Pilgrimage Road

May 27, 2004

I walked into Campbell River from Elk Falls campsite to check for info and ended up taking the ferry to Cortes Island. Having been to Cortes before I know to hitch a ride with someone at the front of the ferry….its a long walk between the Warf at Quadra where the C.R. ferry runs and the Cortes Warf on the east side of Quadra. I hitched with a gentleman named Norm, who appears to be quite the wanderer himself. He took me on a lovely "truck tour" around Cortes and let me reconnect with the place I had been in 1995 when I stayed 10 days at Hollyhock farm. He has a lovely location on Cortes Bay and it was there I saw the Most Beautiful Butterfly. I do think the butterfly will indeed be one of my pilgrimage totems. He was also doing some reading around his own Celtic heritage and happened to have some cards with him. I picked "Daughter of Bones"….a card on Rebirth and Transformation, "Stone of Destiny" and "Oak King" that contained a Portal made of Oak with an Eagle and a Wren. And by "chance" I saw my first Wrens and Eagle.


Our visit to Hollyhock was very nostalgic…partly because the little "Meditation chapel" was just being built when I was there 9 years ago. I put two wood rounds in the Cob frame, and am sure I saw them next to the Drift wood crotch window frame. It was at Hollyhock I first got a taste of the Peace of Island Life.


May 28, 2004

I took a walk into Campbell River and ended up on a stoney-landfill shore with two native women, Mother~Daughter, from the Charlottes. The Mother was from Bella Bella and was lamenting the corruption of resources e.g., the landfill we were standing on was once white beach ~~in our lifetime. She spoke of the Creator being the only thing Sacred---things are not Sacred---in her language they are "treasured". For me it feels like the word Cherish…Creators creation is to be Cherished as the Treasure it is. She wanted me to convey to our culture that it is not "right" to build homes, and communities near rivers and lakes~~~they are our life source for drinking water and nourishing the land. We need to give our water sources more distance so we do not pollute what gives us life. She spoke of the need to fast and pray more. When I told her I was on a Peace walk she looked at me knowingly and said, "Ah, a Tutkaheet".

Finally, as we took our leave, she said, as though I had the power to make it known to worlds…..

"And Listen".

May 29

I slept in until around 11:00---mind you it took quite
some time to finally drop off to sleep last night. I've
hiked to Elk falls….it was a good walk…one that still has images in my mind….like seeing a lone pink balloon in the middle of ferns in the middle of Bush Paths. When I look at the park map it only looks 6 k~~~~and am I achey…. There are a couple of crows who hang out when I'm outside. I'm calling one Ezekiel. Strangest noise they make~~~~almost cat like. One Place---like a portal under the tree boughs took me into silence. Interesting because people had carved out their names in the sand face before it. Quite powerful in its silence.