Because children grow up, we think a child’s purpose is to grow up. But a child’s purpose is to be a child. Nature doesn’t disdain what only lives for a day. It pours the whole of itself into each moment. . .Life’s bounty is in its flow. Later is too late. Alexander Herzen I haveContinue reading “Remembering Harmony Falls”
Tag Archives: adventure
Remembering Simple
As my regular readers well know I made the decision to stop backpacking about a year ago, my aching back complaining loudly each time I hoisted my ultra-lite pack. I feared doing more damage to my crumbling spine. Ultra-lite, as it turned out, was not lite enough for this aging woman. I knew though thatContinue reading “Remembering Simple”
Bighorn Memories
How many people who will die today even know that it is the last day of their lives? Joan Halifax I moved to my new Wyoming home in early September many years ago. It was a beautiful warm day, the sun shining but not too hot. I had of course been reading and studying mapsContinue reading “Bighorn Memories”
More about Memories
What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. It is always the same step, but you have to take it. Antoine de Saint-Exupery in Wind, Sand, and Stars The memories I described in my last post apparently resonated with readers, for I received many gratifying comments, including this one from myContinue reading “More about Memories”
Duckabush Memories
Whenever I hike a trail that is familiar to me after many years of returning, I am of course flooded with memories of past trips. Recently I revisited the Duckabush River Trail, which I first hiked in 1971, the year before I graduated from college. My friend Patty and I had planned to hike aContinue reading “Duckabush Memories”
Finding Strong
A lot of what we experience as strength comes from knowing what to do with weakness. Barbara Ehrenreich in Nickeled and Dimed Recently I purchased a home on the Olympic Peninsula, a place that is familiar to me and has felt very much like coming home. I wanted to be closer to my family, toContinue reading “Finding Strong”
Swinging in the Lane
And like Billy Bray I go my way, in and out of Shadow Creek, dancing, in a daze, to the twin silver trumpets of praise. Annie Dillard in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek In my early twenties when I first started backpacking alone I got into the habit of tucking my thumbs underneath the shoulder strapsContinue reading “Swinging in the Lane”
Rising Above
Recently I departed on a flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Flying out of Seattle, I always expect low clouds, a brief experience of turbulence as we pass through them, and then. . .suddenly. . .blue sky and mountain peaks rising above the clouds. It never fails to amaze me, this experience of rising above, andContinue reading “Rising Above”
Thursday We Hike
When I moved to my rural home in northeastern Washington several years ago I learned that there was a women’s hiking group that met on Thursdays and explored the many trails nearby, often getting together after the hike to share a beer at a local pub. The group intrigued me, but it took me aContinue reading “Thursday We Hike”
I Saw That!
Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my head is burning with it. Claude Monet When I find myself feeling sad about my decision to give up backpacking in order to save my aching back from further injury, IContinue reading “I Saw That!”
