Just the other night, on one of the rare occasions when we are interested in being around people in a bar, it surprised me how regimented outdoor adventures have become for most people.

Actually, we were meeting an old dear friend there and he's very good at playing pool and that's where he plays so that's where we were. We were enjoying listening to the stories of what people did the last time the sun was shinning.

It is a rare occurrence here in the Great Northwest and outdoor adventures here should always be accompanied by raingear. We carry shovels, machete, axe, water, food, cooking gear, futon, flashlight, compass and topomap. Most of the people who were sharing their outdoor adventures didn't seem to be seeking adventure at all, unless you include the adventures of drunks around campfires in a crowded campground. Never dull apparently and always contain some tidbit of blackmailable information useful when returning to everyday life of work and bar in the evening.

Some of these outdoor adventures they were sharing even made their respective parties famous for more than a year..Hey Joe, you remember when Mike decided that he could start the campfire with his farts? Yeah, he couldn't sit at his desk right for a week, LOL.

I was startling to realize that so many people think that is all anyone ever does. We take our 4x4 and have real outdoor adventures. We go out and find special places that few people ever go to. Yeah, there are times when it can get scary. Like the time our front brakes seized up coming down into a quarry 28 miles from the nearest hope of finding another human with transportation. My ever resourceful husband however just took the pressure off the brake fluid and we were on our way again. The only thing that was scary about it was which one of us would stay with the truck and which one would be walking out, if we took too long to get home we have family that knows where to look for us generally so it mostly becomes an issue of comfort not real danger.

Outdoor adventures are always fun, you never know what you might get to see. Most of the time we see animals, deer, elk, raccoon, beaver and of course the ever present chipmunk. We've heard mountain lion, coyote, bear, elk and lots of owls. I think that we see a lot of animals because they get so crowded surrounded by the ever growing cities. Our outdoor adventures are always learning experiences. We see new views and learn more of our surrounding terrain, we find new fishing holes, listen to the sounds of the forest and learn about the ways that birds and trees communicate. There is so much beauty and harmony that having real outdoor adventures becomes an ever present backdrop when we return to our more and more peaceful daily lives. How can you not know that there is love in creation when you spend time with it and it brings peace to the heart.

That's the real adventure, taking the time to get the ahh haa in your heart.