Nadine

  When I was younger, I would frequently head off into the wilderness alone. This brought many encounters with black bears. There were a few times in the Redwoods, once in Canada, and once in Washington then again near the Shoshone  River. Each time was equally scary as you can well imagine.  The thing about bears is their sense of smell which is about a thousand times better than your sniffer. On one occasion, I was chased up a tree. I managed to escape by rapidly ascending into the foliage.  Ring around the rosy will keep the bear confused and you safe provided you are fast enough with all that adrenaline flowing to keep you one step ahead of the brute.
  I  loved Nadine and Buddy the wonder dog who is half wolf and half German Shepard. We met in the apple orchards in the town of Manson in Washington about 1978 at Baba Hari Das ashram on the shores of Lake Chelan. Nadine was astoundingly pregnant.  She needed someone to look after and feed her until the baby presented.  

  Being somewhat older and experienced in this sort of thing, I introduced myself thus an immediate bond was formed. Nadine was a child woman with nothing going for her except people like me.   She never saw it coming. She needed a man as much as I needed female companionship. After giving a long rambling speech to the gathered apple /, she sidled up to me like a puppy.   It is always a surprise when life hands you changes that converts to devotion. I was devoted to Nadine.
       After many adventures and travels with Nadine throughout the Pacific Northwest they decided to go back to my gold claim in 6 Rivers National Park on the North Fork of the Trinity River near Helena. Nadine had been carrying a violin. One of her friends gave her this instrument to play while away.  We were hitching burdened with stuff tired and unkempt.    In our haste to unload our stuff we overlooked the violin. The guy drove off with it not looking back once and probably did not even realize the thing was there. I hope he found time to learn to play this gift from the Gods.
       As things were taking time to develop at the gold mine, Nadine suddenly broke water. There was nothing left to do but put her in the hospital. A doctor advised her to go back to her parents in Wyoming and birth this baby she was calling Sun Water Seagull.  I  traveled by thumb to Cody with Buddy. We would meet up with her in about a month.  It was great traveling with Buddy the wonder dog as he pointed out things I never would have noticed in the wild.
       Soon though, we met up with her on the streets of Cody. Just at that moment, two undercover Federal Officers were going to stop me.  Buddy saw Nadine approaching and took off in a burst of joy.  I ran after him and left this scene.  The two cops were confused.  Suspicions ended with a family scene. The baby was fine but there was no room in Nadine's life for me.
        I  was never invited into her world.   I spent a few nights on the high plains of the desert encountering all sorts of wildlife including another bear along the Sioux River. Nothing of consequence really happened. There is great stone monolith looking like a broken eagle beak lying in the river. Everyone who has ever been to Cody knows of this eagle in the river.  

  I soon abandoned this desperate scene for the comfort of the open road to Canada.  At this point, I felt like a native American with border rights. Native North Americans have the right to cross the Canadian border at any time, for any reason without being stopped. That has changed since 911. I simply walked into Canada through the Glacier National Park to Waterton Park.
   I  was on his way to work on the Trans-Alsaka Pipeline or the fishing industry. There were no opportunities happening in the lower 48.  Nadine was now in a motherly way and with jobs scarce in Wyoming,  I decided to go to Alaska and make money fishing.  This being the Fall, the seas were bountiful and the money was flowing.  Alaska was the place to be. I hoped to return in the Spring and check on Nadine.  

     Knowing full well how things change concerning relationships with blood ties being the most confounding of them all. Starting north, Nadine helped me catch a ride out of Cody. I gave her all my cash since she had no money whatsoever. It amounted to $200. The very last words she spoke were, "get your hands out of your pockets, you look like a criminal." My hair was long and my beard unkempt. I honestly looked like an honest criminal.  But only when I put my hands in my pockets.  lol
        I  made it to Glacier National Park. Going to the Sun Highway is where I was nearly trampled by a moose. Soon after, crossing to Waterton National Park on the Canadian side I continued on to Banff National Park. This is the place I had another black bear encounter.  I had enough of bears. This string of Parks is called Grizzly Alley. 

      This time, evasion was difficult.  I had completely spent himself on provisioning and was camped near the Trans Canadian Highway. I was exhausted and did not take bear precautions as I normally would.  That cold morning, I was awakened by a rustle in the tent. It was a bear cub rummaging through my gear for anything to eat.  I jumped up muttering the words, "you are not supposed to be in here," which is completely ludicrous thing to say.   I felt a wet nose on my back through the tent.  It was the sow.
It takes longer to tell what happened but needless to say, I darted past the cub out into the cold moonlight with an enraged mother right behind me protecting her cub. Her hackles were raised in a full charge right at me through the tent. My hand touched something metallic. It was the pack frame. I slung it at the bear.  She stepped in it. Stumbling and startled, she broke off the attack.
        I listened to the sound of cans being crushed and my warm sleeping bag being shredded by these intruders. The full moon was shining brightly. I waited until first light.  The carnage finally ceased. I was able to retrieve some clothing.  I made my way into the little hamlet of Banff with the majestic Banff Hotel overlooking the bridge.   I stayed for weeks working at a Greek Restaurant with a Chinese cook staff serving Italian food to Native American people who were drunk. The pubs serves 25 cent beer. I stayed intoxicated through this episode. The nightly free spaghetti feeds under the shelters proved to be a blessing. All the homeless gathered there to share a meal and relate stories of how to survive by dumpster diving.  He met many beautiful Canadian women.   Elaine wanted to adopt me but backed away at the last moment.  Such is my life. I retreated to Washington since there was no way forward now. Summers are brief in Canada, The good go home. The poor languish in hell except this hell is freezing. When you say something like 'til hell freezes over' you mean Canada. The stasis of poverty was sinking in.