Traveling off the map...

"Never go on trips with anyone you do not love."
-Ernest Hemingway

We're prone to flights of fancy, her and I. On the occasion we find ourselves unoccupied, we explore the roads we've never taken and walk the paths that look most neglected. We take pleasure in the day trips others would find mundane or unusual or downright strange. Our last day trip led us to spend a good portion of the day in a colonial cemetery and other trips have found us in the middle of a forest high atop an abandoned fire-tower or sitting on a frozen beach in winter staring out to the icy sea...

Today we discovered a place far off the beaten path to explore and enjoy. The sun was warm, humidity was low, and we felt adventurous. We hiked, rested our feet beneath giant sequoia trees, spent time attempting to catch butterflies on the palms of our hands and tried our best to communicate with an enormous crow who perched beside us (to no avail...).

We take our time appreciating places like this because they're often forgotten to people living in big cities, like us. It's something that's so enjoyable but in today's world of commerce and business and alarm clocks, many people don't take this kind of day-trip anymore. The forests are such a fascinating place full of strangeness and beauty... these little things go unnoticed far too often.

...But we pay a visit. If you listen hard enough, nature will communicate with you. Not in some hippie kind of way, but ACTUALLY communicate with you. And if you give it the respect it deserves, it will welcome you with open arms and share its secrets with you. Maybe this is just a story about how we like to hike and travel and enjoy the outdoors, but it's absolutely true. With things being the way they are in today's world, it means a lot to be fortunate enough to spend some time amongst the forgotten paths and beneath the quiet and peaceful branches of an old tree that's seen more sunrises and sunsets than we ever will.

After all, there are more things in heaven and earth...