On the Road Again (almost) 2013)

I had the strangest dream last night. I was hitchhiking somewhere between Cambray and Woodville (just north of Lindsay, Ontario) in a T-shirt and shorts. I had left my black suitcase with wheels (like the one that I use when I fly) and I kept on having to go back and get it. And then through the magic that can only exist in dreams I was quickly transported to just outside of Ottawa and quickly got the perfect ride to the west.

While I don't very often remember details of my dreams, I was not surprised that I did this one. For the past week or so I have been aware  that thinking/day dreaming about traveling has gradually been moving from my sub-conscious  into my conscious mind. The other day  I was looking for a new dress shirt at Mark's Warehouse and before I knew it, I was looking at new light weight quick dry pants for traveling. On another day I started to look for new hiking boots. And while I am not yet at the point where I think about parking my car on the side of the road and flagging down a big truck I know that the obsession is starting.

It is only the middle of February and given the amount of snow on the ground, there is at least another seven to eight weeks of winter. I have another ten weeks of teaching. But I can feel the pull of the road upon my soul. That restless energy that starts to build within me until it is almost touchable. My thumb is getting itchy. It is time to start traveling again.

I have lots of potential places to go. I would love to go back to Yellowknife and spend some more time there getting to know the area, but I have yet to go to the Yukon, the last of the of the province/territory left for me to see. There is also a National Gathering in Montana and it would be great go and to see folks I have not seen for a year or two. There are so many places, little towns or valleys that one can see from the highway that I ache to visit at least just once.  

It is only February. I have lots of time to dream and to plan and to trace the miles on the map that I carry in my head. As I lay in bed I can see the routes, the good places to get a ride, the places to sleep and already the rides that I will get. At least for a while I just need to make sure that my dreams stay in my head during the quiet times. It is so hard to teach when I lose track of the conversation in the classroom and drift into thinking about being on the road again