Pandemic Pilgrimage

Bill and I set off on a pilgrimage yesterday.  Twas a three-part experience:  the five-hour drive there, the three-hour hike with our daughter Annie and the five-hour drive back.

Parts one and two were fairly uneventful without much to report other than my discovery that convenience stores now hand out each individual styrofoam cup for getting one’s coffee.

No more dispensers, allowing hundreds of fingers each day to leave their germs as they grab a cup.

I guess I should have guessed because there I was wearing my mask and clutching my Chlorox wipe in hand, doing everything possible to avoid any germs.

So, it makes total sense that the store folks are doing the same these days.  Since I haven’t been inside a convenience store in several weeks, the single coffee cup strategy was new to me.

Parts one and two of our trip certainly contrasted with most road trips where occasional stops usually bring much appreciated and nice breaks from the monotony of the drive.

Nowadays, I view those stops almost with dread, knowing that I must think vigilantly about every single move I make and every single thing I touch.

Fortunately, we’ve been using the wipes and the hand sanitizer and most recently donning the masks long enough now that we’ve become accustomed to the drill.

So, around 12:30, we reached our destination up a winding dirt road west of Wenatchee.  

There to meet us in the parking lot stood a most beautiful sight:  Annie who had arrived a few minutes earlier, performing the usual light-hearted traffic direction as Bill parked the pickup. 

No hugs.  Just hello but also some happy faces at seeing each other.

We have seen Annie a couple of times on her visits home since Christmas, but this meeting definitely had a touch more meaning than usual.

As with everyone, the ordinary has turned extraordinary. So, it was an extraordinary moment to see our daughter and to know that we could spend some quality time together in the kind of environment we all love:  the great outdoors. 

Annie had heard about the Horse Lake Preserve, overlooking beautiful Wenatchee, from a friend. So, it seemed like a perfect adventure for this reunion. 

And, yes, that part of the pilgrimage reminded us of past experiences----for Annie, her walks on the Camino de Santiago; for all of us, areas in Ireland where we had visited over the past decade. 

Our hiking pilgrimage took us up, up, up via a trail loaded with switchbacks and breathless beauty abounding all around us, above us and below us with every step taken. 

Wildflowers of varying colors and sizes, birds singing melodiously as if they were three feet away from us, billowy clouds appearing almost touchable, old farm relics and buildings, bikers and hikers (all carefully following the rules of distance)---such a fulfilling and busy experience. 

All along the way, conversation and enjoyment of just being together. Sometimes, an old lady thinking, "Am I up for all this climbing?"

Well, by golly, as I told Annie, "It was work but worth every step taken." 

We did have one tangible exchange during our visit.  Holding the bottle with a Chlorox wipe, I handed over her very own bottle of Mill Town Distillery hand sanitizer.  

Who woulda thunk just six weeks ago that such an exchange would be so appreciated. 

Times have changed, for sure, as have levels of appreciation.  

And, so yesterday two great aspects of appreciation:  getting to see our daughter and knowing that she has a nice supply of locally produced hand sanitizer (by one of her classmates) to keep her safe. 

Twas a gorgeous day in a breath-taking setting and a most beautiful pilgrimage in the new era we call the Pandemic. 

Different memories, for sure, but so cherished, especially in these times. 

Happy Sunday.