"Wilderness Camping - 101!"

IF I were in girl scouts today, I believe I would have earned the "Wilderness Camping - 101" badge! Surely there has to be one. If so. . . I know I would proudly wear it. But the more I think about it - girl scouts probably never accomplished the "Wilderness" thing. Soo...I guess I would drop them and have to join the boy scouts instead. Ah well. . .

This past Wednesday through Friday, my husband and I got to experience an AWESOME adventure together!! <Whispers: I now know the absolute best time to go to Garner State Park! But don't let word get out to all those Garner lovers...or they'll know too!!> That's right....total contrast - as night and day - between going in the Summer verses going in the Summer AFTER school has started!! Unbelievable. . . 

My story takes place on a sunny Wednesday morning, as two happy people pack down their Jeep for the adventure that lies ahead. We headed out at noon and ate at a Subway in Katy. Yes...the trip would not be complete without a stop at my beloved Subway first. Why is it, for two people alone, you still must bring everything but the bed to go camping?? The packing alone is a real test of knowledge, skill, and strength I tell ya! But, I've also told you how wonderful my husband is. . . so you know he handled the job well.

Good thing the kids didn't go. Who knows where we would have stuck them!

Speaking of kids - we did indeed leave our teenage son home on his own. He was to take care of the animals as well as take care of getting himself up and TO school for the following days.....and to stay in contact with Mom. Little did Mom know - there would be NO contact whatsoever when "Wilderness Camping". Worried - No. Concerned my son might be trying to stay in contact and can't and now is a tad concerned himself - Yes. I will tell you upon arriving at home later, it was neither a concern or a worry to him. His statement - "Mom, I knew you were camping. No service when you camp." It was one of those duh moments. Yes, my son - I belittled your intelligence.

Moving along - -

Upon arriving to Garner we were met with rain. Why does this not surprise me? Each of the last two big trips we made - we were met with rain. David was saying "Well, maybe we won't be able to set up a tent and have to find a hotel." Whaaaat? that's no adventure! We didn't travel all this way for a hotel!" :) No, I'm not spoiled....just expressive.

As we got inside the entrance, we noticed not much of anyone else was around. In fact, as we walked up to the door we noticed a sign that nicely says "Closed". Did anyone know that a State Park would be closed after 5pm?? Umm....not these people anyway. It was 5:30. Now what to do? There was a phone number, but no cell service. Next. There was a After Hours Check In with no visible check in means. Next. My smart husband found a box attached and opened the lid to find slips of paper. BINGO. You were to place money inside and state the site you would be staying at. And...register the following morning before 9am. What a honor system they have! 

I haven't mentioned that we had previously been to Garner, just a few years ago - 13 of them, and camped with our 3 kids. THAT was not wilderness camping though. I will explain shortly.

With that being said, we knew we wanted to try and remember the same camp site as before. David and I both came up with the numbers 3 and a 7. So he guessed and checked camp site #337. I suggested that we possibly should go and look first to make sure. He agreed and we drove through to find our site. Afterall, no one was there to care. We spotted #337 and decided - no, that's not it. Driving on, we interchanged the numbers and still came up short. Finally, we drove on the back side of the camping areas and what should we find? Our camp site!!! Number 449! < no 3's or 7's HA!

We made a new slip, gave our money, and excitedly went to unpack!

Did I mention that we were the ONLY human inhabitants in our entire camp?!?! And this is where the "Wilderness Camping" comes into view. Yes....out of close to 120 camp sites we would be camping ALONE ! In fact the entire population of Garner consisted of somewhere around a possible 2%. A definite new experience was fast on our heels and we were taking it on...... a tad bit nervously on my part, I might add. As I mentioned, we were the only human inhabitants, but we were NOT alone. There were animal critters everywhere. We saw packs of young deer in so many directions - funny looking jack rabbits hopping in many directions - cute, but stinky skunks in all the other directions -  and man eating wild turkeys...just to name a few from the start. As far as the eye could see to the left and to the right and behind and in front - no one.....just us and God. Ok well, technically there were two houses across the river and not in the state park....just to keep it truthful.

But, what we did see was beauty. God's beauty that he beautifully created for us to enjoy in so many ways.

 

A long ago memory of our children naming this tree "Grandmother Willow"

And so we set up camp, got our grub on of delicious hamburgers made by my hubby, and settled in for the evening. What the evening held for us.....God only knew.

O wait, I almost forgot to tell you!!
We got in the Jeep and went "spot-lighting" that night and would do it again the following night! It was so freakin awesome !!! As we would drive through the dark, we would shine our flashlights out into the night and see alien-looking eyes of the night piercingly looking back at us!! Talk about adventure....who knew what all was out there among us!!! O my gosh....such fun it was!!! 

At all of 9:15 pm, David and I stood out on the now very dark road, lit only by the less than half of a moon, alone staring up into the vast sky, filled with thousands of stars. It was a wondrous feeling....it was a nervous feeling. Knowing that not a single soul knew we were here and yet God knew all along right where we were. If you've never had the opportunity to have such a situation, I recommend you try it.
The utter and extreme silence was beyond imagination!! My kids would have went literally CRAZY (they can't stand even the very word: silence)
We were living in a more than perfect Sasquatch moment indeed!!! :-)

Shortly after, we decided there was nothing else but to go to bed for the night. Can I just say 9:30 is a never happen kinda thing back at home unless you're sick. Yes....it was early....but yet at the same time.....all around us told us it's LATE! We zipped ourselves into the tent. We had no light left on - I did not want any crazies to know we were here. The dark, our black jeep, and our well set back tent hid us quite nicely. But, then there was the fact that we also had no electricity - meaning we had no fan to mute out the imaginative and REAL sounds of the night. You see there was sites with electricity, but we chose this one out of sentamentalness of days gone by. Soooo....with all that said.....this girl could hear everything known to prowl the darkness. My sweet husband told me we may not be able to get our KSBJ Christian radio app to work, but that he did have some christian music previously downloaded onto his phone. He played the music and held my hand. It helped..... and I thanked him.

About an hour into our journey of the night, I decided I wasn't going to make the night without going to the restroom. Just as we were about to venture out into the night, we both heard a cry shrieking out! No lie!! I said "Ok...so we are not going now!" David insisted we were. He knew there was no choice. He gave me a flashlight and togther we scurried to the Jeep. Yup....bathrooms were NOT in walking distance for the nightime. Did I mention we were "Wilderness Camping"?! Once we got to the restrooms, David had to scare away a skunk in the darkness. First rule of thumb, humans do not SCARE skunks....thankfully skunk scurried off. With business taken care of, we drove back to eerily dark and very silent camp site.

Needless to say....this girl didn't get much sleep that night. I heard coyotes.....I heard posinous dart blowing animals....<<if you're saying "HUH?" on that one - don't ask me, all I know is in the middle of the night I heard an animal come by our tent and shriek twice and it sounded something like what a posionous dart blowing animal would sound like>> and YES David heard the coyotes too....but not the posinous dart blowing animal. Ha! I could hear creeping, crawling noises along the ground too. All the while, I did not move for I didn't want to scare whatever the heck was out there and make it come eat us! :-) David and my son would later tell me "You WANT to make noises so they will run away....not come eat you!" Silly Mom.

I must have got some sleep though because I distinctly remember a baby leopard sitting on top of our tent while the mother leopard was coming for it and we were frantically trying to shoo it off. :-)

All in all....we did survive the night. No animals ate us.....and we lived to tell about it. No crazies found us. God was so good. Even in our fears and doubts - He still holds us and carries us through.....whether it be to the other side....or just the morning. But, I did have one small suggestion for the next night. Let's move to where there is electricity and maybe some people. :-)

Upon registering, we did find out that the employees were a bit confused to see someone actually at the spot we had designated. That's ok....we do like to do things differently. We had driven around, before registering, and had our pick of the park as to where we would move next. We decided to still remain in the vacant area of the park, only this time - we had electricity! And with electricity comes this beloved machine!!



Hooray!!! Now I could sleep!! And all those man eating critters out there would just have to find something else to chow down for the night!!

Next order of the day - - go hiking of course!! Hiking is one of our absolute favorites and we try to do it often!! In fact, we are in training for an up and coming BIG hiking trip we are taking that is just around the corner!! We are going to the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and hiking to as many water falls as we can!! So, this was a great opportunity for us to try out our new hiking adventure clothes!

We hiked....and we hiked......and we hiked...... it was truly awesome!! We made it to the top of the mountain and found out that we had a temporary signal to reach anyone back home that we needed to. We continued on ..... It was really GREAT training, and I felt often like the mountain goat that apparently had been following us at one point. Steep and rough terrain......AWESOME!!

This next sequence of events is a true highlight to my story. . . . too awesome for words, in fact!

We hiked to a cave....Crystal Cave. We had been here before with our 3 kids, and about the bravest we had been was to simply stand several layers up from the cave entrance. Sooo....that was about as far as we thought we would go this time as well. Actually, David may be a little farther into the opening than before.



 

I decided to get my "brave" goin on and took my shot at posing in front of this menacing place too!

Little did I know what lay ahead. . . .



As we sat down to rest, another human soul appeared to be hiking also. Wow, someone else inhabited this mountain afterall! We made friendly talk with him and then down he went, just like that, into the cave....alone....no tour guide.....Heck, I didn't even see a flashlight on him!! At that point, I was determined to wait for him to come back out and tell us of his adventures!! He finally appeared.....he told us it was a really awesome place! I told him thanks for being our eyes and that he won the bravery award for that day! As he walked away, David said "Alright, are you ready to hike on?" That's when my adventure chromosome really kicked in.....I wasn't ready to leave! I kept looking to the mouth of the cave, and David saw the direction my eyes were directed to. He said "Are you wanting to go down in there???" I shook my head yes and got up with all the go-girl power I had summoned up. I was going to do this!! Have I mentioned that there is a "slight" fear of the fear of enclosed, dark, super creepy places?? As well as a fear of fear of claustraphobia?? I say a fear of the fear because David says I don't really have those things, but rather I'm just afraid that I do. Haha! I'll go with that. Since I was going, David decided he would join me. I was going first though. I climbed further down into the darkness. Upon peering inside for the first time, I noticed just how LOW the ceiling was....that was when I started balking at the decision. David coaxed me on and before you knew it my legs had carried me all the way into that deep, dark hole!! David came and walked further into the cave. Shining his flashlight up on to the ceiling, he said "Did you notice all these bats up here?!" I freaked out a TAD....."What....NO!!" He laughed and I came to where his light was. Although it was NOT bats it WAS spiders!! The ceiling was literally full of crawling spiders scrambling over one another!! How nice.....

As we stood there, I decided I wanted David to take my picture of my bravery!! I think it's such a COOL  picture. . . .

Shoot!! This girl was ready for more adventure!!

That's when I told David dear to go up and out of the cave and take more pictures of me....still inside the cave!! And.....he did......

I was just a speck and still very much inside that cave - hopefully just me, God and well - the spiders!

You can still see me only because I'm shining a light on myself. IF something decided to appear, out of the darkness, I knew I was not getting up and out of there anywhere fast! The rocks, climbing up and out, were slippery!! It was such an exhilarating feeling though!! O my gosh....I love feeling brave and adventerous!! :-) I do and can draw the line on some things, but this one...I didn't....and I was so glad!! 

I did climb out.......

And we continued our hiking. 

Afterwards, we had a nice lunch back at our camp site, and then we were off to have a bike ride. By the way, bike rides rate up there with hiking also....another favorite of ours. Riding on mountains of ROCK though can be rather B U M P Y! After the bike ride, we did indeed make it to the water. For those of you who may of thought that Garner is simply all about the water - there is so much more! :-) 

Although the water was waaaay down and we saw that floating it on our tubes pretty much wasn't going to happen....we had the best time! We found our own oasis. A pool of water with small waterfalls cascading around us. When we weren't in the "pool" we were in the "spa". The water was perfect too.....not too cold and not bath tub temp either.

That evening, we had a nice dinner of hot dogs, an adventure of spot-lighting, and then to bed.

This time, we had an elderly couple show up and camp within sight of us. We were not alone anymore. We did have a strange encounter though, as time went by into the night. A very odd couple with 2 kids seemed to want to arrive late and try out several different sites. They would drive ever so slowly by ours, and more than once it appeared they were pulling into our site. Great....just when you think all is gonna be well and settle down for a good rest....you get the strange ones coming out. By morning I don't know how many sites they had tried out ...they were still on the move! That's when the mysterious stories start conjuring in your mind....kidnappers? aliens checking you out from every angle? camp site testers? Haha! Life's always an adventure!

A new day dawneth and we were off on another hike!!

We hiked way up high and all around......

Did I tell you I may have seen one of those coyotes?!? We followed the way he went too!! Which was it more of.....me being tired and just wanting to go the closest way to the car OR the adventure that ensued?! Haha!

In fact, we hiked so much that David dear literally walked right off the soul of his boot! Thankfully, as he stumbled while doing so, that we were not on the moutain anymore!!  We had just come off the moutain and were walking down the road to our car.

We arrived back at our camp site, had a nice lunch, and loaded up the Jeep for our journey home.

Would you believe someone was actually waiting on our spot?!?! Out of all the countless sites available it seemed we had chosen one of the best....I guess. I think that's what those "strange people" were really wanting that night too! Haha!

It was truly a wonderful time..... a time of trust and a time of faith on our part. But, also a time of seeing God's true faithfulness to carry us through any situation in life - whether it be on the mountain tops or the valleys below. . . caves too. :-)

Thanks for letting me share as always!

And ..... live life as an adventure everyday! Even in the everyday mundane things of life there can be an adventure lurking around the corner just waiting for YOU !

"Slam the Door....HARD!"

What DO you do when the past comes knocking?

Do you answer it curiously? Do you resolve that THIS time you can handle it, and answer it knowing your strength will see you through? Do you answer it hoping no one else will know?

 -OR-

Do you slam the door shut, knowing NO good will come of it whatsoever?

I want to share something very personal with you regarding myself. Why? you may ask. Because in ALL things and through ALL things...I want God to be glorified and lifted up! And....because I want to encourage YOU to know that you're not alone in your struggles. There is HOPE !

This past weekend a voice from the past came calling. No, it wasn't a voice inside my own head, but rather a real voice. A voice I had NO desire whatsoever to associate with. And to let you know - I absolutely, positively chose the option mentioned above of slamming the door SHUT knowing NO good would come of it whatsoever! But, after I did.....fear began to creep in. Fear of things from the past that had been overcome through God's grace and healing, somehow resurfacing again. Fear of why was this voice even contacting me. Basically....fear of fear. As my heart was racing and I nervously prayed, God began to calm me. I read my Bible, and prayed, and wrote out memory verses, and wrote out God's promises, for the next two hours until my husband got home. I can testify to you that God was my anchor to hold onto during that time. He held me in his hands.

Upon my husband arriving home, I began to nervously unfold the evening to him, really not being sure of how he would react. Have I told you that the very character of God Himself has been placed inside my loving and dear husband? This beautiful gift, of someone more than a husband, is beyond describing what a true blessing he is to me. God knew in the beginning, before time ever started, who this girl would need in her life.....thank you God, with the most sincerest thanks. My husband not only listened to me pour my heart out, but also lovingly reassured me each step of the way<<<just as God did/would. He then prayed out loud for me. I did ask him if he would and he very willingly agreed. That is such a strength and one of the truest blessings to hear your spouse pray out loud for you. I encourage you to do it!! One of the things David prayed was that I would view God as the Father that He is - protecting his children, not letting anything happen that was not allowed for our own good. (A sidenote here: the next day at church, we sat behind a family. I watched the dad with his young daughter of about 7 or 8. He always kept his arm around her while standing or sitting. It was a beautiful picture of what our Lord does for us. Except I believe He holds us in his strong arms and carries us closest to his heart. But He never, ever lets go.)

To keep it clear and focused here - - God and God alone is the One to bring me through any of life's hurts, fears, shames, regrets, pain. He needs no help at all. My total dependence IS on the Savior of not only my salvation, but also my Savior Who lifts me from my problems of everyday life. God's beautiful grace is sufficent for me. I thank Him with a full heart for being enough for all my life's needs. 

And I know that He has also given me a help mate to walk with me through this life. To encourage me, to calm me, to hold me, to love me just as I am. Again....the very character of God. 

I don't want any confusion of someone thinking I esteem David as the one to get me through everything. 

I want to bring God's Words into this Blog. For my words can be taken as "O that's great and nice for her - - but what about me?"  So, it is for all those "me's" I share the following verses. May it bring God's encouragement and strength to your heart.

Psalm 55: 16-18 "But I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed from the battles waged against me, even though many oppose me."

Psalm 34:4 "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from ALL my fears."

Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped."

Psalm 31:1 In you O Lord have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame, deliver me in your righteousness."

Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 31: 14-15 "But I trust in you, O Lord; I say You are my God. My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those that pursue me."

Psalm 32:7 "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."

These are some of the verses I have been committing to memory and using them. I strongly encourage to memorize verses if you are not. It helps in such enormous ways! In fact it is essential in two parts of wearing the full "armor of God"......the "shield of faith" and the "sword of the Spirit". Try it!! You will be glad you did!

Some others - -

Romans 8:15 "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by who we cry Abba! Father!"

Mark 5:36 "Don't be afraid - just believe."

Romans 8:37 "We are conquerors through him who loves us!"

Jeremiah 30:17 "But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds declares the Lord."

Jeremiah 30: 10-11 I inserted my name and you can do the same - "Debby will again have peace and security and no one will make her afraid. I am with you and will save you declares the Lord."

Exodus 14: 13 "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. Verse 14 - "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Lamentations 3:22 "Because of the Lord's great love we are NOT consumed, for his compassions never fail." 

Isaiah 41: 10 My most favorite verse in the Bible - "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Before I end up quoting the entire Bible to you....I will stop for now. God's Words are just SO powerful and SO full of HOPE !! They are what we base our everything on.....hope, peace, joy, comfort, faith, trust, victory, freedom, ....... and the list goes on.......

And not only has God given us his Words through the Bible, but also through song! Friend, I also strongly encourage you to listen to christian music. . . for it uplifts the soul in so many wonderful and God honoring ways!! It truly has been such a source of encouragement and strength for me in my life.....and to think there was a time I had NO desire to listen to it at all. Thank you God for bringing me thus far.

I know my Blogs get long-winded....but please allow me to share through song also. . . 

Darlene Zschech with Israel Houghton : "In Jesus' Name"

"God is fighting for us. God is on our side. He has overcome. We will not be shaken. We will not be moved. Jesus, you are here - carrying our burdens, covering our shame. The resurrection power of Christ is alive in me and I am free! In Jesus name I will live, I will not die. I will declare and lift you on high. Christ revealed and I am healed. In Jesus name God is fighting for us. Pushing back the darkness. Lighting up the kingdom that cannot be shaken. In the name of Jesus enemy's defeated and we will shout it out."

A song I've never heard until this past Sunday sung by a person I've never heard as well. But, it spoke volumes of God fighting for us - not being shaken - he carries our burdens - covers our shame - and HIS power is alive in me!!

Forever Jones - "Hold Me Still"

"You said don't worry bout your future daughter. Just think about the things that matter. So I won't magnify the small things anymore. I'll only glorify the Father. Cause you hold me still. When the waves around me began to build, I'm in your hand. Though it's sometimes hard to stand. You have made my heart and you hold it still. So, don't involve yourself with useless chatter, just talk about the things that matter. And when you feel the world around you shatter, just lift your eyes up to the Father and he'll hold you still. Oh, I see the waves - I'm not afraid. I see the storm - I'm not shaken. I feel the world quake - my ground is stable."

Another song of strength, through the Father, when fears, doubts, worries try to come. He holds us still. No matter what - trust his strong arms around you, child of God.

A very favorite artist of mine - Mandisa: "Overcomer"

"Whatever it is you may be going through, I know He's not gonna let it get the best of you. You're not going under, cause God is holding you right now. God is the overcomer in you. <Yes I changed up the words a tad because I'm NOT the overcomer, but rather HE is the overcomer in me!> Just take a breath, don't forget to hang on to his promises. The One who overcomes death is living inside you. Fix your eyes on the One who holds your life. For there's nothing he can't do."

God overcomes in us what we cannot do for ourselves!! Thank ya Jesus!!! Nothing consumes and nothing overwhelms....because we hold onto his promises.

Just one more song!!!!!

Chris Tomlin - also a favorite - "Our God!"

"Into the darkness you shine - out of the ashes we rise. Our God is greater, Our God is stronger, He is higher than any other. Our God is Healer and awesome in power. And if our God is for us then WHO could ever stop us? And if our God is with us then WHAT can stand against us?" My answer-- NOTHING!

Nothing formed against us shall stand......period. For God IS stronger, greater,  and higher than any other!! 

Friend, as I said, I know my Blogs are long, but there is just SO much of God's goodness to share with you!! I could keep listing song after song as well as verse after verse!! And along with Chris August, I will sing to you - -  "I will sing about your love, I will shout it to the sky. I will tell of what you've done, when the people ask me why I live my life this way - I'll say that I am unashamed of You!! For what your grace did and what your grace does!!"

And THAT, my friend, is why I share.........