Waterfall Wonderlust

Child of Water and I have accepted the Friends of the Columbia Gorge's 2012 Hiking Challenge:  Hike to 25 waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge between March 1 and October 31, 2012.

We've hiked 3 waterfalls so far- and child of water makes each discovery so much fun, a total adventure seeing all of this through his eyes.  We went out tonight in pj's to get an ice cream cone, and ended up chasing down a waterfall.  Note to self:  Do not go anywhere without the camera!!

We are making it a habit to explore all of the "brown sign" exits on I-84, with things like campgrounds, trailheads, etc to just see what is there to find.  We found a nifty campground with river access for non-motorized boats- but didn't have a permit to get out and discover whether the waterway was calm there (not on the open Columbia) but I suspect it would be the perfect place to camp with a kayak, as many others were.

I told him this amazing place was our home now, that we can be *out there* exploring it and it's one big marvelous adventure for us, in our own back yard.  I told him the secret of the weekday today--- yes it's Friday and the campgrounds are all full up- but come Mon/Tues--- they are all ours!!!

He seems to be connecting so deeply with the landscape-  appreciating things even I wouldn't notice.  I'm mapping out the hikes, the campgrounds, the possibilities...   More and more, unscreening doesn't seem to be about what we're giving up- it's what we're doing instead now with those vast acres of time we were previously spending glued to screens.  I want his mental landscape of early childhood to be filled with wild mosses, dirt, rocks, water, the sounds and smell of wind rustling through the forest--    In a few short years- those critical patterns in his mind will be set and he'll know what he wants to do with his time, but he's young enough now I can show him what's out there--- meet him in play out there and in the literary and artistic worlds we are diving into right now.   This week he laid in his pool just lazing in the sun, floating in his tube, so relaxed, so in the moment.  I want him to have a whole summer of those vibrant childhood moments- but I feel almost like I'm recreating a relic of a bygone era--- it's the middle of summer and on many beautiful days we find ourselves alone at the park.  Where are all of the kids?  Not in school, because it's SUMMER.  They are not playing in the parks so often during normal daytime hours, when we're there.  Where have they gone?  Maybe this is more of a phenomenon out in the gorge than in the city?  I just really wonder since there are loads of kids who live out here- all around.  ?

"In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy, and privacy:  a place distant from the adult world, a separate peace."   -Richard Louv