Pony Camping at Trout Creek

Trout Creek Pony Camping – June 22 to June 24

We are still exploring places to camp; today we head to Trout Creek Campground near Superior, Montana. The campground is off a well-maintained forest road, alongside Trout Creek, which is the size of a small river at this time of year.

There are several very nice sites to choose from; we pick one that gives us good access to the picnic table and fire pit from where we can park the Pony. There is a trail from the campsite to the river through huge old cedars and dense brush. The river is clear in the shallows and deep teal where it gets deep.

I make nachos for dinner and we are set to eat outside by the campfire, but it starts to rain, so we head inside. After we eat, the rain lets up; we revive the fire and sit out to enjoy the still of the evening and the mild temperatures.

The variable wind above us stirs some trees and not others nearby. The trees sway like graceful dancers and then grow still while other trees begin to sway as the wind comes to them in turn. It is all very lovely and peaceful.  We sit out until it is too dark to see. After I head to bed, Clifford plays with his ham radio gear.

In the night I wake up with several muscle cramps in my thigh and calf. Odd, since I had not done anything to stress the muscles. Something out of balance in my body which needs to be looked in to.

In the morning, I explore our side of the campground. Very quiet here – no one else in the campground.

Clifford and I have breakfast before I get ready to head for Missoula. Today is an errand and visit family day. See Katie briefly, have lunch with Merri at the Good Food store, drive  to Mom’s to see her and my sister, Lillian. So good to see these special people, even if briefly. Shop for groceries, mostly for us, some for Rocky Mountain Organics. I sure don’t enjoy Missoula traffic. Then head to Alberton to find Ang, Oden, and Aly at the community garden. We eat fresh strawberries as we weed the garden and I get a bag of fresh lettuce and some young dandelion greens to take with me. I want to see how Ang’s little house is coming along, so go out to Ed’s Creek with her. Oden rides out with me and we talk about his interest in playing the cello. Visit a bit, admiring the installation of the windows, the addition of a ladder to the loft, the beginning of a firepit, and water coming down from the spring above. I’d like to stay for dinner, but I told Clifford I would be back at our camp for dinner.

When I arrive at the campsite, Clifford has just gotten a fire started. Tonight we enjoy our dinner by the campfire and then sit out until I head to bed.

A little morning campfire and a hot cup of yerba matte with honey and coconut milk as I write in my journal is the start my Tuesday.

After breakfast I explore the other side of the campground, taking photos of the blossoming wild flowers and shrubs, most especially thimbleberry and wild roses.

I find one campsite where we would be able to see the river from the picnic table and still have access to the Pony set-up. I’d like to camp here next time, as being able to see moving water is one of my favorite things when we are out. Doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it is an extra special place for me. Something about being beside moving water is very life-giving, life-affirming.

Back at camp, I keep a small fire going as we read and study through the afternoon, enjoying the beautiful spot where we are camped.

This week on my Facebook page, a site I had not joined (as far as I know) posted something that spoke volumes to me: From the site Begin with YES: “What your heart yearns for is not just a desire, it’s a calling. It’s up to you to listen and then follow. It’s your pathway, plain and simple. And profoundly beautiful, too.”

At different stages of one’s life, what one does changes: being a child growing up, reaching adulthood – doing worthwhile work and raising a family, retiring and finding meaning in old age, or for many of us continuing to work as we grow older. But somewhere hidden in there is the yearning, the calling. For much of my life beyond childhood, time and energy have been taken up with raising a family and working. Being always busy and often with extremely challenging situations masked the deep yearning which has always been there for me. As the calling began to show itself more clearly, I have done what I could to honor it, but it has still been sitting on a back burner with working and domestic chores taking the forefront. But now things are changing and it is my intention to devote myself to my calling: to seek and share beauty. I am not quite sure how this will evolve in the “real” world, but for the time-being writing blogs and posting photos of the beautiful planet will become my “job” along with and as a part of being a View Keeper – a phrase, a concept coined in a blog on Celebrate What’s Right With the World (Facebook) by my favorite photographer, Dewitt Jones, whose photos and writing have been a constant source of inspiration for me.

All too soon it is time to pack up and head home. Five stars for Trout Creek and looking forward to coming again soon with more time to devote to being where I am called to be.