Wilderness

We don't have a lot of true wilderness close to where we live, but we do love to get out and enjoy it non the less! 

When I was a teenager I lived part time in Fairbanks, Alaska.  I remember one summer a friend and I threw a bunch of camping gear and food in the back of his pick up and headed out for an adventure. We didn't really know where we were going, we figured we'd know when we got there. We drove a few hours and found ourselves in Valdez (this was before the oil spill).  We found a nice spot near the mouth of the river, where it joined the bay and set up camp.  We had no idea if the land belonged to someone or not, it didn't matter.  It wasn't posted and we weren't in anyone's way.  While we were setting up a local drove up and stopped to chat.  We told them we would be there a couple of days.  They told us where we could go in town to shower if we wanted, and where the store was, wished us well and drove off. 

The only time we saw another human for the next 3 days was when we drove into town.  Otherwise it was the two of us and a lot of wildlife.  We had a great time watching the bald eagles swoop in and catch fish. We waded in the river down to the bay and watched the sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks.  It was heaven.  It was summer, so it never got dark.  It was very peaceful, except for the mosquitoes.

Everyone should have an adventure like that sometime.  Exploring on you own, no schedule to follow, no cell phones.  Just birds and sky and beauty all around you.

Man, now I want to go camping...