Tag Archives: campsite

camping south dakota with book

Camping Spot w/ a Good Book (and Banana) in South Dakota

A Great Camping Spot to Read a Book – Wow, what an inspiring scene, located outside of Pierre, South Dakota. Looks like all the essentials are covered here, and reason number 101 to feel bad about your daily commute.

Actually, that book is “Desert Solitaire” by Edward Abbey which has some great quotes for a scene like this:

“Wilderness and motors are incompatible and the former can best be experienced, understood and enjoyed when the machines are left behind where they belong — on the superhighways and in the parking lots, on the reservoirs and in the marinas.”

“A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles.”

And, for those of you like myself who watch with concern as the Federal Reserve & Wall Street struggle in their endless quest for economic growth, here’s another relevant quote:

“An economic system which can only expand or expire must be false to all that is human.” – Edward Abbey

Quotes from Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire.
Inspiring Instagram Photo @paul_johnstone

Embrace a Journey and Plant Your Flag

neil armstrong moon flag

Neil Armstrong w/ flag

Plant Your Own Flag“I think we’re going to the moon because it’s in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It’s by the nature of his deep inner soul … we’re required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream.” – Neil Armstrong

The tradition of planting a flag recalls the common practice of explorers through history who have done so to claim land in the name of their country. Of course, every corner of the globe has been claimed, and Neil Armstrong famously planted an American flag on the moon.

Within moments of that flag being raised, president Nixon called Armstrong saying, “Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man’s world. And as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth.” I think maybe that is why we’re inclined to plant a flag ourselves… not claiming something as our property, but embracing a challenge or journey, and making that destination part of our own little world, saying, “I was here.”

I like this photo because in a way it’s the opposite of what early explorers did in claiming virgin land. This rustic, hand-made flag doesn’t promote a country or organization, and made of a bandana & curved tree branch, will certainly not last the million or more years that the flag on the moon will. Maybe though, we can embrace a personal challenge & then plant a flag somewhere special, inspiring a moment of peace and tranquility in our own lives.

Instagram photo @paul_johnstone