My summer days are usually quite full of activity but this past week was different. It started with a drive to a new place, Madras, where at least 10,000 people directly around me were gathered to watch the full solar eclipse. I was moved by the feeling of all those people around me along with the drop in temperature as the moon blocked the sun. Once the total eclipse happened, I looked at it with my naked eye which does not have 20/20 vision, but it was still quite beautiful. Two wiggly white lines around a small circle. Once I looked at it through my regular binoculars I could see the pink gases coming off around the edges.
Next it was an 11 l-hour drive for Asia to drop me off in Kalama, Oregon at the campsite for this year’s Chinook canoe journey. For the past many years I have been honored to pull a canoe with others every August, as my friend Ray requested us to do before he passed away a couple years ago.
I got to delightful days of pulling a canoe this week. Thursday I had a gig with my band in Portland for a storytellers’ show that 
was terrific.
Now as I prepare for a week of kayaking with clients, I feel a sense of calmness after such an amazing week.
Leave a Reply