I go RV camping at least once a month. Some months, I get lucky and go two or three times. It is something I yearn for. Even thinking about an upcoming trip with my camper gives me that physical feeling I used to get when I quit smoking and craved a cigarette. It drives me to my computer, where I spend hours reading about other people’s camping experiences and researching places to go next.
One thing you can count on: I will always try to choose a place that has hiking trails. To me, camping is really about hiking. I love the smells of the woods, the beautiful vistas and overlooks, the plants growing along the trail, and the different living creatures I encounter. It nourishes my soul in ways I just can’t get from city life.
Based on observations during the 293 camping trips I have taken since getting my first RV, I am not the usual RV enthusiast. You won’t find me sitting in a chair in front of my camper watching people coming and going. I never bother with a campfire of my own, although I will join others at theirs. Most of the time, I am not anywhere near my camper. I am on the trails.
Some of you might think I can’t spend that much time hiking. You are partially right. Over time, my interest in hiking has evolved into a very different adventure. Now, I am so focused on exploring the life around me that I am not always in motion. I carry two tools that assist me in these efforts. Each of them slows me down in slightly different ways.
The first is my camera. I have a passion for finding and photographing living things. They can be plants, birds, reptiles, or insects. It really doesn’t matter anymore. I am simply enamored with all the living things in nature. I have a stirring desire to become a skilled nature photographer. That takes a lot of practice, so I take hundreds of photos on every one of my hikes. Most people don’t like hiking with me for that reason. I stop about every ten steps to investigate something that catches my eye. It can take me as much as two hours to hike one mile.
My second piece of hiking equipment is one of those goofy twisting stools you may have seen on Facebook. My wife got me one as a gag gift. I carry it in a knapsack when I am hiking. I like to take it out, set it up, and sit for an hour or so along the trail just to see what might be traveling my way. Sometimes, all I get for my efforts is a nice quiet place to meditate. Other times, the woods around me come to life with incredible excitement, as if all God’s creatures have forgotten that I was passing through their territory. They seem to linger, poised and ready for me to capture them at their best. On those occasions, I become lost in my own little time zone.
It really doesn’t matter how long a hike takes me. I am never in a hurry anymore. That is just one of the blessings that come with retirement. Maybe someday, we will meet along a trail and have a sit together enjoying nature’s bounty.
You can connect with Jim Baker on his Facebook page here, or enjoy his regular photo postings here
