When I was growing up, one of my family’s favorite activities was a visit to the mountains to escape the heat of Tucson, Arizona. We packed a picnic lunch, and if we ended up near a creek or any other body of water, we swam. The following poem from How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver describes a typical day in the mountains with the Johnson family.
Highland Adventure
Mother packs sandwiches, chips, fruit, pop,
loads everything into the trunk of our Mercedes Benz.
Dad turns off the air conditioner.
We open the windows, breathe the fresh mountain air.
We picnic near a creek.
My younger brother, father, and I dabble in the water.
When it’s too deep, I’m afraid.
Dad holds me, tells me to kick.
Later, we pile into the car, tired but happy.
My brother and I are asleep before we reach home.
When you were growing up, did your family go up in the mountains? Did you ever hike, fish, or ski? Tell me about it by leaving a comment below or e-mailing me.
Here’s a song about enjoying a sunny day in the mountains or anywhere else. It was made popular in the 70’s by John Denver who spent much of his life in Aspen, Colorado, a mountain town. The link to a recording of me singing this song will be available for at least a few days.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15213189/sunshine%20on%20my%20shoulders.mp3
Abbie Johnson Taylor, Author of We Shall Overcome
and
How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver
http://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com
From Deon Lyons
ReplyDeleteNice poem.
As a youngster, I enjoyed many autumns when your family would pack into the chevy station wagon and head up into the White mountains, in the bordering state of New Hampshire. There wasmuch fun dancing about the large rocks in the river beds, walking through mountain trails, and feeding the bears at Clark's Trading Post. We would travel down through the Kangamangus Highway, get to see The Old Man In The Mountain, and finally get to go to Fryeburg Fair in the afternoon.
I mave many wonderful memories of these family mountain trips, and also some from when I was a young adult when my wife, son and I would ride up through the same highways. We also would take a trip to the top of mount Washington every so often too. We all enjoyed that trip up the face of the mountain, everyone except my mom, She would duck her head under the dash and scream out loud. She hated the trip up the mountain, for some of the road had no guard rails, and you could look down over the edge of the road at a couple hundred food drop off straight down. Come to thing of it, it was pretty scary. Smile.
Thanks for a great post.
Deon
Hi Deon, thanks for sharing your memories. It sounds like you had some wonderful times in those mountains. I can understand why your mother was afraid on that road. Even with my limited vision, I would probably have been scared, too. I'm glad your her worst fears weren't realized.
ReplyDeleteMy family never visited the mountains but a friend's dad took us to the top of one. One of the supervisors at Jericho Hill School also took us up to the top of Seymour Mountain. I was thrilled to be standing on a real mountain and being able to see for miles and miles, though my vision wasn't that good. I visited Sulphur Mountain in Banf National Park as an adult and felt like it was a world unto itself. The big horn sheep, the little squirrels, the smell of the pines: they all added to the specialness of the mountain top. If I get the chance, I'll visit there again and hope I can get the same sublime feeling I did in 1986.
ReplyDeleteFrom Abbie Taylor:
ReplyDeleteHi Bruce, it must have been fascinating being on top of that mountain. With my limited vision, I was able to enjoy some spectacular views in the mountains of Arizona and Wyoming. In the mountains west of Sheridan, there's a place called Sand Point that offers a pretty good view of the valley below. We often stopped to watch hang gliders take off from there. I often thought it might be fun to hang glide, but with my luck, I would probably crash into a tree. Smile.