“Back country camping?” It had been a decade since I camped last, and I recalled it being a jam packed, smokey, noisy family campground. I had only been camping in the “real woods” once, and that was literally decades ago - four of them. And now, Wendy, who is a self-proclaimed Queen-of-the-wilderness, introduced a weekend in the interior of Algonquin Park as one of our - Canadian Destinations. Admittedly, I pretended that I didn’t hear her the first time she suggested it. I almost cowered as I envisioned myself being dirty, tired, wet and cold as I tried to start a fire without the aid of a nearby store (where I could run out and pick up a fire-starting log or a gallon of gasoline). My kids will testify that sometimes even that didn’t …show more content…
I remember “life jackets” being all cumbersome, ugly, and smelling like old sailors. This new PFD was nothing like that. I barely knew it was on, it had pockets for everything, and you could see me in the water from a mile away - if we tipped - not that we were going to. The ice out date was less than a week past. We navigated Canoe Lake and enjoyed a number of unique landmarks along the way such as a miniature lighthouse and a totem pole. We even found a cool bridge Wendy just had to stop and do some yoga on. I didn’t get that but it made for some cool shots! Sitting there in the canoe I mused - this amazing area was a common destination and source of inspiration to Tom Thompson, an influential Canadian artist of the early 20th century. He directly influenced a group of Canadian painters that would come to be known as the Group of Seven, and although he died before they formally formed, he is sometimes incorrectly credited as being a member of the group itself. Thomson first visited Algonquin Park in May 1912 and returned for many years because the park was a major source
Chris McCandless, all throughout his Alaskan adventure, showed the transcendental quality of striving to live closer to nature. One great
Have you ever looked off a gigantic cliff? Now imagine traveling 30 miles per hour on a bike with curvy roads with enormous cliffs on your side with no rails. This is exactly what I did with my family when we went to Colorado. From the hotel we drove to a bike tour place to take us to the summit of Pikes Peak. After we arrived at the building we saw pictures of how massive the cliffs were, but what terrified me was the fact they had no side rails. This observation was thrilling as well as terrifying. It was an odd mix of emotions, but I loved the adrenaline rush it gave me. My dad whispered to me, “ This will be absolutely horrifying”.
Going threw the thick creek gave an adventurous and intense feeling that I could never forget. In the creek you get the feeling that someone is watching or the feeling that you are lost in the middle of the woods, this was the reason we explored. Getting lost in the woods was something that actually made the day more exciting
I woke up in the middle of the night with my head throbbing in a place I did not know how I got here then I remembered the last thing I did remember is a bear right next to my and then sirens wailing and people saying
I felt a chill go through my body as I sat on the edge of the wagon. Nights were always chilly out here, and we didn’t have as many blankets as we did when we started the journey on the Oregon Trail. My smaller brother had thrown one of them in our fire in a fit of rage, and several others had gotten dragged off by a coyote in the middle of the night. That was fine with me. We needed all the space we could get in our cramped wagon. Fitting six people and their possessions on a wagon made for four was no easy task, and it resulted in an uncomfortable lack of privacy. Still, an extra blanket right now would have been nice. The wagon rumbled along steadily. There was an occasional jaunty bump, but the wagon kept going. The constancy was comforting in a way. The continuous grumble of the wagon helped me forget all that I had lost on the Oregon Trail.
Over the summer, I went to Brush Creek Ranch in Wyoming. It was a school trip that was paid for by Big Shoulders, in which basically five students from a few Catholic Schools in Chicago, got the chance to go to a ranch in Wyoming for five days. It was an educational trip, though we didn't really do anything too educational, and it was just us, without out parents. The goal of the trip was to go somewhere new and to learn to be on our own, all the while we had great experiences in which we also learned something.
I was so tired of her pushing me out, being upset with me for no reason, and we still had four days left. She had been treating me like this for a year, but Roadtrip was supposed to be my escape. Roadtrip was supposed to be fun, and it had been so far, but it was marred by loneliness and sadness.
My favorite smell, probably his, hers, and theirs too, is the smell of freshly cut grass. It’s a little bit sad, actually, that I like the smell of dead organisms, murdered by the hired mower or my grandfather or the obnoxious neighbors who play their drums loudly every Friday. The smell of freshly cut grass brings me back to the time before my parents split up, nearly eight years ago. I feel like I’ve time-traveled to the years of 2009 and 2010. Those were good years. My family of five, myself included, would go on road trips reaching as far as the border of Kansas to the coniferous trees of the Rocky Mountains. There’s a particular memory that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget. Imagine being four years old and sitting in a Honda
I felt so embarrassed I could’ve died. I was called out by my eighth grade Earth Science teacher during the middle of class. I didn’t even know the answer. Mr. Stevens had done this on purpose. My face turned as red as a tomato and my eyes watered for what seemed like forever after receiving unwanted attention. I absolutely detested it. Things like this happened all the time starting in when I was about fourteen years old. I couldn’t tell you why. When I started my last year of middle school it became natural to me. I became the human embodiment of Anxiety.
When I woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning to go hike up a mountain, I did not expect to have an exceptional day with my cousin Kelsey. We were about to trek up Mount Chiquita in Rocky Mountain National Park. What made this hike unforgettable was the morning before the hike, the hike itself, and the great time we had afterward.
Going to Yellowstone park for the first time was very exciting and scary. First, my dad bought the tickets for my family. Then he drove us to the park.My dad drove the car for maybe 1 hour. Suddenly ,I saw many people stopped and looking along the road. I wondered why many people stood here. "What happened?" I asked my mom. I use the telescope to see what happened. And I saw something, something very huge, it was a bear! A grizzly bear! "Wow!"I gasped and get out of the car and takes a lot of Photos to thes big brown bear. Then I was saw something unusual, a guy was trying to get Closed to the grizzly bear! Someone shouted, "That guy is crazy!" Then I looking for that guy,now he and brown bear was only a few feet apart! Then the Bear stand
I am in complete isolation hearing only the sound of my breathing and insects in the brush surrounding me. Suddenly, I hear footsteps approaching from behind. A second later, the top boy on the cross country team runs past me verifying my fear of being the slowest runner. While every practice the high school girls run in a pack, this would remain a dream to me. Humiliated and disheartened, my summer was spent in a solitary trudge.
There are many things in everyday life that can be taken for granted. As a young teen just barely over the age of 13 I had yet to gain an understanding of the hard work that life is, and what it really takes to survive in this world. It wasn’t until I took a three week long Outward Bound wilderness survival course when I gained essential life skills that would help me through the challenges that life would place in front of me. This trip played a significant role during my upbringing by teaching me to take responsibility for failure, getting out of my comfort zone by working with new people on common goals, and helped me gain a deeper appreciation for my hardworking folks.
"Hey, be careful and don't do anything stupid," my dad said to me right before I hopped into Chase Miller's dark blue Chevy S-10 with a camper shell on the back. I looked at Chase and Tyler Becker and said, "Let's go camping." As Chase pushed down the gas pedal, a big cloud of black smoke shot out of the back of the truck and the smell of burning motor oil filled the cab.
Camping near Lake Michigan is a wonderful experience. The lake has sparkling blue water and gorgeous sandy beaches. Every summer I go camping with my family. The campground is right on Lake Michigan. There are bikes, kayaks, volleyball nets, and huge fire pits.