It was love at first sight, for me at least. Bright yellow, rough around every edge, but so full of potential. I had to have this van. Did I know how to drive a manual? Not yet. Did I know how much work it would take to transform this into a home? I had an idea. It all seemed worth it.
Three months later, I am laying inside BYV (Big Yellow Van) on my makeshift bed, drinking hand-ground french press coffee. Outside are pines, yellowed aspens, snow kissed mountains, a dark storm rolling in ever so slowly. Inside rests 90% of all my possessions. Everything about these passing moments is so simple, so wonderful, so perfect. It's all I have ever wanted.
I don't think the majesty of nature will ever cease to leave me in awe. Soaking in sunshine, kissing the breeze with my skin, listening to the white noise of a steady stream, anticipating the warm crackling fire underneath a black sky filled with more stars than I have ever seen. My mind is never more clear than it is in the wild. Everything is beauty and love and beauty and love are everything. I talk lightly about my desire to be a mountain woman… but in this reality it's the only truth I could ever believe. The way my soul feels out here couldn't be a lie. This is the truest true.
Sometimes it's hard not to let myself get stressed out when I am living spontaneously moment by moment. But I am constantly reminded that the right people and places always show up at the right time. I find it imperative to remember that I am never really alone.
I left Glacier National Park after an amazing visit, and crossed the border near Waterton Lakes NP. I spent my first night in Canada at a campground in Lundbreck Falls. A close group of older locals, who use this spot as their weekend getaway, greeted me with warm smiles. When I first passed by, I had to comment on their cute cat…leashed to the camper. After that, they invited me to bring over a chair and a drink and hang out with them. We sat around their campfire all night chatting about everything from frying turkeys to coal mining. And by the way, Canadian accents are awesome….dontchaknow!? My neighbors were two guys, a father and son, who were biking from Glacier to Calgary. We also exchanged some great conversation over tea. I obviously have a lot of respect and curiosity for people who are out on amazing adventures of their own, so it was great to hear all about their trip.
The next day I headed North. And though there was talk of a snow storm rolling in, the warm blue skies misled me most of the day. It wasn't until I was driving over a mountain pass through Kootenay National Park the snow finally caught up with me…. and it didn't go away for four days. So I stopped in Canmore, a beautiful town with an amazing yoga studio (among other things!). I decided to hang out there until the storm passed.
On my second night there, I finished a yoga class at 9pm and when I got to BYV she was not running like normal. So I decided to wait until the next morning to figure it out. When I woke to another 7 inches of snow, I tried to start her up. But no luck. I went to a coffee shop nearby and called a tow-truck. I waited there for three hours, as all tow trucks were quite busy with snow-related wrecks. Frances finally picked me up, tried jumping BYV, then towed me 1.5 miles to the Ford shop. Handed me the bill… $300. That hurt. I took it in to the shop and spent another three hours waiting for the diagnosis while watching cooking shows... I now know how to make some amazing slow-cooked ribs.
I was truly expecting the worst, and had my parents ready to come tow me home. It ended up being my starter…which I have just replaced in July. Awesome. But they were nice enough to pull BYV out in to the parking lot so I could sleep in it for the night…haha. To be honest, I sulked for a while. But around 5 that evening, I decided that I could either just sit there and be upset about something I had no control over, or I could make the best of my night. I chose the latter. I went out to dinner at a tapas place, and made friends with the staff and a couple sitting next to me at the bar. Then went to a little acoustic set at a cafe next door and made friends with even more people there. So the night turned out to be amazing, and I was reminded once again that every outcome is just based on how you react to a situation. The next afternoon BYV was fixed. I slowly handed over $500 for that two-hour job, and hit the road.
My initial plan was to do a lot of backpacking/hiking in Banff and Jasper, but upon arriving I found out there are hiking regulations, so I was unable to hike alone. Plus a lot of the camps were closed due to bear activity… and after my run-in in Glacier, I really did not want to push my luck. So I breezed through Banff, vowing to come back and really explore this breath-taking area. I stopped in Fairmont Springs to fill up the gas tank, but my card was declined and I was without cash. Frantic with worry, I sped away…leaving my gas cap behind. I spent the night at a road-side rest area, worrying about why my card wasn't working. The next morning I went to the nearest town and contacted my mom. Turns out the bank had deactivated it out of suspicion…even though they knew I was in Canada. A little frustrating, but easy fix. Filled up and continued on South. I noticed a blob of blue birds on the side of the road, and as I got closer I saw that it was a flock of peacocks! After my encounter with the bear and other random animals, I got really interested in strange encounters with animals, and this was by far the strangest and most magical.
I stopped in Nelson where I signed up for a weekend yoga festival. That was the best decision I made on my entire trip. Nelson is an amazing town, great community, right on the water, and filled with beautiful hippies. I participated in six yoga classes, and learned so much. The most profound class I have ever had was taught by a woman who was paralyzed from the neck down ten years ago. Now, through devotion to tantra yoga, she has total movement of her arms, neck, back, and can even walk in water. A moment like that slaps you in the face and realize that you have no excuse not to use your body to its fullest potential. Being immersed in all things yoga made it all the more apparent to me that this is something I need to pursue further in life, and led me to absolute conviction to sign up for a yoga teacher training in January. After that, I will be able to teach others the things I have learned and have stuck with me in times of tribulation.
I left Nelson unsure of my next move. I just decided to let the road lead me wherever I needed to go. On my way out of town, I picked up a hitchhiker. Christina had been volunteering at the yoga festival, and since the busses don't run on Sundays, needed a lift. We hit it off quickly, and I told her my next general direction. She was quick to inform me that I was headed in the completely wrong direction, and offered to show me the right way once we got to her home. So graciously, she invited me to stay for dinner and I ended up spending the whole night getting to know her and her boyfriend Josh. I elaborated on my travel plans and said I was just trying to head South maybe West, and they lit up telling me I should take the ferry the next morning…and that it is in the exact direction I was headed initially.
There is no such thing as the wrong direction, after all. Every turn you take will lead exactly where you are meant to be.
So my trip ended up being shorter than I originally planned, but it felt right to be home helping my parents in their next giant leap in life, moving out of our house we have lived in for 11 years. They bought land in the country and are building their own home. It's such an exciting time in life!
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