Category: Uncategorized

August 2022

Clifford and I are camped at my sister Nancy’s place. So much moving around these last weeks leaves me feeling scattered without focus or purpose. Thinking about Intention and Attention: I need to put more focus on intention and then apply attention to that.

Early August is hot, so one intention for our avoid-the-heat strategy is sitting in the  air-conditioned eating area for lunch at Super 1 in Stevensville followed by an ice cream cone and then going to the nearby Bitterroot River .

I am trying to focus on “Pieces of Perfection” as I call those moments that bring joy to my life. Sitting outside with a cup of French press coffee and my “short stack” – planner, journal, and a book of inspirational reading, and fewer mosquitoes in the early morning are pieces of perfection to start these summer days. Sometimes I walk about the yard finding simple things to photograph, like light just after sunrise hitting the young cottonwoods or highlighting weeds, and often I go with Nancy as she walks her dogs.

Last fall Clifford purchased a used RV for me to have a home base with my daughter Ang. By mid-August, the site is ready and the RV is moved and set up in its new place. There are still things that need to be done to make it fully functional, but having it in place is a big step. I spend a couple days with Ang and start getting my RV furnished with items that were brought from Monticello and that have been in storage. Outdoor table and chairs are set up to provide a shady spot for us to sit on these hot summer days.

One Friday in mid-August, Nancy and I drive to Trout Creek for the Huckleberry Festival. We are surprised to find that the Huckleberry Festival doesn’t start until the next day, which is kind of a bummer to have driven so far for a huckleberry ice cream cone and other fun stuff. Other than that little timing error, it is a beautiful day. We stop along the Clarkfork River for photos and have a picnic at the campground where Nancy and Dick often camp.

We did some fun shopping at the Family Dollar store in Thompson Falls, and then we drove out to a restored CCC building  along the Thompson River where I was the stone mason laying the stone covering the cement foundation when I lived in Thompson Falls in 1997.

Nancy and I have a fun outing near the end of August with a trip to Wallace to visit my daughter Katie and two grandsons. After lunch, Nancy, Katie, and I hike the Pulaski Trail on the outskirts of Wallace, going as far as the bridge and waterfall at the ½ mile marker. This was always a favorite spot when Clifford and I lived in Wallace.

The last week of August, I feel the shift to autumn. Is it a change in the color of the light or the chill of the early morning, or something else – I don’t know, but I feel it.

July is off to a good start when my daughter Ang and a friend come out to my sister Nancy’s place to remove one of the dinette benches in our RV so the table can be turned lengthwise under the big window. It had struck me that this would be the way to make more usable room in Cougar. When the job is done, I am pleased with how much more spacious our front room is. There is still some reorganizing that needs to take place, but I know this is a good change and I am looking forward to making our living space more pleasing and harmonious.

On the mornings that I wake up before Clifford, I do a short Qigong routine before making coffee, being as quiet as possible so as to not disturb his sleep. Recalling a meditation from Holden Qigong, I breathe in, smile, exhale letting the smile melt into my heart as I think of something I am grateful for. My heart fills with gratitude and more “Pieces of Perfection” reveal themselves to me, such as a brief moment of sunlight on the wet grass. Other “Pieces of Perfection” these early July days – my first cup of French press coffee, light streaming though the aspen leaves and tall grass at the edge of the yard.

Morning is a time for me to read uplifting and insightful words. From the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra, I read: “Pay attention and check with the heart, with the actual feeling generated in regard to any decision or action.” My heart likes taking photos of trees and flowers. Many mornings, Nancy and I walk the dogs along the road or to the woods along the river, an activity providing many opportunities to be mindful of the beauty that surrounds us.

One morning, getting up a bit earlier than usual, I am excited to see mist rising from the nearby ponds and the river. I run out to take photos, but the mosquitoes are so bad, I decide to skip walking down the road. As the mist starts to lift, I change my mind and walk out to the highway, getting images that I really like. I am grateful to be alive to enjoy the beauty that surrounds me, despite annoying mosquitoes.

Sometimes one has to wonder the how and why of one’s vibration drawing unpleasant things, especially when one (me) is living with a positive attitude or maybe I should say trying to maintain an attitude of gratitude and appreciation. A thought that comes to mind is Allowing. I like sitting out, but the mosquitoes that keep me inside call for Allowing, mice inside despite traps call for Allowing, not hearing from my kids when I know they are facing challenges calls for Allowing — accepting what is, but not focusing on it, as that only draws more of the unwanted.

Cleaning counter tops showing evidence of a mouse (yuk!), I think of my friend Caroline’s comments on cleaning/cleansing one’s home being a spiritual activity as well as a physical activity, and I try to keep a good attitude about this additional work and enjoy the view out the window of the trees, green grass, and sparkles of moisture twinkling in the slight breeze.

An afternoon thunderstorm gives the gift of a rainbow, which is certainly a piece of perfection.

Evenings bring sunset colors to mountains and clouds.

We are looking forward to going to the Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival coming up later this month, but in the meantime, we are pleased with this pleasant spot at Nancy’s.

After the family days at Seeley Lake in northwest Montana in late June, my daughter Ang and I say good-bye to her sister, my daughter, Becka, who will soon be heading back to Hawaii.

After our good-byes, Ang and I go back to her place for an evening solstice bonfire honoring the changing of the seasons. The next morning, she and I have coffee on her deck, enjoying the beauty of the trees that surround us and the geraniums that wintered in the greenhouse.

 I admire the scenery along highway 12 as Clifford and I head back  to our RV, which is set up in my sister Nancy’s back yard.

In the later afternoon, Nancy and I walk her dogs along the road to the wooded area along the Bitterroot River.

Although the big back yard where we are parked is lovely, the mosquitoes are anything but lovely, and Clifford and I spend much of the day inside Cougar (our RV) working on indoor projects. When the mosquitoes settle down in the afternoon, Clifford, Nancy, and I play bluegrass music outdoors. Although our repertoire is limited, it is a fun time for us.

Nancy and I walk her dogs mornings and evenings, striding along to keep ahead of the mosquitoes. Of course, I have to dawdle to take photos, especially on the mornings when mist is rising from the river and the nearby ponds. Despite the mosquitoes, this is a favorite time of day for me.

On our travels as we were heading through Nevada on our way to Montana, my almost new Gateway laptop hard drive totally crashed. I have been using an older laptop to get by, but now that we are close to Missoula, we take it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy. Sadly, all my data is gone, including my editing of books for a couple of authors, edited photos, and already-written blogs. Fortunately, the book editing is recovered from emails recently sent to these authors, but the edited photos are gone, as are the recently written blogs. The next step is sending the laptop back to the company to have the hard drive repaired or replaced. Due to the weeks that I’ve been without the laptop plus the weeks it takes until the repaired laptop is returned, I have gotten quite far behind on the travel blogs. Losing so much data is very disheartening and it will be a while before I write and publish blogs again. In the meantime, I have other projects to work on, and taking photos is something I do no matter what.

Tuesday August 17, 2021

Yesterday afternoon, we discovered that our intended destination, Divide Bridge Camp-ground, has been converted to a forest fire staging area. We continued driving north on I-15 to the rest stop south of Butte, glad to find a place to pull over for the night after a long hot day of driving through the heavy forest fire smoke that has obscured the landscape since we left Provo, Utah, a couple days ago.

We spend all day (Tuesday) at the rest stop, as it is too windy for safe travel. I help Clifford with rewiring the old backup camera, as the new one is still not working. We are outside with wires and tools spread out when a thunderstorm blows in making the work more difficult, but the cool moisture is much appreciated.

The rain continues into the night and this morning (Wednesday) there is a drizzle. A photo taken yesterday, pale grey with smoke, is almost indistinguishable from a photo this morning of the drizzle, but the drizzle sure feels better!

We leave the rest area about noon and as we travel west, the air quality improves and the 90+ degrees of the past days is replaced with a high of 58 degrees.

I thought we might stop at a rest area east of Missoula to spend the night, but Clifford decides to push on through to the Charles Waters Campground in the Bass Creek Recreation Area in the Bitterroot Valley south of Missoula. We arrive about 4:30 with only three sites available to choose from. Although I prefer the creekside camps, we choose a campsite that will receive enough sunlight for the solar panels.

After a visit say Hello to Bass Creek, I get the kitchen set up while Clifford gets antennas and ham shack functional.

This site has a pleasing mix of meadow and tall Ponderosa pines as well as shrubs and other evergreens. It will be a very nice place for us to spend the next two weeks. We are happy to be here!