It was easy to get started early that morning. I was motivated. I had some errands in town, about 2000' lower than the stony ridge I was camped on. In town it was expected to be triple digits in the afternoon, again. (Hardly any towns in the Inland Northwest are high altitude and comfortable.)
When I drove by a large lake I was surprised that nobody was there. But really, who goes out to play in the water at 7 a.m.? By 11 a.m. some people would surely be out there, enjoying it.
Thinking about that brought on a powerful wave of nostalgia, despite "going to the lake to cool off" not being a big part of my childhood. But most people at least remember running through lawn sprinklers as a child. There are other pleasant memories, such as the anticipation of grandmother or mother making ice-cold lemonade. Or getting a little bit of relief from a porch swing or riding a bicycle.
This is time for my annual advertisement for the chapter, "Quincy", in the "Education of Henry Adams."
It's true that cooling off in the summer was more important to our recent ancestors, and even to Baby Boomers in their childhood, than it is to children today. Today's youngsters head to the lake in an air-conditioned car, after starting in an air-conditioned house. A comparison like that tends to ruin the pleasure for an older person who has seen both sides of the issue, but today's youngsters are fortunate to know only one side. So they will probably have pleasant memories of the lake, sixty years from today.
Enjoying hot summer days can be more than mere nostalgia especially if you are camping and need to reinvent some of the tricks of the trade used by our ancestors. It is surprising how effective it is to douse a washrag in unheated water and then rub the head, face, and neck. I lift my little dog up to the kitchen sink and soak her head.
Anybody who is having trouble slipping into nostalgia about summer heat and water need only melt into the mindset of a thirsty dog guzzling water:
Well anyway, I continued along Oregon's upper Powder River until I made it to Baker City. I was there early enough, but hardly any stores were open. There are times when I criticize myself for not adapting to changing conditions well enough or quickly enough. But my goodness, people in town are totally bad at it. What are they thinking?
Comments
A throwback to my childhood growing up in the Mojave desert when our home was 'conditioned' by evaporative cooling.