Back in Action!

Back on the road again...well, technically I was on the road again, and have now arrived at my destination but we all know that in the world of chosen instability that statement carries little weight ;-)

There was one significant difference in my road-trip mentality this trip, the first is that it took me a few hours to settle into any kind of rhythm, I fought with the car, the radio, the road, fellow drivers and myself for a while before I suddenly realized that I was going ON A ROAD TRIP! FINALLY! Oh MY GOD! The rest was history...

Second thing, no candid road shots :-( Apparently in my old age (go ahead and laugh) I've gotten a little more conservative in my driving. No more fussing with zoom, angles, exposure settings all while navigating two lane (because of course those are the best!) twisting, turning scenic routes and likely going at least 10mph over, err I mean under, the speed limit. And we all know how much I love to stop, ha, so thus no asphalt to share. I'm sure I'll make up for it at some point. I'm also looking into a way to attach a camera to the car, stay tuned for more on that.

I'm only in town for a while so I'll make this brief and likely won't be back for a couple days but there was one thing that I wanted to share from the drive up here. Sunday morning at about 6:30 AM (yes, I was awake, functioning, and had been on the road for over an hour thank you very much) I kept seeing signs for elk crossings along the road, so curiosity got the best of me and I pulled off the 101 into a fog laden meadow covered in grass that was hip deep just hoping that maybe it was early enough, misty enough, quiet enough that I could catch a glimpse of one. I looked about for a moment, saw nothing and was about to pull back onto the road when a huge bull elk raised his head up out of the grass and looked straight at me. He was the only one that I could see in the meadow, that's how dense the fog was, and the filtered light from the rising sun was just enough to cut through and illuminate him. I swear I stopped breathing. Cynical as I can be the combination of all those elements along Oregon's coast and that gorgeous creature was just too much for a girl to not be in awe of. As I drove on, and out of the fog and into the redwoods and then spun out of one forested curve and fount myself at the rugged ocean coastline I realized that the magic I find on these trips isn't just in the escaping, or the beautiful things I see, it's the ability of the road and the world to in one moment make you feel spectacular and utterly insignificant. Spectacular because you just cannot believe your eyes, the sheer luck that allows you to see this, to be a part of it all. Insignificant because after the awe sinks in you realize that all of this was here long before you, and will continue for generations after you're gone, and it all came and will go on without out you. That's a beautiful thing.