gettingoutdoors:

Take Me to Your River

The river is more than a weekend retreat for us. It runs through our veins. It’s a way of life, our livelihood. For me it also symbolizes change–almost 15 years ago leaving the city life and venturing to the unknown. It doesn’t always give freely with conditions that can change in the blink of an eye, making it difficult for the average bear. I am forever grateful for our Papa Bear who is way beyond the average. I’ve watched our children grow from “fishing” with us in front packs to mending their lines better than many adults. 

As we continued on our Colorado journey, I was feeling the frustration of being sick and not running. (Probably the most I have not run in years. The upside was fresh legs for the couple of runs I finally felt like doing! And I found my one pair of shorts lost earlier in the trip. Winning!) I also had not had a lot of fishy time to myself. As our kids are still kids, fishing usually includes a lot of splashing and skipping rocks with obviously fewer fish. Sometimes not any fish, if you are not quick enough to get a line in before the chaos. 

We haven’t really pushed our kids to fish. We want the desire to come naturally from within. One night I was going to sneak off to grab some much needed solo river time. Shortly into my hike, I realized I had company. A certain little 9 year old decided she really wanted to fish with me. At that moment I knew that this was better than the moment of solitude I was seeking. I wouldn’t give anything for our night on the river. 

We wrapped up our time in Colorado with the epic stonefly hatch on the Conejos living for a moment in a tiny cabin in the middle of the fish camp full of people that plan for this hatch every year. We didn’t realize until we got there that it was happening. We couldn’t have timed it more perfectly and will be back next year–probably with many of the same people. What a special community where our kids made quick friends and rode their bikes freely through the camp. 

Of course we managed to squeeze in some stellar disc golf in Beaver Creek. It was way beyond amazing. I absolutely love my group of humans and savor these adventures we have together. Each year we have a theme song. This year was Leon Bridges’ “River”. 

So, forever and always, Take Me to Your River. 

BLACK AND WHITE GALLERY

In the process of organizing some files, I ran across these. Jamie was playing around with a new lens he had gotten for his camera right before Thomas was born. Thought I would post them on the blog.