In other words
Go outside and play!
Do yourself a favour this summer: at least once a week get up, go outside, lock the door behind you, and don’t let yourself back in until it’s too dark to see the trees.
Go play, why don’cha!
Take your shoes off, go! Run in the sun. Get hot. Sweat. Sit in the shade. Eat your strawberries wild, right out of your hand. Drink your water cold, right out of the tap. Now stick your head under the tap. Give your head a shake. Fall down! Laugh!
It sure beats doing the laundry.
And while you’re out there, forget about being ‘productive.’ The weeds aren’t going anywhere—but summer is! Get your daily dose of Vitamin P—‘P’ for ‘play,’ that is. It prevents all sorts of ills, such as grumpomas and stale-brainitis.
Be a kid again. Your play can be as technical as you like; kayaking, mountain climbing, golfing even. Just remember, the over-riding objective is to get back down to earth, to taste the dirt through your fingers and toes. Touch the concrete through the abstracts.
This backyard we Northerners have to play in is huge; the choices for play endless. If you find yourself overwhelmed by the options and need a little direction, this issue is packed with ideas, starting with Matt J. Simmons’ piece on Mount Edziza. Even if you never wanted to climb a cinder cone, even if you didn’t know Mount Edziza existed, Matt’s piece will leave you wanting to know it first-hand.
If water play is your thing, check out Tanya Davidson’s piece in the Northern BC Tourism section on water-based recreation. It’s enough to wet your whistle.
Rob Sturney has a few words to say about his favourite swimming hole at Ross Lake in Hazelton. But we all have our own version of Ross Lake. My family has two favourites: Tyhee Lake in Telkwa is our current refuge come high noon in the hot sun. When we lived in Prince George, Ferguson Lake was our summer escape. At this wildlife oasis just minutes from the city we’d circle the lake on the boardwalk and marvel at what at first glance looked like ant hills but actually consisted of hundreds of tiny toads. The leeches, too, were…interesting.
Prince Rupert also has its share of play options—so many that when we visit my kids never want to leave. Every time we head home one of them says, “What would happen if one of those huge trees fell down and blocked the road and we had to stay for a few more days?” The thought makes them happy. I’d be happy just to camp by that salty, wide Skeena River and explore the shore. At low tide, it looks like you could walk and wade what seems like miles to the other side. But, if sternwheelers paddled up it, and if Ali Howard can swim down its broad tail end, the mighty Skeena must be deeper than it appears.
Another summer favourite: music festivals, especially the camping kind. We’re so lucky to have such a variety to choose from across the north! The Midsummer Music Festival in Smithers is a sentimental favourite as Hans and I have been going since 04 BC (4 years Before Children). Now that the kids are old enough to know better, they too want to do it again, and again, and again.
Even with all the options mentioned herein, there are dozens—if not hundreds—of other northern BC adventures waiting to be discovered. And none of them feature laundry as a highlight.
At the end of the day, my favourite part of summer is always that bright band of sky that lies across the horizon all through the night. In the depths of December, when it’s 40 below and darkest dark at 4 pm, it’s the memory of that band of light that keeps me warm.
But, enough about winter! Who let that thought in here? Just remember: summer waits for no-one, so get out there and play!
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