Front Porch

Unberievable. Picked up a wireless signal on the front porch of the Gelco. Internet in this town used to be hard to come by, apparently in 2010, its been gettin' around. Mixed feelings - appalled, bummed, shrugging... maybe I'll just toss the laptop into the Little Salmon once I hit post, I can hear it gurgling along on this starry night. My cell phone's still dead to the world 3 miles from New Meadows, ducking out of society will just be one step less convenient with wireless signals creeping over the land.

Alive and well in Idaho. For the weight of preparation and reluctance for departure, transition came quick and seamlessly. Different life here, way different. Loving it. Writing often - for pleasure, for art, letters and cards too. Taking a step back in time and leaving the internet and cell phone out of my actual communication routine. It comes highly recommended. Pushing the reset button on programs, paradigms, priorities...

Been swimming every night, hot springs and river. Rafting most days. Family's been at the cabin. Hiked up the 'trail' to School Marm peak tonight with friends. Wore flip flops, 'cause I wanted to. Didn't bring a camera, 'cause I wanted to selfishly absorb the moment without considering its publicity. Brilliant and stunning, sunset over the bends of the Salmon River, surrounding peaks and snow capped Seven Devils. I will take and post pics at some point, shot a roll of film last week, felt amazing. Ran most of the way down, flip flops and all. Want to do the trail every night I'm in Riggins, good exorcise for the soul, exercise for the cardiovascular unit. And in Riggins, there ain't much else going on besides drinkin and talking trash, the former grows boring from the sidelines and the latter's been done ad nauseum. Local boys on the beach tonight were still talking about their glorified high school football days, a good four plus years ago. Time moves slowly here, it might be time for the old to go out, but the influx of new is sleepy and delayed, so the old stays on replay well past its prime. Speaking of, I'm finding that you can only spend so much time alone with an Ayn Rand novel before you start to go a little nutso. Damn you Atlas Shrugged.

All in all, things are beautiful. So alive and here that it hurts - no place I'd rather be. I'm not going into any more depth, and not interested in making the language or the post any prettier. Happy, healthy, life is simple.

Peace and love,
JH