I know how lucky am I to be able to decide to take a weekday and spend it at Devil’s Lake, instead of in my office.  Still, even after making the decision to do so on Friday, it was hard for me to unplug.  One last email check…one last facebook update…another tweet…okay, email…now flickr….should probably check the weather…such interesting headlines!….any new email?

When I got to Devil’s Lake – perhaps my favorite WI State Park and a place of memories and triumph – I hiked up the East Bluff.  Rather than spend the afternoon looking down, down at my feet as I hiked up, up,  I decided to settle in to a comfy overlook, sit in the sun, and enjoy the sweeping view.  Down below, the wind made small white caps on the lake.   Red breasted robins bopped around the branches of the trees behind me.  A group of turkey vultures played in the wind, soaring above me and dipping below me with their wings wide. The forests spanning below were an earnest spring brown, spotted with the occasional evergreen. I felt alone in the world, and still connected to all that I could see. For the first time in weeks, I felt totally relaxed. For that, I am grateful.  (Click on the photo to see more from the day.)