Summer Camping

High summer seems to finally be here.  After waiting longer than usual, we have at last reached the lazy-hazy-crazy-dayz of summer. 

When I was a child my dad had a nice boat and so every weekend we were on a lake somewhere.  We traveled far and wide to enjoy every boating experience we could, once even going as far as Glacier National Park. 

I remember the hot sun, cooling breezes and the never ending nuisance of lots of bugs; also the smell of fresh air skimming across crisp clean mountain water; (sometimes not so pleasant if rotting fish dotted the shore).

As children, my sisters and I searched for shells, rocks, twisted driftwood and anything interesting we could find.  When our bodies had saturated the sun and wind and we felt as if we were part of the forest, we eventually rested beside the cool shade of pine trees or inside our tent if the bugs were too bothersome.  When we became dusty from hiking or exploring, we would jump into the nearest water hole to refresh and then explore the natural inhabitants – water beetles and sometimes, leaches.

My dad fished a lot and mom kept our camp clean and also cooked delicious meals, usually centered on the fish my dad caught.  We had no TV, radio, mp3, phones, PC games of any kind.  The only sounds to reach our ears were the chirping birds, buzzing bugs and the wind singing through the branches of the leaf covered trees. Occasionally we heard chipmunks chatter, woodpeckers rattle while they hammered the trees and the distant call of Eagles souring high above. Sometimes we heard the bellow of moose and once, in a remote mountain lake near Butte, Montana, we watched black bears walk the shoreline across the lake from our camp, making growling sounds as they moved.

And so, in the silence of the woods, we talked to each other…a lot!  We talked about everything…what we thought about…our various opinions of everything; sometimes we sang songs together.  We read books and played silly games with flashlights.  And we laughed a lot about everything until we wore ourselves out. 

After that, I knew what my sisters liked and disliked – I really knew them.  I knew their expressions and thoughts about everything.  And when we went home (so glad to take a bath and wash our hair!) I felt a strong tie with my family that was forever binding. We didn’t just exist together as relatives – we shared the task to help each other for as long as we lived because we knew how much we needed each other; a friend in the dark, a voice in the silence, a pal to navigate through the twisted paths of life.

The summer camping trips renewed us, reunited us, and brought us back together again.

©2012 Linda Gatewood