Going back to Africa after all this time, there’s the excitement of a first adventure. I love Africa and I feel it’s another home, and any time a man can feel that, not counting where he’s born, is where he’s meant to go.” – Papa Hemingway

When you think of adventure your thoughts might lead to Ernest Hemingway, a commanding presence in the literary world.  His works are masterpieces of American literature but pale in comparison to his real life. His exploits are legendary filled with grand adventures.

I don’t have to look far from home as I think of adventure, as our own Renee Patrick who has served as editor of Cascade A&E for the past four years, embarks on her own form of adventure: completing the Triple Crown of hiking trails in the United States with the 3,000 mile Continental Divide Trail (CDT).

Renee had a different kind of adventure when she joined the staff at A&E entering into a new world of art, culture and publishing. She excelled at it as I am sure she will on the Continental Divide where she’ll become a supreme hiker and keeping to her creative side, a blogger whose mission will be to share the story of the trail and protect America’s wildest and most remote long distance trail.

Over the past decades I’ve had a few adventures of my own that are only slightly similar to Renee’s from hiking Pacific Crest trails, climbing to the top all the mountain peaks in Oregon, running all the rivers and ascending Mt. St. Helens both before it blew up and after.

But today my adventures are focused on art, culture and travel. Last week I was in Great Falls, Montana where the renowned Charlie Russell Museum resides with more than 2,000 Russell artworks, personal objects and artifacts. Russell created thousands of paintings of cowboys, Indians and landscapes set in the West and Alberta, Canada, in addition to bronze sculptures.

Visiting such an out of the way small town as Great Falls was an interesting sojourn, but being a part of the Russell annual fundraiser was supreme (it was co-chaired by two Oregonians Gail Hayes-Davis of Bend and Christina Blackwell).

Implausible historic and contemporary Western art was the focus of the Russell Live Auction offering 158 beautiful works of art by contemporary and deceased artists, along with 10 pieces by Charles M. Russell. The highlight of the evening was the sale of the Charles M. Russell For Supremac, which brought $1.5 million with the evening’s sales topping $5.6 million. (All by itself Russell’s 1918 painting Piegans sold for $5.6 million at a 2005 auction.)

While Renee is hiking the Continental Divide and we’re hearing her stories from her blog, tales we hope are just interesting and not hair-raising, I am off to another journey far removed from the Western culture of Charlie Russell and his collectors to the New Orleans Jazz Festival, music extravaganza for sure.

There is so much to explore and experience in this world and fortunately many of those you can find close to home…meeting fascinating people, savoring new cuisine, listening to all sorts of music and taking in majestic landscapes.

Here’s to your next adventure and to Renee on hers!