Graceful Parenting in Austin

This plan wouldn’t have been possible before cell phones. But now that we can reach each other any where, any time (well, except for our cabin and in the mountains and in-between towns), we can come up with some elaborate plans, some more well thought out than others…

There were two things we wanted to do - one was grocery shopping so we could cook some meals in our cabin, another was to hike a path from the mountains into Boulder. Our cabin was along this path, about two miles from Boulder.

Our first idea was to hike to Boulder and then grocery shop, but this idea didn’t last long because of the return trip with the baby the groceries. But, what if Blue Eyes drove to town with Baby Girl to do the shopping while Noel, Charles and I hiked into town. Blue Eyes didn’t know where he would shop and we didn’t know where the trail hit town, but we had our cell phones so we would call and hook up.

Blue Eyes and Baby Girl had left in the car already. It took the kids and I a while to get out of the cabin. We combined our things into one bag, forgot then remembered a few things, then had to go back into the cabin for the third time before finally heading out. The we thought we knew where the trail head was off the main road, but we didn’t, so we had to head back to the camp site and ask, then head out one more time. It felt like it took an hour just to get started.

Then, I had a few thoughts.

1. I didn’t really know how long it took to walk two miles. If I had to guess, I would say an hour, but it isn’t like I go on hikes and time them al the time, so who knew really, maybe it would take two. And the part of the trail we could see wasn’t shaded, it was in the direct sun and it was hot, we didn’t bring any water and my cell phone wouldn’t work until we got into town.

2. We should go back to the camp site and get water first. But, then we would end up part way along the trail when Blue Eyes would finish grocery shopping and he would have to wait for an hour (or two) hanging out in town with the milk getting warm in the car.

3. We shouldn’t go. We could end up somewhere we aren’t familiar with, in the heat of the sun, without water or cell phone reception or a first aid kit or overnight supplies.

4. I read Into the Wild (there was a movie version recently) where a guy would just get in a canoe in some river without any idea where he was going or what he would eat or if there was a waterfall around the next bend and if he can do that, why can’t we go on a 2 mile hike?

5. The guy in Into the Wild died.

6. I imagined the headline “Adult and two kids die on two mile hike on paved trail in good weather” and it made me laugh. True disaster was pretty unlikely. It was more likely that we would get a little thirsty.

So, I decide that we would go for it. It was beautiful. I suppose it was the same mountains, trees and creek from the camp grounds, but bigger, in more colors and more dramatic shapes. The kids were amazed. I loved being around the kids to feel their amazement, to remind me to stop worrying about the water and be here, being amazed.

We made it into town (in about an hour) and at the first intersection there was a car wash with a vending machine selling cold bottled water. At least I remembered to bring a little cash. Blue Eyes picked us up and we went back to the cabin and cooked steak on the grill for dinner.

It felt a little strange, that walking into town was THAT much of an adventure. It reminded me of a post a while back about eating real food from an (almost) direct source and how strange that seems. I can fly on planes and rent cars to end up in a cabin 1,000 miles from home, but a two mile hike using my own legs seems odd. I’m pretty sure that if a huge disaster comes and we have to live off the power grid for a long time, I would fall apart and my elderly relatives in Portugal who still live off the land will be just fine.

Well, that is the last of my Colorado posts because I’m finishing up back in Austin, Texas. It was a great trip. And it is good to be home.