"Summers Over"

“Summer’s Over”

One of my favorite John Wayne movies is The Cowboys. In the closing minutes John Wayne’s character gets shot up by a cattle rustler.  He says “Summer’s Over” to Mr. Nightlinger (stellar role played by Roscoe Lee Browne), the camp cook, meaning that his death is but minutes away.  Indeed, it was.  He got buried in the next scene.

I spend the last day or so of all vacations in a state of remorse, regretting our return to TX and the promise of its heat.  In this case, my state of remorse started after the depressing fishing performance with the Puffin charter boat in Seward.  It worsened greatly as Pop and Brek headed north to the airport to head home. 

Fortunately, none of us has been gutshot by cattle rustlers, eaten by a bear, died in a harrowing plane crash, or the countless other dangers we’ve exposed ourselves to over the past 8 weeks.  But dang, I sure have enjoyed it and don’t look forward to this vacations end.  I guess you can’t fish every day forever. Alas, continued exposure would eventually cause the snow covered mountains that lay just beyond the camper steps to become as un-special as the strip malls I see every day on my drive home from work on I-35. Hard to imagine, but that’s the human condition.  Different is what’s special.  Folks want what they don’t normally have and become unsatisfied with it once it’s “had”.  This has been the cause of many a failed marriage, for that matter.  The notion of returning to a 104F heat in TX seems particularly hard to like.  Seems like a chapter out of Proverbs or Ecclesiastes in this lesson somewhere.

A couple days before the trip was over, I asked the kids and wife “What have we learned about the world, ourselves, or whatever? And how are we different for having taken this trip?”.  Responses thus far: 

·         Erik – He has formally come out of the closet..... as a salmon fisherman.  He didn’t know this about himself before the trip (having never caught one), but those of us present at the time saw the birth of a salmon slayer on June 26, aka “day 24”. 

·         Lilly –

·         Victoria –

·         Matt-

·         Luke –

·         Shane – I have often dreamed of moving out west, and even possibly of Alaska, but this trip has convinced me otherwise (at least, on Alaska).  Closer inspection revealed that while Alaska is awesome in times (entertainment), it is also immense in size, and challenging in travel.  I’ve loved every part of it (maybe save Fairbanks), so I’d want to keep seeing all of it.  Accessing each location is a challenge, even if you’re already here.  Costs for anything from 2x4’s to fuel to PBR is about 50% over what you’d pay at home. Further, if “absence makes the heart grow fonder”, then surely continued exposure makes the heart less appreciative. I wouldn’t want that, so Alaska must remain an every now and then adventure, not an ongoing doldrum.

·         Deanna – having friends (Monsons, Lynn, Brek) to share the time made it more special than times without them.

·         Travis – when you live in Alaska for a month, it becomes your normal.  The dream becomes normal.

·         Amanda – Texas chops down too many trees.  Everywhere else, has trees, but not Texas.

This trip was so long in the planning (8 years) and so far reaching (6k miles, 19 camper setups, 7 states, 3 provinces, countless miles hiked, fish caught, etc) I don’t know exactly what to do now.  It’s hard to think about a future vacation, because I now see what COULD be done on a vacation.  Spoiled maybe?

Because I’m a spreadsheet geek, I ran a quick calculation, and determined that Travis and Amanda have spent 1.2% and 1.3% of their respective Earth days on this trip. Over 1% of their lives to date have been experienced in the ~57 day journey! That’s incredible.  With time, it’ll become a lesser and lesser portion of their life experience, but certainly, it’s a significant part of who they are now. Hopefully it impacts who they will become in the long run. 

I grew up in Texas and really didn’t leave it much as a kid.  My world was small, and my perceived “range” was limited.  After college graduation, I started travelling quite a bit with work and have worked on projects from Arizona to Florida, Pennsylvania to South Dakota.  I’ve seen the beauty and peril that other climates and populations have to offer.  I grew up believing (based on the feedback of my great grandmother) that Yankees were among the worst things you could encounter (next to fire ants or coyotes), but upon actual exposure…… found most Pennsylvanians to be quite pleasant.   Our kids have now had contact with folks all over this continent, and have used their passports several times (albeit, not without challenges of their own (recall day 13- Canada border crossing, “bear spray and fireworks, dad”)). 

My hope and prayer for my kids has been:  1. Their salvation (of course), 2. That they become responsible, contributing, taxpaying adults someday, 3. They achieve their life potential.  #1 has been secured already. They can recite the hope and truth of Jesus Christ better than I can at this stage.  #2 is still an ongoing project.  We ain’t there yet…. But this trip has been all about #3.  Letting them know that there is more out there than Bob Wills Music, Lone Star Beer and 104F heat.  If and when they graduate from their final classes, I want them to take a job and start a life/family in the location of their desires. If that turns out to be in DFW, then so be it, but if it turns out to be in Jasper, Wyoming then good on ‘em. Godwilling, Deanna and I will see them often in either location.  Especially during elk season…..if Wyoming….  I don’t want their umbilical cord to limit who they become later in life. 

My all in budget to execute this trip was about $16k.  Final tab ended up being just under $20k due to the transmission work done in Fairbanks and Kenai.  To put that in perspective……  My next truck will cost less than this trip did, but I still say that this is some of the best money I’ve ever spent.  Our kids will someday bury us and Amanda might say…… “You remember the summer they took us to Alaska”.   Travis might just reply…… “Don’t forget the bear spray and fireworks”.  J

I must offer a series of thanks to all the folks that helped this dream become realized:

·         Erik and Lilly – for being “all in” and meaning it, from day one.  Y’all seized the trip……. “Carpe Salmon”?? immediately and made it an excellent time for all of us.

·         Pop, Kim- for the encouragement to go, and taking Winston to “Camp Grammie/PawPaw”

·         Jimmy and Cindy – for also helping manage Winston while we were gone

·         Josh and Rachel – for watching our chickens, who now won’t want to return to the City life having spent the summer in the deluxe country setting of Nocona

·         Lynn and Brek – for getting on the plane, understanding that opportunities like these are rare

·         Tammy and Matt, Kent (AND GLENN....DONT FORGET GLENN, and the fireworks dad) and Corey – for allowing me the extra time off

·         Brandon, Ryan, Garrett, Nathan, Fonseca, Hoelting and the extended team - for filling in the gap at work

·         Mary and Scotty- for your thoughtful gifts toward our trip

·         Erinn – for managing the house and dealing with the antics of the Young Adults group (forking the yard) while we were gone.

·         Drew, Erinn, and Nathan- for carrying Deanna’s load while she was away

·         For anyone else whom I’ve forgotten, thank you!

To any blog followers who’ve read along and suffered this foolishness, let me take a minute to encourage you to dream big and execute bigger.  Rather than spend more time on the couch letting life pass you, think long range.  Imagine the world you want, and build it. Find dependable friends and be one to them.  Train your children to be the adult you wish you were.  Be the man your dog thinks you are.  Also, know this…… vacations don’t define us, or they shouldn’t.  Our lives define us. Make yours be something you won’t regret.