SomedayAdventure
Adventurist
To be a part of a community was never something I was raised to do. To be part of something other than your immediate family was nothing I ever longed for. The world was, and is, full of strange people who, by the very nature of humanity, have little interest further than their own person reach. It was not a bleak view but a realistic one that knew, as a family that stayed in one town for an average of four years before moving on, the only people we needed to focus on were our nuclear family. In a way, I grew up with esoteric understanding of the world around me.
For the most part, I appreciate my upbringing. If nothing else, I know I possess an iron resolve when it comes to my core values. Decision making for me is far less difficult than it would have been otherwise as I know exactly who I must consider when doing so. But it did leave me longing. Longing for an element we did not spend much time on as we were a home of two full time working parents who only had holidays off. Nature. Rarely, and memorably, my brother an I would be taken into some unknown place to explore but our primary exposure was on Christmas breaks and the like while driving to and from Oklahoma from Washington to visit our grandparents.
An article I wrote with an anectdote about my father and growing up (plus my love of Stihl)
http://www.somedayilllearn.com/stihl-a-good-community/
After having my three sons, even right after my first, I knew I wanted them to see places. To meet different types of people. To diversify their minds to the American culture which seems to have been monochromatically reduced to what television has exposed us to. I wanted them to be able to see all sides of a situation or issue and know how to come to the best possible decision for them...because that's what mattered to me. Their success.
We started traveling when Chelsea and I were dating. Things quickly evolved (as you can see/read in my build thread and blog post etc) and we found ourselves branching out to the Overland Expo and asserting to ourselves that we we're in fact on the right path. (http://americanadventurist.com/forum/threads/overland-expo-from-an-outside-perspective.2816/).
This year, after meeting some of the fine American Adventurist, as well as other nature and travel lovers at the OE, Chelsea and I decided to branch out and try a event. And so, the American Adventurist SoCal Mountain Rendezvous was set upon our calendar.
We arrived the night before and slept in the truck on the side of the road, even after I drove some two or three miles on various forest roads. To be honest, I was just afraid of bears. Chelsea did not sleep well and was a bit peeved with me. At least I was able to find the gate as it was listed on the site. We came black to the gate around 1100 am and saw a lone vehicle waiting in the dirt lot across the street. I pulled in and was immediately greeted. I asked if he was waiting for the rendezvous and he said yes. I parked in the shade and he exited his truck. I soon found myself in conversation with someone I had never met as he gave me his take on the impending rush that was sure to come.
Eventually, someone took the initiative to open the gate themselves at about 1210. I had been so immersed in conversation I had forgot to even check the time. We followed in and stayed in a small line of vehicles at check in.
Once we handed over the required paperwork...we were in. The only rules I could keep in mind with all my excitement were "No fires" and "don't hit any saplings".
...and we moved in to find our campsite.
TBC
