Camping in the Rain

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

A view of the start of Appalachia at sunset

The thing about

camping in the rain

is that when the rain stops

you go outside-

and you are lighter,

the world is lighter,

the birds are singing again

and a little joy creeps back

into your heart

and you walk the muddy path

splashing just a little bit more

than strictly necessary

smiling like you never saw the sun

until just today

when it pushed its way

past the heavy clouds

and shined.

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Rain-soaked White Cave Path at Mammoth Cave National Park, where my boots got muddy, and I smiled to be back outside.

Tall grass flattened by rushing rainwater on the hillside next to the path to the historic cave entrance at Mammoth Cave

A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.

John Steinbeck

This trip was not what I expected. I expected quiet and peace and trails and warm nights reading by a campfire. What I got was a lot of rain. Thunder. Tornado and hail warnings. More rain. Flooded campgrounds. Then, periodically, the sun would come out and I would get out and go. It made every moment I spent outside really special. In Arkansas, I got to experience the warm steam rising from the ground at Hot Springs National Park on a cold day. In Tennessee, I got to run along the Mississippi River. In Alabama, I got to hike with my sister, Rita at a beautiful little trail system near her home. In Kentucky, I ventured into a deep cave (see last week’s post here) and came out with a resolution to face my fears instead of avoiding them, and I’m excited about that shift in my attitude. The trip wasn’t what I expected at all; but on reflection, I think it was exactly what I needed it to be.

Now I am home in Michigan, where all the spring flowers are blooming early. The air is cool and crisp in the morning, and the neighborhood animals (and the neighbors!) are making me feel welcome. I’m so happy to be here. Thank you for being here with me. See you next week.

a mass of lilies of the valley cover the ground in the woods near my home

Fall in Fanano (Italy)

Life is a combination of magic and pasta.

Federico Fellini

Fanano is a small town on the edge of Emilia-Romagna, just north of the Tuscan border. We were here just after the fall harvest of grapes and grains.

The first day, I wandered around the nearby farms.

A highland bull along my route just kept on chewing while he watched me pass (although it’s hard to be sure he could actually see me).

Not far to the north is the city of Modena, famous for its balsamic vinegar and fast cars- also the former home of opera singer, Luciano Pavarotti. I took a picture of the sign to help me find my way back to where I was staying.

The season was still changing while I was here - bees were sluggish, not flying from the Queen Anne’s lace, even when I was very close with my camera.

The vines were going dormant, with the grapes already harvested.

The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.

Galileo Galilei

I loved wandering here, seeing the views of many small communities below me nestled in the hills.

Later in the week, the city of Fanano had an Autumn food festival, where local restaurants came to make dishes unique to the region; bands played, and lots of local wine was consumed.

The weather was unusually warm for October and it brought out the crowd. I’ve been to this town many times, but I’ve never seen so many people in the streets - and they were all eating, taking and laughing.

The band was really entertaining, inviting kids to come up and play instruments and involving the entire crowd in their music.

In another square some women reenacted the old method of stomping grapes to squeeze out their juice, while other local women sang in accompaniment.

Just after the women began to sing and dance, the sky turned dark and the air temperature began to drop. A sudden hail and rainstorm sent us all running for cover.

A rose after the hailstorm, surprisingly undamaged.

A view of the Corsini household (my husband, Tom’s, cousin) from above on our last day here.

Every house guest brings you happiness. Some when they arrive, and some when they are leaving.

Confucius

We had a great time here with Tom’s family, who took us in, fed us, and spent the week hiking, shopping and touring the local towns and parks with us. I feel really fortunate to know these generous people. Staying with them was a welcome rest after two weeks of hiking and moving around from place to place every day in Portugal and Spain. I hope I can return the favor someday.

Thank you so much for being here. I will see you next week!

Nature’s Heartbeat

All Nature's wildness tells the same story: the shocks and outbursts of earthquakes, volcanoes, geysers, roaring, thundering waves and floods, the silent uprush of sap in plants, storms of every sort, each and all, are the orderly, beauty-making love-beats of Nature's heart.

John Muir

The Abyss Pool at Yellowstone - deep, dark and steamy

Mother Nature

She is spitting fire,

boiling clay and mud-

she is bleeding metal

too hot to touch-

she is carving

deep lines

in pillars of stone,

crumbling mountains of rock

in her little green fingers.

Her blazing temper

creates cathedrals in the sky,

then her windy rage

and stormy tears

knock them down again.

She is not steady

she is not safe,

she is a miracle

of volatility.

I feel her forces

at work on me.

I am not stronger

Than granite-

And lines can be carved

So easily

In this soft flesh.

But without her,

I wouldn’t be at all.

So when her storms relent -

and she is calm,

her blue skies shining,

her voice gently whispering

through the trees,

I try to trust the design -

and breathe.

Black Pool mineral run-off, steam rising and beautiful pine backdrop.

Black pool from above - changes over time have made it much lighter

The Fishing Cone Geyser - it is still hot, (172 degrees Fahrenheit) but no longer erupts.

Blue Funnel Spring has collapsed inward and almost dried up. When you walk past it; there is an illusion that its center moves.

Mimulus pools - the colors of the pools and the grasses blended so beautifully. After Yellowstone, I drove all day to the east side of Wyoming. If you want to know more about the geysers and springs in this area (West Thumb) of Yellowstone, click here.

The next day, I was so close to the Devil’s Tower National Monument, that I decided to hike there before driving to Custer State Park in South Dakota.

At the base of the trail to Devil’s Tower, there is a sculpture of a smoke ring - The idea to frame the tower inside the ring is not an original one of mine (there is actually a picture like this at the park), but I couldn’t resist doing it too. The sky was so nearly perfect.

Prarie dogs were popping up all over from their little network of holes and tunnels at the bottom of the hill leading up to the trail

One of my favorite views of the tower. Some native American tribes believe it is the base of an ancient tree - you can see why in this picture.

Climbers scaling their way to the top while I was hiking around the base of the tower.

You can see them here again - it gives you a little perspective on how tall this natural formation is… and how adventurous some people are!

At the end of the hike, returning back to where I started - I couldn’t resist another picture of a prairie dog. They were cheerful company.

The Cathedral Spires at Custer State Park - Castles in the Air. Granite, carved by time, water, and wind.

A precarious looking balancing act of stone on stone, a natural cairn

Skies were darkening while I made my way back down the trail - I got caught in a thunderstorm running back to my van.

After the storm ended, I stopped to walk around the calm water of Legion Lake.

This was an unusual road trip experience for me. When I started out, I had no firm plans. Somehow, things came together and I found some places that I was really sad to leave. I got caught in a couple of storms; one while i was camped, the other while i was still hiking - reminding me that mother nature is in control. I guess that, and the nature of the places I visited, which were all dramatic examples of the power of natural forces, inspired my writing this week.

Thank you for your time and attention. I really appreciate you being here. See you next week!