vacation notes part 1
I have eight pages of notes from this trip. I'll therefore be posting them in parts. These are the first two pages -- enjoy!
THINGS I REALIZED & DID on VACATION
17.nov.06 -- 20.nov.06
1. no matter how much STUFF I have, or bring with me, it won't make me feel any more secure. I realised this even before I got to the park, because Iwas so scared of things going wrong -- not having enough food, not enough to keep me warm, and so on.
2. this vacation almost makes me feel as if I'm home again. Where I grew up it was quiet. The occasional car passed, birds sang, the trees whispered and that was about it. This is a lot like that, at least in that respect.
3. I know how to build a fire! I did it! And in les than ideal conditions, too. It was funny, really -- I must have bent down a hundred times that first evening, collecting leaves that would burn easily & set the wet wood alight.
4. It takes a very long time to heat a quart of water from cold to boiling, even if the propane is on full blast. The next night I opened a can of ravioli, went to light the stove, and *pfft* nothing. Good thing I had another fire going; I heated it up atop that. This leads into a mildly funny story: I discovered I was out of propane around 8 or 9pm. The next day I went into town ( Huntsville ) to get another propane bottle. I didn't know where to look, so I asked about an "outdoor store" like REI, Cabela's or Whole Earth Provision Co. No such luck, but the nice man at the gas station pointed me to Home Depot. I tromped around that store for a while, and eventually found the sort of thing I was looking for -- only they were out of teh cheap bottles of propane, and the only thing they had were torch kits that were 2-3 times as expensive. I used some of my limited fundage to get one of these, as I really did *not* want to go to wal-mart. Got the bottle back to my camp, only to discover that I couldn't get the old bottle out of the stove's sleeve!
Turns out there's a trick to getting the bottle out of the sleeve, which rhianwyn didn't tell me, because she thought I would have enough propane. I would have needed pliers to get the bottle out, which I did not have. I wasn't keen on asking anyone near me for tools, either.
5. It is okay for me to talk to myself.
6. Kimchi flavored noodles & dark roast instant coffee -- two things I don't think I would ever choose for myself. But yum!
7. I have been smiling & felt happy -- despite the headache -- ever since I got here. While going to sleep, even!
8. Crows -- the birds -- are talky little bastards!
9. My t-bars seem to be rising, with respect to my handwriting that is. If I recall correctly, this is indicative of happiness, mood, self-esteem, etc.
10. I managed to sneak up on a deer -- unintentionally. I was on a hike, crested a hill, and there he was about 60 feet away. I gasped in awe and surprise. I think it was a young buck, but he dashed off into the forest very quickly. A little later, I saw that same deer (I think) from about 100 feet away. As we stared at each other, he would take one step forward, keep a hoof raised, take another step forward. After a minute or two, he bounded off into the brush again.
11. Later that same hike, I saw a rabbit from 50-60 feet away. I don't think he ever saw me, but he was behind some brush.
12. Saw many little gray piles of pellety poo -- not sure what made these. Too compact & small to be deer.
13. I walked around going "Oh wow!" a lot. I've also been crying "awesome!" a lot as well, and really meaning it. I hardly ever use that word.
14. It's okay to be in this state of wonder!
15. Is there a military base nearby? Several times big ol' choppers have flown over.
THINGS I REALIZED & DID on VACATION
17.nov.06 -- 20.nov.06
1. no matter how much STUFF I have, or bring with me, it won't make me feel any more secure. I realised this even before I got to the park, because Iwas so scared of things going wrong -- not having enough food, not enough to keep me warm, and so on.
2. this vacation almost makes me feel as if I'm home again. Where I grew up it was quiet. The occasional car passed, birds sang, the trees whispered and that was about it. This is a lot like that, at least in that respect.
3. I know how to build a fire! I did it! And in les than ideal conditions, too. It was funny, really -- I must have bent down a hundred times that first evening, collecting leaves that would burn easily & set the wet wood alight.
4. It takes a very long time to heat a quart of water from cold to boiling, even if the propane is on full blast. The next night I opened a can of ravioli, went to light the stove, and *pfft* nothing. Good thing I had another fire going; I heated it up atop that. This leads into a mildly funny story: I discovered I was out of propane around 8 or 9pm. The next day I went into town ( Huntsville ) to get another propane bottle. I didn't know where to look, so I asked about an "outdoor store" like REI, Cabela's or Whole Earth Provision Co. No such luck, but the nice man at the gas station pointed me to Home Depot. I tromped around that store for a while, and eventually found the sort of thing I was looking for -- only they were out of teh cheap bottles of propane, and the only thing they had were torch kits that were 2-3 times as expensive. I used some of my limited fundage to get one of these, as I really did *not* want to go to wal-mart. Got the bottle back to my camp, only to discover that I couldn't get the old bottle out of the stove's sleeve!
Turns out there's a trick to getting the bottle out of the sleeve, which rhianwyn didn't tell me, because she thought I would have enough propane. I would have needed pliers to get the bottle out, which I did not have. I wasn't keen on asking anyone near me for tools, either.
5. It is okay for me to talk to myself.
6. Kimchi flavored noodles & dark roast instant coffee -- two things I don't think I would ever choose for myself. But yum!
7. I have been smiling & felt happy -- despite the headache -- ever since I got here. While going to sleep, even!
8. Crows -- the birds -- are talky little bastards!
9. My t-bars seem to be rising, with respect to my handwriting that is. If I recall correctly, this is indicative of happiness, mood, self-esteem, etc.
10. I managed to sneak up on a deer -- unintentionally. I was on a hike, crested a hill, and there he was about 60 feet away. I gasped in awe and surprise. I think it was a young buck, but he dashed off into the forest very quickly. A little later, I saw that same deer (I think) from about 100 feet away. As we stared at each other, he would take one step forward, keep a hoof raised, take another step forward. After a minute or two, he bounded off into the brush again.
11. Later that same hike, I saw a rabbit from 50-60 feet away. I don't think he ever saw me, but he was behind some brush.
12. Saw many little gray piles of pellety poo -- not sure what made these. Too compact & small to be deer.
13. I walked around going "Oh wow!" a lot. I've also been crying "awesome!" a lot as well, and really meaning it. I hardly ever use that word.
14. It's okay to be in this state of wonder!
15. Is there a military base nearby? Several times big ol' choppers have flown over.