Gnorm was up to his pointed red cap in fresh powder, a tuft of brown plaster hair barely visible above the drifts.  After five days of nonstop snowfall – big, wet flakes that layered up faster than flapjacks and soaked our knitted tuques (Canadian winter hats) – the Revelstoke Mountain’s iconic weather-gnome was counting 69 centimeters.

A webcam on Revelstoke Mountain Resort captures the snowfall accumulation around Gnorm the Powder Gnome. (Elevation: 1,950 m/ 6,398 f).

The charcoal clouds showed no signs of departure.  And, judging by the mess spilling out of my loitering backpack, neither did I.

“If Roger’s Pass is snowed in, I’ll stay,” I promised my hosts.  Seven days spent in Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada, had already turned into 10.  I was searching for excuses to stay even longer.  It’s the first thing we do, when faced with a tempting decision: look for signs of justification.

If the Universe ultimately wants this, I’ll listen.  If I’m merely mucking up the order of things, I’ll plug my ears.

Waking up to a Tim Horton’s doughnut on my pillow, with a note that read STAY, would have made things easy.  But life is learning to trust your gut, accept those little twitches of inspiration.  And sometimes the best sign we can receive is the self-assured comfort of our final choice.

My welcome to the mountain town of Revelstoke, B.C., Canada, was 27 inches of snow and a pair of water-proof boots.

After ringing United Airlines and extending my flight by three weeks, I felt excited.  Contentment from facing an opportunity and saying “Yes”.

I felt lucky.  What a perfect way to start a new year…

I asked myself an impulsive question…What if we did not go home, what if we kept traveling?  Should you not listen well to the questions you ask out of nowhere?

Only in looking backward do you find those crumbs you dropped that marked your way forward…

-Frances Mayes

New Year’s Resolution #1: Worried about breaking this?  Instead of focusing on the next newest destination, why not focus on where you’re at right now?  Why not say “Yes”, and stay?