One of my few accomplishments during the quarantining last year (besides an epic four part poem about dust, and five poems about national park grief) involved creating a Halloween costume, buying all the parts, fitting it into a perfect storage container, and even labelling it. Then I put it in my closet, the quarantine never … Continue reading Perfection’s Rough Draft
Yosemite
Five Stages of National Park Grief
Hello, Campfire Talesmen and Taleswomen! Our last shared post completed a series of five poems depicting the five stages of grief, as represented by National Parks awaiting our return. Yes, they rhyme. Denial = Crater Lake Anger = Lassen Volcanic Bargaining = Joshua Tree Depression = Death Valley Acceptance = Yosemite The final post, Yosemite, … Continue reading Five Stages of National Park Grief
Yosemite Waits for You
Thank you for visiting your national park, Particularly in times when things look stark. Fires, pandemics, presidents, droughts; all will fade. Do you know what won't? The memories we've made. Imagine a campfire. Picture yourself there. Feel the heat. Smell the smoke. Watch the embers flare. Let go of thoughts that detain you. Consume grief. … Continue reading Yosemite Waits for You
Camping R.S.V.P. (Really Scared, Visiting Promptly)
A quick note: Thank you for the camping invite. I can't come. Wish I could. (Although, I still might.) I'm not only scared of the COVID bathrooms, Here's my list: Lyme Disease, poisonous mushrooms, Drowning, getting lost, falling over a cliff Or in a campfire while breathing a whiff. Also, bears. Snakes. Bigfoot. Hillbillies. Skunk … Continue reading Camping R.S.V.P. (Really Scared, Visiting Promptly)
Up High & Down Low
What Are The Woods For?
Rest. Get it? "For rest." For rest, for rest, forest. (groans) Aww, man! Tough crowd. Other great tree posts: Tree Dreaming The Fall of the Pioneer Cabin Tree Wednesday Words on the Wild: Trees
Sanity & Thankfulness
Our ability to travel is a privilege. But it is also a choice. Money is time. Where do we spend our time? Wilderness is not my leisure or my recreation. It is my sanity. ~ Terry Tempest Williams, The Hour of Land Here is the beginning of my day. I try to spend a minute … Continue reading Sanity & Thankfulness
Wednesday Words on the Wild: The Woods
Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. ~ John Muir
Lamps: Not For Sale
If Campfire Tales one day manages to put up a "Store" Tab (it doesn't have one right now, so don't bother looking for it), I'm pretty sure these would be for sale: As I admired these lamps inside the bar at the Ahwahnee Hotel <ahem> The Majestic Yosemite Hotel, my friend casually asked, "Are those … Continue reading Lamps: Not For Sale
Obey Ferris
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. ~ Ferris Bueller; from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, screenplay by John Hughes Do what, Ferris? Stop. Look around. Okay, will do! (Or, as my co-workers say ad nauseum, "Copy that," which I guess is preferable to … Continue reading Obey Ferris
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