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Dakota, and Home

I’m re-reading Dakota by Kathleen Norris.

Her book makes me think of Granby, Colorado, the place I lived when I read the book for the first time. Her “Dakota” was a place that was barren, isolated and windy, but there was art, magic and spirit in this place. South Dakota came alive for me from her stories about small town life on the prairie.  

Dakota, A Spiritual Geography

Norris brought a spirit to a place with her poetry and story telling. She made a life as a writer there. In a place where most people would think as isolating, she found a life. I felt that way about living in Granby. Granby is a small town (population 2,000) and most people would imagine it to be stifling and not very fulfilling to live there; I thought the opposite. I loved the isolation – being surrounded by wilderness. I found joy in the same walk up the mountain behind my house everyday with my dogs. I loved the quiet and beauty of small town living. It was my home for five years.

Dakota, A Spiritual Geography

This is the landscape where I live these days. 

The trails near my house in Concord NH
Concord NH Population 43,000

Next February I will be living in New Hampshire for three years. Three years is around the time I start looking for a different place; always needing a change. 

The funny thing is – I kind of like living here. I’m happy with my job and the people I have met. The interesting thing is – those two things rarely happen to me at the same time. 

As long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to be out west. Or at least living in the mountains. When I traveled to Colorado this summer every place I spent time in made me want to live there: Littleton, Leadville, Copper Mountain. I started making plans in my head to move back. The mountains of Colorado just seemed to jive with everything about my personality. But then, I’d get home and not think about it again. 

I’ve been thinking about the idea of home lately and what it means to me. I’ve been thinking of staying.

I’ve always said – home is where my dogs are.

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Run the Witch Half Marathon Race Report

Kassandra arrived on Saturday from Tucson not only to visit me but to Run the Witch half marathon in Norwich, Vermont. We chose this race because it was a great way for her to see Vermont; a place I believe is so magical and beautiful, especially in the fall. I have always said that as soon as you drive over the Connecticut River from New Hampshire into Vermont it’s a different world. 

On Sunday as we drove in the misting rain, knowing that it was going to downpour at any moment, we were excited for the race and seeing a new place. 

The temperature hovered around 40 and once the race started we warmed up a bit; but not entirely. The course is hilly. The first mile was a warm up and then the hills came. Up and down, up and down, more rain, then the wind. 

Strava data

The first part of the half marathon course is paved and then we turned and ran on packed dirt; it was a nice change. The trees displayed their colors boldly and the scenery took our minds of the pain. 

We finished, got our medal, and changed out of our wet clothes as fast as we could. It was a good day to run and later appreciate the warmth of dry clothes.

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Kona, Ironman World Championships

I arrived at the Kona airport greeted by Mark who will be racing on Saturday. He is ready. Note my beautiful lei.

It was a long day flying to Kona from Boston but so worth it. The island was beautiful and we began the island tour and getting to know the bike course. But first, downtown Kona.

Every chance I could I wanted to swim in the ocean. The water was warm !
Lava Fields Forever. So many lava fields.

After touring the island and driving out to the bike turnaround, it was race day. Mark bought the support team fancy hats and Hawaiian shirts so he could easily spot us on the course. We definitely stood out and we look damn good!

The team was captured in an Instagram story by Triathlon Magazine.

Than figured out a way to hire a driver to take us to the bike turnaround point. We waited for him and when he turned to use the aid station, we ran over to him. Our driver took this picture.

Bike turnaround on Race Day!

Mark finished and had a great race; it was a tough course with so much wind on the bike. But he did it! What an experience; what a day! So inspired by all the fast finishers.

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What I Know For Sure

My friend Kendra is crazy about the sunrise. A few times a year she makes a concerted effort to see a sunrise in New England because they are part of her family history. Today she posted on her Facebook page a quote from Oprah Winfrey about a sunrise from Oprah’s book about knowing what is true. Here is the quote Kendra used in her post while capturing a most wonderful sunrise while on vacation in South Carolina: “that every sunrise is like a new page, a chance to right ourselves and receive each day in all its glory.”

Her post reminds me of an article I clipped from Oprah Magazine in 2012. I remember something about instincts and trusting your intuition but I have to go back to my archives (a.k.a. my notebooks and journals) to find the article I clipped. 

I find it instantly and see that it was written by Winfrey in May 2012, a few years before she published her book, What I Know is True. 

In the article Oprah reflects on a photo of she and Jesse Jackson. She writes about how the photo transports her back in time to her first celebrity interview and, as a news reporter, she was covering Jackson’s speaking engagement at a local high school.

She goes on to write in the article, what I feel is something true about me that gets lost in daily work and living, 
“I had a fondness for telling other people’s stories, extracting the truth of their experience into digestible nuggets that could inform, inspire, or benefit someone else. Still I was uncertain about what to say or how to say it. The truth is, I was just moving on instinct.”

I love this story and I love re-reading it often, and being reminded about it. Oprah was moving on instinct at an early stage in her career but didn’t know it was working for her until much later. How many times have I done something on instinct, hoping it works out, not knowing? A lot! 

So when Kendra writes about something that she knows is true, I remember what is true for me: trust my instincts and going with it. Use that intuition without knowing the outcomes. Sometimes following my instinct has led me down a path of fear and anguish, and other times I’ve had experiences that have changed my life for the better when I trusted my intuition. [moving to Tucson, moving back to Colorado, moving back to New Hampshire]

“Trust your instincts. Intuition doesn’t lie.”

Some days I complain to the ones I love about how hard everything has been lately for me but a little quote I see, briefly, this morning, reminds me how lucky and fulfilled I really am. Life is challenging almost every second of it but I’m so happy with the people in my life, the ones who stay in my life. If only I could keep this thought when my brain takes a downward dive into doubt and despair. What I know for sure …….

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Why are there so many acorns, hiking Winant Park

Walking in the woods at Winant Park on Sunday I hear all kinds of sounds. As we enter the trails near the church on Pleasant Street there is a loud ripping sound. I look up and see the top of a tree come crashing to the ground. I half expect to see some sort of bobcat or mountain lion run away, like it is high up on a tree limb and its weight causes the tree to crumble. Winnie runs toward the sound, not a great thing in case there is a wild animal but no animal runs away and we continue on our hike. 

Black flies are still hovering which is obnoxious for this time of year. Geez. Go away. I swat the flies as I hobble over the thousands of acorns that litter the trail this year. I don’t remember so many on the trails and roads compared to last year at this time. We hiked as much last year as this year and I simple don’t remember them. And I definitely don’t remember the sounds from them falling in the woods.

The sound of the acorns falling is so loud for such a small nut. 

When you live in the same place for several seasons you start to see patterns such as the sun rising in a different spot or the trail start to be less socked in when the trees lose their leaves. When I lived in Killington, Vermont I watched and recorded how spring changed into summer and then later into fall. I noticed everything, wrote about every detail from hiking the same trail, Trail 17, every day with my yellow lab Abbey. Later when I lived in Granby, Colorado I watched the seasons change from hiking the same mountain trail behind my house for seven years with Abbey and Daisy. All the details never seemed changed from year to year.

The only reason I can guess that I didn’t notice the acorns last year is age; I’m getting older and don’t remember as much. 

That’s why I will now take my journal with me on every hike and take detailed notes again. I don’t want to miss a thing.