Birds chirping at 5 in the morning that wake you up.
The evergreen trees swaying in the wind.
Clear blue lakes and rivers.
Mountains beyond mountains.
The sound of laughter nearby.
It looked like I could have been home in Seattle, or just outside of Seattle. But, in fact, I was more than 300 miles away at Caldera in Oregon.
It smelled and felt like I was home.
But, I was on a running and writing retreat called Wilder.
It’s hard to explain more than just saying that. I’d really like to go into details about exactly what we did every day and what I felt. But, I’d rather not.
What I can say is that I wrote more than I ever have in a very long time. Writing pen to paper can be very exhausting, but also very therapeutic.
I can also say that I left the retreat feeling stronger as a runner than I have in a more than three years.
There were women from all across the United States, and Canada, at this retreat. Many came from vastly different climates and kept exclaiming at how beautiful it was and how lucky we were to be able to run among the trees and next to rivers and mountains.
It made me see my “home” differently. Like I said, I was not home but still in the Pacific Northwest so the outdoor scenery is very similar to what I see in my neck of the woods.
Lucky to live by the water.
Lucky to live near lots of mountains.
Never to far.
otter travel more 