't have to give me that much solitude. Feel free to make comments!

I think I'll backpack in Jasper for two or three nights then have a nice counterpoint by ending it at either the Fairmont or the Four Seasons...good culture shock.

Mom, don't worry. I have to get a permit to camp in the backcountry here, so they will know where I am. I also have a satellite phone which I can use as long as a bear doesn't eat BOTH of my hands...sorry for the sick joke. Besides, there are lots of Europeans here (these people actually go more than 500 feet from the road) I am very likely to see other people where I am going. Love you!

This picture was taken about 45 seconds after Rain and I had a war over who was sleeping on the thermarest. She was very dissatified with her choice of bedding, but hey, I'm the one carrying everything.

I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!

Instead of using scare tactics that work on small children like "where your seatbelt or pay the price", this country actually attempts to empower its citizens. It works! These people are great drivers. They all seem to actually know what it going on around them and their actions seem aimed at making the whole system work better. They let one another pass if a driver is going slower than the rest, they don't tailgate and they're happy. Even the road construction guys who hold the "Slow" sign smiles and wave as you pass.

Border Crossing. Let the profiling begin!

OK, so I thought that I went through the standard proceedure for passing through the border. After talking to a lady later that night (who was coincidentally from Crested Butte) I found out that, aside from having my car torn apart, I got to have the more deluxe experience. A nice gentleman (border guard) grilled me with questions for 15-20 minutes. When I told him of my final destination he asked me if I had yet realized that I am crazy. As the questioning went on and I told him what I did for a living we ended up having a great discussion about medical paradigms in the US and Canada. By the end of it we were exchanging email addresses! Yes, I made friends with a Canadian border guard.

Look close

This was taken around 22:45 as i was pulling into Canmore, Alberta looking west. The light in the sky is residue from sunset which had occured around 21:30 It was still quite light at 22:15.
When you watch the sun hesitantly set over several hours and then watch the source of the light move further and further into the northern sky, you really get a awesome sense our place in our solar system.

I hadn't slept enough the night before because the sunrise wakes you up around 5:30. You would think a 10-hour drive from Yellowstone through Montana and into Canmore would be exhausting...but no. As each day of this trip passes I feel more and more awake and alive. It's as if I'm merging into the beingness of the universe and every little moment I experience becomes more and more full of life.

Yellowstone in Spring

One more Yellowstone photo. Northern Yellowstone is amazing. It's off the path of all the tourista marvels and so gives rise to true nature and wildlife enthusiasts. There was hardly a soul in site...as in, you could stop your car in the middle of the road for ten minutes without obstructing any traffic. some of the pullouts had people who had brought scopes and spent time looking for wildlife. That is how I got to see the bears. Where ever there was a scope there were usually a few people gathered around having a scope party. A lot of the people knew one another. It was a great little community of photo-sharing, birding discussions, where people had seen the alpha female wolf of this or that pack, etc. Yes, these people actually know all the individual wolves and which packs they belong to!
It was like Bright Kite but in a much more beautiful, experiential setting. This is the way to experience an interactive community!