What's the hype about?

So, I found out a little about what the "hype" is all about this weekend. I went camping. This was the first time I'd been camping since I was about 22 years old. That was a LONG time ago.

I went to visit a friend, Dwayne, who is the camp host for Trout Lake Creek Campgrounds. The grounds were lovely, and the people were friendly.

Friday night was fun just hanging out with Dwayne, and the recent friends he'd made at the site. Good friend, Dave. A guy we both found that we could seriously "hang" with. He was extremely smart - seemed to know everything about everything. Our company for the evening included Dave's wife and kids (teens or older). Good friend Dave had tons of stories, most of which were extremely exciting or funny...or both. Dwayne has some great stories himself. He's a bit on the wild side, so exciting would be one way to put it. But, he's extremely funny to me, as well, so you can imagine the entertainment I had for the evening.

Saturday, after breakfast, we headed up to Sleeping Beauty for a hike. Dwayne had warned me that it was going to be hard, but that I could do it. I was so very nervous, as I haven't hiked much in my life. When we were nearing it, and he pointed it out, I about had a heart attack. It was SO HIGH. To make a long and grueling story short, I made it almost to the top. There were some large rocks at the very top that there was no way I was climbing. It was bad enough that I had a panic attack when I finally reached the end of the actual trail - very near the tip top. I started in on the rocks so I could say I did it, but, my fear of heights got the best of me. I simply couldn't do it. More panic, and then tears. Dwayne was nice about it, and didn't tease me too much. But, instead headed to the tip top to carve his "signature" once again. This was his sixth trip up there. I sat down where I'd been and relaxed. I was able to enjoy the view at this point (as best I could with the whole fear thing). Eventually, the panic subsided and I enjoyed the true beauty. When I stood up, I could see all four mountains surrounding us - Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams. Just as I was finally relaxing, Dwayne bound toward the edge of this mountain (over 4,000 ft. elevation, by the way) with uber-speed and freaked me out. Several times. He literally climbed down on the rocks on the sides of this humongous mountain. He had informed me over and over, all weekend, how he was a ninja. I'd swear I believe him, too. At any rate, I was definitely proud of myself for the accomplishment of climbing that sucker.

Saturday night, after dark, we headed up to Flattop Sno*Park to watch a meteor shower with Good friend Dave and his family. It was a great time of laughter, learning, and watching a slow-to-go show of shooting stars. (Note to self: Star gazing in a huge lot at 2600 ft. with wide open sky and funny people is a great experience.)

Sunday morning, sitting around the campfire, I did some reflecting of the past two days, and wrote down my memories. I had so many, in such a short time. Memories I'll hopefully never forget. Funny stories, and hilarious side comments about those very stories. Interesting music that opened my mind and allowed me to see a culture I'm unfamiliar with. Things I enjoy about Dwayne, his stories and his company (even though he's a tad bit crazy - but adventurous and fun, no doubt). It was definitely an adventure for me. A whole different life than I'm used to. It was awesome to get away....from the phone, the computer, the television, etc., and live the life of campers who figure out how to survive, and then some, with no electricity.

In the afternoon, we headed up to Langfield Falls for a very easy hike - I wouldn't even call it a hike, to be honest. The falls were beautiful, though. Mother Nature is a true wonder. There was a crazy guy jumping in and out of the falls. The reason he was crazy is because it was FREEZING water, and not that warm outside either. After that we went for a long drive, which included heading to the top of Flattop Mountain...another memory I'll never forget. Scared the beegeezes out of me!

All-in-all, another great weekend.