ALONE

POST # 425

JOHN AND KIM DEPART When contemplating the title for today's post, the most appropriate word to describe my current situation is the word, alone. Many years ago, back in the mid-nineties I read a book with this exact title. The author, Richard Byrd wrote this book which described his adventure of living alone in a shelter carved out of the ice, high on the Antarctic plateau. My purpose for reading it and many other Antarctic related books at the time, was in preparation for my proposed expedition to a place called Cape Adare, located on the Antarctic coast, due South of New Zealand. Cape Adare was the first place that humans stayed over winter on the continent, back in 1898. My plan was to go there in 1998, and spend an entire year there alone. Unfortunately the expedition had to be cancelled, and I have to admit that it took quite a number of years to get over that. Fast forward to the year 2020, and I finally get my opportunity to be alone, not for a year, but for about three weeks. Because I am separated from "civilization" due to the fact that I would need to make two separate crossings of the Klondike river to get to the highway, I decided soon after my arrival that once my friends had departed, I would stay put. John and Kim left on Saturday, October 3rd and it didn't take very long for me to settle into a comfortable routine. I credit this to the fact that I lived in my little cabin I named "Snug" about a ten minute drive along the highway from here, heading towards Dawson back in the early 2000's. Without that "bush" experience, I doubt that I would feel as comfortable as I do right now. And what's not to like? My top three criteria for a great house/pet sit are: 1- Peace and quiet 2- Rural location 3- One or more dogs This place gets three gold stars. My guess is that my time here will go by way too fast, so I am trying my best to appreciate my good fortune. grateful for every breath, Paul The Thoughtful Wanderer PS: For whatever reason, this updated version of blogger doesn't compose the text into paragraphs, as I had written it. Perhaps it's a glitch in the program or more likely the fact that I am somewhat of a techno-luddite. I'll continue to work at it, and see if I can improve things for future posts. PPS: A quote from Richard Byrd: “It occurred to me then that half the confusion in the world comes from not knowing how little we need.”