limited views from here..... posted 11/9/2008 5:21:47 AM | 7 kudos what's this?     report abuse

keeno

some days i fight to get out, living at the bottom of the valley where everything is up, limits my view and perspective.

the storm of the last few days has dampened my spirit. the clouds have closed in over the mountains and the rain has obscured everything but the trees across the water.

today was a day of escape. i had a project to share with my son. i don't want to admit it but it was so gloomy when i left at 10 this morning that i had to turn on my headlights. the road that follows my river is something to behold on all days. todays trip was no different, the eagles are slowly making their way down from alaska. and today i saw a few more roosting in the trees along the banks.

today's journey took me the back way to my son's. crossing the skagit where the sauk joins it, in rockport. let me explain a bit to you. the skagit is a working river, providing power to all of seattle with the 3 damns upriver from my home. it's flow is regulated by those dams, it pretty steady and consistent in it's behavior. the sauk however is unharnessed, uncontrolled and sort of scary. where the skagit provides something, the sauk is where mother nature shows her power and i think where she goes to vent about us humans.

so today this back road took me along 17 miles of the sauk. it always amazes me at the changes. this summer they replaced or re-enforced about 3 miles of the road bed that the river had undermined. this river has freewill, i'm thinking it has changed it's path at least 3 times since i've lived up here. 2 years ago it took out about 3/4ths of a mile of prime fishing spots. the river is always littered with mature trees, lying sideways broken and twisted, defeated by the current. this river moves rocks as big as cars along it banks. you never know where one will turn up after being uprooted by the most recent rainfall. today was no different, i traveled in awe. but the sense of gloom clung to the walls of the valley, like more change was on it's way.

in darington i have to turn south to get to my sons and follow the river that leads to his home. the stilligaumish is a pretty river, farm lined and almost quaint. the valley is broad and flat. today it is filled with sunshine and hope, blue skies and white fluffy clouds. it has almost immediately lifted my spirits and changed the mood. gloom be gone the valley seemed to shout at me.

the project went well with my son. he seems to delight in teasing me, accusing me of knowing to much irrelevant information. i had to remind him who was showing who how to install and check a gas line for his stove. we both enjoy the banter and good nature of our insults. i stayed until bud had to leave for work sharing lunch and a cup before each of us traveled away from his newly warmed cabin.

i went north when leaving bud's, up the freeway to do some shopping. and then up my river to home. i was feeling all warm and fuzzy having visited and helped my son. i quickly passed the congestion that surrounds the freeway at my exit. looking forward to the continued smiles my drive home always brings. today was different, it was special. after leaving sedro the valley view opens quickly showing the mountains on each side some 10 to 15 miles apart. usually cloaked in clouds today was special like i said, with openings and glimpses of the road home. the sun was behind me as i traveled east, the mountains and clouds in the distance.

today rainbows sprouted from the valley floor. i was speechless yet thankful. as i followed the road the color and depth of the colors changed from transparent pastels to the vivid colors of an opium dream. this part of the journey summed up my day, although it only lasted some 20 minutes, it delivered me home refreshed and reborn. ready to face the next winter storm.

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Blogs by keeno: tonight it dawned on me limited views from here..... a long time ago in a land far away...... Flow of Thoughts Todays Sky i refuse to surrender is your world quiet enough to hear your thoughts? vanishing point the view from here today observer sometimes magic song lyrics that make me smile blogs kudos and winks a couple more thoughts, lumped together because they're brief two tatts feeling strange and the proof bathrooms and living alone in the mountains i was AMAZED!!!! i created a monster Drama memory....it just popped into my head....really Diversity within the Village morality? are we stuck with it? big sky?