Halibut Cove, Alaska

10/12/2015

bamboo fence outside of the meditation cabin at Stillpoint Lodge

In the middle of August, in between ski trips to New Zealand and Chile, I took a short trip to Halibut Cove, Alaska with my dad. We stayed at a beautiful lodge/retreat center (Stillpoint) in the cove and explored the area for a few days. The idea was to get away from the everyday patterns that has become my life when I'm home: emails, quick meals, appointments, errands, meetings, workouts, etc.

kayaking through the cove

Halibut Cove was the perfect place to escape. Although there was internet access in the lodge, there was none in our cabin, and I chose to turn my phone off while I was there anyway (I was secretly hoping that internet would not exist there). So I brought a good book (The Goldfinch--AMAZEBALLS), my violin, some knitting, and disconnected for a few days.

the entryway in Stillpoint Lodge

the bottle barricade at Stillpoint's garden

flowers lining the paths of the Stillpoint grounds

the labyrinth up close

Walking the labyrinth at Stillpoint, sitting on the bench at the overlook point, meditating every morning in the meditation cabin--these were the "nothings" that I went to Alaska for. Although I always look forward to coming home to Oregon, every time I return I have a silent excruciating battle with myself. My to-do list is way way way too extensive. I want to see far too many friends. I want to spend time with my family. I want to paint.
My mind did not return to these things often while I was in Alaska (other than wanting to paint--which I did!), and when it did, I noticed the tension it brought to my body, and started to understand how to control these obligatory thoughts. 'twas a relief.

Though I was in a walking boot (due to a stress fracture in my foot--ughhh), we did a lot of kayaking. One day we took a short jaunt (via kayaks) up to a glacier, which was incredibly beautiful and made me yearn for winter, steep mountains, cold water. See the glacier above! Neat!

view of the cove from part way up the glacial hike

kayaking past a mussel farm on the way to the base of the hike

Aside from kayaking there weren't any active pursuits I could accomplish....so we did a lot of floating on the ocean. There was one day where the ocean water was as glassy as I've ever seen any water. It was in the middle of a storm, while we were heading to Diana Tillion's gallery across the cove.

glassiest ocean eva!!!

Saltry dock

We did yoga. We went Halibut fishing (and I barfed 5 times). We ate yummy yummy food from the Stillpoint garden. It was a glorious couple of days. I certainly plan on going back. Check out the rest of my photos below.