last of the river surfers

A pic needs to be clicked to blossom like a summer rose.

At the end of the ride the surfer usually gets flushed downriver. He's sent over the top of the wave and washed downriver for some distance, and the distance is determined by how violent his flush was. But as soon as the current in the area slows down a bit the surfer can swim to the bank and crawl out on the rocks. The surfer and his board, on the left side of the picture is about 100 feet past the wave and still going.

It's too early to start thinking about another mini-vacation, but I had such a good time in the mountains on this last mini-vacation that I couldn't help but wonder how soon I could do that again.

I don't have to break any new ground because I've already found things I enjoy doing and places I enjoy being, so since August is usually the hottest month for Colorado, I'll need to gain some altitude to cool off. I don't know where that will be, and it doesn't matter to me as long as it's high enough to be cool during the day.

Then, sometime in September, I'll start taking a mini-vacation to the Alamosa, Colorado, area to find some Sandhill Cranes as they pass through Colorado on their way to New Mexico and Arizona for the winter. Even though I know the amount of Sandhill Cranes I will see in Colorado are just a tiny percentage of the amount I will see in the Bosque Del Apache, New Mexico, and the amount of Sandhill cranes I will see at the Bosque is only a tiny amount of Sandhill Cranes that will be waiting for me at Whitewater Draw in Arizona, I still enjoy the challenge of finding them no matter where they're at. And I think the key word there is "challenge."

Like most folks, I don't challenge myself as much as I did when I was younger, but at least some challenge needs to be part of my life. And I don't mean climbing Mount Everest or wrestling the Loch Ness Monster to the death, just simple things like not being sure where I'm going to camp for the night, will my truck make it up that jeep trail, or will my over 200,000-mile truck pass its next emissions test.

It doesn't take much to be a challenge for me anymore, but I feel that I'm happier with life if something is going on to keep me on my toes and give me a little bit of a hurdle to overcome so I don't get too complacent and know exactly what tomorrow is going to bring.

It may have something to do with watching my parents grow old and become increasingly complacent. And not just seeing them doing the same thing all the time, but them not wanting to do or see anything different every once in a while. Sitting in their same easy chair, looking out the same window, at the same tree, day after day, year after year, and not having or even wanting to do anything different or interesting during the day.

Their life was set in stone, breakfast at a certain time, go for a walk, go to the same grocery store, buy the same food, sit in their easy chair and do the same thing every day, and go to bed at the same time, day after day year after year.

I don't know if that helped make me the way I am now, but it made me not want to live that way until I reach a point my health or mental abilities prevent me from doing what I'm doing now. It also may explain why you've heard me talking about trying to stay out of a rut and doing the same thing repeatedly until I could easily live my life while sleepwalking.

Someone once said, "Maturity of mind is the capacity to endure uncertainty." And my mind must be mature because I enjoy a little challenge and even a bit of uncertainty.

Theboondork

Getting flushed usually involves spending time underwater, so some breath holding abilities is very beneficial, and yet not easy when the water temperature is cold, very, very, cold.

if he's a river surfer this is a pretty normal picture..... But if he's sitting on a motorcycle his troubles have just begun.

Even the experts that are to cool for helmets still have to suffer the ignominious flush.

After being flushed the surviving surfers spitting and sputtering  inelegantly crawl up  the rocky bank trying to appear that being flipped end over end three or four times was actually more fun than it sounds.

But tattered and torn the river surfers manage to survive the wild waters and the rough rocks with nary a word of complaint.

And upon their return to shore the newbies humbly approach the expert river surfer who possesses the silliest of all silly hats, and is resolutely  ensconced upon his throne of sand-bags, and asks the experts opinion of what went wrong with there last ride?

to which the expert river surfer replies.....you fell off, and if you fall off again the river sharks will rip the flesh from your bones leaving nothing but a tattered wetsuit....expert river surfers know how to motivate a newbie.