We just got back from a two-week road trip which included four nights tent camping in the Rockies.  I figured I might share some of my observations about the experience; including some of the things I’ve come to appreciate after four nights with nothing but a thin nylon wall separating me from Mother Nature…

 

• The warmth and sound of a crackling campfire in the cool of the evening is healing to the bones and to the soul.

 

• That same campfire paired with morning coffee is pretty much amazing.

 

• I like everything about camping except sleeping.  My body seems to revolt every time I zip up a sleeping bag.  When I’m at home and wake up at 2 am, I celebrate that I still have more slumber ahead; when I awake at 2 am while camping, I lament that I still have several hours of torturous “sleep” ahead.

 

• A hotel bed and shower never felt so good…

 

• “Camp food” can taste like a 5-star meal after a sleep-deprived night and a day filled with high-altitude hikes.

 

• My children really like to burn stuff.  My job is to show them where it’s appropriate.

 

• Using a hand grinder to grind my coffee first thing in the morning is a workout unto itself.  But it sure beats using two-week old pre-ground coffee any day of the week.

 

• Late-night lulled conversation around the campfire.  Something rather sacred about that.

 

• Birds chirping in mountain meadows.  Makes me think they’re pretty happy with where they’re at in life.

 

• High-Altitude wildflowers are delicate objects of sheer amazement.

 

• I’d like to be more intentional about chirping in my own personal meadow.  Something tells me it would be good for my soul and possibly even for those souls around me close enough to hear.

 

• Letting my wife take a turn behind the wheel affords me an opportunity to see views out the window that I never would have been able to appreciate from the driver’s seat.

 

• Weather is really fun to experience.  Especially if you’re not out in it.

 

• It’s quite windy at the summit of high mountains.  The higher you go, the harsher the elements.  But man the views are good.  Makes me wonder if the same is true of life.

 

• There are far more stars in the remote night sky than we can see at first glance, but they don’t scream for your attention the way a powerful waterfall does.  But the more you look up, the more detail you notice.

 

• My family and I can get by just fine without screens.  In fact, imagination seems to take over when we’re not tethered to our devices.

 

• The wonder and awe of my children experiencing the Grand Canyon for the first time is worth every effort to get there.

 

• Mother Nature is way more powerful than anything mankind can come up with on its own.

 

• White water rafting with three boys is pretty much the coolest thing ever.  There is something so pure about their excitement—and that alone makes me feel at least ten years younger.

 

• I can get so tired that I literally lose the ability to enjoy myself.  Or others.  Or beauty.  Or anything.

 

• As I told my children, this vacation had a little bit of crazy and a whole lot of awesome.  We’ve all made a concerted effort to focus on the awesome…

 

• There’s really no substitute for family time.

 

• My bed is the most comfortable bed in the entire world.

 

• There truly is no place like home…