July 11, 2001

I’m in Montana, one of my original destinations for this trip.  I’m going to do some serious fly fishing here. But the day started out bad because I couldn’t find the place to get a National Parks Pass. I wasted a lot of time. Somehow things finally turned out.  I kind of knew they would. The same theme keeps playing itself over and over again. Just wait out the negativity, the doubts, the hopelessness. Don’t give up hope. This, too, shall pass. Life is like a wave, if you stay down you won’t appreciate the rise. It all balances out unless you choose to stay stuck.

I wrote down a quote from Hillary Clinton today that I saw in the newspaper. “Each of us is a pioneer in our own life.  We are charting new territory everyday…..The people I admire are those who are willing to go forward no matter what the odds.” Am I a pioneer? Can I help other women? There are few who are doing what I am doing.  Is it courage?  I didn’t actually have to fight demons or villains or injustice to take this journey. But I did have to overcome the fear inside me. Maybe our greatest enemy is the monster voices of  the media and our culture that say “we shouldn’t” or “we can’t”. We have to turn down the volume.

I found a great campsite not far from the famous Little Big Horn River and had a visitor.

I love this trip. I’m learning a lot. Themes keep repeating. Are there just a few basic truths in life, just a small number of things we really have to  know? Why do I have a feeling that they are all right here,right in front of me?