During the 2015 summer our two now-adult kids joined us on a camping trip. It was a fun and enjoyable mini-adventure to one of our favorite areas in the Pacific Northwest; Lower Falls Campground near Cougar Washington. I took hundreds of photographs on my smartphone, iPad, and Sony cameras. One that stuck out for me was this one:
As images go it is pretty rough. Focus and clarity could be better, even the framing and composition. But what set this one apart from dozens of others was the memory of taking it.
After what was a busy morning for the four of us, I was still amped up and wanted to continue exploring. I asked for volunteers and my daughter was eager to go. My wife and our son headed back to the camp a mile or so away while we headed down toward a fork in the trail with a sign that told us there were some more falls about another mile away. So off we went. When we arrived at the falls we were both a bit let down. Maybe we’d hoped they would be as amazing as the falls the campground is named after? After a short rest and taking in the view we headed back to camp. The best part of this mini-adventure was the time spent talking about life and random topics along the trail. I remember what I was feeling at the moment I took that image, the joy of being a parent, of having a friend along on a walk, of experiencing the smells and sights of the forest. I didn’t think of it at the time, but to borrow a cliché, this truly was an example of the “Journey” being way more fun than the “Destination”.