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Thursday, October 17, 2013

Nirvana On My Mind





Yesterday, after a sun-splashed and windless mountain bike excursion through hill and dale country (arroyo and mesa in eastern Utah), we returned to Camp Boonster and gathered at the steps of Goldie's Bar and Grill in order to further overdose on natural vitamin D.  It was one of those Indian Summer kind of days where only fools retreat indoors to play with devices and check on the lack of progress in the hallowed halls of D C.

As we baked and tanned our way into the afternoon a lone biker rode up on a Cannondale and inquired if my name might be "Mark." It turned out that he was a longtime BCB reader from back in the The Artful RV Adventure days when our rig was an Excel Fiver. Kelly was from Port Townsend, Washington, and even though P T is in the so called "rain shadow," he was on a search for Nirvana...the perfect place to call home, a place with sunnier skies, warmer temperatures, and greater variety of landscapes. "Welcome to it my friend, it doesn't get any better than today right here."

Kelly knew of our search for the perfect place to live (my search, really...Bobbie has always known where her "home" lies). He had "a bone to pick" with me, too, that I ended up concluding the Artful Adventure search with the realization that Nirvana is only a concept that exists in the hearts and minds of restless dreamers, the kind of people who grow bored soon after plopping their asses down. 

As an example, I told him how I loved the Pacific Northwest, Anacortes in particular, but qualified that sentence by ending it with, "in September." Yes, Anacortes is Nirvana...but only for about six weeks a year. When the clouds and rain return come October through July, Her light goeth out like a candle in the wind. 

And while not all places are created equal, there is a climatical price to pay no matter where one lands if they overstay their welcome. I grow overheated in my beloved Sonoran Desert come April. And I grow too cold and sun-starved in The Crevice of Lovely Ouray come November. As Kelly rode away on his mountain bike, I told him that he was doing it right...that he was a close as one could get to NirvanaVille by living on the road in his home on wheels. Nirvana, you see, is a moving target...seasonal...and lucky are the restless souls who get to chase her down.
Peace Out from Camp Boonie, Utah.
    

























17 comments:

  1. You're spot on with your Nirvana theory.....roll with the wind so to speak. Looks like you found a great spot to call home for a spell. Happy trails!

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    1. The weatherman is in a generous mood. For the forecastable future, it appears as if conditions will only improve. Why not sit a spell? This is a good time and place to be alive...

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  2. Fantastic photos as always! Love your header. I may ask for assistance in planning as we plan on going through that area in the spring as we work our way to the Tetons for the summer. Really liked Acadia, but looking forward to being out west again.

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    1. Thanks guys. It sounds like a great itinerary, just know that "spring" around here can be a little bi-polar in april/may.

      Just drop me an email when the time comes and I will share a few special places, but only if you swear to keep them to yourselves.

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  3. The two black and whites are my favorites. Why did you decide to take these two shots in B&W?
    I have a great appreciation for B&W over color. Perhaps it allows the imagination to add more to the image. DK. Perhaps it just reminds me of the old B&W westerns of the 50's.
    Do you not find storms and wind and dark cloudy days equally beautiful? I love our storms here in the Pacific NW. The dramatic and quick shift can be breathtaking. During the storm, the gods rock and roll and when it is over, 36-48 hours or so, more or less, within a half hour, the sun is out, the sky is primarily blue again, and the rainbows dot the land in every direction. Without the storm, one would be deprived of the experience of such a quick and dramatic shift.
    It's pretty amazing to witness the power of the planet.

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    1. George, I share your appreciation for black and whites, but it is difficult to express why I choose to present a photo in an Ansel Adams format. I suppose nostalgia plays a role, along with contrasting light and shadow. The first was shooting back into the sun a bit...and the dark mesa in the background was it conflict with the bright sunlit sandstone. I prefer figures in most of many of my shots to give scale...to show just how big a land exists in the west, or maybe it's to show how small and insignificant people are...or both.

      I do find storms beautiful...especially here. Lightening and thunder has been a favorite thing since childhood. Moody skies, oceans, landscapes are more intriguing than perfect days by far, and when the gods rock and roll I will be the first to dance.But I am just as jocund by unseasonably warm weather and mild wind. It better suits my clothes. That we need to experience extreme opposites to fully appreciate their counterparts, I am in full agreement. On this day, however, I reveled in the sun.

      Thank you for questioning...for challenging. It is a nobel quality.
      mark

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  4. I'm so homesick!

    Thank goodness for a home on wheels and the means to enjoy it!

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  5. That's a mighty fine looking Lazy Daze you have there & did Pheebs & I spy 'Coffee Girl' in one of those fine photos?

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    1. Yes, I'm giving Coffee Girl a lot of publicity as her owner is not photographically inclined...
      The Lazy Daze is an oldie but goodie, but I sometimes wish it had four wheel drive like Coffee Girl :)

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  6. Love that reflection photo in the small "puddle." Really neat!

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  7. I've been trying to live a perpetual summer with a little spring and fall thrown in for years. Sometimes it works. You are in a gorgeous place, for the moment.

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    1. Wandrin Lloyd seems to be able to pull it off. But those of us who still dance to the whip of employment must endure the season's blessing and curse.

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  8. Perfect description of Nirvana, Take you house and move it around with the seasons, works for us.

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  9. Geo and Suz,
    It means different things to different people, and thus defines them... to a point, anyway. There are so many sub categories to "traveler" these days. I'm thinking you guys are were chefs in your previous lives :)

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  10. I was going to ask what a "Dale" was..Now I know...North Central Washington has pretty nice weather.
    Let me know when you head up this a-ways...Unless I head your way 1st...
    David

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