People often ask me if I get lonely on the road. The short (and honest) answer is “No.” I keep in touch with friends via phone, text and e-mail. In my travels, I often stop and visit friends in different parts of the country. But a good 90% of my time is spent alone (with Cosmo, of course) at a campsite or on BLM land. This journey is primarily about connecting with Nature, and getting in touch with myself–both who I am, and who I hope to be. I rarely feel lonely when I’m next to a beautiful lake, or sleeping adjacent to a majestic mountain. To the contrary, I feel connected, protected, and part of all that is.
But every now and then, I make a connection on the road that feels important, in spite of how limited the time spent together might be. This week proved to be just such a time.
I pulled into Pyramid Lake Campground at Angeles National Forest on Tuesday. I was greeted by one of the biggest smiles I’ve seen in a long time, and a woman named Sheryl was behind it. We chatted, and I got checked in. The place was sparcely populated, so I had my choice from many available campsites. I picked the first one that seemed level and made myself at home. Later, I saw Sheryl out trimming trees and riding her golf cart around to pick up trash and check the bathrooms. She stopped and we chatted some more and got to know each other a bit.
This morning, I spotted Tank, Sheryl’s dog (who is aptly named!), running around the campground. He came over and Sheryl and her golf cart weren’t far behind. It turns out Sheryl knows dogs and dog behaviors. She encouraged me to let Cosmo play (Yup. I’m a very over-protective parent.) I let him off the leash since there were no other campers in the area, and no place he could run to get in trouble. Cosmo and Tank had a blast and Cosmo ran around at top speed–something he hasn’t been able to do since we last visited a dog park in Wisconsin. They both had a lot of fun, and I relaxed a little and let them be dogs. Sheryl and I had another great conversation.
I don’t know if I’ll ever see Sheryl again after I leave here. If I do see her down the road, that would be lovely; if I don’t, I still take with me the gift of kindness she showed me, some more knowledge of how to train a dog, and the reinforced belief that there are good people everywhere. Abraham Lincoln once said “If you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will.” I have come to believe the converse is also true: If you look for the GOOD in people, you will surely find it. I didn’t have to look too far or toohard to find the good in Sheryl. I expected to stay one night and instead I stayed three.
Thanks Sheryl, for making my stay in the Angeles National Forest a pleasant, fun, and educational experience. I hope to see you again down the road some day.