Summer fades to Fall

This is my final weekend before I report back to work (next Thursday).

So what am I doing special?

Not much.

Why not?

Because I like my life. I've had a great summer vacation. I think it's been one of my best ever. Those of you who follow this blog will know that I've not done anything particularly spectacular. So what made it so good?

Because I like my life. If "Happiness is not a destination, but a way of travel," as I heard from my Grand-pa, then life should be full of happy times. My summer has been.



The summer hasn't been all golden moments, but the scene's have been more pastels than dark browns.

One of the labels on this blog is "Navigating Through Life." That's what I've been trying to learn, and what I've learned, I try to pass on. (Hence this blog.)



Summer is now fading into Fall. At first I didn't believe it. I heard it from other bloggers, mostly those who live further north. I've learned a lot this last year as I've "listened" to the voices of fellow bloggers musing on their weather, their lives, and their locations. I've come to see my own weather, life, and location differently.





The local American Elms confirm that summer is fading to fall. They are starting to lose leaves. Other trees disagree, they are putting out blossoms. (Welcome to Southern California.) The temperatures have been climbing, not falling. Late August and early September are some of our hottest times. (My son, when a student in Maine, saw his breath, at noon, in September! Shocking!)



My dog is going to miss me when I return to the work-a-day world, so I took her on a nice walk. Fullerton has horse trails and bike trails. Heidi and I took a nice walk on one. She didn't know it, but it was my going away present to her. (We took pictures!)



Before the heat came, we had a few cool days: we even had cloud cover til noonish. I took advantage of the cool to wax my two cars. I'd been putting off the task, because I remember the day when car waxes required a lot of buffing. Thanks to Turtle Wax Ice, and such products, those days are gone. (I was hoping they were, but I din't know.)

This summer I had the time and inclination to change TV carriers (now I have DVR), refinance my car to a better rate, out-fox my cats and save my sofas, book a half dozen mini-vacations for the next 12 months, fix some lawn sprinklers, and do some writing on my blog and letters to friends. (And that was just highlights from week one of my eleven week summer break.)



Nothing Earth-shattering, just organizing my life, just fulfilling one of my affirmations: My life is an enjoyable POOGI (Process Of On Going Improvement). Sustainable, enjoyable, involvement with life: That's been my summer.

Of course, in many ways, that's what I'll be doing this Fall and Winter. Another personal affirmation/choice is this: "I choose to make a positive difference wherever I go. I let it be easy." That's my intent and expectation.

That's my life. And I like it.



Last Christmas, my oldest daughter and her family were visiting from Illinois. At one meal, my youngest grand-daughter (2) looked up to her dad and joyfully shared her personal epiphany , "Daddy, I'm happy."

Me too.

Looking forward...

"The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure."

Funerals are strange. They make you think. They make you ponder, assess, and remember. But then... a few days pass, weeks pass, and eventually years pass.

One of the most difficult parts of a loss is the change of focus. Life is like driving a car. We glance in our rear-view mirrors, but we don't gaze in them, at least not while we are moving. Life moves and as drivers we are required to look forward.



Upon losing a loved one, or a job, or a home, sometimes our focus becomes the rear-view mirror of life. I've learned not to dwell there. The heart of the wise may be in the house of mourning, but the heart of the wise also recognizes that life has seasons, or times...

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace."

Times change and we learn to change with them. Last year I changed teaching assignments. I put in a transfer from a junior high to an elementary school. This self-inflicted change brought with it an unexpected period of mourning, especially as the summer was ending. I thought, I'll miss my old friends. I'll miss the students. I'll miss the events and the routines I've grown to love...

I caught myself looking too long in the rear-view mirror, so I got the keys to my new room and started building some new memories. I still have the old memories, but they are not my constant focus. Sometimes when I'm driving, I notice a really good vista, in the rear-view mirror. I'll tell my wife to check her side mirror. We ooh and ahh for a moment, then we re-focus on the road ahead.



There is a time to look back, and there is a time to look forward. The past and the future deserve some consideration, but we must not forget... the only day we have for living is today. The house of mourning helps us realize what matters the most, what present moments to savor, and what choices to make... today.



My Dad would have been 80 on August 23rd. He died in 1996 about three weeks before my first wife. I visited Patti's grave yesterday. "Born 1952 - Died 1996." We picked out the gravestone before she died. (She had cancer.) We put my name on it too. (Not an idea I recommend in retrospect.) Your name may not be on a gravestone, yet, but if you're reading this... you are... living your dash... that little line between day of birth and day of death.

So, as long as it is called today... live. the. dash. (Look forward.)

Encouraging words...

Yesterday I went to a funeral. A co-worker's wife passed away last week after a 10 year bout with cancer.

Having lost my first wife to cancer 12 years ago, I wanted to lend support, but I felt inadequate. However, I've learned not to let a sense of inadequacy stop me, so I went. An old hymn says, "We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling..."

My friend had told me six months ago that his wife's cancer had returned. We talked a bit, I gave him a hug and offered my "encouraging" words. At the reception, after the funeral, my friend informed someone that my words back then had helped him. What profundity had I shared? I had simply said, "It sucks."

Helping someone die is difficult. Watching your best friend and true love slowly evaporate sucks. It just does.

But then it ends. Death arrives and sorrow fully invades.

"Today is the worst day of my life. Don, just tell me everything's going to be okay." These were my friend's words just before the grave-side portion of the funeral as we hugged. I'm no liar... I paused... and I said in his ear, "Everything's going to be okay."

Life goes on. The worst day ends. New days come. Pain fades to ache.

Love never ends. Memories last. But eventually, everything is okay.

Those who have been bereaved unknowingly become members of what I call, "the fraternity of the broken-hearted." It's co-ed.

Encouraging words most often flow from a sense of compassion and care. Compassion is born through personal suffering.

The light of encouragement shines out not through the beautiful stained glass of our accomplishments, but the light of encouragement shines out through the cracks of our shattered humanity. A broken heart can be a good lamp.

I have believed... therefore I have spoken. God is good, but sometimes, life sucks.

The Road Less Traveled: Day 3 Salton Sea +

Since we had such fun exploring Joshua Tree by back road, we decided to finish up our short vacation with another road trip, this time visiting the Salton Sea and the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

On our way out of town, we stopped at the Oasis Date Garden for a date shake and souvenirs -- two date palm embroidered place mats.



State highway 111 runs through downtown Palm Springs and continues nearly to the Mexican border. On our first day trip to Joshua Tree, we had followed 111 to Mecca, just far enough to catch a small two lane road that cut through an area known as Box Canyon. This is the only road from Salton Sea to Interstate 10. Highway 111 cuts a north/south path from Interstate 10 to Interstate 8. (Odd numbered highways run north and south, the evens run east and west.)



Several years back my wife and I had visited the state park on the north shore of the Salton Sea. We were not overly impressed, but we were back for more. They have a small museum and displays. The rangers were nice. However, the Salton Sea stinks. In that regard it shares many of the same characteristics of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. That lake stinks too, and the resorts are nearly empty.



The heavy salt content contributes to this smell, I'm sure. Despite the smell and the heat, I had seen on the map that 111 hugs the shoreline, and I hoped for some pretty views. I was not disappointed. It was deceptively pretty. It was also nearly abandoned. The lake was empty: no ski boats, no fishing boats, no people -- just a salty haze and some sea birds.



Actually there were a lot of sea birds, pelicans mostly. They were huge. We stopped at one camping facility that was empty. We ventured to the lake's shore. I knew that the lake has occasional algae blooms that suffocate the fish. Although the shore line was ringed with dead tiny mollusks (by the truck load) there were no fresh dead fish. All the dead fish on the shore were dried up and picked clean. Lovely little arches of dried skin and bone. (I did not take a picture.)



This Monday day trip was somewhat warm, low 100s, so I left a car door open while we explored the shore. I could see the car, and no one was around. After snapping a few pictures of the birds, we moved back to the car, where I discovered my mistake: the car was full of flies.

In addition to the birds, there are flocks of flies at the Salton Sea. I now had a dozen or so who had taken up residence in my shade-providing car. Darn. We shooed several out, but they took turns hiding, and like warriors in a kung foo movie, they attacked us one at a time over the course of the next two hours. Eventually, we dispatched them out of open windows. Note to self: keep the car doors closed while exploring. (Joshua Tree had a bee problem. The Salton Sea had a fly problem. Both were easy enough to avoid.)



We followed 111 until I found country road that crossed the farm land of that area which eventually hooked up to the two lane road that leads to the Anza-Borrego State Park from the south. (The town of Westmorland was a pleasant looking town, just north of Interstate 8. Plaster City seemed to consist of a dry-wall plant in the middle of nowhere.) Somewhere in the area there was a fire, which was providing a bit of shade as we pulled into a Border Patrol check station just before the park entrance.

We were expecting park rangers, but instead we were by three young men in uniforms who rushed out of their trailer as our car approached. We asked them about the fire and they looked dumbfoundedly up at the sky. Fire?



My mistake was thinking they were aware of anything but their duty. I think I startled them with my question, because the young soldier abruptly returned to his duty... "What is your country of origin?"

I suspected that this was a Border Patrol type check point, though there were no signs, just some cones, a trailer, three soldiers, my speed-way blue Toyota Corrola sport, my wife and I, a blazing sun, and an awkward question.

"Ahhh, United States of America."




Evidently that was the right answer, and soldier Ortiz waved us through. My guess is that they only see a dozen cars a day. I understand that soldiering can be dangerous, but I'm hoping that these young men could see quite easily that I was not smuggling any illegal aliens. (I knew just enough to shut up and keep moving. The soldiers had rushed out of their trailer like they were ready for battle. The only thing missing was drawn guns.)

We drove slowly north through the park. We were surprised that it looked a lot like Joshua Tree, minus the Joshua trees. We saw similar plants, though the Ocotillos had tiny green leaves which indicated that they had gotten some rain recently.

The road climbed to about 4,000 feet through nearly uninhabited, barren terrain. Amazingly, there were some settlements scattered along the two lane blacktop road. Who would live here and why? It baffled me. (And why would anyone come out here to camp? Quality alone time?)

Eventually, we drove east out of the mountains on Highway 78 and caught Highway 86 which runs along the opposite side of the Salton Sea from our morning drive. We rejoined the road-more-travelled back (Interstate 10)into Indio where we unloaded ourselves back at our base "camp."



All-in-all it was a fun day. I drove on roads I'd never traveled, saw sights I'd never seen, and smelled smells I hope to avoid in the future. (I have mental pictures to go with places on a map, and I have a new hankering to visit more of the California state parks.)

Just a note: A prettier drive in this area, is the Pines to Palms loop from Palm Springs to Idylwild (Highway 74 to 243 to 10 to 111.) I've done that scenic drive before, and I'll do it again, another time.



The road less traveled also gave me an appreciation for my own back yard.

Enjoy the pictures!

The Road Less Traveled... Joshua Tree - Day 2

Day Two: On the second day of our vacation, we visited the western end of Joshua Tree National Park. The western end of Joshua Tree is more widely visited. It has more campsites, more varied terrain, and it is cooler due to its altitude.





Although we visited in the middle of summer, the temperature was still relatively mild: low 90's. Compared to the 110 plus of last summer, this was mild.



The previous night I had studied the park maps, hard-copy and online. As we entered the park, I asked the ranger about the dirt roads in the park. (We had driven a bit on one the previous day, and found it suitable for a regular passenger car.) The ranger informed me that the "gray" roads on the map were maintained. The "dotted" roads on the map indicated four-wheel vehicles were suggested.



I've learned to listen to informed suggestions, so we stuck to the regular roads, plus the maintained dirt roads. Traveling to Joshua Tree in the summer put us in a minority. Visiting the dirt roads put us on the road less traveled. It was a mini-adventure.



The west end of the park is peppered with the Joshua trees which give the park its name. It also is home to many rock formations which provide opportunities for exploring, climbing, and jaw dropping views.





We stopped mid-day for a picnic lunch, we took two short hikes, and we avoided the bees that were enjoying their peak summer activities. In addition to the geography and plant life, we saw lizards and mini-chipmunks.



One little fellow was wrestling a banana peel to his hole. I think he had nabbed the peel out of the trash can. (He was faster than my camera.)



At the end of one dead-end dirt road, I strolled off to take a picture of some small cactus that had caught my wife's eye. Near a bush, I saw what appeared to be a large egg. As I moved closer, I discovered... a golf ball! (Removing objects from the park is illegal, but I confiscated the ball as a memento. How it got there, I have no idea, but I did know that it was non-native.)



I hope you enjoy the pictures, and I hope your are inspired to explore some of the back roads in your own backyard. Adventure on!

The Road Less Traveled... in Joshua Tree

One of my favorite lines of poetry comes from Robert Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken.

The final stanza reads:

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I like to take roads less traveled by. I've done it locally and not so locally. I've done it recently, and I've done it for years.

Once, while camping in Sequoia National Park, I took my pre-teen kids on a ranger led hike on Morro Rock. It was a pre-scheduled, published opportunity for park visitors to go a bit deeper into their visit to the park. The only ones who showed up for this free opportunity were my family and me.

The park ranger, a certified naturalist, did his duty and informed us. One thing he said that left an impression was this, "The average visitor to Sequoia stays for four hours."

What? As if a drive-through, a stop at the gift store, and a short walk on the paved path to General Sherman constitutes a visit? Sad, but true.

We took short two-hour type of hikes. We went to the ranger led camp fires. My kids earned their junior ranger badges. (We camped in a park cabin with a canvas roof and a wood burning stove for cooking.)

Some would say, "That's hardly 'the road less traveled'!" But I'd disagree.

Once we were more than 1/2 mile from any trail head, we were pretty much alone. It wasn't necessary to go wilderness camping, we just needed to go a bit deeper off the main path. Sometimes we were in a crowd, but it was a small crowd.

In the movie, "Out of Africa," Denys says, "I don't want to live someone else's idea of how to live. Don't ask me to do that. I don't want to find out one day that I'm at the end of someone else's life."

Denys took the road less traveled. He practiced non-conformity. One of Denys' critics said, "He likes giving gifts... but not at Christmas." (Go Denys!)

I like to live somewhat creatively. I like roads, but I like back roads, less traveled roads. They seem more interesting and more out-of-the-ordinary.

So, when my wife recently suggested a vacation away from home, I looked a bit off the beaten path. We went "camping" at a condo in Indio. (Indio is not Palm Springs. It's 20 miles east.)

I've done tent camping. I've slept under a bush by a river. I've slept at the bottom of a freeway embankment. Now days, I camp at timeshares. (I find that my wife is more prone to go camping with me, if I stay away from tents.) Adventure doesn't require a tent.

Summer is vacation time for many people. Roads are full. Parks are full. Space is limited, except for... off the beaten path. Summer in the Palm Springs/Indio area is off-season: it's hot. We knew that, but reserved a unit anyway.

The Southwestern US has experienced a population influx since the 1950's. Why? Because of the wide-spread availability of air-conditioning! A/C makes living in the desert very do-able.

I bought my first air-conditioned car in '97! I'm a bit slow, but Wow! Car travel is less sweaty now. Especially when driving into the desert in the middle of summer.

We headed to Indio, which is about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, into the heat (100's). It was great! Our unit was nice, but we were only there at night. By day... we did road trips -- back road trips.

Day One: we visited the eastern end of Joshua Tree National Park. (A park less traveled.) We did a short half mile hike to an oasis. (We saw five people.) We stopped by all the road-side exhibit signs. (Usually, we read them from the air-conditioned car.) We took all the small paved roads off the main road. We hiked the short hike to the vista point at Keyes.

The eastern end of Joshua Tree is less spectacular than the western end. We knew that. That's why we were there: slightly off-center. We saw Octillos, Chollos, and yuccas. After a half day in the eastern end of the park, we drove straight through and out of the western end. We headed "home" to our condo. It was 50 miles or so from the park entrance.

We grocery shopped at Fresh and Easy and dined royally at home, loaded the dishwasher, played some tile rummy, watched some cable TV in our air-conditioned unit, and flopped into our comfy bed. Ahhh... this is camping!

Enjoy the pics!

(Next time... Day Two: Maintained dirt roads in Joshua Tree.)

Vacating my Vacation

Anybody miss me?

I was on vacation for the last four or five days.

"What?" (I can hear a few of you saying.) "You've been on vacation for weeks and weeks. It's almost annoying how long you've been on vacation."



Yes, that's all true. I'm on Summer Vacation from teaching, but last week my wife and I went "away" on vacation. I took a vacation from my vacation.

*gag* (I hear some of you having some trouble here.)

As fun as my stay-at-home vacation has been, my wife suggested that we get away a bit before I went back to school. That was about three weeks ago.

Now my wife isn't one to suggest these things very often, so I jumped on it. I have something called RCI Points, and for a mere 7,500 points and $168, I got us a two-bedroom, fully furnished timeshare in a country club setting in Indio, near Palm Springs, for a week!

Indio in the summer is about the only place still available for trading during the sought after month of August. Why? Because it's hot! 100 degree plus hot. But we decided to go for it, and we're glad we did.



Indio is about 20 miles east of Palm Springs, which is 90 miles east of where I live. So, after less than two hours of driving, we were at our new "home". Although I got the timeshare for a week, I only anticipated staying four nights. (Playing the timeshare/points game is an art form.)

Last year we did a desert road trip in June and the weather was 110 to 115 degrees hot. Ouch. Instead of being 10 degrees hotter than normal like last year, the weather was 5 to 10 degrees below normal, so we had 90's and low 100's. With A/C in the condo and car, it was a breeze. (Joshua Tree is high desert, so it was a cool 88 to 93.)

We used the condo as our "base camp." Some people climb mountains from their base camps, we took day-long road trips. We drove to Joshua Tree National Park two of the days, and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (and Salton Sea) another.



A little research uncovered a local Fresh and Easy Market, and we had meals to-go, and meals to have at home. We had a blast. We smiled a lot. We marveled at the scenery, enjoyed the blue skies, and the nice beds. We got back yesterday.

The bags aren't unpacked yet, but I'm back to my other vacation, which includes catching up on reading some blogs. The cats and dog are glad we're home. I'm back to lining up some racquetball. The new plants survived. And I have pictures!

Another awesome aspect of the vacation is how great 85 degree weather at home feels. It's so cool!



So although I vacated from my at-home vacation, I still have a few more weeks before I return to the work-a-day world of gainful employment. And just to ease the envy of all of you who don't get summers off, remember, I don't get paid. Paychecks come my way once a month, ten months out of the year. During July and August my paychecks are absent. (Good thing I know how to budget, save, and spend wisely!)

Hope you all are enjoying the summer. Before you know it, fall will arrive, and then... that long, cold winter that makes you long for... summer!