Tetonia (Idaho, USA) | Winter Finally Catches Me - 12/12/2022

The view from Interstate 25 last Saturday morning as I headed to Denver International Airport for my flight to Idaho. The front range of Colorado is dry again this year, and even the tallest peak, Long's Peak, has little snow thus far.

My week in Fort Collins, Colorado, allowed me to re-acclimate to this time zone. I desperately needed the rest. I finally slept through the entire night on Wednesday, for the first time since returning. Who knew that spending 6 months abroad would have been so hard on my body upon returning? Maybe my body is trying to tell me something. Is it ready to find somewhere else to live? I'll need to reflect on this a bit more.

During the week when I wasn't at my storage unit trying to locate things I might need while at my parent's house in Idaho, I explored meditation retreats and destinations. I rather enjoyed the research and was surprised by what I located. Of course, I could easily find a retreat in the United States. This would allow me to stay within what is comfortable. However, I want to use this experience as an opportunity to continue exploring other cultures while simultaneously taking my mindfulness practice to another level. I also feel like the retreats in the United States have lost track of what is essential. Instead, they appear more focused on capitalizing on a growing trend by charging hefty fees, easily in the 3-4 thousand dollar range for a few weeks to a month. 

This, after all, is the American way. Capitalize on trends and make a buck. This is the general problem I have with the mindfulness trend. First, let me begin by making it clear the benefits are many, and I believe everyone could benefit from cultivating a mindfulness practice. But, unfortunately, we have turned a simple beneficial exercise into a mystical, confusing, and expensive venture in the United States. This keeps the benefits from easily being accessed by many in the US. So, this is one of the reasons why I am seeking a retreat abroad, plus I have the time and resources to do so.

The front range of Colorado is a beautiful place to live. Unfortunately, these farm fields are becoming endangered things. As I head to the airport this morning, I notice the growing number of new houses and commercial buildings along the Interstate corridor where farms once were visible. The new Amazon distribution hub and parking lot south of Fort Collins is massive. In another 5 years, I wonder if I will be able to tell difference between where one city starts and another end I drive from Fort Collins to Denver will be 97 km (60 mi).

I have developed my mindfulness meditation practice on my own and believe that to take my practice further, an immersion type of experience is what I need. I have pondered this for a while, and the time is right to do it now. 

The two main branches I started exploring are Vipassana and Mindfulness Meditation. Vipassana, or insight meditation, is an ancient discipline (i.e., about 2,500 years old) in which we train our minds to have a clear awareness of what is happening as it happens. The second branch is Mindfulness Meditation, which is the practice of increasing awareness of the present moment and connecting deeply with every moment of daily life. 

My experience thus far has focused on Samatha Meditation which some refer to as tranquility or noting meditation. However, I began to explore Mindfulness Meditation when I read one of Thich Nhat Hahn's books, The Heart of the Buddha's Teachings. Thich Nhat Hahn has been called the father of Mindfulness because he influenced the Western World, taking a predominantly eastern Asia philosophy and repackaging it to be relevant to western culture. I could benefit from either of these two approaches.

So far, I have found opportunities for both disciplines that overlap with my travel goals. There are a few intriguing opportunities, one in Scotland, which focuses on Vipassana, and another in France, which focuses on Mindfulness. Both of these facilities, similar to others in Southeast Asia and Australia, offer programs at minimal costs, which is appealing. As appealing as the European destinations are, I still want to explore other locations. However, I still need to resolve the timeframe, location, and length of my retreat, so I have more research to do.

When I arrived in Jackson, Wyoming, which is about a 2-hour flight northwest of Denver, conditions had changed dramatically. My mom and dad told me before arriving that snowfall in the area is currently at 135% of normal. Today, the mountains are socked in, which is too bad, as the view of the Teton Mountains from the airport is stunning on a clear day! Tetonia is located west of here on the otherside of the Teton Mountains, which are in the background of this photo.

The sagebrush flats are covered in about 45 cm (18 in) of snow. I will have to post more pictures when the clouds lift in a few days, as it is a beautiful area. Since I arrived in Idaho, it has been socked in and snowing, with little accumulation, every day. I have finally found winter, and I miss the warm, humid air already.

I look forward to spending time with my parents and visiting friends while I am here. Unfortunately, I could not find my winter boots in my storage unit, so I am still underdressed for this weather. Fortunately I am not planning to spend a lot of time in it.

I took a photo of this tree near the town of La Isla, Spain. The trunk of the tree is relatively thin. However, the ivy surrounding it gives the tree a strange shape from far away, which initially caught my attention. When I got close, however, I noticed it was merely the ivy that was deceiving my eyes.

The Spanish Countryside is lovely, and I loved taking pictures of it. This was taken on my way to Villaviciosa, Spain, in the Asturias Region.

I remember enjoying my time in Gijón, where I spent a much-needed rest day. The Plaza de Marqués was not far from my hotel. The castle-looking building in the background is the Cajastur Cultural Center. Even though the sky was blue and it looked warm, this was a significant inflection point on the Camino. It was the first time it became too cold for me to go out without a jacket and long pants in the evening and I spent my rest day in the rain.

I probably took too many photos of the "flower pot people." They are unique to the Asturias Region along the Camino. I find them absolutely darling. These three were in a window down the street from my Albergue in Muros de Nalón. I am not a plant person, but these have inspired me to have a plant or two around the house. I find these people give the plants a personality and I find it easier to relate to them.

I couldn't resist taking this photo when I walked by the trees and recognized what was occurring. I left the pictures out of my blog as it would take too long to explain what was happening. I encountered this in a couple of other places, but the trees were mature. These trees are young and are being groomed to join branches. I am curious to know which kind of tree they are and I could never identify them. However, they form a beautiful dense canopy when mature and they are linked to their neighbors. Trees on both sides of the photos are being trained to join their neighbor.

Between each tree, the branches are allowed to reach their neighbors. The branches that would reach across the square from left to right in the photo above were trimmed. As the branches close to the neighbor become entangled, they form nodes. It then becomes impossible to tell the two trees apart. The two limbs become one single limb that connects the two trees. The trees then share all resources with their neighbors. Had I recognized the phenomena earlier, I would have taken pictures of the beautiful mature examples I encountered. Instead, I mistook them for dense trees at the time and overlooked the photos.

I was impressed by the bridges in Spain that support the Interstate system. Many were several hundred feet above the ground. I took this photo on my way to Canero because it represents different but parallel paths we sometimes follow. It felt like a visual representation of why sometimes I never encountered people even though I knew they were in the same town or heading to the same destination as me. For example, one person is on the high bridge while the other is on the low. I wondered how often this happens, and I never realized it. Other times I remember thinking it was more pronounced. I am on a different path, and my time with that person is over so we are on parallel but disjoint paths.