Going and Coming

After seriously underestimating how long it would take to pack up my household things and my studio by about a factor of ten....I was rescued by several friends and my driver Gary Duplex. Gary is from Tennessee and came a day ahead of time and helped me do a marathon packing session along with a great local young man named Blake that a friend recommended for the job.
What I learned from this experience is more than I can easily put into words. The stress just about did me in. The kindness sent my way was very special and still brings me to tears. I am learning so much with each new day. I feel incredibly loved and I also find people has been so incredibly open with me lately. My conversations have so much depth and honesty and sometimes I am even overwhelmed by it all. I have had people releasing some very painful and private feelings and history...none of which I can discuss. I am left with a feeling that we all carry around some very intense hurts, illnesses, loneliness and broken relationships.

I am in Kamas Utah with about 2,000 miles to go on this trip. I have had a very intensely amazing trip so far and I will be posting photos and going into more details. So far I have experienced the immensity of driving through the steep Cascade mountain range, driving through the east sides of Washington and Oregon seeing vast rolls of hay, alfalfa, sugar beets, hops and fruit. In Idaho the rock formations have been intense and remind me of Keflavik,
Iceland.
I have been visiting with family in Idaho and now in Utah..meeting my great nieces and nephews.
The 2 nights I have spent in motels have been a study in contrasts. My first night was in a small old motel full of Hispanic families along with a bunch of kittens and puppies. All the little girls loved petting my small old dog Shadow and I had a great time hanging out with babies , toddlers and middle school aged boys who shared their remote controlled cars and kittens with me. Last night I stayed at a pet friendly Best Western that was luxurious and also had good energy. The restaurant next door was fairly empty and the other guests , our waitress and I had a great conversation. The waitress is a lesbian and she and her partner are trying to decide if they should have a child together. So the conversations ranged far and wide from travel, school to becoming a parent.
I traveled to Salt Lake City today and met up with Stan Roberts of XAZ Beads. He and I met years ago in Seattle at the gift show and we have talked a few times since. He gave me advise on how to build a small electric raku fired kiln. I loved seeing his set up and unique firing tricks. He is a tall slender sweet man with a great smile and lots of wisdom. I will post photos later.
Its is almost 3 am so back to bed...
Reminders to self: write about dumpster diving, keys in the car, cell phone hell, impressions of the places I have been, saying good bye one last night and gifts of the open road....fishing dreams and babies..................
More later..Pictures too.