Two years.
The dusty aroma of sand wafted to my nostrils as I pulled the door of the travel trailer open to its full extent. I gazed silently at the camping gear, nestled and safe in its small apartment-like home. The items snugged away before me brought back a rush of vivid memories, fun times, and moments that helped to shape hundreds of students' lives over the past 10 to 15 years. I began to sift about in the weathered storage totes, brimming with old cooking supplies, tents and tarps, and plastic-shrouded night hike poems.
As I pulled these poems from the place where they’d slumbered for the past two years, I remembered the night hike through the goblins. I recalled reading these poems by the light of eerie lanterns while a star explosion took place overhead; the Milky Way spread through the blackness of night like a smearing of fresh butter on burned toast. Looking up at that sky was surreal. Hiking amongst the hoodoos by the light of glow sticks was unforgettable.
I pushed away the thoughts and climbed into the back of the trailer, wishing I’d thought to bring a change of clothes rather than soil the items I usually wore to school. Ah well, the dirt and dust—familiar to me—was a welcome dirtifier of my clothes. I felt a trill of excitement as I rummaged back further into shadowy corners, memories spilling out from each cloud of ancient dust—having been locked away in that storage trailer; protected and shielded from the ravages of time.
The idea of the upcoming trip, though not to the scope of magnitude that it at one time was, still makes me smile though two of my trusty sidekicks won’t be along with me for this one.
This is my adventure.
I leave in 30 minutes.
10 comments:
Oh nice! I want to go.
Have a blast!
Oh I can't wait to hear all about it! Have fun!
that view is gorgeous!.
Now you can make new memory's. Will be waiting to view the pictures...
Wish I was there!!! So grateful that Mr. M could go and experience this weekend with you. Thanks to Natalie!! And thank you for doing this. I can't wait for Mr. M to come home today and tell me all about it.
And an adventure it was! So glad we could be part of it.
You made me want to come along. I love the description "the Milky Way spread through the blackness of night like a smearing of fresh butter on burned toast"--that's perfect. Have a great time, and I can't wait to see the photos.
Did you say driftier? :)
C - It was a lot of fun though we experienced a few setbacks…I'll blog about it eventually.
G - Thanks, Gerb.
S - Sometime soon I'll write about it…actually, I wrote an awful lot (4 typewritten pages) and I'll have to edit it down and round up a few photos before I run it…it'll be a week or two.
C - That's the spot we camped out at again this year.
D - You might be disappointed a bit from my lack of photography…
R - I think he had a blast.
N - Glad you guys could be a part of it as well…
L - Wish you could have come along, too. You would have loved/hated it.
A - I probably did…nope, just checked...
Post a Comment