Walks Archives • Page 6 of 7 • Andrew Crusoe

Back when the leaves were still completely green, I took a bicycle trek of exploration.

As is my habit when taking bike rides, I simply wandered around without a final destination in mind, gliding down the hill and making a right turn down a rocky road this time. The rocky road was long and jiggled the whole bike as I progressed, but I continued on because I knew what was at the end.

I soon reached the eastern dam’s power station, feeling the faint humming sound from the huge transformers resounding in the area. About a year before, I discovered a small path beyond the sand near the power station. I parked my bike in the sand and walked down the short path to the lower shore. The edge of the river reminded me of the ocean, and to my left I could see the old dam roaring in the distance. The shore continued to my right, and I slowly followed it as it became narrow the further I went. I came upon a fallen log lying in the river and sat down on the side above the land.

Sandals

The clean sand seemed to be begging me to take my sandals off. I considered this and decided that it was safe. With the sand firmly beneath my feet now, I began to realize what a peaceful place this really was. I decided to walk into the river and immediate felt much more connected to the Earth and my surroundings. This time, I sat down on the side of the log which was slightly above the water and waded my feet, allowing the surroundings, the breeze, the waves, the scent to begin to heal my busied soul. I sat there for some time in silence.

Photos

I thought it would be a good idea to see if I could capture some of the feel of the place, and began snapping photos in a rather random manner. You may view the photos in the Sandals and Footprints album in Byteful Photos. While just a tiny sliver of my experience, the photos herein do capture the feel of that place. I am especially pleased of the final photo, which is at the heading of this article, called “Footprints to the River”. When I returned to my computer, I experimented with exposure and decided to change the photo to black and white. Combined with some inexplicable edge-blur, the photo inspires a sense of tranquility and hope in me.

In the end, I am so glad that I went beyond my comfort zone and removed my sandals. By opening myself up to feel sand between my toes, I also opened myself up to make a deeper connection with the Earth.

Photos from this trip are in Byteful Photos. All photos can be used as widescreen desktop wallpapers because they are high resolution (1920×1440). Enjoy!

Spontaneity is essential for joyful living.

Not very long ago, I took a spontaneous trip to a dam nearby, and it began with a garage dive. Exactly what I was digging in the garage for I can’t remember, but I came upon an old white kite that my grandmother had given me many years ago. Amazingly it was still (mostly) in one piece. All it needed was a horizontal beam to keep it wide. After cutting some scrap wood to size, the kite was skyworthy again. (If seaworthy is a word then skyworthy is, too.)

I soon realized that my back yard, with its looming pines all around, wasn’t a safe haven for the little flyer. I mused at where a better place might be; and with a flash, I knew. I jumped on my bike, folded kite in hand, and headed towards the dam.

The Hidden Stream

As I followed the path toward the dam, I passed a small stream nestled in a patch of woods. Undoubtedly, I had passed by here a hundred times before, but this time was different – I had my camera. On a whim, I decided to explore what photo opportunities the stream might present before I battled the gale winds.

Crouching down, I made my way through the branches and slid down the moss-covered slope. Delighted to see a living stream, I snapped probably a dozen photos – getting in close, and even leaning in to get a bug’s eye view of the stream. After capturing a variety of angles, I was satisfied and pulled my way back out of the patch of forest.

In retrospect, I’m very glad I took the time to divert from my original plan and photograph the stream because it resulted in far better pictures than the kite pictures I was going to take next. Visit Kite Flying and the Stream album to see all the best pictures I took that day.

Go Fly A Kite

Upon releasing my kite into the air, it became increasingly obvious that the wind speed was intense – probably gale force. Though that was quite predictable since there was so much water around me. With a minimum of obstacles, the wind had nothing to slow it down. The flight pattern of the kite reflected this as it twisted and looped in the wind. At one point, as it was above the reservoir it dipped and made a magnificent crash into the water. Thankfully, I was able to pull it out again.

Stability

The kite was flying with much less stability than it ought to, even with the wind. I pulled it back down, literally fighting the wind to bring the kite back to Earth. If you haven’t experienced this, I recommend it. It’s strange pulling in something that’s only a meter away but still flying, and it also demonstrates the power that the wind can wield. With some experimentation, I was able to increase the kite’s stability greatly by moving the wing support sticks down a bit, basically lengthening the effective wingspan of the kite.

Power of the Wind

To give myself more room, I moved farther down the path to the dam and let the kite take off above the water that was emptying into the river below. Being on the elevated path made it easy to reach a height of probably 30 meters. Again, I had to fight to get the kite down again, and I still wonder how far it would have gone if I had simply let go.

Spontaneous Spirit

Being able to make a split-second decision to visit the dam creates a natural sense of freedom in me. And allowing myself to wander into the forest later on was a fruitful experience. By allowing myself to be spontaneous, I opened myself up to exploring an old environment with new eyes (the stream), exercise my hands-on problem solving skills (fixing the kite on-the-fly), and have a fun experience I hadn’t tried in a while (flying the kite). Without these kinds of spontaneous events, life would certainly be less “lively.”

What about you? Have you given yourself permission to be spontaneous lately? If you happen to crash your kite, there’s always the chance to fish it out again. So get out there and fly! 😀

Photos from this trip are in Byteful Photos. All photos can be used as widescreen desktop wallpapers because they are high resolution (1920×1440).

— Bonus —
Watch Gale Force Kite shortfilm