Antsaint

Day 10 of 30 Days of Indie Travel Project, from BootsnAll

Prompt #10: EARTH

“At what point in your travels have you felt most in tune with the Earth? Share a story of how you interacted with the local environment or nature.”

Moon rising over Mt. Everest

There are so many moments in life where we both go deep into ourselves, and yet feel outside ourselves, suffused in the world. Some people get that sense from hiking or climbing; some get it just by lying on the grass in a park. You can feel it at home, on a peaceful sunny afternoon in your own backyard, or you can feel it in distant lands, in the midst of cultures you don’t know and languages you don’t speak.

I’ve felt a sense of being in tune with the world at many times, but one in particular stands out.

In 2004, I got to overland through Tibet, from Lhasa to Mt. Everest Base Camp. After days of sucking the thin Himalaya air, my tour group and I were spending our last night in Tibet at the North Base Camp, 18,192 ft. above sea level.

Between the thin oxygen, the high altitude, the harsh environment and the chilly air, it was a difficult night to need to do things like breathe and keep warm. But there was one thing I’ll never forget.

Late that night, I think around 11 p.m., I’d nipped to the loo. On the way back to the tented hut where we were staying, I stopped for a while to look at Mt. Everest. In some of the most remote mountains of the world, standing 29,029 ft. above sea level, Everest is the tallest mountain in the world—and I was looking at it with my own eyes. I wasn’t looking at pictures online or in a magazine. I was standing mere miles away from the base of Mt. Everest.

And the moon was rising over the mountain.

My mind still sees it, though sometimes I wonder what the low oxygen might have done to my brain. But this is what I remember: the full moon, silver and white, rose over up the slope of the world’s tallest mountain. The moon shined down on the gray-white mass of rock, and seemed nearly as big as Everest itself.

I don’t know how long I stood there. I could’ve stayed there all night, watching the moon and the mountain. Standing in the moonlight, I thought of how fortunate I was, to travel, to know where I called home, and to get to see the tallest mountain in the world. How many people in this big, big world, can say that?

And then I just stopped thinking. There was nothing to think about anymore. There was just the time to appreciate how beautiful it was. The moon rose over Mt. Everest, and I got to see it.

Since that trip, there have been so many moments of serenity in nature, of a sense of place and profoundness at the amazing world we live in. But that night, barely able to breathe, freezing my arse off in the Himalayan chill, I saw one of the most amazing sights of my life, and I’ll never forget it.

See all of Anthony St. Clair’s travel blog posts for 30 Days of Indie Travel »

See all 30 Days of Indie Travel blog posts »

What is the 30 days of indie travel?

Every day in November, the BootsnAll Travel Network is inviting bloggers from around the world to a daily blogging effort designed to reflect on how our travel experiences over the last year (or whenever) have shaped us and our view of the world. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as we like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on our own blogs. More information: Join the 30 Days of Indie Travel Project »

Day 9 of 30 Days of Indie Travel Project, from BootsnAll

Prompt #9: ONE DAY

“Travel helps us better appreciate the present moment instead of always looking to the next thing. Describe one perfect day you had while traveling this year. Where were you? What were you doing? And what made it perfect?”

India in Portland

In 2003, I got to travel 2 months through India. Eight years later, I’m working on a series of travel fantasy novels, and the first story folds in some of that trip. And to help me sort out how all that would work in a way that’s worth a damn, in August 2011 I went to a writers conference in Portland, Oregon.

Of the 3 days of conference, one in particular stands out to me. I’d gotten to know lots of other writers, and we’d discussed our various projects. I’d attended workshops, from dialogue development to building an audience. And I realized that just as I was fascinated and intrigued by what my fellow writers were working on, they were also interested in the book I was working on.

What made this day perfect for me was being among like-minded people, and realizing that my book was going to be good. There were readers out there who would want to read it. Getting the book done and out there was doable.

And it was all just the beginning.

Wrapping travel into my writing has been a journey all its own. There are days that are hard to get through. Then I remember that day at the conference. I get back to work, getting this fantastical trip ready for others to take.

See all of Anthony St. Clair’s travel blog posts for 30 Days of Indie Travel »

See all 30 Days of Indie Travel blog posts »

What is the 30 days of indie travel?

Every day in November, the BootsnAll Travel Network is inviting bloggers from around the world to a daily blogging effort designed to reflect on how our travel experiences over the last year (or whenever) have shaped us and our view of the world. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as we like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on our own blogs. More information: Join the 30 Days of Indie Travel Project »

Day 8 of 30 Days of Indie Travel Project, from BootsnAll

Coming soon: Awesome Kiddo St. Clair

Prompt #8: LOVE LEARNING

“Travel and learning go hand in hand. Travel teaches us not only about the world and the people in it, but also more about ourselves and our own ideas and values. What has travel taught you this year?”

A Reason to Do

In April 2011, my wife and I learned we were expecting our first child. As I type this post, we’re now 35 weeks pregnant, and our baby, codename Awesome Kiddo St. Clair, is due Dec. 12. Travel and learning indeed go hand in hand, and as we two travelers bring a new wee globetrotter into the world, we’ve thought a lot about what that means for us as a family. Luckily, I also have a gem of a grandmother, who’s schooled me in the wisdom of someone who’s been there.

Why no, we won’t stop traveling, thank you very much

A side effect of impending parenthood is people telling you that all your life will essentially cease: no more hobbies, no more time, no more cooking, no more brewing, and certainly, above all, no more travel. Now, my gut says that’s nonsense, but it’s a vital question: are children an impediment or an incentive to doing things in life? I don’t know the answer. We haven’t crossed the threshold to parenthood yet, and I don’t like to presume.

But my grandma, Denise? She knows.

Denise is the mother of two daughters, and since she’s been widowed twice, she did a fair bit of that child-rearing on her own. She’s traveled every state in the U.S. except for Nebraska and Michigan. Until a few years ago, she rode motorcycles with my dad and their friends. Known throughout my hometown as a savvy businesswoman, Denise thinks the best of everyone and won’t take nonsense off anyone. I’ve tried hard to bring her heart of gold and spine of steel to how I travel through life, and I hope I do her proud.

So during a recent phone call, I asked her, “Grandma, when you were raising your daughters, and especially after your first husband died, did that keep you from doing things you wanted to do?”

“No,” she said. “My children were a reason to do things I wanted to do.”

And that sealed it for me. Grandma never saw the girls as an impediment to life. She saw them as a reason to live all the fuller, and to share her interests with her kids. Both as a person and a parent, she figured out how to do the things she cared about, so her girls could see how important it was to make time for what matters to their lives.

Jodie and I have filled our lives with a love of travel, making things ourselves, and learning and learning and learning about the rich, vibrant world we’re so lucky to live in. And we have a baby on the way. But if my grandma could make time, so can me and Jodie.

There’s so much we love in this world—and what else are we here to do, but to share it with those we love?

So Awesome Kiddo St. Clair, here’s some news for you:

I don’t know all the changes we’ll make once you’re here. I don’t know what all you will like, what you won’t like, and how we’ll structure all our time and interests. But I’ll tell you this. We’re here. We’ve got each other, and we’ve got an amazing world to discover and enjoy. Whether we’re at home or in a different hemisphere, your mom and I are going to show you all we can of what we’ve learned, and how much we love learning more.

What you do, what you want to do, ultimately is up to you. But we hope we bring to you the same love of the world, the same love of learning, that lights up our lives together.

See you soon.

See all of Anthony St. Clair’s travel blog posts for 30 Days of Indie Travel »

See all 30 Days of Indie Travel blog posts »

What is the 30 days of indie travel?

Every day in November, the BootsnAll Travel Network is inviting bloggers from around the world to a daily blogging effort designed to reflect on how our travel experiences over the last year (or whenever) have shaped us and our view of the world. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as we like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on our own blogs. More information: Join the 30 Days of Indie Travel Project »