I've begun using a new term to describe my activities in the #wild which are centered more on making good use of being alone rather than the pursuit of #adventure. In the past, I've gone to wild places firstly for the experience - the thrill actually - of being active and alone while exploring places I'd never been. The solitude was a side benefit, and not really the primary focus of the activity. Maybe this had something to do with my age, as youth can often be more concerned with the more tactile sensations of living rather than the seemingly more deep and reflective experiences and actions which may be catalyzed by adventure. Now though, in my mid-fifties, I find myself going to the wild to put aside the adventure in order to get down to what is starting to seem the more real and genuine endeavor or being alone with my thoughts and the ideas, conclusions and words these may produce. I call such activities "Solitude" and will refer to such adventures with this word to distinguish them from adventures.
Siberia Solitude - 06-28-2018
One of the first such "solitude" was an event which occurred on June 28th, 2018. I called this event the Siberia Solitude as it took place at the desert ghost town of Siberia, which is my current favorite haunt and launching point for both thought and adventure. I came here this day for a very specific purpose - to write. I was beginning work on my new book The Good Life and I needed a location of quiet where I could be alone to work. Siberia seemed the place given the success I'd previously had there writing Going Alone. So I went back and sought refuge under the western bridge near Siberia where Route 66 goes over a flash flood wash. The experience was a success as I wrote two or three chapters of the new book that day while seated on the soft sand under the bridge. What follows is a video I which I made that day under the bridge followed by a gallery of photos from the day and night I spend in Siberia during this first solitude.
My name is Kurt Bell.
You can learn more about The Good Life in my book Going Alone.
Be safe... But not too safe.
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