Exceptional A journey through the changing faces of nature Spectre : The Land of Flat by Lea Tonin1

Warning: The author has noted that this contains the highest level of language.                             The Rockys grip the skies with craggy fingers desperately clinging to height The hills below dive in the surface of  Earth reborn again on the other side   Glacial waters shivers blue against the icy firmanent Chrystal stillness of silence and space creates comfort in the quiet zone   Boreal brightness shimmers emerald green dancing in the sunlight Caribou rumble and thunder reminders of life in deep cold    The great stony heights crumble into  prairieland The magnificent recycle returns   ************************* The journey was lovely, growing more so as we travelled into the great mountains. I've felt so incredibly small next to them standing there in awe of their majesty.  And such power it was to raise them from the ocean bottom to the top of the sky.  Amazing beauty and power I cannot imagine.   I watched the land change as we travelled from rain forest country, to boreal forest country, to the arid lands and finally the Kootenays.  There I was in the place I will live. A big move, just as I did so many years ago traveling to the prairies with C.  The picture attached is of the house I will live in. It needs work but it is mine. It's hard to describe the beauty of the place.   Surroundings are all things natural. It is my favorite scenery and the one I try to emulate in my own home, all natural. The beautiful lake just a short distance away, is a frozen blue sheen glinting in the sun, surrounded by a skirt of evergreens. Bald eagles complained loudly up in the sky flying in ever tightening circles. The feeling that I always get when I'm there is of peace and untanglement   The pressure, the push and shove of city life and it's stinking air is no longer my home. A small community in the middle of the mountains with a gorgeous forest and a beautiful lake will now become my home. I could not ask for more. The great change in my life that I've had over the last 6 months and the wonderful people who have supported me, is euphoric. There's that really cool feeling of hope in there too.  Hope that I never gave myself before and now I can. It is time again to see about the first journey so many years ago and the unknown that folded out before me.   We go back to the past again.   ***************************** There couldn't have been a more beautiful day to make this journey. My hand waived through the air as we traveled up the freeway.  We had finally exited the traffic jams of the city. Smooth sailing through the valley, the farms zipping in and out of my vision as we traveled. A warm day necessitating the need for the windows to be down. I didn't mind though, I thought it was wonderful to feel the wind fly through my fingers when I put them out the window. It was fresh air that wasn't full of smog.  To see the fields of corn as far as the eye could see, mountains in the distance as we headed toward them, was a real treat. I was going to be up close and personal with those mountains whereas before I could only look at them in the distance. I knew about forests, but this was a whole other ball game. As we left the valley we began to rise. The flat, straight highway began to curve, bend and twist. Soon there was mountains on our left and mountains on our right.  In the rear view, I could see the valley we just left laid out behind us and the thick blanket of gray over top the distant city. I was stunned, I was flabbergasted, I was speechless at the amazing beauty of these shelves of rock being pushed from the ground to reach for the sky. And what was the  impetus for this miracle of nature? I just sat there with my mouth hanging open as we drove through the beauty of this land. As if that was not enough, soon we beheld a large herd of big horned sheep standing in the middle of the freeway casually walking to and fro. The horns of these animals were massive, curved things as if these mammals had battering rams and required the armor. Then the line changed no longer the rainforest country I was used to. Pine trees cedar everywhere changed to Boreal pine of different species starting line not as packs together as we had previously seen and then that force became patchwork and I could see the copper land between the patches soon the land turn to dust and we were in the hottest part of the province we could have been the only piece of desert land in the country. Created the great Okanagan Valley where all of our fruits are grown to this day. Incredibly hot so hot that even the wide open windows could not cool us with the breeze. But the other thing this land had was a string of large freshwater lakes the perfect place to cool down. A asked C to take the next rest stop and so we did. The lake shimmered before me clear and cool to which I promptly walked in.  I waded out until I could not touch the bottom anymore and swam. I couldn't believe the freshness, the perfect temperature and the clarity of the water I was swimming in. Refreshed our journey continued. Soon the land changed again. We went into the Shuswap country bordered by the Kootenays. The Shuswap is the land of the weeping willow trees great stands of them surrounding a different lakes we passed mixed with conifers made for a stunning mix. The Kootenays are a gorgeous mix of all the landscape types I'd seen already.  But nothing could prepare me for the majesty and mastery of the Rocky mountains pleated with shields of ice and glacial lakes. Even in summer those glaciers endured. Standing in the warmth of the summer sun, right beside a glacier, is the wildest contradiction I had that Journey. Winter and summer existing in the same place. When we finally came through the Rockies we entered the next province into the rolling, forested hills of Kananascus country. The air seemed so much drier than it did on the coast. Much less humidity was noticeable in the air. And then at long last the hills gave way the forest backed off to a land of flat as far as the eye can see fields and fields and fields of yellow grass with cornflower blooms and Indian paintbrush flowers.  Once again on a flat straight highway. That highway gave way to another city.  A city of another kind, a city spread out far and wide. Streets and avenues running in straight lines. No hills or mountains in the way, no corners to round, no rocks to climb. I've never seen it anything like it in my life the exact opposite of what I've known. The Journey complete, the change begins. Recognized Author Notes This chapter is part of an autobio called Spectre. Book two in a trilogy. Book one is called Ghost. Both can be found in my portfolio if you wish to read. A note of caution, some chapters are hard to digest. Reader discretion is advised.

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