Sunday mornings have become a lot more relaxed since we started attending a new church. It meets at 5 in the afternoon rather than the standard 10 or 11 in the morning.

So…I can lay around in the bed and let my mind float around and process things that seem to get pushed aside during the workweek.

One of the images that came to mind this morning was that of my wife and I exploring the woods around our house in Ashe County back in the late 1970’s and early 80’s.

This was before kids mostly…which gives us about a year and a half of being totally unencumbered. After kids, we used the front pack and back pack as each one got older and heavier. We didn’t skip to many beats, our trips into the wild just got slower and less frequent.

Anyway, we lived in an old house that was surrounded by several hundred acres of forests and mountains. We were mostly city folks who liked our subdivisions and would head to the state parks when we needed to get a nature hit.

So the thought of having all this property to explore was rather exciting.

I guess the point being this morning is the feeling of heading into the woods…not knowing where you would end up and being pleasantly surprised to find a spring, a valley or an old house you had no idea was there. And then there was finding your way back.

Life at that point in time was an adventure…each and everyday. We’d take different paths each time out or go a little further on the one we had explored the day before.

These adventures were our entertainment. We had a stereo but no tv in our house. Most nights were spent reading books and talking…just like I imagined the early settlers must have done. We did have electricity, but the old home place was electrically challenged with only a few outlets and bare bulbs hanging from a wire in the middle of the ceiling.

This is a part of my ride that I will always fondly remember.

The woods, my wife, our walks, talks and exploration. It doesn’t get any better.