Vanstock.org is the brainchild of one person, Lindra. This was the second year, and I was very impressed with the organization and attention to detail. You know there was a ton of work put in; find the musicians, rent the toilets, erect the tents, etc, but because it was all done so well, it seemed like it happened all by itself. The bands were top notch. Check out Ira Wolf, Tim Easton, Power Play, The Dirty Turkeys. Ira Wolf sang a song, “Second Act”, that was basically my story. I told her later she wrote my song. After a deep loss, finding oneself again, trying new things, redefining one's identity, being open to joy; these are universal feelings of course, but it sure sounded like she was singing directly to me. (It is not yet released) The whole weekend was wet and chilly, but the vibes were warm and welcoming. They had a mud wrestling competition and for a while hardly anyone had signed up, so being the team player I am, did. There were plenty of contestants by the time it happened. It's “flag wrestling”; when your two straps are pulled off, you're out, which I was in ten seconds. I didn't even get muddy. But I was by far the oldest, so there's that.
This picture speaks volumes and is a bit embarrassing, which is why I'm adding it:
Sunday I joined a group going whitewater rafting. I had to sign a second waiver because I'm over 65, and us old folks are more susceptible to heart attacks if we fall in the glacial water. We donned dry suits and helmets and they gave us the safety spiel, which, to summarize, was, “If you fall in, get over your panic as fast as possible and swim to the boat”. A good life lesson in general. Each boat had a guide using oars, and we followed directions with our paddles as she called out, “Forward one!” “Forward two!” "Back one!' I was fifteen minutes into the rapids when I remembered I could also enjoy myself. No pics; we were busy rafting!
The last morning was still wet and cold, but we finished with goodbyes and a pancake breakfast. I drove straight to the Anchorage airport and picked up my friend Chris, whom I've known for over 40 years. She took me up on my blog offer, which still stands; if you fly out to where I am, I'll get an AirBnB and we can do day trips and explore! We did exactly that. It took four more days till the rain finally broke, but we toured the Knik Glacier, rode the Alaska Railroad from Talkeetna to Hurricane Gulch, hiked Pioneer Ridge and Gold Cord trails, happened upon a local drag racing competition, and had a delightful stay at “Grandma's Place”, a log cabin with an epic view of the glacier. I was so happy to spend time with my longtime friend. I love meeting new people, but as the saying goes, “One is silver and the other's gold.” Chris is deeply involved in learning about native and invasive plants, and is a dedicated iNaturalist contributor. She spends hundreds of hours doing volunteer forest maintenance in Van Cortlandt Park. Identifying and discussing plants was a running theme throughout our visit. It made me think about knowledge vs appreciation. I appreciate the foliage as I hike, but I don't know what I'm looking at. Would my appreciation increase with knowledge? Quite likely. Does that mean I'm going to make an effort to learn what I'm looking at? Not likely.
