Haven't we left Kansas yet, Toto?

Day 10 August 25, 2011... Ahhhh, the wonders of the drama of life unfolding.  At first the theme for today was hurry up and wait but a deeper theme emerged over time.

We awoke to a Kansas sunrise in Salina

So far so good.   We left the Marriot Courtyard about 8am but after 10 minutes we returned to pick up some items we left behind in our rush to get away early.  Hmm, not an auspicious beginning.  Another ten minutes  later our yellow bumblebee began to miss so badly we had to stop by the side of I70. We checked it over, got in the car, restarted it and NOTHING happened!!! It would not start at all.

Charlie called AAA, who said they would call a tow truck but would give no indication of time.  He thought he could do that too, so hung up, searched the net on his iPhone for tow companies and about 20 came up.  He picked one to call and asked if they dealt with AAA.  Her response: Hello Mr. Kouns, we are on the way to pick you up now. The driver should be there very soon!"  Of all the towing companies, he had dialed the one that was coming to get them! Not 15 minutes later there was a AAA tow truck and we were on our way - back to Salina!!

All's well that ends well.  It was a very interesting experience that lasted until about 2pm.    First, we gave thanks that we were not miles in the middle of nowhere.   Charlie noted that he "felt" we should go to the dealership but did not "listen" -- yet another of life's teaching moments to trust our intuition.   But it gets better.   First the Nissan dealership was close and the people very friendly and helpful and as we discovered very good and efficient and fair.
We sat for a couple of hours waiting - which on the face of it seems very dull - a Nissan dealership waiting room in Salina KS.  Yet it gave us a couple of hours of reflection time, down time without needing to "get somewhere".   We felt refreshed and settled by the time they came with the diagnosis.  What came to us was the fact that we were trying to rush through the "dull" lands of the prairies - and felt somewhat pressured and anxious to "see as much as possible" without really being aware of it. Another reminder that richness in the moment is within - not without.   

We were glad to hear that it was the distributor cap - not the driveshaft or the transmission which were all possibilities at one or another stage.   So after a lunch at the local IHOP we got to in a Nissam courtesy car -- we were finally and happily on our way. 

Kansas!!

Day 9 August 24
We left the Historic Boulderado Hotel in Boulder about 9:30 and headed east!   But first we wish to add a few photos from last night: Prue and Charlie studiously photographing the Art Deco Theatre from many angles and reflections.

The car continued to run well - ( whew!).  Today was a d-r-i-v-i-n-g day.  There were no notable occurrences other than the heat and the seemingly endless flatness.   We travelled steadily through eastern Colorado - ranch country of rolling hills.  We entered Kansas - which stretched for miles and miles .... and more flat miles of grassland, wheat crops, corn and grazing country. 

ONE HUMOROUS NOTE: We think the flat prairie got to the highway workers putting down lines on the road. Either that or it was somebody's last day!!

Francis was noting how different the land is from Australia.  Australia also has vast expanses of blue sky, flat topography and grazing lands  -- but these are much poorer in soil and fertility.  He was struck by the abundance of the  US prairies - the rich soils, adequate rainfall and the sense of productivity.

We were hoping to get to Topeka which is towards the western end of Kansas, but we stopped just short.  We are now in Salina  still about 2 hours west of Topeka.  We were planning to camp in a State Park but it was too hot - over 90 degrees at 7pm.  Salina is a smallish town known for its manufacturing!  despite its location in farming country.   After a dearth of food all day, we found a sweet restaurant - the Wood Fashion Cafe - that served wild rice dishes with tofu and fabulous cheesecakes - all made with only locally grown ingredients.   Quite a find after a diet of chips and coffee the rest of the day.    Tomorrow we leave early for Topeka where Charlie's great grandfather Charles W Kouns was the general manager of the Atchison - Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in the early 1900's. We are planning to visit the libraries and museums to see what we can find about him.  

Time for zzzzzzz.  But before we sign off -- so many thanks for the emails and greetings we are receiving.   We feel held by you as we travel.

In anticipation of another wonderful day tomorrow - we bid you each and all good night!

Surrender

Makasha read us this yesterday:

"One must surrender oneself to what is beyond oneself.  One must cultivate a deeper faith and vision focused on the divine and compel all parts of the being to accept the new orientation".  Sri Aurobindo. 

Day 8: Boulder, CO

August 23, 2011... The morning began with Charlie taking the Xterra to a shop to get it looked at. The verdict: clogged fuel injectors.  The cost $24.00! So we shall see when we hit the road tomorrow!  Then we had a wonderful breakfast with Frances and Prue. Their mission for the day was to explore the town, while ours was to meet with our friends Makasha and Katherine to discuss Imagine Learning and the Hummingbird Living School .  On a previous visit, we felt guided to explore the creation of a new educational offering based upon our alignment around children.

On that visit, while the four of them sat in ceremony in a kiva, Charlie had had a vision of the four of them standing in a circle, holding hands.  From the center of the circle stood a tall tree, with a branch going out to each of the four of them in the four directions.  There was music and joy in the leaves when they moved.   It was a sign to the four of them to plant a new seed together that would flourish into the tree. The key would be the quality of the connection between them.

On this trip, our purpose was to listen for what that seed might be.  On the hottest day on record in Boulder, we sat in the shade of a porch at Star House (a remarkable place stewarded by Makasha and Katherine's friends, David and Leila Tressemer.  We had a wonderful session that ended in the kiva with a closing ceremony.  Makasha and Katherine are beautiful visionaries who had served others for many years and continue to advance ideas of a future that includes all of us.  They also founded an intentional community (where they live) called Hummingbird.

We plan to continue developing our work together after we are settled in North Carolina.

The evening saw all of us get together for a nourishing dinner. It was a wonderful conclusion to the day. More to come, but here are some photos:

Katherine and Prue

Francis and Makasha

US!

Day 7: The Road to Boulder

Aug. 22, 2011... We were scheduled to meet our friends Makasha and Katherine Roske in Boulder for dinner, so we left Lake Jackson early in the morning and began the nine hour drive.  Soon after we began to drive southeast across Wyoming, the Xterra began to show signs of problems.  As we accelerated it would begin to shudder and balk - like the engine was missing a lot.  The problem only worsened as the morning went on.  We suspected we had taken bad gasoline, but there were other more serious possibilities as well, ie. the drive shaft, or the transmission.  The biggest issue was that the land we were passing through was empty... literally empty for miles and miles. It was the Shawnee Indian Reservation.

We went for many hours nursing the Xterra along hoping we could make it to Laramie for repairs at a dealership.  We had no cell service or 3G.  It was exciting.

Finally in a small town called Rawlins, just about 50 miles from Laramie, we filled up with high test Phillips 66.  We were determined to make it to Laramie where there was a Nissan dealership.  Within a few minutes, the shuddering lessened and by the time we hit Laramie, it was running beautifully!  So we decided to make our journey into Boulder.

We made our dinner with the Roske's and settled into a most wonderful conclusion to a very stressful day.

Here are some shots from the day:

Miles of this in a sputtering car

More and More

All of it beautiful

Sunset over Boulder as we drive in

Just as we got to dinner with Makasha and Katherine

Day 6: Grand Teton National Park

August 21, 2011...   The majesty of these mountains and pure scenic beauty are amazing.  Only in New Zealand have we seen this type of powerful, statuesque beauty.  The highlight of our time there came as we rented a small boat and traveled out onto Lake Jackson.  It is a very large lake and the western shoreline is close to the mountain range.  We were not allowed to land our boat, so we were content to cruise the shores at the foot of the mountains.  We saw bald eagles, an otter and one lone moose taking his time along the shore line impervious to us - only thirty yards off shore.  We spent an extra night in order to spend more time there.

Tetons in the Distance

Sunset in the Tetons

Redwood or Cedar tree in the evening Sun

Bakd eagle drying his wings or selling black market watches

Prue

Stella and Francis

Sunrise on Mount Moran

The Moose Movie

Day 5: Yellowstone

August 20, 2011... We spent most of the day on the road driving south from Bozeman through Yellowstone National Park into the Grand Tetons.  It was a much easier pace, so we stopped and took photos along the way.  Yellowstone is huge! Miles and miles of wilderness to explore, but we stuck to the back road that led along Yellowstone River and into Yellowstone Lake.  Gorgeous scenery. Beautiful drive.

An interesting aspect of the trip was the fact that whenever a bear, moose, bison, or coyote was seen, there was a mad rush of cars packed along the side road with cameras going ga ga at their presence.  Somehow it seemed surreal, like we were in a zoo, a really big zoo.  On the other hand it was exciting to see people so desirous to connect with nature, to move back into a part of themselves that is yearning to live a more natural, rhythmic life. It raised all sorts of questions to ponder as we drove by (not taking pictures).

Pronghorn Antelope (stolen off a calendar!)

petrified tree

Yellowstone's gentle appearance

Forest fires take their toll

the beautiful Yellowstone River

From Yellowstone, we entered the Grand Teton National Park in the early evening and checked in to the Signal Mountain Lodge.

Day 4: Bozeman and Lori Ryker

August 19, 2011... One of our reasons for pushing so hard to get to Bozeman was to meet with the architect, Lori Ryker.  Because of family commitments, the only day she had to meet with us was the 19th, so we had to push to get in and we are so glad that we did. Lori is a unique combination of many wonderful qualities.  She has a wonderful design sense, an extensive knowledge of sustainable building (she's written two books on the subject) and she is embracing a new direction in architecture that is more organic in nature.  You can see her work at studioryker.com.  She is also a passionate teacher of young people and in addition to teaching, runs a special studio for them every summer.

What we found so interesting in Lori's work, was not as much her architecture as her jewelry and this statement that she wrote in her introduction to the Artemis institute, a nonprofit she has founded:




This combination of spirtuality, design, and sustainability are the three elements we have been looking for in a partner to help us build Butterfly Farm.  We asked Lori to think about how she would translate her jewelry design into architecture.  Her jewelry design is flowing, intuitive, organic, lovingly crafted, beautifully designed.  She thought the opportunity to explore this idea with us would be fantastic.  She said that it was a direction she was looking to travel in but that none of her clients before this had asked for such a possibility.  We will see what evolves together!!  But it certainly felt like Lori was someone who would walk with us all the way through the process.

Lori and Stella

Day 3: The Road to Bozeman

August 18, 2011...We broke camp early today by the river Malheur and began the long ride out of Oregon across Idaho and into Bozeman.  All along the scenery evolved into one magnificent and huge valley into the next, framed by the mountains on both side all along the way.

Along the way in Idaho we visited the Craters of the Moon National Monument, a field of lava that runs for miles and miles. Nothing but broken cinders of lava that look like iron swiss cheese. Beautiful.  You get the idea that this part of the world was not particularly friendly for many millions of years.

Eventually, we made our way to the Montana state line and began the drive into Bozeman.  There definitely is a reason why so many people have migrated to Montana! It was just one amazing scene after another. Unfortunately we cannot post many photos for all to see,  but it is amazing country.

Finally, after ten or twelve hours on the road, we walked into the Voss Inn in Bozeman.

Day 2: Ontario, Oregon

We had a long day today.  It was a drive through some very unique country - a far different looking landscape than the Oregon we know from the Coast.  Very rugged and more like the west than the Northwest.  Some agriculture and long expanses of massive landscapes with steep rising canyon walls.
Just before dusk we were an hour outside of Ontario.  We had been traveling for some time beside the river, Malheur.  An opportunity to camp beside it arose and just as dark settled, this weary foursome settled into camp.  A moon rose and although it was only a half moon, it was so bright it easily lit the landscape around us.

We got into photographing barns

Lake Albert

The Eastern Oregon we did not know

Night Camping - comfy!

By the river Malheur

The Xterra all loaded up

Day 1: Mt. Shasta

After all of the hoopla getting out of town, we had intended to drive to Crater Lake, but by the time we reached Mt. Shasta, we stopped and had a wonderful evening at the Dream Inn in downtown Mt. Shasta. The next morning breakfast was served in a gazebo in their garden out back surrounded by roses and vegetable plants as well as rasberry and blueberry plants, which were picked and served to us.  Such a wonderful morning experience.

The Dream Inn - Spanish Style

Breakfast in the Garden

From there, we drove up Mt. Shasta to the parking lot at the top.  We spent an hour being with the Mountain. It was life affirming and the view was as spectacular as ever.  We feel so at home on Mt. Shasta.  At one point in her life, Stella seriously considered living there. It has a power that has spurred thousands of legends and drawn people from all over the world. You never know what experience you will have, but it will always be an experience!

Mt. Shasta from Downtown

Up on the Mountain

Stella and One of her Spiritual Mentors

Frances and Prue go Topless on the Way Up/Down!

Ready, Set, Go.... to DMV

May 16, 2011... We said good-bye to the house and walked down to get in the cars.  Francis and Prue were going to drive the TT and Stella and Charlie, the Xterra.  As we walked up to the cars, Prue looked at the license plate to the TT and noticed that it had EXPIRED! Reluctant to drive, as they should have been, a discussion ensued as to what to do.  Easy... just go to DMV on the way out of town and get the registration up to date.  Easy, right?  Well, read on.

So Charlie and Prue went inside DMV while Francis and Stella took a box to the post office.  Only the DMV has suffered such cutbacks that the line to go inside was out the door.  Twenty five minutes later, they met with the reception person who gives you a number so you can wait for a person to help you get registered.  This person was not in the best mood.  Charlie explained that this was moving day and that we wanted to get the vehicle registration renewed. "Let me check," he says.

After a few minutes there is a major glitch appearing.  It seems that when Charlie paid off the vehicle earlier in the year, his bank did not send him the title.  Finally, after learning they had not, he requested the title and eventually received it.  Even though DMV had the records stating he was now the owner, they had to physically SEE the title.  He did not know that and what's more, the title was packed in a box headed for Asheville, NC!!! The man said that without the title, he could do nothing. No title. No Registration. Next in line.

So Charlie goes outside and looks through the one box of papers he kept for stuff happening in 2011. Nada. By now, Stella and Francis have joined them and the four decide to go back inside and plead the case to a supervisor... not the man at the desk.  Bypass...

Only now it is lunch time and the line is 25 people deep. Wait... wait... wait...

With only two people in front of the four of them, a new DMV hostess comes up and sits down to help direct people. Charlie has worked with her before and she is nice.  He crosses his fingers as to which to get. And as the Universe would direct it, he gets her! Oh happy day. The four are filled with optimism.

She hears the sob story, replete with Francis and Prue attesting to their Australian origins by speaking in Australian accents.  She takes pity on the crew and decides to send them on to a window where the person waiting on them can decided their fate.

Thirty minutes later they are standing before the DMV representative named Joseph.  They repeat the story, accents included. Joseph listens... can't tell if he is sympathetic or not. But at the end, he gets it all straight and says he might be able to help us.  He goes to see a supervisor.  She gives him authorization to give us a current registration only if Charlie signs a document promising to take care of this when he gets to North Carolina.

Two and a half hours after they began their quest, the happy group is on the road at 3:15 pm!!!!.

Jubilation! but driving time to our destination severely curtailed.  Change plans.  We drive to Mt. Shasta and forgo our reservations at Crater Lake Oregon.

Loving Completion

Just as we had done with the sale of Charlie's mother's home in Knoxville, TN, we held the intention of loving completion for the move from Mill Valley.  To us, Loving Completion meant putting all of our love, energy and effort into leaving in a way that was energetically clean so as to move forward into our new vision with as few "karmic strings" as possible.  It also meant preparing the house to welcome another family who will be renting from us.

In the midst of this, our beautiful friends Gary and Nirinjan Yee asked if we were holding a ceremony to complete our time here.  A ceremony? We looked at each other and realized that in all of the details of getting ready to go, we had not even considered this! But what a beautiful idea.  In the last remaining days - hours actually - we were only able to invite a few folks from the Bay area.  Cathy, a childhood friend of Stella's joined us from Vancouver by Skype.   However, the spirit of each of you was with us, by way of living in our hearts.

So on Monday evening after the furniture had left and the house was completely empty, a small, wonderful gathering of folks assembled, representing many aspects of our lives in the Bay area and beyond.

Nirinjan began with a welcome, holding a tourmaline crystal she had brought from her home.

Our Beautiful Crystal

She asked all those present to charge it with their well wishes and their personal energy.  So one by one, each person took the stone and spoke to us from their hearts, wishing us well, offering us courage, love, inspiration, and many other wonderful words.  With each person's well wishes, our hearts swelled and filled with emotion.  So many beautiful gifts were offered.  At the conclusion of the offerings, we were given the stone and a wonderful pouch to carry it on our journey.

We both knew that this was the intention of Loving Completion coming to a close.  We cannot thank everyone enough for the many gifts that were given that night and the many gifts each of you has offered for our journey in your emails and phone calls.  Here are a few photos - partial in the extreme -  sorry to everyone whose beautiful smiles and eyes are not here.   With all that was going on, we are afraid this is it!

The Circle is Forming

Nirinjan, Maureen, Gary

Michael, Gail, Charlie, Stella, Francis, Prue