February 28 – March 1, 2015.

Aaron and I were looking for a quick winter getaway. A stay-cation, as some may say.

On Saturday we met some friends and went hiking. After that we went our separate ways and Aaron and I went camping.

We drove out to the Metolius River and camped out somewhere along its banks. I remembered being here many years ago. Remembered a large network of forest roads and pullouts, with places to camp pretty much everywhere. We didn’t need facilities like bathrooms and showers and a camp store. Just a flat spot in the woods to pitch a tent. And that’s what we found.

It felt so nice to have a lazy evening at camp. We stretched out and soaked in the cool winter air. We enjoyed the sound of the river rolling by. It was a nice piece of forest we’d staked out for ourselves. We weren’t crammed between RV’s or listening to traffic whiz by. This was camping.

As day turned to night we made a campfire and I turned my gaze to the stars.

The next morning, as lovely as it was to just chill, I wanted to take a walk. We packed up and drove to the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery. There we walked between tanks to look at the fish. There were coin-operated fish food stations, which of course we had to use. It was entertaining to watch the fish frantically rush to the surface and devour all the pellets we threw in there. What was in those things?

From there we picked up a trail and strolled along the river. And I mean, strolled. It was great to simply enjoy each other’s company and the feeling of being in the forest without an agenda, without a timeline and without a care in the world.

Those mountains, they’ll be there another day. Today all I needed was this.