We camped in the West Fir area on the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River amid fir trees, maples and alders. My boyfriend Savoy called the area paradise. We didn't stay at a real campsite. Just us and nature and camping gear of course like a tent and even a propane stove. I brought my purple music stand, tie-dye ukulele, iPad and phone even though we had no cell or internet access. The phone was great for photos and the iPad useful because all my music was on it, books to read and I could write. I was only a little nervous about camping as my experience only consists of Burning Uke campouts with loads of people all camping together and a bathroom close by. This was roughing it. Savoy made it all seem easy.
But there were challenging moments for me like when savoy wanted to show me the secret beach down the road. I was intrigued and wore my swimsuit ready to go! We climbed down a path and took the trail to the left instead of the right at the fork.
"Everyone goes down to the swimming hole on the right," Savoy said. We’re going left down the rocky trail. That makes it more secret."
More like the scary trail, I thought.
"I don’t know," I said, surveying the giant rocks jutting out along with other slippery looking rocks. "Maybe we should just take the easy way."
"You can do it!" he said. He found a stick for me and broke it down to the right size, and we slowly made our way down, climbing on rocks and balancing on them.
I’m 62 years old, I thought. This was stuff I did when I was young, not now. My sense of balance is shot and I could die down here!
But with Savoy's help, I made it to the secret beach! And it really was paradise. I wanted to just jump into the water but it was ice cold, and it took me three false tries. Savoy had already dipped in and out twice while I attempted to get used to the water. Finally, I took the plunge. It only stung for a minute. Then it felt great and I stayed in the water and swam around for an hour or more, and it felt cool and exhilarating. I lay on my back in the water and let the current of the river move me downwards, and then flipped around and swam back up again. In the water, I felt much safer than I did climbing on those slippery rocks.
We returned to the campsite and ate pasta and veggie hot dogs for dinner. Everything seems to taste better when you're outdoors. Then Savoy started a fire and I played my ukulele and sang, and we fell asleep to the sounds of the rushing river.
As I embark on my new adventure of semi-retirement, I realize that you’re never too old and sometimes you have to take risks and take the plunge. You just have to go for it... and that's what I'm doing. I'll still work part-time (two days a week), so I still have one foot in the door of working. I feel so good about this now.
No comments:
Post a Comment