Something Found Everywhere

Travel is probably the second most freeing thing on earth, if you ask me. And if you're asking, the first is a place that cannot be found on any map... or perhaps is found on every map.

Thank God that worship comes from within and can be practiced in any setting and every geographical location. I have found that the Lord is the same, and the experience of Him comfortingly consistent, everywhere I've ever gone. In the words of Emily Dickinson (whose personal meaning was probably different; but isn't the hallmark of great writing that any individual can find their own experience in the words of the writer?):

Have you got a Brook in your little heart,
Where bashful flowers blow,
And blushing birds go down to drink,
And shadows tremble so—

And nobody knows, so still it flows,
That any brook is there,
And yet your little draught of life
Is daily drunken there-

Oh, Canada! And Oregon and California and Everything Else Completely Wonderful: A Summary.

I am in love. With vacation.

On Friday, June 13th, I passed our last two finals of the semester and became the coveted... PAS2!!! No longer will I be a lowly PAS1. No, we are second-years now.

On Saturday, I flew up to Portland and Tash and Ben picked me up from the airport. Sunday, we drove out to the Oregon coast and went to Cape Perpetua and Yachats. Beautiful, beautiful!! We even got to go to tide pools at low tide and touch the green sea anemones.

Canada! On June 16th I took the Greyhound bus from Eugene up to Vancouver (which was an experience belonging to a blog post all its own) and stayed for two and a half days before coming back. And, those were two of the most wonderful days in recent memory. Canada is AWESOME! From the Capilano Suspension Bridge over the raging river on the North Shore; to taking the ferry from Horseshoe Bay across to Nanaimo and kayaking around purple starfish-covered rock islands with an Australian girl; to staying at a hostel nestled on one of the most beautiful beaches in Vancouver, I was stunned and amazed by the beauty of BC. So THAT'S why they call it Beautiful British Columbia! I also got a taste of Washington on the drive up and now have big plans to some day go back and visit the giant Mount Rainer.

On Saturday after getting back to Oregon, Tasha and I left and embarked on a mini-adventure that included stopping at snowy Crater Lake (breath-taking!) on the way to the Oregon Caves National Monument and an overnight stay at a cozy little lodge nearby. Then we headed down to California and camped for two nights in the forests of Sequoia sempervirens, the coastal redwoods that are the tallest trees in the world. I'd wanted to see these trees for a long time and it was so satisfying to spend hours staring up at them. Our campsite had a giant felled moss-covered redwood at its entrance that was gorgeous, greeting us each night when we returned to camp. It was also fun to be so close to the ocean during that trip.

Now we're back in Eugene and planning some wild river kayaking for this weekend, perhaps in Bend, near the Three Sisters. Waaaa hooooooooo!