Space to simply be.

It was the hottest day of our arctic summer... 86°F! 



After wading and splashing in the chilly water of the Koyukuk, I was lounging at the river’s edge, watching a group of teenagers play in the mud. 



Yep, you read that right. Teenagers were not scrolling, Snap Chatting, or rolling their eyes.



They were using their imagination to “build” a mud spa, inventing an entire experience for their future clientele. Laughter rang through the air as they played in mud, water and dirt — with absolutely no regard for reality. 



It was glorious.

Sean and I were in the midst of our annual Basecamp retreat where we donate the entire Arctic Hive facility to Riding On Insulin (ROI), a nonprofit that hosts one-of-a-kind action sports camps for kids and teens with type 1 diabetes (T1D).




Each summer, teens with T1D fundraise directly for ROI to spend a week exploring the arctic with us — learning how to push beyond what they thought possible with an autoimmune disease in tow. ROI raises over $20,000 annually with this event, which helps fund its ski/snowboard camps that serve 300+ kids across the USA each year.




Watching teens in imagination-land transported me to my own childhood…




I used to play “Mermaids” on the lake I grew up on... my friends and I would invent entire worlds by speaking them into existence. That floating dock was a palace, this dock was the grocery store, the shoreline was something else — you get the idea.

I realized that day at the river it’d been a while since I daydreamed for no higher purpose, without any boundaries, with no regard for time.




I know, I know… I live here! How can I get caught in the day-to-day grind of chores, projects and to-do lists? I guess it’s easy when you have 24 hours of daylight with the midnight sun.




There is so much power in having space to simply be.




With darkness returning to the arctic, we see more stars and planets every night. Soon, we’ll see the dancing aurora once again. We like to think that Northern Lights season returns just in time for Sean’s birthday on August 21st!  


Below: Aurora from the Igloo looking toward Poss Mountain on September 4th, 2022.

I miss darkness after going so long without it — and carving out space to be is somehow easier as summer gives way to fall. I feel like the increasing contrast in light helps me create contrast in my life. Before long, I’ll be back on the runners, with only the sound of dog paws on the trail and the whoosh of my dogsled underfoot. THAT’S where the magic happens.



Stokes of genius and ah-ha moments are mostly likely to strike when I least expect it… while on a walk, watching the aurora, or on the trail with the dogs. Those teenagers reminded me that carving out time to play in the proverbial mud is so important.



I need time to simply exist without trying to accomplish anything. I think we all do.


Below: Aurora right out the front door, August 24th, 2021

As fall starts to flow down from the arctic to wherever you are this season, I hope you, too, can tap into the darker skies and a slower pace — and savor the opportunity to just be!



Sending love,
Mollie (+ Sean and all our sled dogs)


PS — I think this is implied, but if you’re craving the ultimate disconnection to reconnect with your creativity and imagination, we’d love to host you for a retreat this winter! Scroll to see all the options… spaces are filling up :-)


Below: Using unlimited daylight hours to hike-in the door to our arctic entry… puppy Eclipse is “helping” :-)