Three Valleys Ski France
Oct0
Travel is still high priority. Last week the GEP cohort was treated to a day trip to Mt. Blanc in Chamonix. A three hour bus ride west took us into the steep peaked, deep valley-ed Rhône-Alpes. The landscapes only got more impressive as we wove through the valleys and eventually reached the base of Mt. Blanc. We caught a glimpse of a massive glacier on our way to the mountain and later got a great view from a peak further down the ridge. I saw a glacier this summer in Montana's Glacier Nat'l Park but I have to say that despite the parks breathtaking views, its glaciers were hardly impressive compared to Chamonix. This was a legit, man eating, climber scaling, cavernous abyss kind of glacier. We were able to take a gondola that ascended the peak parallel to the glacier some 12,000 feet. After nearly passing out from lack of oxygen I was able to gather myself and enjoy some really amazing views along with a packed lunch. After the mountain trek we went into the small ski town and enjoyed some of our "favorite brewage and enjoyed the surroundings" (per request of prof. Delmar).
For some time, the trip was a dim vision; something nebulous we dreamt about for our future. Our planned departure was a year and a half away when we began. Hitting six months in the countdown was the milestone where we knew we could put off planning the details no longer. With the renting of an old farm house in the Three Valleys ski area of France and turning in miles for our flight to Paris, our vision has taken on solid form. This is both exciting and unnerving.
Up to now, we have been fairly lax in our preparations. Don’t get me wrong, we have been working on the things we need to accomplish. Long term, large projects like building roads into the remaining real estate from Rock Springs Ranch so we can put it on the market. This being the first summer we had as a family to vacation together, we stacked in the Oregon coast, Idaho’s Salmon River followed by a road trip to Sun Valley, and fly fishing in Alaska for Silver Salmon. We would plan in the fall.
So, now we leave in less than five months. We have to be much more organized about getting ready. We’re making lists and keeping several things moving forward at one time. Home school curriculum, the plan for our home and animals, health insurance. What to pack, laptops for the girls schooling. Hard drives and online data storage for our photos and video, planning redundant back-ups. Power cords alone make a long list when we think about computer and camera equipment, not to mention power converters so multiple things can be plugged in at one time. What shoes are both attractive enough for walking though cities and durable for hiking on trails? How will we get our extra ski stuff there and shipped back, hauling it all on the train from Paris might be a bit much. (Although I have done this before, alone from Geneva.)
I have found a couple of websites that are helpful for all this planning. The first is “Location Independent” (http://locationindependent.com/) run by Lea Woodward. It has awesome information about planning and becoming free of place, and provides a community for people who call themselves location independent. Another is a British site called “Expat Exchange” (http://www.expatexchange.com/.) A third is “Slow Travel,” a site who’s focus is not so much on the preparation but the idea of immersing one’s self in a place, rather than brushing over the surface in a hurried trip though. (http://www.slowtrav.com/)
I have made a couple of friends on twitter who are in various stages of planning their own escapes from ordinary. “Got Passport” (http://gotpassport.wordpress.com/ ) is a blogging family of three in Texas planning a move to Thailand in May. I’ve been sharing notes on home school options with Family Tripster’s Lisa Bergen, an experienced traveling mom who is also researching curriculum. (http://familytripster.com/) It has been fun to connect with others having similar experiences. There are several other people I have connected with on twitter who will help shape our experience as we travel through their countries or share our experiences with them through tweets, as well.
Just like the old analogy depicting time passing faster and faster in the same way the roll of toilet paper spins faster at the end of the roll, everything is accelerating. Some days we are overwhelmed by the details. But, ready or not, we have a departure date and flights. As we dreamed about this trip early on, John said it is sort of like deciding to have children. There will always be something else to do first before you are ready; money, house, promotion. At some point, you just have to jump, knowing that once you make the leap, you will have to figure out the details or simply let go.
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