Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

You know how that quote goes, right? I expected to get out of the mountains last Wednesday, return to the Bay Area that day or the next, reunite with my laptop and resume work on the novel edits, s pend a day doing chores at my daughter's house, maybe visit some other folks. Then maybe take the scenic route home. Instead, I came out of the mountains per plan (that part was amazing, and wait until you see photos--just as soon as I finish with the kayaking stuff), and my daughter met me with the news that one of her friends was in the hospital in Mammoth, and we really needed to hang around until they released her so we could take her home. While we waited, I got back in touch with my pre-computer self: I bought a notebook and began plotting my next novel, writing all my thoughts out by hand just the way I used to do. My handwriting has not improved with the passage of time. We did reach Oakland late on Friday, but Fate wasn't done with us. I was enjoying a quiet morning with my ...

A week or so back I made a start at a report on my August BC kayak trip . I've been out in the mountains, so not much chance to edit the photos and put together more posts, but I did get pictures from Day 3, which was one of our 2 longest paddling days, and the longest with fully-loaded boats--about 11.5 miles. We started the day at Red Point camp. I'm an early riser, so I got the pretty morning light, and a few whale-spouts (not shown). The tide was down, so there were some interesting critters left high and dry (like this anemone). Getting ready to launch Launching. All our launches involved wet feet. I found that my water shoes let water in, but not out--not the ideal set-up! We made a couple of stops along the way, first to look at the shell-mound midden on one island, then another for lunch at a beach that was disappearing fast while we ate! Lunch stop. Looking out from lunch. Later we stopped at Village Island, a historic site run by the First Nations people. Visits are b...

It is the first Wednesday of the month, and time for the Insecure Writers' Support Group post. This month is special, because it marks 15 years of the IWSG. I haven't been here the whole 15 years--only about 11 of them. (See my first IWSG post in November 2015 if you are wondering). Reading over my first post, I realize that my insecurities haven't changed, nor has my work pattern and general speed of production. I'm so grateful to this group for the support, the beta reads, the fun interactions, and more for all these years! This is the badge we were using when I joined in 2015. Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about y...

I'm making only one promise about this trip report: it's going to take a while to get to the end, because I'm heading out for more adventures and have no expectation of getting all the photos edited, let alone posts created, before I leave. August 9-14 (actually 8-15 counting the trip up and back), two friends and I joined a small group kayaking adventure out of Port McNeill, BC, to the Broughton Archipelago. The trip started, for me, with a rendezvous at my house at 7:30 a.m. to drive to the ferry in Canada. We gave ourselves tons of time for the border crossing, which in fact took only about 5 minutes. I wasn't taking chances--we had a ferry to catch. I don't take a lot of photos of ferries, but this line in the water was particularly striking. It's the flow from the Fraser River refusing to mingle with the waters of the Salish Sea. After the 2 hour ferry ride, we had another 4 hour drive to Pt. McNeill--it really is a long way from anywhere! In the evening th...

Before I start, I want to share this quote from  Wintering,  by Katherine May. I think it applies to our creative dry spells as much as to anything.  “We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.”  We all have our winters. Go ahead and rest and retreat for a time. My big time of retreat from my work is not the actual winter season, but the summer/fall hiking season. I'm not sure I can claim it as quite the same sort of thing, but my time in the mountains and desert is healing and rejuvenating to my creative self as well as the rest of me (as if they were separate things!). So I have been learning to accept that my work gets put aside, and that's okay, though I could manage the timing better (only I don't seem able to, so...).  Okay, so what have I been doing, to make my Wednesday post so late?  1. Writing. Which, in this case, is revising, editing, and polishing. The book i...

Last weekend I shared pictures from a 24-hour backpacking trip to Island Lake. Today, I have a few from a dayhike and another overnight near the same area. Next week, look for a few teasers from a week of kayaking in the Broughtons (Canada, near the north end of Vancouver Island). In late June I took a friend out for a hike to Mason Lake, which actually is very close to Island Lake (the trail is one of the options for reaching it).  You spend a long time climbing through the forest.   Bear grass along the trail.   Eventually the trail breaks out into a clear area as you approach the ridgeline--and Mt. Rainier begins to appear over the hills! Columbine near the lake.   Mason Lake. Even on a weekday this one is busy, with people swimming and having a good time. I was kind of sorry I hadn't come prepared to swim (I mean, I am always prepared to swim, but there were too many people around to make skinny-dipping a good option).   About a month later, I loaded my pack...