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.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
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:
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:
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| Katherine and Prue |
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| Francis and Makasha |
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| 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:
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:
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| Miles of this in a sputtering car |
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| More and More |
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| All of it beautiful |
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| Sunset over Boulder as we drive in |
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| 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.
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| Tetons in the Distance |
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| Sunset in the Tetons |
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| Redwood or Cedar tree in the evening Sun |
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| Bakd eagle drying his wings or selling black market watches |
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| Prue |
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| Stella and Francis |
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| 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).
From Yellowstone, we entered the Grand Teton National Park in the early evening and checked in to the Signal Mountain Lodge.
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).
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| Pronghorn Antelope (stolen off a calendar!) |
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| petrified tree |
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| Yellowstone's gentle appearance |
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| Forest fires take their toll |
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| 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.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
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.
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.
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| 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.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
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.
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.
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| We got into photographing barns |
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| Lake Albert |
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| The Eastern Oregon we did not know |
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| Night Camping - comfy! |
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| By the river Malheur |
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| 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.
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| The Dream Inn - Spanish Style |
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| 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!
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| Mt. Shasta from Downtown |
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| Up on the Mountain |
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| Stella and One of her Spiritual Mentors |
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| Frances and Prue go Topless on the Way Up/Down! |
Friday, August 19, 2011
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.
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.
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