A friend of mine directed me to a thoughtful blog project for December called Reverb10. The idea is to look back on this year and manifest what you want in the coming one through daily writing prompts. I’m joining the fun at Day 3.

Today’s prompt: Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

I set my iPod on alphabetical play and head out into Oregon’s high desert.  As I approach the Malheur Valley of Oregon, the July sun will soon move to my back from overhead and I’ll lose an hour as I travel out of Pacific Coast Time.  A week ago I drove this stretch of road going west at twilight and I’ve been eager to see it in daylight ever since.

I take the first hill into the Valley and  catch my breath as synchronicity yields the theme song for Chariots of Fire.   On either side of the road flows an irrigation stream or the Malheur River itself and I imbibe the humid air that wafts through my helmet. As the road sweeps through the rounded hills it occurs to me that from the right distance they would look like they were covered in fuzz instead of sage.  I transform into  a microscopic creature sliding along the little slit that runs between the cheeks of a ripe peach until a road sign interrupts to tell me that Ontario lies ahead.