The Heron and the frog
Member
It is more than 2 years since I left for my first big adventure and I still recall certain memories sometimes. The trip has made me strong and unafraid to venture into new adventures. The beauty of it all sometimes comes to me in aid and motivates me to continue because I do remember that it wasn’t all so easy all the time but it was definitely worth it!
One of the memories that comes to me regularly is that of the curious Coyote…
I was in my canoe travelling down the Mississippi somewhere in the afternoon and I spotted an animal on the levee on the side of the river. Spotting animals in the river and on the banks of the river was not uncommon at all. It happened sometimes that I was startled by a group of deer who jumped out of the woods on the beach where I was camping and then looked as startled as I was. I had seen otters, lots of deer, beavers, a fox,a baby alligator, cute but asshole raccoons and lots of bald eagles. It even happened that I scared bald eagles away when they were surprised by me passing by in my canoe. Once a bald eagle flew away so close that I felt the pressure made by his wings in the air on my chest. Two times a bald eagles snapped a fish out of the water just beside me. Every time I encountered an animal as wild as that I felt a deep happiness inside me.
The animal I always wanted to see was a wolf. When I got my longest ride in Canada my driver saw one on the road but I was tired and missed it! Now on the Mississippi I was coming closer to an animal that had dog-like characteristics but was to slender and definitely way to much to the south for it to be a wolf.
I came closer and stopped rowing as I floated by. The animal looked at me very curiously but didn’t move a muscle. I kept looking at him and he kept looking at me until I went around the corner.I was amazed that this animal could be so curious towards me while I was evenly curious about him.
I always knew that there were coyotes around because I heard them howling every night just before I went to sleep. I would crawl in my sleeping bag after a meal and around the time that it was completely dark and you could see millions of stars the coyotes started their song. I often heard more than twenty around me and I was never ever scared of them. In the contrary! They were the ones who sang their beautiful howling lullaby and rocked me to sleep. A deep and gentle sleep.
The sights of wonderful raging thunderstorms and animals were my ups
The deep pain in my heart for missing my loved ones and the utter loneliness were my downs...
But I would trade crying in my canoe for a smile in my office without a thought right now.
Don't worry I have concrete plans of going on adventures again! So I'm not here to whine about it! I just realized that I can never have a lifestyle with a stable job,home, family after experiencing that kind of beauty. This might change in the future of course but I would love to hear about other people who feel the same right now.
Curing in that way another kind of loneliness...
Example of one of my campsites:
One of the memories that comes to me regularly is that of the curious Coyote…
I was in my canoe travelling down the Mississippi somewhere in the afternoon and I spotted an animal on the levee on the side of the river. Spotting animals in the river and on the banks of the river was not uncommon at all. It happened sometimes that I was startled by a group of deer who jumped out of the woods on the beach where I was camping and then looked as startled as I was. I had seen otters, lots of deer, beavers, a fox,a baby alligator, cute but asshole raccoons and lots of bald eagles. It even happened that I scared bald eagles away when they were surprised by me passing by in my canoe. Once a bald eagle flew away so close that I felt the pressure made by his wings in the air on my chest. Two times a bald eagles snapped a fish out of the water just beside me. Every time I encountered an animal as wild as that I felt a deep happiness inside me.
The animal I always wanted to see was a wolf. When I got my longest ride in Canada my driver saw one on the road but I was tired and missed it! Now on the Mississippi I was coming closer to an animal that had dog-like characteristics but was to slender and definitely way to much to the south for it to be a wolf.
I came closer and stopped rowing as I floated by. The animal looked at me very curiously but didn’t move a muscle. I kept looking at him and he kept looking at me until I went around the corner.I was amazed that this animal could be so curious towards me while I was evenly curious about him.
I always knew that there were coyotes around because I heard them howling every night just before I went to sleep. I would crawl in my sleeping bag after a meal and around the time that it was completely dark and you could see millions of stars the coyotes started their song. I often heard more than twenty around me and I was never ever scared of them. In the contrary! They were the ones who sang their beautiful howling lullaby and rocked me to sleep. A deep and gentle sleep.
The sights of wonderful raging thunderstorms and animals were my ups
The deep pain in my heart for missing my loved ones and the utter loneliness were my downs...
But I would trade crying in my canoe for a smile in my office without a thought right now.
Don't worry I have concrete plans of going on adventures again! So I'm not here to whine about it! I just realized that I can never have a lifestyle with a stable job,home, family after experiencing that kind of beauty. This might change in the future of course but I would love to hear about other people who feel the same right now.
Curing in that way another kind of loneliness...
Example of one of my campsites:
