What Did I See?

* Originally posted on 07.22.2019 on Wordpress blog

In my previous post (Excited? Or Curious?) I  told you to check back in a week and I would tell you what I saw on our Alaskan adventure.  We've been back for a week now and I've had some time to absorb what I saw on that trip.   Equally important are a few things that I might have learned.

I was disappointed to have a restricted view of the renown Alaskan scenery.  Because there were wildfires burning, the air was clogged with smoke.  Anchorage was a flat asphalt plain, with concrete boxes and lots of strip malls, junk yards, and gray.  Not particularly attractive but I'm certain that was largely about poor timing.  Additionally, we hit Alaska right after an unprecedented heat wave and so we got the other side of the pendulum arc. When we could escape the gray, we got moist clouds and misty air.  It's hard to see mountains when they are blocked by every shade of gray clouds.  We did, however, head out every day to see what we could find.  We headed south from Anchorage to see Seward one day and another day we headed north to see if we could glimpse Denali.  The mountain was entirely invisible but we got to ride along the roads of Alaska and saw tons of beautiful fireweed and lots of lakes, rivers, and greenery.  On other days, we sought out Anchorage's Botanical Gardens, the Cultural Heritage Center, and several wildlife museums and nature centers.  These were all fun to explore.

One of our two bear watching adventures was canceled due to poor visibility but the second one landed us at a bear preserve called Brooks Falls.  This, fortuitously,  turned out to be probably the best weather day of the trip. It was cloudy but not enough to cancel the flights that would carry us to this remote place.  Once we landed, we were treated to a 20 minute "Intro to Bears" presentation that was both interesting and useful.  We learned how the preserve came to be and how the mutual respect between bears and humans is sustained.  And then we were released to wander all over the preserve, sticking to the trails (unless a bear ambled by and claimed the trail for him/herself).  We did enjoy being in such a remote place and seeing the bears up close . Without a doubt, that excursion was the highlight of the trip.

We had some challenging air transportation moments on this trip.  All in all, we had 13 separate legs of air travel over the week. The flights to and from Anchorage were done with multiple layovers and the bear viewing flights involved little tiny seaplanes in multiple installments.  I was thrilled with the small seaplane rides. It was cool to be in such a small plane, and have such a clear view of the world below.  But all those shorter flights also led to frustration and disappointment.  The smaller air companies had issues flying in weather and one had plane maintenance problems, leaving us stranded at a classic no-tell motel overnight.  No fun. The big airlines are all about squeezing as many bodies as possible into the plane, leaving non first class passengers riding in discomfort and irritation. There were moments during that captivity when I wondered if I would ever fly again but now those moments are lost to the adventure that was the rest of the trip.

What did I learn? I was reminded that I live in the first world and that my problems are largely first world.  The night we were stranded in a bleak motel without any of my usual comforts, I was angry. This was not supposed to happen. With a few days distance on the night, I realized that I was fortunate to have the resources to be on such an adventure.  If something didn't go according to plan, it was not the end of the world. It was a bump in an otherwise privileged week.  That night I wasn't able to employ any of my mantras (https://wordpress.com/post/graciewilde.com/307) but, in retrospect, I can apply several of them. I was reminded about the importance of breathing, of staying curious and about the truth in what will be will be.  Most importantly, I managed that night but, even in the managing,  I wasn't able to remind myself that I was doing that.  If I could have touched these mantras that night, I might have saved myself significant upset.

I came away from this week of travel with renewed enthusiasm for travel.  Yes, the weather was sucky and no, I didn't get to see the full beauty that is Alaska.  I did get to taste a new place. I did create memories and I gained confidence in the art and skill of travel. I opened myself to new people and opened my eyes to someplace other than home. In doing that, I stepped out of my routine life. I tried on something new. I looked back at the life I am living and wondered about change.  By putting some distance from the ordinary, I could see where the ordinary might not always be working for me. Oddly, travel allowed me to see ordinary life more closely.  As a result, I made room for expansion and growth.  How cool is that?