Self…..

As has been my practice over the last few years, I've picked a word for the coming year….

not for a 'resolution' but perhaps a theme for the year 

(if it works out, no pressure here)...

In the past I've chosen the words 

Joy, Clarity, Balance and Completion.

This year the words that came to me were 

Self Care

As I formed these words in my mind and out loud……

I wondered what that would really look like for me.  

Would it mean long baths, massage, and a more rigorous skin care routine?

Would it mean more long walks, meditation, and sky gazing?…..

Would it mean spending more time alone with my Self?

Would it mean carving out time every day for creative pursuit?…..

Would it mean slowing down?….

Would it mean checking in to make certain what I'm doing is what "I" want to be doing?

Would it mean being kinder to my Self?…
…..

I feel as though 2015, for me, has been one of playing "catch up",

never feeling I had enough time to address serious nagging issues that needed my attention

and often feeling rushed and pressured and confused…

(and please know I continue to be deeply grateful for my amazing year)

but I want this next one to feel more grounded….

So I declare 2016 to be the year of 

Self

Yes. Let's try that.

Happy New Year!

Our view of the Organ Mountains in southern New Mexico on Christmas Eve

Happiness update….

I've been mind mumbling for days pondering an 'end of the year' post…..

and this is all I've come up with.

This year I've driven across this country and back from west to east and from south to north………and visited with more friends and family than I have in years...

It seems a blur and the highlights many….

And since my last post, I've been to Michigan again to see the grand triplets who are 9 now.  

NINE

How does that happen?

And I also had my biggest birthday yet. I guess we can all say that, however navigating 

Medicare and Social Security has given me more stress than I've experienced in years.  

I don't know how the truly aged and infirm manage it.

My house is almost done….of course my studio is still waiting for it's turn…boxes to the ceiling in that room prohibit any creativity from happening there….

but there's hope for the new year.

I've burned so many fires in my fireplace that my small cache of wood is almost gone

….and that feels good….

to know I have a fire in my 'place'.

I'm really looking forward to next year, perhaps slowing down a bit, and making some stuff….

note to self: get more specific so the Universe knows what you desire. 

Wishing everyone a Happy and a Merry!

OH, and as for 'Happiness'….my incense is burning bright

My first attempt at 'Happiness'…..

Just kidding….(sort of)

As the Ghosts of Christmas' Past always seem to find me this time of year,

I thought I'd cheer mySelf

with an attempt at making some incense I'll call 'Happiness'

I've been collecting ingredients for years...

wanting to try this...

and finally made the leap.

Now I'll wait two weeks for them to dry,

 with hopes the coven of happy cones burn evenly…

And 

as an added surprise

 my house smells just like a candy cane! 

(not my favorite flavor, but it does smell Happy, if that can be)

Festival of the Cranes….

A visit to the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in Socorro, NM

left us Feeling Thankful…

and Grateful for those who care for this beautiful landscape

and the Magical Feathered ones….

who leave us in constant Awe

Helena & Home...

That evening, Bid and I survived the narrow winding deteriorating road to the town of East Glacier as the park seemed to be closing behind us.

It was not lost on us how the stellar weather had opened an opportunity for us to see a part of this country that in most years shuts down the beginning of September.

The next day we regrouped….visited one more museum, the Museum of the Plains Indian, in Browning, Montana and headed down the hill to Helena, where I planned to visit another dear friend, Shimmer, whom I had met years before on that hike in Yellowstone.
She's the one who got me up the mountain and I'm still pinching myself that I was able to see her again.

So that was pretty much that.

After some celebration, Bid, Shimmer and I hugged, got a bit emotional and watched Bid drive away toward her next adventure after which I crawled back into my warm bed,
exhausted from the travel and a cold I'd suffered from the entire journey…..

The next day I crossed visiting the world renown Archie Bray Foundation

off my bucket list...

from their website:

'Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Bray is located three miles from downtown Helena, Montana on the site of the former Western Clay Manufacturing Company. Set against the wooded foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the 26-acre former brickyard is internationally recognized as a gathering place for emerging and established ceramic artists. The nearby mountains and brick factory ruins provide a backdrop for the creative environment; more important is the dynamic arts community created by the resident artists that come to the Bray to work, share experiences, and explore new ideas.'

And as everything else was closing due to the impending winter weather, this place was pretty much shut down as well..

as that weather finally seemed to be closing in on us and snow was in the forecast…

                                                                                   

 we saw this….

a short video taken by Shimmer from the side of the road...

And the perfect ending to my 2,000 mile road trip.

leaves me wanting for more every time I see it

Montana….

The weather held out for us at the end of September,  

and the constant threat of wildfires didn't dampen our resolve to get to 

Missoula "a river runs through it" Montana,

located on the captivating, ever present, Clark Fork River,

where we spent the night with a clear view of the Blood Moon eclipse …

and then headed north to the sweet town of Whitefish,

through smokey vistas,

past the massive, crystal clear, cold as ice, Flathead Lake...

and to Glacier National Park the next day….

We drove across the 'Going-To-The-Sun Road' 

completed in 1932, engineered and built by road artisans of the time….

(and imagine being from New Zealand driving this road…

mostly in the middle, thank the Dogs no one was coming from the other way!)

to the eastern side of the park…

past burned forest…..

another glacial lake….

and this disinterested guy as we left the park ...

Colville Reservation….

After 8 days of travel and 1,500 miles from where we began in Telluride, Colorado,
we finally arrived at  the Grand Coulee Dam near the Colville Reservation in the state of Washington,
where we believed our Chief Joseph was buried.

After spending the night at a hotel near the dam, we drove a remote road to the Colville Reservation and located Chief Joseph's gravesite in a small dusty cemetery.
If it were not for the state's historical society, we wondered what kind of monument would have been built for him. This site is not well known, or easy to find.
 It might confuse some that come to Joseph, Oregon to pay their respects
perhaps unknowingly at his father's grave.

I am not well versed on what really happened in his life that would have caused him to live here with other non-treaty tribes instead of on the Nez Perce land in Idaho,
however I gleaned that his life was not a happy one here.

It was noted by the doctor that his cause of death,

"was a broken heart".

Bid and I held hands and said another 'forgiveness' prayer for all of us.

Release, Release, Realease……

Those were not the words of the prayer, but they were our intention, 

and we felt it working on us as well.

We left the gravesite knowing his spirit was not there, 

with the general feeling that we were all at peace,

and that collectively our work to get there had been a good thing.

We also began to notice the smoke of the wild fires in that area, but still enjoyed the spectacular views of the Columbia River as we drove away from the reservation.

As I had a date to fly home from Helena and Bid was to be at the Bear Paw site the following weekend, we decided our next stop would be somewhere in Montana.

From Idaho to Washington State….

While we were in Lewiston, Idaho, Bid and I decided to chart a course to the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington.

I had never been in Washington (or Oregon for that matter) and was frankly more than surprised

that the landscape

consisted of wheat fields as far as the eye could see

for the entire trip from Idaho to our destination in Washington.

I guess I was expecting to see vineyards.

Pilgrimage, heading toward Idaho and beyond...

As we left Joseph, Oregon and the banks of the Imnaha,
we only knew it seemed right to head to
 Lewiston, Idaho where the Nez Perce/US Treaty established a reservation
for the majority who signed it. This treaty was referred by some as the 'Steal' Treaty of 1863,
and eventually caused the clash between Chief Joseph's band and the US Government.

In Lewiston, the Nez Perce Visitor's Center delighted us with evidence of their ancient crafts and culture, and current customs of this modern tribe. 

We were happy to glean, while we were there, that the Nez Perce of that area seemed to be well, happy and proud of their heritage. We learned that their livelihood as fishermen and women was impacted by upstream dams and that they seem to have recovered and run a vibrant fishing industry. At least that's how it seemed. After some discussion with a Native Healer there, we learned that they were being guided by their elders to honor their forefathers, and with ceremony, help them all to release the sadness and bitterness of the past. Bid also learned there was to be a commemorative ceremony at the 

Bear Paw Battle site in northern Montana the very next weekend. 

She committed to attend.

After discovering (ahhhh, love that Google) that Chief Joseph, the Younger, was buried at the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington, near the Grand Coulee Dam,

we decided that's where we would head next. 

Pilgrimage, week 2 - continued,

So there we were in the sweet quiet town of Joseph,

named after the Josephs, the Elder and the Younger

without, by the way, any visual evidence of Native Americans currently residing there.

It was a bittersweet visit.  The people we met, both residents, and tourists alike were the friendliest we were to encounter on our journey.

While we were shopping in town, Bid met a woman, about our age, who had been raised by her grandparents in the rural Wallowa Valley.
Sue was sympathetic to our pilgrimage. She graciously invited us to her home to view an amazing print she had hanging over her fireplace which commemorated Joseph's last flight for freedom.

While in Joseph, we learned that the people of this county live in harmony with one another, no matter their status, rich or poor, young or old, race or creed.  

We heard it said, "we have each other's backs".

We also learned that, by one account, the Nez Perce tribe offered to purchase a sacred plot of land from an old rancher who was selling his property and he had refused to sell to them. We learned that the State intervened and purchased the land with the rancher unaware that the Nez Perce had put up the money. 

It's now a park in town, and we believe the 'bones' of their fathers are somewhere near.

This is a very sad story, and our empathy increased with each chapter.

We were told that Old Chief Joseph's (Joseph's father) remains were eventually moved to this location in Joseph. 

We went to his grave, and sat on a hill nearby

and recited a 'forgiveness' prayer. 

It was that moment, Bid and I realized that Forgiveness was to be the theme for our journey.

 The story goes that, as Old Chief Joseph passed on leadership to his son, he directed him 

"not to sell the bones of your parents,"

as he was being pressured by the government to give up their homeland to settlers and gold diggers.

That was to be the legacy Chief Joseph the Younger ….

to not give up the sacred land of his people.

We experienced that the Joseph band of the Nez Perce's homeland in the Wallowa Valley 

was and still remains a most

 beautiful, serene, fertile and safe place.

It is a temperate valley, comfortable in both winter and summer.

We were in their 'summer home' and and before we left the area, 

we visited their 'winter home', 

deep in the valley on the banks of the Imnaha.

Eventually, Joseph and his band of Nez Perce were forced to leave this valley.

From here, they travelled for 3 months to escape the US government groups…

We decided to follow some of this path.

Pilgrimage, Week 2....

After the jolliment of our Telluride tour, in sharp contrast, I then joined my friend Bid, who'd spent the week with us, as she embarked on a pilgrimage to honor the great Native American Chief, Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe.

Bid was my host when I visited New Zealand 5 years ago, and I was so happy to reunite with her as she planned to visit the US.

Chief Joseph

As this was Bid's quest, "To bring the Chiefs home",  I figured my role was to support her in any way I could and acted as navigator as we headed out from where we were in Colorado to Joseph's homeland, the Wallowa Valley in Oregon. 

Propped up in the back seat of Bid's rented Hyundai was the sensitive portrait she had painted of Joseph, along with another Chief, Frank Fools Crow of the 

Oglala Lakota tribe,

aka "the Chiefs"

The Chiefs were our Companions and Spirit Guides for the duration of this journey,

 and no one seemed to question as they joined us each night in our hotel room…

Driving from Telluride, 

our first stop was to view the eye boggling Red Canyon on the Green River….

in the Flaming Gorge Recreational area in Northeastern Utah on the Wyoming/Utah border.

After staying way too long gasping at beauty

we altered our original plans

 and drove a harrowing road in darkness,

 through a winding mountain pass to end up in 

Logan, UT for the night.

(OK, Bid drove, and I kept a lookout for mule deer and cows on the road.)

The next day after being pulled over by Idaho's finest for a minor traffic violation…..

(luckily two babbling gals, one with a VERY thick Kiwi accent,

 confused the officer enough not to ticket us…)

we stayed in

Baker City, Oregon

After four days on the road, and over 1,000 miles, we finally reached our destination of the 

Wallowa Valley

and

the small town of

Joseph, Oregon

The weather was perfect and we enjoyed our first glimpse of autumn.

Pilgrimage, week 1 of 3….

For three weeks, in September and early October, I left my small safe place and headed out on the road again…

My Dearest and I began by driving north from Albuquerque to steep in ancient culture

and scramble around

Mesa Verde National Park…

just 4 hours north of Albuquerque

and on the way to 

Telluride, Colorado

where we spent the week as a very generous gift from my Son and his Wife, with Friends, 

and had an all round glorious, luxurious, fun time, shopping, eating, biking, 

and

hiking

 around the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park….

And listening to some VERY LOUD music….