Eastern Oregon

When I was a child we used to go to eastern Oregon every year for a vacation. Camping, really roughing it, not in camp ground. Miles away from anything, you had to watch out for scorpions and rattle snakes. You know what I liked it. I used to have so much fun when I was really young but then I grew up. It wasn't the normal teenage girl things of not being able to take a shower or talk to friends. It was the fact that the boys were treated so much differently than me. They were allowed to go off on their own, had a lot more freedom. It so pissed me off. So I stopped going.

I want to bring something of the early times to my children. I want them to know nature and freedom. I want them to see the sun rise over the rocks. To be able to see for miles because there are no trees. I want them to collect wood, start a fire, have their fingers get stuck together with marshmallow. I want them to look up at the sky and see just miles of stars without the city lights blocking them. Learn that you can't catch lizards by their tails, and not to lift rocks. To feel the hot sun burning your nose and sand stuck in your sandals.

I promise that my boys will not get preferential treatment. My daughter will learn to shoot a gun, hike all the trails and belch along with the best of them. Because she is as smart and strong as any boy.