I wish I could spend a year on the road, out in nature, visiting people all over the country whether they wanted me to or not, skating on every rink, hiking on every trail, walking barefoot on the shore of every sea.
Taking the dog out on a night drive in the Utah Desert to look for night creatures. 28 degrees (F) outside.
I wish I could spend a week out of doors. At least. Longest I've ever gone is three nights backpacking up an endless incline only to have my tent and spirits fail when I finally got to the timberline. Didn't even get a chance to get eaten by a bear on that trip. Almost got eaten by a glacial stream, but that's another story for another day.
Encounter with night bison.
We also saw three jack rabbits, one desert rat, and heard two different packs of coyotes, but you will have to take our word on that one, as we have no proof. Pilot will corroborate as well as attest to not feeling comfortable with the idea of being so near to wild canines that would happily cannibalize him without thinking twice.
I want more time to do things. Big things. I want to live out these Big Dreams I have in my heart. It takes a frustrating amount of discipline to actually make dreams come true, though. And sometimes it takes a few uncomfortable learning experiences, as we like to call them, such as paying down a credit card debt that didn't have to be that big before I can wrack up more debt on another Big Adventure, hopefully a little more responsibly this time.
VERY close encounter with a night dumpster roaming around just outside the campground. I'm guessing this beast had prior contact with humans, as it was not phased by my vehicle, and showed mild interest when I rolled down the window and spoke to it in gentle tones. I did NOT approach it.
That being said, it also takes a large supply of patience to make Big Dreams come true. Sometimes patience isn't so bad, though. Take, for example, the Big Dream I have to get a sprinter van and live on the road once I turn 65 and start collecting SSI. It sounds like a thrilling adventure, but I'm in no rush to be in a body that's 22 years older than the one I'm in now.
Hazy horizon on a morning walk that blended exhilaration and the external with rumination and the internal.
Big Views and Big Dreams for miles all around. Little views and little dreams along the road, along the way.
I'm also learning that there are times when I must sacrifice the little dreams in order to dedicate the energy needed to see the Big Dreams to fruition. Sacrifice, or at least set them aside. Little dreams like successful CrowTube channels or selling photography prints or skating on Lake Louise this winter. But the sacrifices of the little dreams must be made in order to preserve my access to the present. Leaving space for gentle afternoons with crows and the feather game with the dog and cat. Staying put long enough to work towards Big Dreams like becoming one of the names people get excited about seeing under the titles of travel articles and short stories and books.
It's possible some of my Big Dreams will never happen, which may or may not be such a bad thing. Plans change. Sometimes from loss of interest. Sometimes because of new and exciting opportunities, other times unfortunate circumstances and events. But I'll be damned if it will ever be from lack of trying.
Another encounter with the same dumpster in broad daylight. I let it approach me, and when we had both determined that neither of us was a threat, I fed it by hand.
Pilot stayed in the car.
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