Beginning to write this blog entry feels like trying to extract a thimble sized sample of water by dipping a syringe into the Colorado River as it flows through the Grand Canyon.
I just looked back at my last entry and saw that I used a snow globe metaphor. Now I question that wisdom. Before reaching Montreal I had experienced a week of rain in California. A few days after reaching the ashram in Val Moran, Canada, the rain turned to snow. It snowed and it snowed. I lost track after 24 days of snow. The snow would stop for half a day in order to let Jack Frost poke his sharp nose out and smell his handywork. On an exhale he breathed his icy breath throughout the mountains bringing temperatures down to -15 Fahrenheit. Fittingly, my chores at the ashram consisted of shoveling snow and cutting firewood. Calls to my Dad in Las Vegas and Cass in California made me anticipate the sunny warmth upon my return. No dice.
When I flew into Las Vegas the Valley was covered in snow. On my way to Dad’s house I saw the palm tree I wrote about in my last entry; It had three inches of snow sitting on its mop top. I enjoyed my day in Las Vegas. We didn’t make it to the strip but even the lights in outskirts resembled a psychedelic dream. It was culture shock but the carrot at the end of my stick was my girlfriend waiting for me in the peaceful hills of Northern California.
When the wheels touched in San Francisco I made two phone calls. My Dad told me that I was lucky that I got out when I did because the snow was falling and Cass told me that she would attempt to pick me up, but due to snowy roads, she may not be able to make it down the mountain. I jumped on two different busses heading north. The first bus got me to Charles M. Schultz airport in Santa Rosa (yes, there was a huge Snoopy statue out front) and the second bus got me to Willits. Unfortunately, there were no busses heading north from there and it turned out that Cass could not make it down the mountain to pick me up. As the second bus dropped me off I took advantage of the last few minutes of daylight and stuck my thumb out hoping to get a ride. The ride didn’t come that night, but I did get a call from a local woman who had ties to Heartwood, the community where Cass lives. She asked me where I was, and a few minutes later I was sliding open the door of a green mini-van and saying hello to a smiling face. “I know you,” were the first words to come out of Krista’s mouth when I opened the door. It turned out that she lived in Steamboat Springs for a few months back in 2002 and we had a mutual friend. When we got to her house she told me that she would be staying at her boyfriend’s house and I was welcome to stay at her house in a comfortable bed. She also invited me to come to her yoga class which started in an hour. When I told her about my past month of yoga teacher’s training, we decided that it would be fun if I taught her class. An hour later I was teaching my first yoga class in the outside world. It’s amazing how fast things work.
The next morning I tried calling Krista a few times but there was no answer, so I dragged my computer bag and roller board out to the street and walked to the busiest road I could see. Luckily it was indeed HWY 101. It didn’t take long to get my first ride. Within two hours I was in Garberville at the bottom of the snowy hill that prevented Cass from picking me up. On a good day it takes between 45 minutes and an hour to drive it to Heartwood. Who knew how long it may take on this day.
Fortunately, It didn’t take too long. Three different cars picked me up. The roads were indeed hairy, but the trucks were equipped to handle the conditions. I arrived at Heartwood just in time for the lunch bell.
This was two days ago. There is still snow on the ground and it‘s currently raining, but we hope that the snow will melt in time to get us to Taos New Mexico shortly after Christmas. I never thought I would get stuck in the snow less than 20 miles from the California cost.
