Sunday, August 4, 2013

JOURNEY HOME

SUITCASE DIARIES

(I should call this bathtub diaries as the last 2 entries were written in bathtub and shower. Sharing one bedroom does provide its challenges when exhaustion demands, quite, darkness and sleep for one and a place to work for another in a motel. Actually it works out quite well.)

Day 5 - Regina to Calgary via the #1 Trans Canada Hwy
We left at 9:30 a.m. and got in at 9:30 p.m.

the badlands of Alberta taken in one direction

Rod and I were driving through Saskatchewan today for many hours...

Rod: "How are you doing?"
Me: "Great! And, you?"
Rod: "Good, I just woke up from a nap."
Me: "Oh ya, I just finished a yoga practice. Headstand was a bit of a challenge but I managed."
Rod: "I just thought I'd warn you that a curve is coming up in about 15 minutes."

That's how straight and flat the territory is here - you can see for miles in every direction. Add to that, that: eastbound and westbound traffic is separated by a substantial grassy meridian, you can set the car on cruise and there is little traffic going our way (more eastbound cars and only eastbound cyclists so far) and you can see that the potential for sleepiness is a real threat. I actually was able to do some yoga stretches while driving and it did help a lot.

Goin' down the road - the boarder between Saskatchewan and Alberta

The past 3 days I've been reminded to use caution while driving these past 3 days as I have drawn the Meditate card - when you drive, drive.

The scrubby trees of the Ontario watershed area that supplies the arctic waters gave way to a carpet of purple wild flowers flanked by stands of trees on either side of the road for 30 minutes and then "poof" they were gone and we were in the big sky territory of the prairies.

I marvel at the vastness of the sky, the high ceiling. It's fortunate that I wasn't born and raised in the prairies as I probably couldn't live anywhere else, I would find it too claustrophobic. As we drove through the badlands of Alberta into the setting sun the horizon was so barren and expansive I felt as if I was driving off the edge of the earth.

The day began with country western songs, appropriate for this rugged farm land, from 92.7 BIG DOG radio. Later, my i-pod on mix provided me with an eclectic mix, among them: The Smothers Brothers - Mom always liked you best routine, the Stones, Josh Groban, Spanish language lessons, Spike Lee's You Only Hurt the Ones You Love, and Canadian artists: Jann Arden (Calgarian), Blue Rodeo, Valdy, Great Big Sea, the Barenaked Ladies to mention a few. I skipped the New Age stuff, the classical and things that were too sedate.

My emotions are calmer today. Maybe I exorcised them at the Ontario Manitoba boarder where I stopped yesterday for a brief ceremony. My longest time friend, Janet had given me a portable smudge kit years back and I've been using it on this trip to smudge my car at the beginning and end of each day.   As I stood looking back to Ontario I asked that any heavy, negative energy be released, I gave thanks for all that this province has blessed me with and I asked for forgiveness for any transgressions during my stay there and with that I threw tobacco, white sage and a small prayer bundle into the air.

and in the other direction

The first song that came up after this ceremony would be telling. The first one was OM MANI PADME HUM then KAHAWI'THA by Joanne Shenandoah and later NORTHERN BOUND from the WINGED MIGRATION soundtrack (discernible lyrics are "journey home") - perhaps this is auspicious.








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