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July 22-27 /2008 Best camping trip ever.

This year has been amazing so far. I picked the little man up on Tuesday evening, and we spent the evening preparing for our camping trip. I took him grocery shopping with me and gave him as much input into planning our meals as I could without coming away with 4 pounds of sugar. We got our food and went home to pack the gear. I tried to add him into every part of the planning and preparing as I could. One day he will be doing this with his little one. The biggest goal i have made for myself as a parent is to teach him how to make decisions. After all life is nothing but a string of choices we make constantly. So with as much input as you can give an 8 year old we got ready.

In the morning we loaded the van with all our stuff and made our way to the forest. Just after we left civilisation and headed down the long road to the lake we saw a bear. Small black bear walking across a river right next to the road. I wish i could have taken a photo but I didn't want to stop and harass the bear. Bears aren't all that scary, they do their own thing. Sure they could tear a person to shreds if they were so inclined, but I think that's rare. Stupid people get attacked by bears. The bears should get an award for taking out people dumb enough to not respect a bears presence in the forest. (I'm full of opinions these days wow, yay me!) I took three days off this week to get out to the bush without the crowds. What a great idea that is, the campground was almost empty when we got there except for a pack of campers with kids. No real annoying party animals, rowdies etc. We picked a campsite and dragged all our stuff out of the van.

I had planned on having Jerry help me set up camp. My plans were thwarted heavily by a little blond girl riding her bike around. I'm not a total dick (no eye rolling!!) so I let the little guy take off on his bike while i set up camp solo. He really is the best kid ever, he spent a lot of time riding around the campsite. He never went to far away, always checked in after about 15, 20 minutes. i could see him riding around with a roaming pack of kids. Watching him be a kid hits me somewhere deep. It makes me smile ear to ear.

I took nearly 300 photo's and i love all of them its going to be hard to pick them out and post the good ones, but ill try. There has to be some kind of limit on this blogger site, lets find it!

My little man can hike anywhere with the best of them. Ive taken him through terrain most people wouldnt follow me. Trail or no trail lets blaze through. Again we hiked to lindeman lake. This place has always been special to me. I keep coming back to it. Its so beautiful.

Its also ball cracking cold, this water was once snow. Im guessing about 20 minutes before this photo was taken. But Jerry's Mom must be part polar bear because I sure dont do cold water well.

This kid is crazy, but who wouldnt love that smile. He has this ability to spread happiness where ever he goes. This planet needs his energy. I had so much fun hanging out with him and even the time i spent alone was really nice too. It was afterall my vacation too. I like to have my alone time to refect on things.

First day we hung out near camp. Hiked a bit near the lake and around camp to get to know the area. We rode our bikes up and down trails. Set up and got settled in.

Day two we hiked passed lindeman lake and back again from our camp site. We were gone for nearly 6 hours. Most of it hiking. When we got back he grabbed his bike and off he went to play with the kids around camp. I relaxed and made us some food, chopped wood etc.

Day three we relaxed more around camp, did some biking around. Hung out at the beach for a bit. hiked down to the bridge where you could see spawning salmon hanging out. That was pretty cool. About 20 minutes from camp there was a cool little beach and bridge to hang out on. We spent a couple mornings and evenings hanging out there. Just a beautiful place to be, i always feel so blessed when im out in the great wide open. Recharges my soul, the mountains, camp fire fresh air. Its worth having to sleep in a tent. I hate sleeping in a tent that part i could definatly do without.

In the afternoon i asked Jerry if he wanted to stay till sunday. I had planned on staying till saturday to give myself some time to take care of unpacking and stuff. Maybe hang with the boy at home or whatever. But we opted to stay an extra night. That meant we needed to make some phone calls. We drove to where we could use my cell and called his mom etc. We also invited my girlfriend to come up and hang out with us for a day and night. She met jerry the day we left at breakfast. They hit it off great. I always swore id take my time on letting my son meet any girls i was dating or seeing. She rocks, and Jerry and her had a great time picking on me at breakfast. Me and the little man went back to camp and did a lot more of nothing for the rest of the night. I got him chopping wood with me. Stressing safety and the fact he isnt allowed to do it without me or another adult holding the axe as well. We split a few pieces of wood. I taught him how to make a fire properly. I sat playing guitar alone while he followed the kids around and played at the playground. Its hard as hell to do but i try to let him do his own thing. Without Dad crawling up his butt following him around. I think i do pretty good, looking for the balance between letting him be independant and not being that parent that lets their kid get away with whatever they want. Id sneak up on him with my bike when he was at the play ground a couple of times to let him get it that i could show up at any time. He was always where he said he would be.

Day four, We woke up and were joined by yet another adventurer. My girlfriend showed up at about 9am. She brought me tea, one of the things i totally forgot. I had the cream and sugar but no tea. We had a nice morning giggling with jerry as he came and went till about noon. We packed up a day bag and wandered off to explore. I went to this park because i had spent alot of time there as a teen and young adult. I know the area pretty good but had not been to alot of these places in a while. We piled into her 4x4 and took the rough road around the lake towards an ecological reserve at the far end of the lake. When i was young it was a great place to party and go nuts. Now its all closed off, the road is blocked about a 30 minute walk from the best beach on the lake. So we all hopped out of the truck and made our way down the path in the hot sun. It was a ton of fun, as well as a great beach hidden at the end of the walk we were on. We were the only people there on an enormous beach covered in drift wood and cold ass water. We found sandy mud to sink in.

Of course i got in on it too...

After hanging on the beach, we went into the forest. There is supposed to be a trail through an old growth forest. We found what i think was more of an animal trail now. Really over grown and hard to follow we pressed on. Through bugs and prickles we managed to see some really nice scenery and have lots of sweaty bush whacking fun. Jerry will never forget the good times we have had. The three of us made a great team. Lots of giggling and goofing off. Bringing the humor to the forest. I was to busy making Jerry walk up front as our bait to snap many photos of the huge cedar and douglas fir trees. They were huge and im sure have been there for hundreds of years. Watching over the the mountains. We walked back to the truck, followed by a hungry pack of bugs growing by the millions hot on our tracks. We could stop for a minute or two then the hungry swarm would catch up. There are some well fed bugs laying on the beach back there. We all have the welts to prove it.

All in all a good time was had by everyone. There is so much more that happened and so many more great pics. I am so lucky to be me, to be here. To have great people around me that bless my life with these great times. I thirst for things like this. Without sounding like i have the largest ego on the planet Id like to state for the record it fucking rocks being me. I think the change I made from the person i was before was, becoming more aware of the important things and dropping the useless lust for stuff and money. Finding the greatest gifts hidden in the most simple mundane things. I make all this sound like an adventure but to someone that wasnt looking for it. They might describe the same experience as anything else. Attitude is everything, almost worth more than reality. It paints reality with color. The picture is the same but the feel can be totally different to whoever experiences it. I wish i could challenge everyone i know to go off and find their own treasure. Its there, it could be hiding well. But it is definatly there. Let the crap fall away and find the good stuff. You have to dig through a lot of dirt to find a diamond sometimes. As for me and my crew, we got some happy times ahead of us...

LIfe and its extraordinary chaotic beauty

OK I'm in a pretty good mood these days. I usually have more to write about when i feel shitty but i will give it a try.

For the last couple new years I have made resolutions that I want to stick to. Things I know I need, to better my life. Usually something sort of general like, "This year id like to better myself somehow" or face some fears that have been holding me back. Something positive that makes me get out there again. After suffering some bad times I kind of insulated myself from having it happen again. The problem with that is , it also keeps me from taking chances and tasting the random events that make life fun. I like to have stories to tell about things I have done. A lot of the best ones at the time are a bit scary or things i probably shouldn't be doing. There is risk involved with the best things in life. If you stop taking chances you more than likely wont get hurt but at the same time your probably not going to have much fun either. I'm not talking about cliff diving from a hundred feet up in the air. I'm talking about those things that make you immediately say " No way ill never do that" or " I don't like x so i don't even want to try" When really tasting a little bit of everything adds so much flavor to life. If you eat an apple and it tastes bad , are all apples from now on bad? I think that's narrow minded. Sure if you eat 50 bad apples chances are your not going to like the fifty first apple either but still there is a chance you might taste the best apple you ever had.
I have made all the declarations myself too. I will never...have a gf again, never go to another wedding again, never want to go out and meet new people again etc. I have made them all many times over. Last night I went to a wedding and I only knew one person there. I met tons of new people, and the girl I took with me asked if she could call me her bf. In a matter of one night I managed to do half my list of things id never do again. Topped off with it was a great time, she makes me happy and I'm glad she is in my life and we did things that were amazing. (no not that you perv's)
Was i anxious? hell yes i was. All week i knew i was going to a wedding with her and that id know, no one there. I think i lost sleep over it. Second guessing myself all over the place. Scared and anxious i went anyways. Am i a hypocrite? hell yes i am. That is ok too though. Things change constantly. To never sway your opinion is to stop growing. New information should have a chance to filter through past experience. Experiences that have left me drained and hating life in the past may not be the same the next time through.
I woke up on the wedding day a bit late. I was feeling sick to my stomach, couldn't eat. Did anyway. Got dressed in my new suit. Decided my hair needed to be cut so i went to my good friends salon. I showed up in a suit and she giggled, " Dale! Whats the special occasion?" I told her i was going to a wedding. "Who's wedding?" she asked. " I don't know who's wedding it is,' I replied. " Are you going as a date?" she starts giggling as i smile, " Didn't you say, you would never have another gf?" Wait a second i thought, why does going to a wedding as a date constitute me having a gf. (guys aren't supposed to know the rules i guess) "Well Dale if your going to a wedding with a girl as a date she must be your gf." I'm couldn't follow her logic but again I'm not really equipped to understand women. At least i know that much. Sandra giggles and begins cutting my hair singing "dale has a gf.." over and over with a place full of customers and her friends. I stand up and ask," Am i beautiful now? are there any tags on my shirt etc? is my tie on right etc etc etc" I raise my arms up and they begin primping me for a few minutes making sure i look good. I soaked that up, the attention was nice. I giggled as i left and they all had a good chuckle at my expense. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. They could tell i was nervous and that made it funny.... for them.
I get to her place and pick her up and we go to the wedding. The ceremony was neat. I'm still a bit cynical about weddings. It always makes me giggle when i hear the same old plop at every wedding,"You two are going to make it", " Of all the couples i know your the two that get along the best with the best chances for success".....puke! But after the i do's and the speech's it gave me a warm feeling inside. Its good to know that people are at least trying to spread love around.
Even if it only lasted a week. At least they had this week to enjoy the magic.
The wedding was located at minter gardens. I had never been there before. It was spectacular. the landscaping was breath taking. A great place to get married really. But after the ceremony it started raining and we had to hide from it. A few hours later when it stopped raining and was almost to dark to see anything the gardens were closed down for the night. They had security guards wandering around keeping people out of the gardens. Well, being told i cant do something and its harmless is like catnip. I grabbed her hand and said we should go wandering. We didn't make it far into the place before finding a gazebo nestled into a dark corner. Everything was surrounded by statues and flowers etc. Stunning place really. So we went in and sat down in the dark. Talking, giggling and kissing we were having fun. Security spies us on his rounds. I laughed and told him we weren't doing anything bad. He didn't seem to care much just that we had to go back to the party. She started walking back and he walked off. I stopped her and said," If he is in front of us then he cant really catch us can he?" I grabbed her hand again and off we went down a dark path through this enchanted forest type setting. Finding an opening we scanned for Mr security guard. He wasn't around so off we went through to the fountains and a walkway under this trellis, that went for about 10 minutes. Hanging flowers and statues hiding in the bush's. Almost like a dream or a movie really. We wandered around giggling like school kids, holding hands and kissing the whole way. Found a small hedge maze that led to a beautiful rose garden with more gazebo's nestled into dark places. For an hour at least we wandered the place in the dark. A bit of light rain added to the fun i think. Her in bare feet so her shoes didn't click and make noise and me running around tickling her and goofing off. We went back to the wedding and noticed we missed the garter toss and the pie cutting and the bouquet, but whatever. I think i will treasure that memory for a long time. It was truly magical and wonderful. The added excitement that security was out there with us was the cherry on the top. All in all i had a great time and i did a bunch of things i swore i would never do again. And in the end i had one of those nights ill never forget and it was all because i didn't chicken out and took the risk. For some that may sound like nothing but for me it was a huge step to taking back life, trying new things and generally growing as a person i think. If i could leave my existence knowing i helped one person have a better life i would feel accomplished. I hope if anyone reads this they do the same. Take risks, love yourself and live this short life we get to live on a today kind of basis. Id also like to thank the people and good friends i have that have helped get me here. I did the work but they helped and supported me when i needed it. You know who you are and the roles you have played in my life. I have truly been blessed, thank you all for making my existence here so colorful. Cheers, your friend Dale
This is a link to the place i was at http://www.mintergardens.com/