Article October 25, 2004 Issue

THE NEXT CAMP

By Gail Gilliland

This past August, my husband and I were looking forward to a camping trip in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Whenever we took a break from work—or from some hefty family commitments we were helping out with at the time—we'd sit down together and go over our camping list. Two-man tent with rain flap—check. Sleeping bags and ground pads—check. Trusty hiking boots—check. Self-contained meals and drinking water—check. Occasionally, we discovered something we didn't have—Oops. Better go find a new camping stove. But for the most part, we thought we were pretty well prepared. Finally the day came, and we set off.

A few things still weighed heavily on my mind as we drove north on Highway 395 and on up through the Mojave Desert toward the Inyo National Forest. Like a lot of other people we knew, we'd faced an enormous number of changes in the last two years, and some of the moves we'd made, while clearly necessary, had felt unsetting to say the least. The funny thing was, I'd been very certain that each of these moves was right to make. It was only as an afterthought that I had my doubts. (You know what I mean—What if? What if?)

But during this camping trip, I was to "see" a lot more than pretty scenery. I was about to learn a practical lesson that I could move over to all those second-guesses and backward glances. I learned that there's always another campsite! And even when the next site has its drawbacks, it holds its own unique adventure. It offers its own exquisite views. If we're just willing to investigate the posibilities of what might lie ahead of us, and to move on when it looks right to do so, then we're always going to find something new and interesting—maybe even better—in each place.