Untethered!

Julie and I continue to have an amazing, unforgettable experience in Banff National Park, and are preparing ourselves for the next section of our motorcycle adventure, north through Jasper National Park and on to the even more remote Alaskan-Canadian Highway.

Our stay in Banff has brought home the power of the wilderness we're traversing, from the abundant, snow-capped mountains watching our progress with their characteristic indifference, to the... brisk conditions greeting us in the park (we seem to have two weather patterns on offer: cold and dry, or cold and damp), to the enormous grizzly bear we saw 200 yards off the road, not five minutes after crossing into the park.

Needless to say, if we needed any sobering reminders of the road that lies ahead, and the magnitude of our quest compared with the scale of these landscapes and their principal inhabitants, we've had them!

We've also had a simply amazing time, hiking and riding among the peaks, meeting fellow travelers, relaxing with warm beverages to escape the rain and cold, and taking in breath-taking vista after breath-taking vista. (Does Google have a superlative index? Cuz I might need one if these views continue to be so astonishing.)

My father and brother also gave me the news: under their able stewardship, the condo sale closed successfully and happily, on Friday afternoon! With this transaction completed, I am flooded with dizzling reactions. First, the elation that this major question mark hanging over the trip has been resolved. Second, gratitude for the many people who made this possible, especially Jesse, my Dad, Ann, and of course Alison, the new owner. Then, more slowly, the realizations that all the talk about "we don't know what's next or where we'll land" has more potential, more gravity now that we are, even more truly, vagabonds in this wide world.

It is perhaps no surprise that a rush of home-, family- and friend-sickness followed. It is an incredible luxury, of course, to have the freedom we are now (even more!) experiencing. But there is also something unsettling about the notion that the wind truly could sweep us off anywhere. As much as I am energized by the prospect, it makes me miss home and the people who make it so.

I am, of course, a lucky man to have my best friend in the world sharing the tent with me, and to have electronic and metaphysical connections to so many amazing people. It's a time of drawing strength from those bonds, being grateful for my good fortune for those connections, and embracing the excitement, potential and unknown of the road that lies ahead. Who knows where it leads us? (The next bit should lie to the northwest!)