Month: April 2025

Only three more sleeps until I am on my way. I am about to embark on a hiking trip in England. We have been planning for months. I look forward to getting away and to enjoying beautiful landscapes (and baby lambs) with old and new friends. As my professional and personal musings demonstrate, I appreciate the breadth of what people call the multiphasic recreation experience.

As a recreation professor trying to inspire students to facilitate activities for a diversity of community participants, I have emphasized that an experience is more than just the actual activity. The whole experience relates to a spectrum–the anticipation of the event, the preparation for a positive experience, travelling to and from, the actual activity, and the memories of the activity. Without those elements, the time spent during an endeavor may not be the same.

Since September, we have planned and consulted each other about the steps needed to prepare. Having others to share anticipation with as well as making sure all are adequately ready is important. I love counting down the “sleeps.”

Last fall I had a grand experience on a trip to Patagonia. Things went mostly according to plans, we had fun, and everyone stayed healthy. We could not have asked for a better trip. Moreover, my travelling friends continue to connect via social media and are planning a reunion this fall. Our recreation experience continues even though the Patagonia activity concluded five months ago.

One aspect that concerns me about people who experience memory issues such as dementia is the inability to fully appreciate the phases of the recreation experience. Looking forward to an event is part of the excitement. A friend of mine does not tell her aging mother about upcoming events because the mother will not remember. This situation is sad. Having something to look forward to is important. I also know that not being able to recall a major activity diminishes its importance. Although I seldom look back on previous entries to my daily journals, I know I can jar those memories if the details start to fade.

Having a remarkable recreation experience depends on many factors. I look forward to the entire spectrum as I embark on my upcoming trip. Anticipation and recollection are essential for a life well experienced.

Trees are a beloved natural resource as I learn more about them. I took trees for granted when I lived in North Carolina and sometimes resented the way they made it difficult to see the wide-open skies. Trees growing in Colorado have become a focus of my outdoor consciousness.

A recent program sponsored by the Estes Valley Watershed Coalition highlighted the future of trees. Research is conducted throughout the US to determine how trees are adjusting to climate change related to temperature warming as well as the result of wildfires.

The essence of the presentation was that populations of trees may go through three stages: resistance, resiliency, and transition. As I listened to the research report, I began to think that those stages also pertain to me as I contemplate aging and change in my life.

Many trees resist the changes occurring in their environment. Likewise, resistance is a common human response to changing environments. Change is good, but often not easy. I hate to be one of those people who talk about “the good old days” but I now understand how easy it is to fall into that trap. I want to resist the fact that my 75-year-old body is just not as good as it was when I was 35, or even when I was 65. Resistance, however, beats giving in.

Since resistance isn’t working for me, resilience has become a new mantra. Resilience is the ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune or change. Trees, as well as resilient people, know that even when things are difficult, they can keep going until they make it through. It takes time and intentionality. Mother Nature takes care of trees, and I am learning the importance of the core components of resilience including connections and positive thinking. My hiking is no longer as fast or as far, and I am adapting to those changes.

Transition is the third stage noted about trees. They thrive by adapting to new circumstances through a period of changing from one condition to another. Trees may find that they are better adapted to higher elevations, for example. Humans may find themselves in new environments such as moving from a single home to another living situation. When the time comes, transitions may be necessary. I hope, however, that I will continue to be active in some way even if it is different than my current routine.

 I recognize that circumstances evolve over time. I hope I can live in the moment, enjoying trees, as well as preparing myself for changes in my future.

As a young person, I loved hearing the deep-throated honking while looking up into the eastern Iowa skies to see V-shaped flocks of Canada geese flying either to the north in the spring or to the south in the fall. I do not recall that they ever landed nearby so I had no up-close association with geese until I moved to Estes Park ten years ago.

A resident group of geese stays year around at Lake Estes. The lake seldom freezes. Although usually migratory, geese in Estes Park stay due to food sources and milder winter conditions. During harsh winters, they may migrate to lower altitudes but that is not usually the case. I go to the lake almost every day to see what the geese are doing.

The geese in Estes Park graze on grassy areas, especially near the golf course and Lake Estes. They are social and congregate in flocks for safety. They nest near bodies of water to protect their babies from predators. Geese are vocal and honk to maintain contact with their flock, signal danger, and/or coordinate movements.

I heard a metaphor about geese in their migratory flights years ago and remember it as I observe the resident geese. The story goes that geese fly in V-formation because it creates an uplift for the birds following behind. This configuration improves their flying efficiency and suggests that teamwork and collaboration lead to greater results.

In addition, the flying geese rotate leadership. When the lead goose gets tired, it swaps back into the formation. Another goose takes its place. Shared leadership and trusting others to lead is evident. The geese in the back are part of the team as they honk to encourage those in front to maintain their speed and direction.

Finally, geese provide a means for support in adversity. If a goose becomes sick or injured and falls out of formation, two other geese will stay behind to help and protect it. They remain with their companion until it recovers or passes away. What a great lesson to learn regarding the importance of loyalty and mutual care in our lives.

I am grateful for the Estes Park geese. I am heartened by the lessons geese are teaching me about collaboration, support, steadfastness, empathy, caring, and resilience.

I love animals. They bring joy to me whether they are domestic or wild, or a combination of those characteristics. In 2024 the World Leisure Journal published a special issue entitled, “Unstructured Entanglements of Human Leisure and Nonhuman Animal Life.” I found these submissions intriguing.

The studies centralize humans and speak to the thousands of nonhuman species that live alongside humans. Animals can provide pleasure, enjoyment, and happiness as well as fear and trepidation. Animals and humans are linked whether they are domestic pets or wild animals that foster joy and respect.

Domestic pets such as cats, dogs, and other species interact with humans daily. I will not expound on the importance of those relationships since folks have their firsthand experiences. I have described my love for my kitties in previous blogs. Anyone who has a pet recognizes the comfort they provide as well as the sadness when they cross the rainbow bridge to wait for us.

Growing up on a farm, I loved the animals we raised. I acknowledged their utility to our livelihood. My dad treated them with profound respect. They had an economic purpose in life that I took for granted. They were not pets but provided an essential commitment and reverence as they lived and died. I do not eat much red meat these days, but when I do, I consciously thank those animals that now become a part of my body and remember how my dad cherished his caretaking of our animals.

I enjoy the daily interaction I have with animals in the wild. I never get tired of seeing the deer fawns or the elk calves. I get excited when I see a pine marten or snowshoe hare crossing the trail in front of me. I love the monthly opportunities I have as a citizen scientist to count elk in the park. I am in awe of these wild animals in my life.

Animal-human encounters, however, are not always positive. I often get asked in the park about bears and mountain lions. People share their fears. The reality is that you are lucky to see either of them. I have been hiking in this park for over 55 years and have only encountered a handful of black bears and have never seen a mountain lion. I remind people that the most dangerous animals in the park are a moose (they are very moody) and/or a mother elk protecting her baby.

I adopt a multispecies perspective on all the relationships I have with animals. Those associations occur everyday. I am grateful for the interactions with pets as well as “wild” animals.