Being outdoors

S

Sasquatch69

100+ Posts
Although I come from a family that never went camping or did much of anything outside, I have this innate need to be outdoors. When I was single I went mountain biking, hiking, etc., and even during the first few years of marriage we would go camping at least a few times a year.

Since our son was born, my outdoor time has virtually disappeared, and over time I realized how much I missed it. It really was beginning to affect my overall well-being.

The kiddo is now 13 months, and my lovely wife is getting me a bike seat/helmet for my birthday later this month so I can start riding again and take him along. I'm pretty jazzed about that. Plus, my sister got me a fire pit for Christmas, which I finally got assembled a couple weeks ago.

At this moment, I'm sitting in the dark on my patio, beer in hand, with my feet propped up on the stone edge of the fire pit, warm from the flames. I love the fact my wi-fi reaches all the way out here. It's an almost Zen-like feeling, as though all is right in the world.

I guess I really don't have much of great importance to say here, other than this: Times like this make me glad to be a Texan and have the ability to do what I'm doing right now.
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that's awesome. I bought my house in Fort Worth because it has a very big back yard that is screaming for a deck. I think I'm going to get that done this year so I can kick it outdooors a bit more.
 
I miss the outdoors! Being stuck indoors most of the day, living the office life has sucked the life out of me. Just give me a case of beer and a place to fish. That's all I ask...
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Outdoors rocks. I am so glad my folks liked being outside. I remember my first trip to Big Bendin 1967 and doing the South Rim hike when I was 8. I think I had some complaints about being outdoors when I was a kid but always had enough positive feedback from my folks to where when I got to be an adult, one of the first things I wanted to do with my freedom was drive to the West and get outdoors.

I love being outdoors. I'd rather camp in 9 degree weather in the Grand Canyon than stay in the hotels/lodges there.

When I was young, being outdoors in Austin felt more outdoorsy; it was quieter, and you could see a ton of stars all the way down to the horizon.
 
Felt the same way this past Sunday. Was in the backyard reading with a nice hot cup of coffee and croisant. It was sunny but chilly, listening to jazz on my iphone. Took a look up at the bright blue sky and this sense of calm just washed over me.
 
We bought some rough land for precisely this purpose. Its basically camping in our own private Perdernales State Park. I'd like to get going on a cabin this year, but even without I love going whenever I can.
 
I grew up fishing with my dad, and hunting with him and some friends some.

A few years back, the two of us had walked back to the car at sunset, after spending the afternoon trying for specks in the surf. Standing there and breathing it all in, my not-very eloquent old man said "this is a good thing that I gave you. This . . [sweeping his hand towards the surf]."

Yup. It damn sure was.

And the beat goes on . . . just this weekend, my 7 year old daughter was drilling me about my promise that she could start going dove hunting with me this year.

Give a kid a taste of the outdoors, and they'll want the whole damned thing.

Not many things give me true peace these days -- I am a professional worrier (seriously, that's a big part of my job description), and I do so pretty well on a family basis as well. But a day on the water . . . a morning greeted by a golden sky . . . the rhythm of the tides . . . the whistle of wings in the pre-dawn darkness. That's peace. That's some serious peace.
 
This is one of the reasons we're moving to San Clemente next week. It sucks in Houston when you would rather be inside 6 months out of the year in the Summer and 1 month in the Winter.
 
I really love the outdoors.

I've hiked all over Alaska, Hawaii, Zion, Bryce, The Appalachian Trail in North Carolina/Georgia, Yosemite, the Sierras, Montana to name a few and my appetite for those places is never sated. I can't wait for my next trip. My heart literally soars when I'm there. The American West is sublime.

Nothing like walking with a blue sky and an open trail in front of you. The air is so clean you feel like you're taking pulls of pure oxygen, your mind focuses on the here and now, tension fades, and it's just you and creation from sunup until sundown. Well-being just fills me.

I have a deep desire to quit my job one summer and just hit every major park of the American West. Grab my good hikers, haul a canoe and my mountain bike and just l-i-v-e.
 
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