When the rain sets in, the skies push the grey down, the sun is a barely visible circle in the sky, I know I must seek the brightness of the mountains. Its a need of my soul to be surrounded by light, pushing the darkness away. The mountains offer that promise of light though temporarily. The white of the snow reflecting light all around even though the sun in nowhere in sight. We climb, first with the car, and then with our snowshoes on, pushing forward to possibly break through the clouds and feel that sun on our faces.
Artist point our destination, Isaac volunteered to sherpa the gear and Job attacked the mountain being in wrestling shape. At one point, John and I decided to walk around the hill so we could climb steadily but gradually while the young men went up the face. Unfortunately, once we reached the top they were nowhere in sight. We decided that they had gone ahead of us and we needed to catch up. Yet once we had crested the next hill, they were still nowhere to be found. It was then we realized that instead of turning towards Artist Point, they continued on, following the skiers tracks. They were lost; and that is how they felt about us. We regrouped within 20 minutes of wandering. Instead of the blue sky that would feed my soul, we found wind and clouds. Sheltering between a couple of hills, we quickly tore into our sandwiches, guzzled some hot chocolate and decided to turn around heading for the car. Once down the hill, the blue sky came out along with the camp robbers. A good day and a little bit of sun for the soul at the end.
For the last few years, I've introduced peole to the eagles on the Nooksack. When we drive up and park, steeping out of the car, we can immediately hear the eagles call to one another. It is such a distinctive shriek and they chatter too. And when that person first catches a glimpse of one or two eagle soaring over head, joy and amazement wash over their face., it gives me a thrill. I absolutely love it. I take them down to the river, and crossing over logs or sometimes just wading through the water we find a spot to watch and photograph. Sometimes the eagles are more active than other times but it is always a treat.
Sometimes I just need to find Christmas. I look around and Christmas is gone. Sales are here but it's holiday this and holiday that. No one says "Merry Christmas". I need Christmas. I need the Christmas lights, Christmas candy, Christmas trees. I need the smiling faces and the quiet humming of Christmas music. My country has given up Christmas for tolerance and non offending holidays. So I did what needed to be done and left my country in search of Christmas. Luckily I found it across the border in Vancouver. John and I spend the day drinking mulled wine, beer, and hot toddys. We had a tunnel bread filled with nutella. We ate burgers and sausages, looked at the shops filled with European Christmas gifts. We carried our umbrellas and bumped into people, saying excuse us and sorry and Merry Christmas. People smiled and laughed and strolled. Lights twinkled, music played, and children under scarves and parkas giggled. At the end of it, we were cold, wet and I was filled with Christmas.
