Day 41 (Saturday, July 22)

The alarm went off at 5 a.m. and I jumped out of bed. Wait, let's back track... The phone went off and I jumped out of the couch...

OK, that's more like it.

Last night I was so eager about the camping trip that I couldn't sleep. I walked all over the house making sure I had packed everything necessary for the trip. Food, utensils, water, camping tent, sleeping bag, can opener, lighter, charcoal, grill, soccer ball and a good book.

It all seemed to be ready to go. I still thought something was missing. I re-checked. Yup, everything was there. The lantern, the knife, cups, and of course my UT pillow and Cookie Monsters. I laid on the couch thinking what else could be needed. I fell asleep and woke up to the cell phone alarm at 5 a.m.

I loaded everything onto the truck as Diego slept a little more but it wasn't long before we were headed to Indiana.

Our plan was to go to Indiana Dunes, about 40 miles south east of Chicago. I heard many great things about the place and it seemed logical to go there being that it's a state park off Lake Michigan.

Before long we were crossing into Indiana as I reached a milestone -- a new state. So that meant that I have been to 23 sates (20 of which in the last 28 months). Cool.

Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to camp at Indiana Dunes. That's because the place was full once we got there. I thought we were ready! I called a few days ago and asked if there were any reservation lists. They said it was first come, first served. So, I figured the early morning drive would get us there before everyone else.

I guess not.

No worries. We just picked up the atlas and looked for another destination. Warren Dunes in Michigan looked reasonable. I called ahead to see if they were taking reservations and/or if it was full. No reservations were needed and there was still some room. So, we hurried up the road about 35 more miles. Having to deal w/ the change of plans worked out for me because we crossed into another state line. Woohoo!!!

A train got in the way as we tried hurrying up to our new camping adventure. I was able to make the best of the situation as I got some photos of the train going by. I thought it was cool how the slight separation between wagons gave me some kind of cool look into the other side.

The new camp site looked nice. We settled in as we put up our tents. It was cool going w/ Diego because it was his first time going camping. Last night I helped him out choosing a good tent and sleeping bag at the local sporting goods store. Today I showed him the little tricks that make pitching a tent a lot easier. Sure, you can go by the instructions it comes w/, but that's a little too complicated. This is probably my 40th time camping, so I've found a way to make things a little easier.

By the time the tents were up. We were starving. So, of course a good meal was needed. So we had breakfast. Relaxed and I read my Crossing Over book, a book by Ruben Martinez. I read this book for class this past semester, but since we had to read it all in three weeks and I had seven classes, I kind of just skimmed through it during the semester. This summer I am going to re-read all the books I read this past semester. Just so I can better understand the message.

We continued our day by taking a hike to the beach. What we didn't realize was that these places are called dunes for a reason. A huge mountain stood in the way of the beach and the campground. I am not sure how big this dune was, but I could say that it was about 200 feet tall w/ a 85-90 degree slope. We were pretty much crawling up the dune as we made our way to the beach. It was a great experience.

We reached the beach and I was amazed. First, because of the magnitude of this lake. This is pretty much like any ocean I've seen. Whether it'd be the Atlantic, Pacific or Gulf, this place didn't seem much different. There were strong waves as thousands of people lined the beach. It was definitely a sight to take in.

The weird thing about it all is that once we got into the water I was reminded that this was not your average sea. First of all, the water was terribly cold. It reminded me of the cold waters of Southern California. The waves were pretty strong, too. But the oddest thing is that when I got rocked by the first wave, I didn't taste salt water. Wow! This was fresh water w/ some intensity. Something different. Nice!

We hung out at the beach and headed back to the campground. I headed to the bathroom and shower area to get cleaned up from all the sand I got on me during the hike. That's when it hit me. As I approached the showers, a group of newspaper boxes lined the outside. Among them, the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times. But what was cool was that it had USA Today. If y'all recall on Thursday I had a photo published in USA Today!!! I know the magnitude of being published in the USA Today. After all, I remember telling my friends Salvador and Diana that it was my anniversary present since the day it got published was their anniversary. I talked to them as they were having a celebration dinner. Then, after their dinner, they walked out the restaurant and saw a USA Today box, they bought a copy and sure enough, my photo was in there. My friends 2,800 miles away were able to see a photo I shot here. Being able to see that there was a USA Today box at the campground made me feel good. That means that even people who were camping and bought Thursday's edition got to see my photo. Wow! I just can't express how cool that felt. To know that the whole country got exposed to my photo is a great feeling. :)

We relaxed a little more and then it was time to eat. It seems like we ate a lot today. But we really didn't. Two big meals and some nice hiking activities. It all evened out.

The food was good and it felt nice to have a meal in the middle of lots of tranquility. That's the best thing about camping. It's humbling to come to a place so quiet. Luckily, we were at a camp site that featured mostly families. There was a group of high school kids next to us and I wondered how crazy they would get. They never did get too loud and I appreciated their Country music as they relaxed.

One thing that stands out about the beach and camp ground is the toddlers. The many families brought their kids. At the beach these toddlers played around in the water. They rolled on the sand. They ran, giggled and played. Meanwhile, I day dreamed.

I thought a lot about what it would be like to have a child. I am at the point where I could start thinking more seriously about it. And to be honest, I think I am ready for a child. Of course that won't come overnight. First, I need to be married, I need a full time job and I need a house. Yeah, I sound like a fairy tale, but that's how I want it.

My daily life is segregated from toddlers. The only time I get to be around them is when I do an assignment or when I visit my nieces and nephews. Besides that, I am never around them. So seeing them playing around in the beach wearing their little swimming trunks made me think and day dream a lot. Wow! That's scary. I think I am ready.

After dinner we relaxed some more. I took a small walk to take in the scenery. Then we headed back to the beach because we knew there were going to be some nice sunset over the water photos.

We weren't lying to each other. The sunset was amazing.

As I wrote already, there was a lot of activity on the water today. The waves were pretty strong. It almost seemed like the waves on the ocean. I never seen lake water get so rough. It was cool And I had to make an image showing how the waves were a factor.

We relaxed on the beach until it got dark. Nothing more peaceful than just relaxing and seeing the day change colors. It was amazing.

We got back to the camp site and got a fire going. Diego brought his guitar so he started palying out some tunes. The guitar and fire were definitely a great addition to my camping experience. I was able to appreciate the music.

It was too dark and the moon was nowhere to be seen. If y'all are familiar w/ my previous camping experiences, I like to go hiking in the middle of the night. I like to do it w/o a flashlight and/or lantern. I just like to get lost out there in the dark.

Hiking in the middle of the night w/ Diego was humbling. I was able to remember something that I had forgotten. I used to be a turkey. Taking walks in the dark terrified me. Going up and down steep hills scared me. Looking over the edge of the dune and throwing myself head first was never something I would have done. Somewhere between my early 20s and now, I got some confidence. I became more daring. More easy going. Even more brave. To me, hiking in the dark is no longer a worry. I like it. I love it. It's exciting.

However, as I walked w/ Diego, he kept on turning on the flashlight because he couldn't see where he was going. That's cool. I didn't press him too much. I did explain to him that once you spend enough time in the dark, you begin to see things. I realized that having a flashlight gives one some sence of protection. So, it was cool to be reminded that I once used to go everwhere w/ a flashlight. These days, I'll bring it as a back up. But I just love walking in the woods w/o light. It's so natural.

Speaking of natural, the above photo is a long exposure. I think it was about a 15 second exposure. Even though there was no moon in sight, the setting sun thousands of miles to the west gave enough light to show the surroundings. It seemed rather cool.

Of couse, we had to make the most of it. So, we shot some photos of us being part of nature.

It was really fun.

We stayed on top of that massive dune for a long time as we took photos and appreciated every single star in the sky. Then it was time to come down. Again, I love the dark and I proceeded down the 85-90 degree slope.

"It feels like walking on clouds," Diego said as we made the hike in a pitch black setting.

Looks like Diego got a chance to appreciate the beauty of darkness. So, I am glad I was able to open up his eyes to the absence of light.

We headed back to the camp site. Diego headed off to bed and I relaxed by the fire til its flames were no bigger than two inches. That's when my day ended. At peace w/ myself. Inside my tent. Looking up at the stars. Hugging my UT pillow tight and having the great company of my Cookie Monsters.

Ahhh. What a life!

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