Every Junkie Needs A Fix - Or Should I Say, Everyone Needs A Passion

So, on Friday I wrote in my blog that it was time to get back to nature.  We certainly did just that this past weekend.  My son, Gavin, and I hiked throughout Enchanted Rock State Park, near Fredericksburg, Texas.  This photograph is not Enchanted Rock but it is one of the many rocks to climb in the park.  I’ll be posting this and several other new pics from the trip to the gallery on my website later on this week.

Enchanted Rock State Park is known for its rock climbing.  The main rock itself stands more than 1,800 feet above sea level.  Then there are countless other rocks sticking out of the ground every where you turn.  Any and all are open for climbing.  I haven’t done much rock climbing but after exposing Gavin to countless activities trying to help him find a passion, we put him in a rock climbing camp this past summer.  He loved it.  Walking around this place with him was like walking with a junkie in to a crack house.  He kept repeating over and over, “I just want a rock to climb” and “how about this one, Dad…or that one”.  Of course, we hadn’t even found a camp site yet and taken the packs off our backs.

The rock in this picture is on the main trail and medium difficulty to climb.  He shot right up there like a cat.  I grunted and groaned my way up.  Once we were on top, I saw our shadows painted on the neighboring rock.  This is where the junkie in me gets a fix.  I checked out the remaining sunlight we had left and realized we didn’t have much time.  We quickly (or not so quickly, for me) climbed off the rock, hiked the half mile back to our campsite and grabbed my camera bag.  Then, back to the rock.  I was concerned that the sunlight had change by the time we would get back and the shadows would be gone.  They weren’t.  He was grinning from ear to ear  because he got to climb this rock twice.  I was grinning from ear to ear because I got the shot I wanted.

I suppose most people would simply hand a stranger their camera and ask them to take their picture.  After taking this shot, I didn’t feel like that would be necessary.  We climbed more rocks and hiked about 12 miles total on Saturday, alone, plus about 2 miles Friday and 2 miles Sunday.  My body hurts today – his doesn’t – but I feel like a million bucks.