Van Life | Nothing Lasts Forever

Pretty. So pretty. Holy crap. I live for it. I love it. Oh, trash can. We need that. There's a ranger park next to me. I should probably put my national park pass out. I always forget that for some reason. Hopefully it's not coming over here. Not yet. So I drove up here for sunrise to Mount Rainier. I shot sunrise driving up the road and then stayed up near the lodge for a little bit. And now I've come down to the lower lot because there's better Internet. So I'm just going to edit and hang out until sunset and then I'll go shoot a little bit more. And then my campsite is like 30 minutes from here. There's a little bit of wildfire smoke right now, which isn't ideal, but it's not that bad. This place looks a lot different now. Gray, rainy, cold. The road through the mountains beyond this lake is closed. Probably buried in snow. Here comes Holly. Would you like some blueberries? I would. Time used to feel so infinite. I can do that. The season seemed inevitable. Summer was always just there, waiting right around the corner. And now, scrubbing through all this footage from months ago, the passage of time itself feels tangible. This single wildflower has come and gone, returned to earth. Every blade of grass, every drop of water, every sound of laughter. It'll never exist again, exactly as it was in this frame. This journey of learning how to film, edit, and make sense of my experiences out here on the road is one that has been slowly unraveling my concept of time. Or maybe it's just that I'm getting older. Either way, I find myself growing more comfortable with the gravity of impermanence. And the simple truth that our time here is so very temporary. You and I were travelers and we're only passing through. All I wanted was to stay in the mountains and backpack until the snow and cold weather pushed me out. But I wound up hurting my ankle pretty bad on a hike. I tried to tough it out, but it only seemed to get worse with time. I could go see a doctor and get an x-ray, but highly doubt, I mean, I know. I don't know for sure, but I think I just need to like rest and stay off of it for a while. But it's so hard to do this time of year. I'm just like super bummed. I finally get to use this ace bandage that I've been carrying around in my first aid kit since I moved onto the road. So that's cool. I also have these instant ice compresses. Well, I only bought two of them because it's just a lot to throw away. It's only like a 10 to 20 minute application max. I feel really bad having a bunch of these, but I got a couple. So I'm going to ice. I'm going to wrap my foot and I've been trying my best to elevate it when I sleep. But during the day, it's kind of hard because it's supposed to be above your heart. And I'm like on the computer. So I would have to be like up here. But yeah, that's that's basically what I'm working with. So that's why we're saying gas prices drop so much, so fast, but longer term, the picture is a bit more complicated. Will there be a greater squeeze on the rest of the global oil market? All of this could potentially impact. Then came the wildfire and the smoke and ash filled air. The entire Cascade Range seemed to be in a haze and there were no signs of relief. I wasn't ready to go, but I kind of had to leave. So I headed south. It would not be hard for me to finish this whole thing and then have to pull over and take a nap. But I guess it's a good thing I have my whole house with me. So I can do that.