It's the Journey

Out of town this weekend and away from my ordinary routine, I am prone to philosphical reflection (more than usual). It has occurred to me, therefore, to share a few things I am learning from Dee and Cal. The first is that life is a journey, not a destination. In a way, Alaska is a just metaphor for all that seems far off and unreachable. But arrival in Alaska is not the most important thing; what's important is the getting there, the adventure itself. The reason we follow Dee and Cal so closely is to see what each new day will bring. What will they see, who will they encounter, what hurdles will they overcome, how far will they get today, where will they stop for the night?

And the best thing is that there is something new to be learned each day, places and things we might not have thought about in a hundred years except for the fact that Dee and Cal came this way today. I write this blog day-by-day only because of their journey. I would not have researched any of this, let alone written about it, any other way. The experience is day-by-day, mile-by-mile.

Although the destination is not important, the vision is. What sustains Dee and Cal every day is their vision, their goal. Because of their dream, they are not put off by wind and rain, hills and bad roads, no-vacancy signs and sore muscles. Sure they get discouraged and they don't try to hide it, but they are not stopped by these things. They just keep on trikin' (pardon the pun). The vision they have is like the dreams sought by the native Americans at Bear Butte, like the one Crazy Horse had there, which sustained him his entire life.

I am also learning about flexibility, willingness to take things as they come and respond accordingly, to make new plans on the basis of new information or changing conditions. This happened a couple of times in Kansas early in the trip, but the first time it really struck me was the stop in Hazard, NE, a hole in the road (from whence its name) on none of our maps until that afternoon. Really cool. Since then, this kind of openness to what the day brings has been exhibited over and over.

So thanks, Dee and Cal, for inspiring us in so many ways.