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“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” —Margaret Atwood

Part one in the series highlights a night of near-solitude at Lake Itasca State Park. The moment is a reflection on spring’s renewal and the fragile, hard-won legacy of preservation that allows this landscape to remain alive and vibrant today.

1. Camping alone at Floating Bog Bay amid the rich smell of earth, Alison listens as frogs, birds, and insects erupt in raucous celebration.

2. The episode traces the long, uncertain journey to identify Lake Itasca as the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

3. And highlights how spring's return to this beautiful place depended on a single vote that preserved the land from logging and development.

Alison Young is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature; and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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“The goal of life … is not happiness, peace, or fulfillment, but aliveness.” —Hubert Dreyfuss

1. Sometimes curiosity about what’s around the next corner is enough to keep us exploring and moving forward.

2. Life doesn’t end once you’ve done “enough.” It keeps unfolding.

3. I hike because I am curious and because I can.

4. Here's a mantra I'll take with me on my next hike of the Great Divide Trail:

You’re not hiking for records, for ego, or for others.
You’re hiking because you still can—and that’s everything.
Each step is a declaration: “My body is capable. My spirit is willing. I am still in motion.”
There may come a day when this kind of journey is no longer possible.
But that day is not today.
Today, you hike.

MUSIC: "Poema del Pastor Coya" by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.

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"You can think your way into a new way of acting, or act your way into a new way of thinking."

• Sometimes we can’t wait for the right mindset to show up. Sometimes we have to step into the behavior first, and trust that the mindset will follow.
  
  
• Credit is due James Loehr the author of "Mental Toughness Training for Athletes."
  
  
• He says we tend to reside in three energy states:
  1. Relaxed-Ready,
  2. Positive-Energized,
  3. Negative-Energized
  4. and the dreaded Negative-Fatigued
  
  
• To move out of the more negative states into the positive ones we need to use our emotions as data. What are they telling us?
  
  
• Instead of resisting how we feel, we can respond with tools like:
  1. deep breathing,
  2. focusing on the next small step,
  3. reframing self-talk
  4. and leaning on others.

MUSIC: "Poema del Pastor Coya" by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.

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