Somewhere Between

Down from the vast wilds of Alaska she came With big hopes and dreams in her heart And little more than that to her name

To the tamed land of Oregon Where fences strung through the pines And freeways were by what most travel was defined

A cowgirl, a packer she was going to be Though she didn't know much and even fewer folks She had left everything she had ever known behind

To pursue a passion that had burned within her Since she was born it seemed But she was determined to learn, and by golly she would

She wouldn't let anything stop her, because She hunted down and shot any fear that was present Like the true Alaskan she was

So she got on with an outfit packing mules In a place called the Eagle Cap Wilderness That was so designated because of stringent rules

Which to her was an oxymoron, the irony made her laugh For where she was from wilderness was so just because it was Very little human impact and even fewer laws

Here well-worn trails criss-crossed the landscape A tent was pitched in every meadow, by every lake From the sights of backpacks and fire rings she could not escape

Nevertheless, she enjoyed the work leading her string Through mountain passes, fields of paint brush and asters Winding beneath pink-hued peaks and hawks on the wing

She was in her element, surrounded by nature And nothing more than the steady companionship Of her equine partners for friends

The sweet scent of sun-soaked ponderosas made her high She was certain she had found her calling Her heart soared with boundless purpose to the sky

On occasion she even managed to work a few cows She was constantly growing in experience and knowledge She latched onto any snippets of advice and know-how

In Hell's Canyon she rode as well Hauling elk and deer up and down steep rocky trails As summer departed and autumn fell

In the breaks of the mighty Snake The breadth and depth endlessly left her in awe As she would top a ridge and drop into some narrow draw

Before long she had her own horse and a collie dog Their bond grew quickly strong, an inseparable trio Boy, together the many miles did they log

In time she found herself moving on To the North Cascades of Washington State Where she procured another job doing much the same

Fording crystal creeks, cool and clean Scaling switchbacks, tying bowlines, folding manties Fixing rolled Deckers, it was all now just routine

And before she knew it she was good She could throw a crow's-foot in her sleep Back a trailer, tack a shoe as well as the best of them could

Yet still, she couldn't help but sense the inadequacy creep She felt like she would never measure up Or could ever know the secrets only the experts keep

These thoughts lingered and made her feel low She wondered if she would ever fit in It was as if she would always be a cheechako in a land of sourdoughs

High on a ridge of the Pacific Crest Among the red blueberry brush and yellow larch She would pause in her travels for a quick rest

And from astride her Appy, upon the vastness before her she would gaze The mountains stretched on and on, past the border And into Canada she could see through the distant haze

And beyond that, even farther still, was her land of birth And suddenly her heart was gripped with the sting of homesickness In that moment she felt lonely, insignificant, and of little worth

So she would return north for a time To immerse herself again in the familiarity and comfort of home Hoping her misery could be eased in the sight of old friendly faces

It was pleasant to be embraced by welcoming arms And to dwell once more in long favorite places To tarry under the midnight sun and be content and unharmed

But utterly, despite all this, however true She still felt out of place even here It seemed a rift forged from absence had somehow grew

She knew Alaska hadn't missed her, didn't care, was moving on without her She could love the land but it would never love her back Who was she to the ancient mountains, the rivers, the tundra but a fleeting blur?

Nonetheless, back to Cascadia she went To the high desert wind and sage scattered hills To continue her pursuit of horses and all that they meant

But now she felt lost somewhere between the Columbia and Yukon She questioned if she would ever find her place the world might relent Her soul ached to know, just where did she belong?

But then suddenly, there it was, the answer came Like a whisper rising from the recesses of her despair This great epiphany sparked an inextinguishable flame

For God transcends borders, time and space He is always everywhere, all at once, across the universe He does not belong to any one place

Because he created it all, Stuart Peak to Denali And the same hands that shaped the Earth Formed the very heart beating within her chest

So to both places she belonged because she belonged to their Creator Thus as long as he allowed her to stay She was merely a passenger in this old world anyway

But still, until her soul would one day fly From the North Cascades to the North Slope She knew her love for both would never die