Travel for humans, for the most part, is a lifestyle choice. We travel the earth to seek &
experience, new destinations that pull on our hearts. But humans aren’t the only travelers on this planet. When it comes down to it, we are totally put to shame by those in the animal world where travel is mandatory. For many, the mysterious urge of migration calls some of the earth’s smallest inhabitants to take journeys unfathomable to our minds.
- Consider the Arctic Tern who flies from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back every year. Monarch butterflies fly thousands of miles through several generations from regions throughout Canada to one small mountaintop in Mexico to spend the winter. Pacific salmon
are born in mountain streams and swim down to the open ocean only to return years later. They travel the hundreds of miles to that very spot where they hatched, to reproduce, & subsequently die. The pull of migration affects tiny hummingbirds, whales, caribou, wildebeest & many other species too numerous to name.
As a trained naturalist, and as I ponder my own motivations for travel, I wonder what it must be like for one of these creatures when one day, they wake up and its time for them to leave? What do they experience when often they must depart the only place they have every known to embark on an unfathomable journey of such physical magnitude?
I wrote this poem thinking of a bird during its first migration & what it might be like….
FIRST MIGRATION
A sliver of a moon
Shimmered off my left shoulder
As we pumped our wings
Rhythmically, silently
Through the darkness of the frigid night.
The urge unexplained
Tugged on my soul
& led me onward, North
Guided by stars
And the pull of the earth.
leaving the familiar behind
An unknown destiny awaiting.
I revel in the freedom of flight
Trusting the whispers from deep within
I follow the others to a foreign land
On a course mapped by generations before me.
cozy little life in living in an old farmhouse in rural Oregon. I don’t always feel that need to get away for I am “away.” Mind you I will always jump at the chance to go camping, hiking or kayaking in the Pacific Northwest but heading across the ocean with a tourist guidebook in hand does not attract me.
This coming trip will not offer such extreme physical and emotional challenges as my previous journeys. I will make my way from Dublin by bus to the 
But I will allow myself to be uprooted for a time to be pruned and enriched by the wonder & challenge that travel can present. I hope to grow as an artist and bring back a host of fond memories as my souvenirs and a lot of new artwork. Until then, I better get packing!
& Jackalope postcards
For centuries Catholic pilgrims from all over Europe & beyond set out to walk often hundreds of miles to the shrine of the apostle, St. James whose remains were said to rest in the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela in Santiago, in northwestern Spain. Though many routes crisscrossed Europe, the most well-traveled route stretches 500 miles from St. Jean Pied de Port in France over the Pyrenees through Basque country and then onto Galicia.
In 2013 I walked 250 miles of the Camino with my long time friend, Deb,marking my 60th birthday. We skipped the middle part since we only had 2 1/2 weeks. It was a pivotal experience in my life. We started in France with many other pilgrims beginning the long trek from the charming medieval village of St. Jean de Port crossing the Pyrenees the next day.
Waldo Lake is one of the many gems of Oregon. At 5,414 ft in the Oregon Cascades, it’s the second-largest & deepest lake in the state & is known for it’s pristine, crystal clear water. 
It’s a magical place.
By Alanna Pass 