Icewind's Ramblings

I’ve been on the road now over a month, part of it alone and others spent with friends along the way.  Parts of it different than what I might have imagined while other parts of it were exactly what I knew it would be.  There is the good and bad, the bitter sweetness that is life as we know it.  This journey wasn’t necessarily wanted but circumstances made it the right thing to do.  To take a break from what was the norm and go in search of something out there beyond the horizon I have seen every day.  I have been fortunate to have had several friends along the way to share time and conversations with.  To have fellowship and time to just “be” with no agendas or needs getting in the way.   I think everyone should travel alone at some point in their life, ideally for at least a month.  You learn so much about yourself, you develop an inner confidence that you can’t find at home, nor when you’re surrounded with people you’re comfortable with. ...

Driving alone gives one time to think and building something can easily have that same effect.  Taking this walkabout has given me time to stop the busy, fast paced world I have been accustomed too for so long. For most, our fast changing world continues to evolve in rapid and different ways that even two years ago seemed unfathomable.  “Normal” jobs are not getting shorter on attendance; rather longer hours continue to climb for most people.  Our minds and body suffer from overwork, you do more and suddenly you are asked to do more until the stress takes over lives of hardworking people.  Remember the adage "Everything in moderation, including moderation"?  That said; let me talk about a place between the two extremes of our lifestyle choices and a tool to find balance.  Deck building can give you balance in that you have time to think, work hard, and balance a sore back with the beauty of what you are building.    Lifestyle choices are a fi...

I wanted to give everyone an update on the WTF (Where’s the Flamingo International Tour 2016) since arriving in Portland Oregon just over a week ago.  I arrived at my friends, Jan and Nate’s house on Friday evening and enjoyed a nice evening together briefly before everyone headed of for some much needed sleep and me to stretch my back after enduring about 2.5 hours of zero to twenty miles an hour drive through Seattle (reminded me of Atlanta and why I headed to Alaska).  I have other friends here in  Portland I would like to see and spend some time with, Colin and Donna-Lee who I had a great time with in Mexico last Oct/Nov during several celebrations on that trip. Saturday we headed up toward Mt. Hood, their bee boxes, the bar they own, The Whistle Stop Bar and Grill, and to participate in an annual event called “The Bite at Mt. Hood” a charity event where local vendors prepare food for the guests while both a silent and live auction are held raising money for loca...

Friday morning was a bittersweet time leaving my friend Russ to head south?  The time spent was wonderful sharing stories, philosophy, catching up on our lives and having a pint or two along the way.  I would be leaving Russ and Rose's warm home hitting the road once again in search of other horizons.  I am driving down my last hours in British Columbia, another ferry crossing and then the border station back into the USA.  Drive through Bellingham, Seattle, Tacoma, and on to the Portland area of Gresham where I have several friends to visit. I left Campbell River at 7:15 am with mixed clouds with rain showers during the drive to the ferry terminal.  As I drove along past the town of Courtenay I saw an odd sight.  It was a very tall tree rising above the rest of the forest with dark ominous clouds in the background. The tree appeared to be dead as all the limbs had no leaves but the limbs looked like many arms (10 or so) protruding out of the body of t...

Wednesday Russ and I drove to Mt. Washington for a few hours to possibly hike if the snow has melted enough to make the trails passable.  We both think that high up where the resort is will still be snow covered as the ski resort closed for the winter season last week and the summer bike season will not open until June several months away. It was about a forty five minute drive south of Campbell River to the turn off up the mountain.  The sun was out, it was warm about 60 degrees with little to no breeze.  The landscape was changing from the farmland at the turnoff to an alpine meadow with mixed forest tracks of thick groupings of trees. There were several high mountain lakes with partially thawed areas with ducks or geese swimming. We made our way on several switchbacks as our elevation changed the higher up the mountainside we went.  The air was fresh and took on a slight chill as the car climbed its way toward the summit. Looking east you could see the Ins...

Campbell River is a coastal city in British Columbia on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage, which lies along the important coastal Inside Passage shipping route between Seattle and Vancouver shipping docks to Alaskan port cities.  The  population is just over thirty one thousand people with the number growing in summer during the tourist season.  Known as the "Salmon Capitol of the World" there are many areas to fish the different salmon species including salt water and fresh water adventures.  This area enjoys a mild climate with temperatures ranging between 28 ° F to 73 ° F year round with November receiving the most rain during the wet season. I came by ferry from Vancouver via the Tsawwassen ferry terminal arriving in the town of Nanaimo at the Duke Point terminal.  The sailing took 1.5 hours and the time spent was comfortable in large seats with windows to take in the views.  I am a couple weeks early for whal...

As I am making my way south from Anchorage to the Lower 48 on the "Where's the Flamingo" International Tour I was invited by my friend Russ' house to stop in and spend a few days.  Now to "stop in" I had to travel through one large state (Alaska), one large Canadian Territory (Yukon), one large Canadian Province (British Columbia), a 1.5 hour ferry ride and a 2 hour drive from the ferry terminal to Russ' house.  So as we southerner's say, I "do drop in" on Russ and his lovely wife Rose for about a week to visit.   I met Russ online about 14 years ago on a gaming website where we quickly became friends after playing and chatting together for three years finally had an opportunity to meet, oddly in the Seattle airport on our way to a convention in Las Vegas.  I was arriving from Anchorage and Russ flew in from Edmonton Canada where our flights arrived about 20 minutes apart so I met him at his gate and we made our introductions and during t...

Placido Flamingo and Dirty Harry (or spending time on the water again) While I'm visiting my friend Russ and his wife Rose in Campbell River, British Columbia one of the the weekend conversations turned to seafood and fishing.  Russ doesn't like eating seafood or fishing for that matter but it was decided we (Rose and & I) would make a seafood dinner for supper and Russ would eat one of his favorites, spaghetti.  Our meal consisted of fresh live dungeness crab and salmon, scallops, prawns with potatoes, onion, corn, rice, and Cajun seasoning.  It turned into a very nice meal for all and Russ decided that coming from the north hinterland of Alaska where fishing is a big pastime that I should go fishing in Campbell River the "Salmon Capitol of the World".  He booked us a half day charter on the boat "Dirty Harry" and it's captain, Harry.  The trip was set up for Monday morning to arrive at the dock at eight A.M. which we arrived a few minutes early t...

I am sure there are times in everyone’s life that it seems like the hard times are the ones that keep finding there way into our lives which create stress within that person’s being. Every one of us needs to find that center where we can rid ourselves of those things which we may not be able to change or fix.  Lose those feelings of helplessness and pain. Next time you are stressed; Take a step back, inhale deeply and laugh. Laughter will ease muscle tension and allow your thoughts to flow into calmness all around you.  Laughter releases endorphin's that help you feel better and maintain a positive attitude. Remember who you are and why you are here. You're never given anything in this world that you can't handle. Prepare yourself for the unexpected.  Be strong . . . be flexible . . . love yourself and love others. Life changes and you do not want to waste opportunities in your life. Always remember, just keep moving forward. ...

My first overnight stop on the Alcan was in Whitehorse, Yukon. Slept and work up at first light and started driving again about 5:30 am going through Whitehorse looking for coffee.  Nothing was open yet so figured I would get some later down the road.  About. Ten minutes south of Whitehorse during the start of the day's first light outside I could see a vehicle approaching me about a quarter mile away.  I would guess we were both driving about 45 to 50 miles per hour as the darkness waned and the morning light creeped over the mountains to the east. All of a sudden from my left side of the road a large moose ran out of the darkness of the roads edge and into the path of the car approaching me.  The vehicle's hood drove under the moose's belly causing the full body of the moose to impact the windshield crushing the front of the car, glass and top with the moose bouncing off the vehicle into my path! I was able to swerve to the right stopping just past the bloody c...

They say that one should know their place… quite civilized I’d say, But if that’s true, one thing for sure… in one place one can’t stay. You need to move around a bit… comparisons be made, Thus for a certain Georgia boy… farewell to home he bade. He wound up far across the world… an Asian war some say, Flew rescue choppers for a time… might say he saved the day. Continued with this chopper thing… went to the Middle East, Some royalty they say he flew… or V-I-Ps at least. Too hot, too dry (I’m talking booze) . . . and so he came back home, But “home” as in the USA… inside it he would roam. He had a business, built it up… then sold it and moved west, Went to a place where Mormons dwell… he felt he was a guest. And so he headed way up north… where polar bears do roam, Of salmon, “ice”, and long dark nights… Alaska now his home. In fifteen years, traversed it all… by plane and truck and sled, Once more the wanderlust sets in… and so down south h...