I drove 25 minutes in the rain tonight to get to Bloomer Park. I’ve wanted to take Pippa for quite some time because I’ve heard there’s a large network of mountain bike trails. I don’t know what inspired me to go tonight, especially in the rain, but we did.
When we were living temporarily up in Harbor Springs before moving to Troy I used to take Pippa walking through the woods almost every night.
She loves it. Here she is tonight at the beginning of our walk:
I jumped in the woods at the first site of a trail to find a network of haphazard offshoots, most of which were unmarked. I generally let Pippa lead the way, not really thinking about where we were going.
I’m comfortable in the woods, perhaps most comfortable. I grew up spending a lot of time in them… hunting, playing, exploring, running, relaxing, thinking.
I don’t really think about getting lost, but that’s what we did tonight. I know exactly when it happened. We made our way down a basin. That’s when, in hindsight, any sounds of people in the park faded away and we were truly alone.
Pippa darted on and off the trails, choosing different routes, flushing out dear, chasing squirrels, and getting muddy.
When I realized we were lost I didn’t feel panicked. I was happy. For a solid 45 minutes we didn’t see or hear anyone. It was refreshing. I realized then how much I miss being in the woods.
It’s hard to replicate that feeling. I try with meditation, but I’m notoriously bad at sticking to a routine. Even still, I don’t think it could make me happy like being in the woods makes me happy. And it’s not that my day-to-day life doesn’t make me happy. Kaitlin, our kids, even my work all make me happy. Perhaps that’s the wrong word… The woods feel nurturing.
I need to find more time to be there.
Somehow we found our way back to that basin’s edge, climbed up and out, and soon were at the park’s edge once more. I was more disappointed than relieved.
Did I mention she got muddy? Oh, and she also got groomed earlier today.
Oops!