Road Trip, Day Twenty Eight: Home.

Twenty eight days of open road.

Here are some of the highlights and things learned.

The practical: You can never have too much music, you can however have too many shoes.

Bringing your favorite pillow saves you. Hot tea is even good the next day as iced tea

when you forget to drink it and it freezes. You need a lot less than you think you need.

The must have list: Headlamp, hiking boots, down jacket, sleeping bag, art supplies,

a good book, pillow, a few changes of clothes, camera, little bags to put seed pods,

bay leaves, sea glass, succulent starts, and rocks into, and a backpack.

The mental: Your mind can become very clean after a month on the road.

If you forget who you are, or have momentarily lost your way, I suggest travel.

It helps to see the world in all its vastness. There is SO MUCH out there.

And although it feels so good to be in my very own bed tonight,

I already have the itch to get back out there.

There are so many of us, doing such interesting things.

There are so many lives. So many ecosystems. So many creatures. So many plants.

There are so many colors, smells, textures, shapes. My great friend Lori talks

about the idea of "eyes on fire" when you find inspiration in the world.

I definitely feel inspired. I feel full and empty all at the same time, both in a good way.

The physical: We live in a crazy time. There is so much going wrong,

global warming, ice caps melting, war, shootings, extinction, oil spills, horrid things.

But there also is so much going right. There are so many kind moments of

folks helping others. Traveling alone you spend whole days not talking,

and when you come into a town just making eye contact with someone can

mean more than a whole conversation. It's interesting to see all the various

ways people are tending to life, giving to others, building community.

It was nice to step out of mine and into others, and to be welcomed.

Lastly tonight I would like to thank all my hosts.

There was so much generosity of place, time and spirit. 

Thank you friends.

Warm hugs go out to: Mary and George, Tony and Jona, the kind caretakers

of the many yurts and cabins (especially Jug Handle Creek), Steve and Janet,

Lisa and Barry, Kaye and Adam, my wonderful Mother, Sage and Jane, 

Marylee and Jack, Tessa and Julia, Aunt Pat, Uncle Ken, KD and JR.

My door in Portland is always open and the kettle is on.