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Show PAGE 18 THE ZEPHYRJUNE 1992 F beyond reality -- by Jack Campbell REAL WEALTH THOSE WERE THE YEARS SUMMER Not too many years ago, when May began to feel like summer, my friend and I used to pack the old VW bus for the summer's wanderings. From May 'til September, we had the time, up we had the freedom, to roam the mountains of Wyoming, the rivers of Idaho, the deserts of Utah. Fishing, backpacking, kayaking, reading, and loving, in the best of places. Places so great, that we were never tempted by Alaska or Nepal, foreign countries, or more exotic places. We had the luxury of choosing between some of the world's finest country. Right here, free for the enjoying. Leaving the mosquitoes of Alaska to our wealthier friends, we luxuriated on the white sand beaches of the Salmon River without bothersome bugs. With our jobs waiting 'til September or October we could pick the best water levels, the times without bugs, wait for the snows to melt, and and wait for the storms to pass over before lifting our pads. Traveling by the melting snow and the rising rivers; knowing when the fish would be biting, when the surfing waves would be best; remembering which of our favorite mountain lakes called early and which called late. Hundreds and hundreds of high mountain lakes, most without names, many without people, water still pure. All there for us, if we just found the time. With our boxes of paperback books, be storms that ruined other's trips, became enjoyable respites from be summer's sun, looked forward to as some of be best days of our otherwise almost too sunny summers. With extra time, we could find those special niches bat others had to hurry on by, in their rush to get back to work next week. Those best places were rarely the farthest away, or the hardest to reach, but just a little ways off be trail that channeled be others along the same path, past the best lakes, past be best canyons. Lazy time in the desert in summer can be delightful and cooL Two feet of snow in be mountains in August is a beautiful treat if you brought enough books. Making be choice to have be time to linger in the beautiful places you find. Time made not at be moment, but by the choices of the years and months before. Can we make be time for be good things in life? , Twenty great years enjoying the rivers and mountains and deserts. Twenty years without having made as much money as most people earn in two. But having somehow earned mare freedom than most earn in a lifetime. Having tasted deeply of a good life of wild and exdting rivers, friends and room- - mates, dear desert streams cutting through lush sandstone canyons, long mountain hikes wib the tent just up when be lightning and rain we'd been outrunning finally caught up, surfing Mg river waves that never end. Staying extra days at those lakes when the bigger fish were finally Mting. Running die Middle Fork of the Salmon, be Main Salmon, and be Middle Fork again, without doing a shuttle, because you kept meeting friends at the end of each trip who were just beginning the next Hiking over into the next desert canyon because the weather's great and you don't have to be back for a month. Changing plans on be spur of the moment Snow still too deep on be Winds? Well, take be canoe and explore be Yellowstone lakes that your friends have been encouraging you to visit Fish not biting where you are? Then maybe it's time to take a look at those two little lakes way off be trail and up over a couple more ridges, bat we'd wandered about die past two summers. We had the time to do it Freedom and time and healb to do be things we really want to do why do so many choose paths wib no freedom or time for bemsdves? WINTER In the winters of those years we again loaded up be old, green VW bus and headed soub to Zion and Joshua Tree. Sure, we could have gone all be way to Mexico, but it was so beautiful right here. Why bum all the gas and wear out the old bus? We had our place to camp, a broad open valley facing south, low mountain ranges on the east and west Surrounded by the strange shapes of the joshua trees, we could fed the entire winter day spread out before us. Just staying in one place, for weeks. Reading and walking, being together, just enjoying the time of our lives. A little money for gas, a bit more for food, paperback books from the thrift stores before we left Salt Lake. And time. To get up when we wanted; to sleep when we wanted. Everything we needed, and virtually free. And the reading felt different In the winter desert, Bitting out in be mild warmb of the sun, I could enjoy reading those books I'd been intending to read for so long. An extra battery, good lights, and be bus was a oozy place during be long winter evenings. Our best sunsets were in the winter desert Black shapes of the joshua trees silhoueted cold against the orange sky. As be sunset faded, we could insulate the bus windows from the at night and open our best books for be evening ahead. No phones to ring for months at a time. What business there was coiild be dealt wib by mail Qirtndng to have be time to enjoy life, to do what we wanted; choosing less money and security. Feeling luxuriously wealby, not deprived. Having so much choice over be things we valued. Being envied by our money wealby, but time poor friends, who could rarely afford more ban a week from the job. Somehow, be freedom to enjoy the outdoors, has always pulled more strongly than the desire to see movies and plays, to eat out to have more expensive cars and clothes. Never earning much money, but never being in debt Should spending our time be be measure of the things that we value? SPRING AND FALL And in be spring and summer SLC was actually a fine place to be, without be summer's heat and the winter smog. Canyons and mountains invited one out of be city. Fall odors and spring freshness available to all who took the time to enjoy them. Fewer people hiking in be foothills of SLC than in most wilderness areas. Free classes at the University to feed and tantalize be mind. Cheap bodes (and just about everything rise) at be thrift stores. Libraries and free concerts. Huge amounts of free food from be grocery stare dumpsters, so much that it was hard at times to pass it out to enough friends that it was't wasted. Having the satisfaction of making our own gear. Kayaks, backpacks, sleeping bags;, and the old VW bus inself, yielded the pleasure of things homemade. A couple of lawn chairs scrounged from the trash bade home in Indiana, provided a pack frame that has served well for twenty years. Kayaks and paddles made in a garage. VW engines and transmissions overhauled, bus bed and cupboards built and installed. Sleeping bags sewn on a couple old Singers bought at a yard sale. And the feeling of satisfaction from having built and designed and fixed file stuff of our lives. Work wib meaning. Some money for parts, but really so little. Living was cheap wib roommates to share the rent and utilities, the cooking and be chores. And even cheaper once we were on the road again for the winter and summer trips. But there were be hidden costs, those important things we had to do without No bosses to tell us how badly we were doing at work, no kids to tell us about be expensive toys their friends had just been given, no bills and no bother. No smog so thick bat you couldn't see the sun. No noisy neighbors bat you couldn't get away from. No property taxes and mortgages. No alarm docks in be too early morning. No getting be kids up and oft to school again. No meaningless, senseless work. The agony of guilt (well, almost). How could we be anybody without career promotions expensive houses and even more expensive spouses, children and fancy cars? Well, I guess bat we were'nt All we had was be time of our lives, to do wib as we wished, and be freedom to choose. Those were the days. (Note from a friend's refrigerator door Die secret of life is enjoying be passage of time.) NOW I WILL DO MY DAVID KNUTSON IMPRESSION 'There's nothing anyone can do to us... There's no recall..." . osmite ESRRESSQ SHAKES BURGERS |