Archive for the ‘roadtrips’ Category

The Magick in Saying Hello

Monday, October 22nd, 2007

Looking around the Van at Cades Cove Those who can not see that there is magick in mundane life, are not living life to its fullest potential. Magick is all around us, and it does not really take all that much to see it. I’m not talking about pretty colored leaves that have fallen into the creek, and I’m referring to the autumn leaves that have turned color, but have not fallen, but there is magick in that as well. No, I’m talking about talking…

A simple hello and a smile can make a dim day bright, even if that hello is too a stranger. On a recent trip to Cades Cove with the family Lakota and I sat in the back of the van with the door open. When we passed by random hikers, bikers, and people riding horseback we talked to them. Most of the time it was little more then a How-dee-doo but at other times we asked them relevant questions to the days outing, like whether or not they saw the giraffe a few miles back, or if they got any cool pictures of the elephant. It didn’t matter that neither giraffe nor elephant were there to see or get pictures of, what mattered was the friendly way in which we asked. Friendly, polite, and with a sincere smile…

We passed two ladies on bikes and wished them the bestest of days. A very short way up from them we passed two guys. We pointed to the ladies a ways back and said they may do well to ride as team and make new friends. The ladies were glad to give us their hellos, and from the looks of the guys, they thought the idea I gave was a grand one.

A bit later we passed by some nice people on horseback. We called them cowboys, took their picture, and waved as if we were old friends. I could see them smiling broader as we drove away then when we drove up. On some level, we helped make their day a better one.

There was a nice couple with the largest lens we’ve ever seen, and asked them if they shot anything nice. They said “not yet” so we wished them luck…and I hope they got lucky.

A little girl riding her bike was wished well too, though that wish was likely foundered as she nearly crashed into the van while spitting expletives…though maybe had we not said hello, she’s have fallen, and made her day a bad one. Who can really know for sure.

All in all, we talked to at least 30 people, and of those 30 people 29 smiled, and I really do like those odds, and each of those 30 people made my day a little brighter, so I hope that my smile also brightened their day. Have you said hello to a stranger lately?

If not, then spread the magick…

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Breakfast of Champions

Tuesday, August 7th, 2007

In many ways the best part of camping is the food….food that otherwise would seem sub-par with any other meal one would eat. But there is just something special about waking up with the sun, getting a fire going (with wet wood) and then making meal on that fire. A level of accomplishment that just can not be obtained from cooking on a stove, and certainly incomparable to that of getting a meal at the local diner.

We ate a variety of things, but the only one we seem to have any images of are the Pancakes…

cooking pancakes over an open flame

Of course the best thing about breakfast (after the food) is the conversation we all have. Talking about how horribly we slept, or about all the fun we had yesterday, or even about the grand adventures we will have today. The only thing we don’t really talk about is what’s happening in the world we left behind for 5 days.

Talking over breakfast

And then of course there is the coffee… yes, even camping one must have the nectar of life. There is something about “cowboy coffee” that is just a delicacy and it should be savored on those rare instances when you are up in the mountains far far away from your good and trusted friend Mr. Coffee. My little blue pot filled with creek water serves me well….

Drinking the strong brewed water of life.

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The swimming hole

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

 Last week Cyndi, Lakota and I, headed up the mountain for a few days of rest and relaxation. Now that I’m back I’ve found that I’m simply too overwhelmed to know where to begin on my updates about it so I’ll be randomly giving tiny details about the trip.

 

Lakota and I swimming at Wisdom Rock

 Lakota and I spent some good quality time climbing across the creek stones. She slipped a couple of times and got a small gash on one knee and possibly twisted her other knee, so that was that. From then on out it was nothing but swimming and tossing stones.

 The first day we got up there we found this yellow rope tied to the high branches of a tree near the swimming hole. This rope gave danger a new name as there was really no possible way that one could swing out far enough into the creek to not land on the deadly rocks just below the surface of the water. I managed to get the rope down and Lakota and I used it for something a bit safer.

 She would swim out in her inner tube as far as the rope would allow, then I’d pull her back in as fast as I possibly could. While I was exhausted at the end of the day it was well worth it as I’ve rarely seen her happier.

 We tried various things to add to the excitement. I pulled her in backwards, she’d stand on rocks on the other side and I’d pull her off of them. She’d wrap her legs around the rope and get pulled while watching the clouds. I had to of pulled her in hundreds of times and each was as fun as the time before.

 We tried to do it again after a huge rain that raised the water level by nearly a foot, but Lakota found that the current was just a bit too strong for her liking…but we still had fun.

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