The Magic

July 8, 2008

Dear Diary,

So here we are following behind our guide. She in her older model car and we are on our bikes. We are traveling about 30 or 40 MPH and following a road that hugs the lake shore.

It is all so emotional for me, Diary.

It is so beautiful here and that beauty is so much a part of my very fiber. And, Diary, it isn't just the visual beauty that influenced me, it is so much more. It's the energy from the lake; so very peaceful yet intensely peaceful. It is the air; crisp, clean, calming.
It is the profound lack of annoying noise but the ever present calming sound of nature. The constant, melodious harmonizing of the leaves rustling, the birds calling, the waves splashing and the feel of the northern sun on my cool skin. It is the open spaces, the vast forests, the feeling of being close to the earth and away from un-necessary and frivolous expectations or life styles.

This is me, this is who I am... this is where I function best. But it is a lifetime away from where and how I live now, in New Jersey.

I traveled here, to Duluth, to celebrate life. To be thankful for every day I get past my fiftieth birthday because my sister Sally didn't get that privilege. Being here now, traveling toward the "Spirit Little Cedar" tree, traveling down this vaguely familiar road, my mind becomes flooded with memories of my Dad.

Memories like our boat trips, of his voice and his trust in my boat skills. It just seems so sad and so wonderful all at the same time. I want to go back to that experience so desperately that my hearts aches. Yet, I am so thankful to be here in this moment as an adult that my heart aches even more! The experience of connecting the past to the present finds me yet again in this moment and it feels almost surreal.

I look to my right and I see the small dock where we used to tie up. I remember the other family we traveled with, the luscious taste of fresh fish cooked on a small Coleman stove. I even recall the feel of my sweaters on my skin, keeping me warm against the cool lake breezes. I can recall the smell of the boat engine and the bilge water, hear the creaking of the hull and the squeak of the fenders between the boat and the dock.

All of a sudden we are there. We pull off the road into a small gravel parking area and the bike engines are silenced.
My heart is beating quickly and I am so focused that I could have been drenched in a 'Flash' and never even notice. Probably was.

At this point our guide, Terri,

tells us about the fact no-one is allowed to come here any more outside of tribal members and how it is one of her most favorite places to come to when she needs to be peaceful and centered.

As she leads us off the gravel and onto the path into the woods, we just all get very quiet. We begin to speak in hushed tones. The very air has a different feel. The quiet of the forest is like a presence and we instinctively respect it and respond by becoming quiet too. Not just by not speaking, but we all seem to quiet our inner voice as well and we follow Terri making few comments and if speaking, speaking with reverence.

Terri stops in front of this sign and, as we read it, we become more in sync with the prevailing atmosphere.

As we walk on we just stop talking altogether and just soak in the the moment. We wind our way through the woods and when we get to the side of the hill we step onto a wooden stairway that takes us down, past moss covered rocks and trees.

We end up at the bottom of the stairway
and off in the distance is the The Tree.




It is at this point that I can not help but choke up. It just reminds me so much of my Dad.

We didn't have a terribly close relationship. That is not what this is about...mourning something that was really deep and precious. I just loved him. He was intense and strong and I know that he loved me. Though we didn't share intimate details of our lives on a daily basis, he is my Dad. He taught me so much about life. Taught me how to survive it. How to enjoy it. And in the end, how to leave it. What more can a daughter ask for?

In the 10 minutes we were there with the tree, I was able to reconnect a bit more with my past. The tree welcomed the four of us as travelers but in a sense re-welcomed me as a friend. A friend who had also known my fathers touch, my fathers appreciation. A friend who had stood with my Dad, exchanging spiritual energy. Every one else was new to the tree. I had a history with it. Though I had never seen it before this day it knows me through my Father. I know it knows me. I can FEEL it knowing me and it is comforting. It connects me to my Dad and that feels very nice.

We made an offering of tobacco to the four corners of the earth. We kept a short silence but I was so filled with gratitude I couldn't even pray...I just kept feeling grateful. ( I vaguely remember asking for safe passage and guidance ) What a wonderful place. What an exquisite moment in time.

We wound our way back up the stairs and through the woods. Every one even more quiet than when we had gone in. Walking out together, yet one by one. How profound. How beautiful and simple.

You can't see him, but I know my Dad is there walking with me.


Scarlett, Bev Twitter and I...all in the same place physically, but all lost in our own thoughts.
I don't suppose we will ever forget that day. I think that day something deep down inside of Scarlett decided her life was never going to be just average or boring again. I know I decided that that day. It truly was rather magical.
Twitter, Scarlett, Tink, Bev....and of course, The Tree
Thanks "Spirit Little Cedar" for your comfort, for your presence in this world, for your example.

Diary, Say a prayer. We are on our way to Marathon Canada and the weather is not looking good.

Tink

The Tree

July 8, 2008

Dearest Diary,

When I was about 10, my Dad decided he wanted to have a big enough boat to travel across the big lake ( Lake Superior ) in with out fear of sinking. So he searched for and found an old wooden herring boat that had been dry-docked for about 16 years, ( or more).

It had seen a full life on the lake for a fishing family in Grand Marais and when it needed repair, I guess, the family decided it just wasn't worth it and dry docked it.

Along comes my Dad who, when he looked at something, always saw what it could also be and not just what it was. (He had that gift for everything and every one he encountered.) So, when he saw this old, rotting herring boat he saw an opportunity to make his dream of traveling the big lake a reality. He spent quite some time getting that boat sea worthy. He even replaced some of the central wooden structure which required that he make his own 'sweat box' to soften the new wood pieces so that he could manipulate them into shape for the keel and the gunwales.

When he was finished we had a great little vessel that sported a 28 foot keel and a 12 foot beam. He didn't change the look of the original boat. Just put her back into running order. From far off she looked like a whale and so we named her The Little White Whale. Here she is:



It is on this boat that I sailed with my Mom and Dad all over Lake Superior. One of the most wonderful places we would go was a small, unknown port near Grand Portage, Minnesota. And it was while we were there one summer that my Dad, after chatting with some local fishermen, found out about the tree.

I remember this tree being called the witching tree and my Dad was VERY excited about it and made it his business to take the trek through the woods to find it. From where we were docked I would say that it was probably a mile and a half walk. The first half of which was down a dirt road and the second half down a foot path through the woods and down the steep side of a hill to the lake shore. He became fascinated by this tree and every time we were in that area he made it a regular stop so that he could go and see it again. There was just something special that he enjoyed about it. He talked a lot about this particular tree when he told stories of our boat travels. So much so that I could have sworn I actually saw it too. But, upon reflection, I don't think I ever did. I saw several pictures of him next to it...touching it even, but I never actually saw it for myself. Until recently that is Diary.

I had told Scarlett about the tree, briefly. She may not even remember the conversation about it it was such a fleeting story ( but then again she may). But the spirit of the tree stayed with her upon hearing the tale and when we were in a gift store in Grand Marais she spied a postcard that had a picture of this tree on it. Something felt familiar and she picked it up and read that this tree is believed to provide safe travel for those journeying along the lake.

As I said, I remember the tree being called the witching tree. However, it is actually called the Witch Tree by tourists but the Ojibwa ( or Chippewa ) call it Manido Gizhigans or
" Spirit Little Cedar" and the Ojibwa now own the land upon which it grows. The earliest written records that mention this tree, as a mature tree, date to 1731 making it at least 300 years old. Some experts would argue that it is closer to 700 years old. The fact that it is so very old is captivating, however, what makes it even more fascinating is the fact that it grows out of bare rock. It is wonderfully twisted, and its growth stunted from many years of trying to grow, not only out of bare rock but, in bitter cold temps and near the frigid lake waters. It looks like a life size Bonsai that nature has trained with a masterly skill. And since the Ojibwa have been able to protect it, it will be able to last quite a while longer I am certain.

After the Ojibwa were able to buy the land where the tree lives, they began to monitor the foot traffic through the woods to where it grows; offering only guided tours by naturalists associated with a nearby lodge. This tree is sacred to the Ojibwa and the area where it grows is considered holy. So, when people began to desecrate the area and were not treating the land and space around the tree as sacred, they decided that there would be no more visitors to the tree. One can see it from the lake side if you are lucky enough to have a boat and know where it is. But, for the most part, visits to this beautiful tree ended about 18 months ago. No one has been allowed to go to the site, which now has sturdy wooden stairs along the hillside and a viewing platform about 80 yards from the tree. Only tribal members can go to the tree and when they do it is, of course, a spiritual journey and once there they give a traditional offering of tobacco to the Spirit...offering it to the East, West, North and South and spend time to pray.

So when Scarlett showed us the postcard, and shared with us that she believed the tree was calling us to visit, she made it her business to respond to that call and when we arrived at the Tourist Information Building
near Grand Portage, she went straight to find out how we could get to see it.

At that point in time we had no idea that you couldn't go see it. The postcard had stated one needed to have a guide to visit it. Scarlett went in to find a guide and was met with the information that no one visited the tree any more. But, if she wanted she could spend time looking at a lovely, large photograph of it that hung on the wall in the Information Building's gift shop. So she 'sat' with that information a bit. Still, she felt we were SUPPOSED to see it. So Scarlett went back to the woman who had denied her the first time and told her about our strange day the day before. How we had had odd energy with us all day and we really felt that we needed to visit the tree. Once again she was turned away.

It was at this point she gave herself over to the idea that we may not see it. She decided she would look to find a Spirit Little Cedar pin to purchase and give to us traveling with her to offset the falling down pin. As she shopped a young woman, a daughter of one of the elders of the tribe who had been listening to Scarlett's story and plea, decided we were to see the tree and she called her mother and got her permission to bring us to see it.

We couldn't believe it. It wasn't luck and it didn't feel like luck. It felt...it felt like.... privilege. It felt as though we were being drawn there.

Scarlett had especially felt it that morning. And it was when Twitter and I were walking by the lake shore and visiting the trading post museum that we began to feel it. By the time Twitter and I were half way through our walk through the museum grounds we were already discussing that it felt as though it needed to be a priority. That it was great of Scarlett to take the time to try to get us a guide and that we really wanted to get there too. At that point we felt a bit of an urgency to get back to Scarlett and Bev to see what was transpiring. So we headed back to the parking lot only to be met by Scarlett waving frantically at us to hurry along as we were being given the opportunity of a life time. By the time we got on our bikes to follow our guide who was in her car, Scarlett had explained why this was so very exciting and at that point we REALLY understood that we were being blessed by this gesture. Who knows when the last traveler outside of the tribe had been there? I don't. But I know who was there that day.

Four women who had been called to this journey were being offered a most wonderful gift; kept for and shared with just a privileged few.

Oh Diary, I think I need to take a break before sharing the rest of this wonderful pilgrimage

Scarlett, The Story of a Tree, and....MAGIC!

July 8, 2008

Dear Diary,

So now you have formally "met" the travelers and gotten to know them a little bit as I have shared about the bonding experiences we have had.
It has been such an exciting trip. A fun trip. A busy trip. And now it is going to be a moving one as well.

I have told you about Twitter and how we are so alike; how fun that relationship has been and how rewarding.

Now I would like to tell you about Scarlett and me.

I first met Scarlett at a Sisters in Spirit meeting. One of the very few meetings we have because we would rather ride than have meetings.

It was in November of 2006. She drove an hour south to make the meeting. She walked, tentatively, through the doors of the Panera Restaurant where the meeting was being held and I threw my arms around her in a great hug. I was sooo happy to have a new person come check us out. There were only 5 or 6 of us...and we needed more riders.

She didn't have much to say that night. Not that she could have gotten a word in edge wise between Denise and Nadine and I. But she stayed and ate with us and laughed a lot and I think that by the time she left her spirit knew that she had come home. Sure enough, it didn't take long and she was an official member.

What you need to know about us together....well, it is kind of like Twitter and I in reverse. Where Twitter and I are nearly the same, Scarlett and I are completely different. Scarlett and I go through life at a completely different pace. She is the Hare and I am the Bunny!! lololol, No, REALLY! My mind jumps from one thing to another with such speed that I often make myself dizzy and nauseous. No matter what we do she does it slowly and I do it quickly and that, my friends will never change. From walking to riding to speaking to eating, packing, morning routine,...well, you get the picture.

Because we are just about the same age, (Scarlett being older, of course!) we share some things in common. Like our hot flashes and hormone imbalances. LOLololol....Ahhhh.

That being said that maybe about the only thing we do alike. Well, I think we both try to find balance in our lives. We do it differently, of course, and balance for me doesn't look the same as balance for Scarlett. But the wonderful thing is that we get that about the other, and somehow it works for us. We are the quintessential Yin and Yang. And, for those of you who may not know, the central idea of yin-yang is this ( are you listening Scarlett??? ): The yin and yang accomplish changes in the universe.....they are opposites that are in constant flux of submission and creativity. They are unable to exist without the other...they 'produce' each other. This is my Scarlett!

The Ethel to my Lucy ( !!!! ), the Grommet to my Wallace, the Hardy to my Laural, the Abbott to my Costello! The Rocky to my Bullwinkle! Ok, I think you get the idea, Diary. ( I am pretty certain, though, that Scarlett can't fly. Though she may have a goofy helmet and riding googles somewhere in her closet!)

It is this wonderful state of realtionship that allows us to tend to the other with out being consumed by the other. There is a trust there. We know that we are sisters...by choice. We work to be free of fear and to love as best we can to help the other to be the best they can too. Giving the other space to be human. We treat the other as we want to be treated....and we both want to ride and we both want to grow.

When we first met it didn't take long for me to say to Scarlett that I wondered if God knew what she was doing when pairing the two of us up as friends. Because even in the early days of our relationship, I could tell that there was a bigger plan for us than just riding together. Based on what has transpired so far???? My guess is that she knew EXACTLY what was going to happen. Magic. Love. Creative ideas and the focus to make it all happen. Yin-Yang! We really are so very different in so very many ways, except one way that is most important. We are ready to work together to impact our universe!

There is a palpable force that I feel when ever we are together that transcends the reality of the moment. Just like my belief that Twitter and I could do anything..it is my fervent belief that Scarlett and I WILL do...many things!!!!!

She is awesome and lovely and I admire and adore her for exactly who she is!

So it is that this particular person, armed with my story, creates magic.

..to be continued...

...tink...