I was able to embrace that feeling a few times last week and it really made me think about the people and places with which we share our lives.  I connect people with places because I experience both through each other.  The two combine to leave an impression (or feeling) of that geography on me and I end up with an association of emotion and human connection to that place.

            I move between geographies and groups of people almost as often as I fill the gas tank, so a connection to place helps me know a little about where I am headed.  Meeting new people and traveling to new areas is all part of the adventure, but it is always a real pleasure when I get to repeat a trip or enjoy an area with the same people I experienced it with previously. 

Last weekend, President’s Day weekend (yes, and Valentine’s Day), marked the annual None of Yo Bizniss, Nevada trip (NOYB).  Every year on this holiday weekend a special group of folks from Chico, CA, Reno, NV and Salt Lake City, UT (and a van) meet in the middle of nowhere, Nevada and put everything aside for a few disconnected and meaningful days in the mountains.

            We are all there for the same reasons: snow, camaraderie and wilderness.  I know this place for it’s remote beauty, but I mostly know it for the somewhat random group of friends that reconvene in this one spot on the same weekend every year.  It is my connection of people to place and it is a constant.

            The eight-mile skin / hike in is punishing and the cabin we stay in is not exactly your mountain chalet, but we laugh and affectionately call it the Hanta Hut (for obvious reasons) or the Deer Slayer (because 60 year old deer heads and framed hunting pictures adorn all usable wall space).  There is no running water or electricity.  It is simple, remote and beautiful.

            We hike, ski (or ride), eat BIG elaborate meals (seriously, Tartiflette is served), laugh, sleep and do it all over again in that order.  Life is simple and without distractions so we just hang out, enjoy the feeling and take it in with a smile.  It’s that feeling of being exactly where you need to be at one specific moment in time and it is wonderful.

            Thanks again to the NOYB ’10 crew.  I had a great time and can’t wait for next year!