{"id":1155,"date":"2017-08-04T21:53:02","date_gmt":"2017-08-04T21:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/?p=1155"},"modified":"2018-12-26T22:16:50","modified_gmt":"2018-12-26T22:16:50","slug":"life-is-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/life-is-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"Life is Calling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes you just have to get out into nature. It just beckons and calls. I\u2019m not sure why, but sometimes I get an irresistible urge to just get out and if I heed the calling, I always find the most interesting rewards.<\/p>\n

I found myself on a sunny hot August weekend with just such an urge. Will was going off to a seminar (that incidentally changed his life) and I was home left with the feeling that if you go (to nature) you will find what you are searching for. So what did I do, I packed up the kids and the car and off we went. I didn\u2019t have reservations, I had no idea where to go, and I knew I didn\u2019t want to be next to some yahoos who were drinking and partying all night. However, I knew I would somehow discover the right spot. What I didn\u2019t know when we started was that this weekend would be life changing for all of us.<\/p>\n

I started by traveling south, and stopped by every place I saw that I thought had water and we could possibly camp at. What was I thinking, I would find a place by a lake at 4pm on Friday of Labor Day weekend! Seriously. As I stopped at yet another county site, I consulted Google Maps and somehow was drawn to a small shore in the middle of nowhere. I didn\u2019t know if it had a campground, I didn\u2019t even know if there was a road to it, but somehow I knew that was where we were going. After a bit of research, I did discover there was a 4-wheel drive road to the place and it did have a campground. I was set.\u00a0We arrived at the campground almost an hour later and found a spot right next to the water, next to some really nice people, and no oversized trucks blaring music and drinking beer! This was unbelievable.<\/p>\n

Along with my urge to just get away, I had the urge to just \u2018let go\u2019. I thought about all the summers I had spent unattended next to a pond near our house and I wanted the kids to feel the same sense of abandon. So as Noah (in a life jacket) and Isabel (no life jacket, but with a floaty), swam to the middle of this lake, I just breathed. I thought to myself, what is the worst that could happen. They could freak out in the middle of the lake as I watched from the shore and I would have to swim out. Right? Luckily as I stood on the shore, I met another parent whose kids were out doing just the same thing and he told me the lake wasn\u2019t as deep as I thought and I gave thanks that I was able to just let go.<\/p>\n

During our weekend, Noah blew up the raft, patched it himself, and played rafting guide to the half dozen kids who wanted to go into the lake. He made sure everyone was safe and together. I watched quietly from the shore. Isabel during the weekend was just as independent and played with new friends in the water, hung in their hammock, or just walked in nature.<\/p>\n

As I sat on my lawn chair listening to the kids jeers, I felt at peace that letting go is ok. Kids know their limits. Kids are wholesome and good and want to help one another. And giving kids the time and distance to be kids and act responsibly allows you to just let go and allows them to learn.<\/p>\n

\"CA9C9D2B-7C61-4CCB-AE26-D65E727FB27B\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"4C963FCA-4A17-4352-9217-9795304B2546\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"DBAE7E05-28AC-49FC-B50D-1A2CBF37DAF6\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"778CF622-205F-47B2-A319-FB40C9AED0B7\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Aside: I met this couple at the lake who had kids about Noah and Isabel\u2019s age and they had just rented their house and were traveling. They didn\u2019t know how long and they didn\u2019t know how they were going to educate the kids. They were just going to be and allow themselves to find their way on the journey without worrying about planning. This idea set in motion our trip and our mentality that had been brewing inside for years. I believe this trip was life telling me that it\u2019s ok just to be.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes you just have to get out into nature. It just beckons and calls. I\u2019m not sure why, but sometimes I get an irresistible urge to just get out and if I heed the calling, I always find the most interesting rewards. I found myself on a sunny hot August weekend with just such an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1160,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-camping"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/FCE8C3E9-EDEA-487D-B48F-DF8EC136049C.jpeg?fit=4032%2C3024&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p527vR-iD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":757,"url":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/ascending-a-mountain\/","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":0},"title":"Ascending a Mountain","author":"Mom","date":"July 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This year has been busy for us. The kids are interested in the outdoors more than ever right now, but between our work, new business ventures, biking, running, adventuring, and school (their school is year-round), we haven't had as much time for backpacking as in years past. That doesn't mean\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backpacking"","block_context":{"text":"Backpacking","link":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/category\/backpacking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015-07-25-10.54.17.jpeg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015-07-25-10.54.17.jpeg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015-07-25-10.54.17.jpeg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35,"url":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/preschool-yurt-camping\/","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":1},"title":"Preschool Yurt Camping","author":"Mom","date":"May 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Bike\/Hike: 7 miles Chickadee Montessori is a huge part of our lives. The kids go to school 5 days a week for half days and we love the teachers and kids. One of the dads, Robert, put together a camping trip in January. We went to Fort Stevens Campground and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Car Camping"","block_context":{"text":"Car Camping","link":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/category\/car-camping\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-05-03-20.18.45.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-05-03-20.18.45.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-05-03-20.18.45.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-05-03-20.18.45.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-05-03-20.18.45.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":998,"url":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/day-7-natural-bridges-capitol-reef\/","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":2},"title":"Day 7 Natural Bridges and Capitol Reef \u2013 Driving & Flash Floods","author":"Mom","date":"August 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Hiking: 2 miles Part 5\u00a0of our 10-day trip. Check it out from the beginning or maybe from DAY 6 MESA VERDE. The monsoon type rain continued through the night and into the next morning, we all were starting to feel waterlogged. As we drove back the sun came out and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Car Camping"","block_context":{"text":"Car Camping","link":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/category\/car-camping\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Capitol Reef","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_1570.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_1570.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_1570.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_1570.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_1570.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":677,"url":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/yosemite\/","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":3},"title":"10-Days in Yosemite","author":"Mom","date":"June 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Twins Meet The Roadtrip We've not ventured more than 5 hours from Portland because Noah and Isabel were never car babies. During their first year of life, before they could talk they screamed the entire time they were in car seats. It didn't matter if it was a 10-minute\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backpacking"","block_context":{"text":"Backpacking","link":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/category\/backpacking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1050356.jpeg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1050356.jpeg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1050356.jpeg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":526,"url":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/lower-deschutes\/","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":4},"title":"8-Legged Creatures","author":"Mom","date":"May 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Even though this was an epic fail\u2026 it still goes as a backpacking first and counts toward Noah and Isabel's total miles. I started out 2014 hoping to get a lot of backpacking in. I scheduled every 3 weeks on the calendar for a trip. This was the first one.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backpacking"","block_context":{"text":"Backpacking","link":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/category\/backpacking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/LowerDeschutes13.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/LowerDeschutes13.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/LowerDeschutes13.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/LowerDeschutes13.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/LowerDeschutes13.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":392,"url":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/silver-star-mountain\/","url_meta":{"origin":1155,"position":5},"title":"Silver Star Mountain","author":"Mom","date":"July 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Round-Trip Distance:\u00a06.6 miles. This was our first mountain summit! We climbed a Mountain this weekend. The kids did great on the hike. We had a rough start on both days, but as soon as we got moving the kids were in a much better mood. It's interesting as the kids\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backpacking"","block_context":{"text":"Backpacking","link":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/category\/backpacking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-27-09.28.36.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-27-09.28.36.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-27-09.28.36.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1155"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1177,"href":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155\/revisions\/1177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richerdesign.com\/backpacking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}