Saturday, March 01, 2008

Big Nature

I am in Eastern WA and boy is there a lot of nature here. We are skiing in Winthrop, about a million miles of trails and I have not skied AT ALL this season so I am rather sore. Like crippled. But we are near the Sun Mountain Lodge, which if you have not been here is a gustatory destination, let me tell you. You ski all day until your ass and thighs and arms are going to fall off and then you fall into a coma by the fire and then you go to the lodge up the hill and eat a fabulous dinner while looking out over the whole valley. Oh, and you take a lot of tylenol and drinking wine helps too. We have seen eagles, woodpeckers, little rodent things, a whole bunch of deer and tonight heard an owl as we were staggering back to our 'chalet', an itty bitty cabin with a fireplace and a double bed to become comatose on. The stars are fab too, like I said, a massive amount of nature.

So I am a serviceable skier and there are groomed trails here so I plod along, falling occasionally. Everyone else is a 'skate skier' holy mother of god. They have skis that are about a centimeter wide and very pointy. Then they kinda run along the track. If I tried this, I would be in the hospital even tho I pretend I don't do it because I 'have the wrong equipment'. But there is hardly anyone here except for these white mountains all around and this crazy blue sky.

In the itty bitty chalet, I listen to a new CD a client made me of Tibetan monks singing or what ever you call it and bells and horns and lie on my face on the bed because my whole body hurts.

I brought along a bunch of suicide/trauma books and haven't even opened one. Instead I am catching up on old NYT book reviews. My theory: read the book reviews and pretend you read the book. It's almost as good.

My writing group rocks my world, even when I bring in a poem that 'needs work'. We are going to Burning Word to hear Rebecca read. I think we should make asses of ourselves but I might be alone in this desire. This desire. Ah, desire.

6 comments:

Laura Gamache said...

ah desire! and I love your description of Sun Mountain and of skiing - I SKI LIKE YOU and would love to ski together sometime. I am freaked the heck out by the skating skiiers.

beth coyote said...

What is up with those people anyway? Are they all Olympic medalists on steroids?

beth coyote said...

What is up with those people anyway? Are they all Olympic medalists on steroids?

Laura Gamache said...

Dear Grand Poobs,
Why x country when you can CROSS COUNTRY with lots of gear and commpetition and good old waspy ACCOMPLISHMENT instead of having fun...
Her Royal Suchness (HRS)

beth coyote said...

that's what I'm saying, yer highness

beth coyote said...

that's what I'm saying, yer highness