bathing in the hot springs

July 16, 2022

Sitting beneath the pine trees looking at the forest green in the sawtooth mountains where a field is regrowing—

This morning I bathed in the hot springs and rested my body from these past weeks of driving. A cold river flowing right next to the springs. I took turns plunging into the cold glacial water and then into the hot springs. Back and forth, until my body could no longer discern between the temperatures. My skin felt so alive. My mind awake. And I sat peacefully reflecting on the journey so far.

Week five. Sawtooth Mountains. Idaho.

When I’m out traveling, time has a way of stretching into an imaginative space. Some days will feel like three smashed into one. I forget how exhausted I am until I lay down for the night and I realize how much my mind has been taking in. How much I’ve been seeing. How much I have been considering as I move about. Time passes by in moments, rather than a measurement on a clock. The sunrise, the sunset, and the stars rising. An afternoon snack. A walk along a trail. Driving a few miles to get out of service and jumping in a river along the road. All of these moments filling my soul.