Memories in the Making

          I bought my first "memory quilt" in 2001. It was about two months after we came home from our 9,967 mile "road trip" to Alaska.

         On the trip I took pictures of everything!!! If it moved--I took a picture. If it sat still---I took a picture. I wanted to bring as much of the beauty, and all of the memories I could gather, home with me.

         Canada was just as amazing as Alaska.  The farther north we went, the more beautiful Canada became.  Never judge a country by its border towns. It would be almost like buying a book without a cover jacket. A person would have no idea what the book was about until they began reading for themselves. I soon found out that Canada is indeed a beautiful, exciting book.

          While driving through the Canadian Rockies, we saw several black bear and a grizzly bear the size of a Volkswagen.  There were mountain sheep, mountain goats and moose---lots of moose--everywhere.

         The most unexpected adventure was in  the Yukon. We rounded a mountain at daybreak. In the middle of the road was a herd of buffalo.  They were gorgeous, they were huge and they were very unafraid of us. We sat in the car and watched them as they watched us.

        Neither one of us were in any hurry for the encounter to end. I tried to take pictures but it was a little too early in the morning for my 35mm camera to focus and get any good shots. The photos turned out dark, fuzzy and all the buffalo have red eyes. I kept them--I know what they are--I remember and I smile each time I look at the pictures. Soon the buffalo lost interest in us and wandered off to drink water at a near by creek.  We drove around the mountain and faced the most beautiful sunrise.   

          Over the years I have taken hundreds of pictures of sunrises and sunsets.  I am in awe each time I see one.  There is a magical moment, when the sun rises and when it sets. The colors flow differently than at any other time of the day.  Sometimes it is good for the soul to step away from the world and enjoy a magical moment. That morning in the Yukon was no exception. It was a beautiful way to start the day.

          After we arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska we met our friends and immediately took off for another 1,500 mile road trip to Southern Alaska. One of the main sights I wanted to see was "Mt. McKinley" in the Denali  National Park.  Before we reached the Park we stopped at a souvenir shop so I could buy more postcards.

          I struck up a conversation with one of the Indian residents who happened to own the store. He was a "natural story teller". The weather was lousy and we were all cold and damp. I asked him if he thought we would be able to see Mt.McKinley. When he started talking about "the mountain" everyone in the store stopped and listened. He spoke about the mountain like he was talking about a woman.  He personified "her" for us, by telling us that "Denali" means "big one".  That people come from all over the world to see "her" and go home empty handed. He said "she" might show herself to us and she might not. He went on to say that he doubted if we could see her because of the fog at the top of the mountain. Apparently, if you do not see the peak of Mt. McKinley---then you haven't seen the mountain.  I was really disappointed. However, by the  time we reached the park, the sun was shining down below. We spent the day at the park and had a great time.  The top of "the mountain" stayed covered.

       We made camp that night, outside the park. We had  a perfect view of Denali. The men cooked salmon over a camp fire. We were sitting around drinking coffee when Tommy said "Well, look at that".  We all turned and watched as the clouds literally parted from the top of  "the Lady".  She showed us her face for about 30 minutes. Our cameras were clicking away. Smiles abounded and then the clouds descended again. The 'big one" was indeed a lady that day.  We felt very privileged to have seen her. We stayed another 5 days in Alaska.  We went to Valdez and salmon fished in the Alaskan Gulf.  We were surrounded by mountains and faced the Pacific Ocean.  None of us wore a watch, none of us cared what day it was or about the time. We were encased in beauty.

       We had a million adventures on this once in a lifetime trip. 

       Eleven days after we got home, 9-11 happened. And our world changed forever.  I am so thankful we went on this adventure in August instead of September.

       I am also thankful that someone--somewhere made a quilt of our adventure.  I have only seen it once and that was in a mail order catalog that I normally did not receive. As soon as I saw the quilt, I knew it was made for people like us. I paid $300.00 for "her".  She hangs behind my computer and gives me joy and inspiration every day.  This was the first of many quilts that I have bought.  A new hobby in the making--maybe--but a memory keeper for sure.