Encroachment

Today's adventure took place: Newlin Grist Mill

Nothing better than a mid-week trek to the trails.......

Last week, we all loaded up and headed over to a small local preserve, Newlin Grist Mill, for a few hours of quiet trail exploration. It is a place that my wife really enjoyed going to visit as a little girl, and we had been there a few years back for an impromptu birthday party.

Life never seems to live up to our memories. I was honestly disappointed at a couple of turns.

There is a pay-to-fish area - great for the kids, and, with no site fees, a great way to make money. I get that. However, the creek that runs through the property is posted OFF LIMITS - No Trespassing. The gentle creek is one of the real attractions there, and for it to be off limits was disappointing. No dipping of toes, checking for crayfish, nothing. Of course, the fisherman in me was dying to get a crack at the trout I could see from the bank! My suggestion would be to offer an annual catch-and-release, fly fishing permit for anyone wishing to fish the creek. It would bring in extra revenue (I would pay for one), and allow them to take down some of those ugly signs.

The most disturbing facet of the trip was the proximity of the McMansions. I was honestly mortified at the sight of the old cabin replica flanked by a McMansion not 75 yards behind it. The iron fence, the fake-wood deck, the radios blaring...argh! I go out into the woods to get away from all of that, the constant encroachment all around, and yet here it was, smack in my face.

We saw a doe up on a hill, spooked a rabbit in the brush, saw tadpoles and came across a frog. We had a nice walk. But the proximity of the (overbuilt) new development and the No Trespass signs all took something away from the whole experience for me. The trail itself was well maintained, but bland and directionless. It was an aimless wander and not one that I anticipate repeating.

Old books or nothing

Today's adventure took place: The Library and Bookstore.

As a group of nerds, library book sales are a family fieldtrip any time we hear of one. As an information junkie, I love reference books, my wife loves Stephen King books, and the kids are active readers as well, so a good time was had by all.

I did find a couple of books on fishing and the outdoors, and while they weren't new, they have so far proven to be very useful. One is a book on fly fishing with some good information about tackle, fly types, dressings and tactics, but not quite as comprehensive as I might like (again, I am an information Junkie - more on this in a future post). Another was a Bass hunters handbook, which I bought mainly to compare the tactics of today with the tactics from back in the day. The third is a look into the mind of the fisherman from an analyst's point of view. While technical at times, it is a good read.

The last book, and the treasure of the bunch (although the fly fishing book is a close second), is the everything outdoors book published by Outdoor Life sometime in the 60's. It is truly everything outdoors, from handling and cleaning of guns, to field dressing game (with pictures...eww), to tips for fishing, hiking, backpacking and camping. The section on camping is one of my favorites, as it has everything from building a fire and recipes, to tents and RV's. It is quite the retrospective, and fun to read about what was, at the time, state of the art. It is fun to see the old contraptions (for lack of a better term) that were designed for the nuclear familylifestyle that have since gone away. It makes me look at the different MP3 player accessories and specialty cooking gear of today and wonder how fondly we will look back at that stuff in 40 years......

The next day, we went to the big box bookstore to get a gift card for a birthday, and I had my own to use up, so again, family roadtrip. I was amazed at: 1) How difficult it was to find books on the outdoors. They were buried in an odd corner with sports books, heavily dominated by baseball and auto racing/collecting; 2) How few good outdoor guides there were - in both quantity and number of titles; 3) That most were geared toward the most extreme side of things or were Army field guides to survival, plants, etc.

There were more books on iPhones - quantity and number of titles - than on fishing, camping or hiking - maybe even combined. People have been living with, on and enjoying nature for hundreds of years, but there is more information available about cellphones than backpacks. Where is the accumulated knowledge? Boy Scouts? Or are the people out there keeping it to themselves? This is what I want to do with this blog - find the information on how to successfully get out and enjoy nature activities, and then share it so that the next person who wants to get out and try something new has a place to find everything they need to get out there.

Just leave the cellphone at home.

Back to Basics

Somewhere along the line in the not-to-distant past, I re-discovered (or in some cases, discovered), a love for all things outdoors.

I always loved to fish as a kid, but lost my way when I got cool........

I love the smell of autumn leaves and a drive down a country or mountain road, but lost my way when I had to clean up all those leaves........

I used to walk or ride my bike everywhere, but I lost my way when my "bike" had a motor on it.......

I used to think camping was a hotel/motel without free HBO or a microwave......

I never learned how to fly fish.......

The past few months, I have stepped back and put more time and effort into being outdoors, and more importantly, sharing that time with my family. My son has been my fishing buddy for a couple of years now, and now we are adding more and more outdoor activities to the list. The purpose of this blog is to both recount my adventures outdoors and to be a resource for others that are looking to get more outdoors. Fishing, Hiking, Camping and whatever else cross our paths (pun intended) will be covered in hopes of creating a repository of memories, inspiration, and knowledge for those who follow our path.

Please, only leave behind your comments, and your footprints.