Learning to find my way

Saturday started with me looking for something to do while I'm stuck in Casper waiting on van repairs. There are plenty of hikes on Casper Mountain, some interesting parks, and several free museums around town, but one event in particular caught my attention. A local nonprofit was hosting a Father's Day survival and preparedness program, and after a quick phone call to confirm walk-ins were welcome, I headed over when it opened at 10:00 a.m.

The first part of the event focused on navigation. We learned how to use a compass, calculate our pace count, and follow bearings through the woods. Once everyone had the basics down, we were sent off with a set of bearings that guided us to different stations scattered throughout the forest. At each stop we learned practical skills like fire starting, shelter building, water purification, emergency communications, natural food and medicine sources, and basic first aid.

I was paired with two cousins named Silam and Asher, who didn't have a compass of their own. They immediately reminded me of my nephews. Unfortunately, my little team quickly decided they were cold, bored, and ready to head back to their parents, so our adventure together ended after the navigation portion. Still, I enjoyed helping them through that first exercise.

The event itself was fantastic. Some of the skills were completely new to me, while others reinforced things I already knew. One of my favorite moments was successfully starting a fire using only flint and natural materials. I've used flint before, but always with a little help getting things going. This time I had to gather my own tinder, identify materials that would catch a spark, shave and fluff them into a nest, and patiently build the fire from scratch. There was something incredibly satisfying about seeing that first little ember catch.

The water purification station was equally interesting, and by the end of the day I had a growing list of items I'd like to add to my hiking pack and a few apps to install on my phone. Hopefully I'll never need them in an emergency, but it's comforting to know a little more than I did before.

Sunday started much earlier than I would have preferred. I woke up around 4:00 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep, so I spent a quiet morning reading and waiting for the rest of the world to catch up. Eventually I gave in, stopped by a barber shop to clean up the edges around my ears and tighten up my taper, then headed to a brunch hosted by the local LGBTQ+ community.

These were the same people I'd met at game night earlier in the week, so it was nice seeing familiar faces in what otherwise still feels like a city full of strangers.

During brunch, someone mentioned a summer solstice night walk happening later that evening at Crimson Dawn. The history of the place is fascinating. Its founder, Neal Forsling, created a whimsical world on Casper Mountain filled with stories, folklore, artwork, and shrines dedicated to fairies, witches, and other magical creatures she imagined inhabiting the area. Walking through the forest felt a little like stepping into someone else's dream.

One stop along the trail especially stood out to me. Neal had created a stone memorial of sorts. Whenever she felt lonely or thought of someone she missed, she would bring a rock to the site, focus on a happy memory, and add the stone to the growing pile.

Maybe it was because it was Father's Day, but that story hit me harder than I expected.

My dad was front and center in my thoughts all day. As I wandered through the woods, I kept thinking about how much he would have loved this little adventure. Before smartphones, Google, and AI made information instantly accessible, he somehow always managed to discover the most obscure and interesting things for us to do. One of my favorite memories was something he called "Girl Power Night" because my sisters and I were obsessed with the Spice Girls. It turned out to be a historical reenactment featuring the wives of various U.S. presidents talking about their roles in history. Somehow he was always finding strange little events, forgotten attractions, and unexpected adventures.

The older I get, the more I notice pieces of him in myself. The curiosity. The desire to explore. The ability to find something interesting almost anywhere. And for that, I'm incredibly grateful. It makes me feel like he's still along for the ride somehow, cheering me on from the passenger seat.

The evening ended with a different kind of adventure than I expected.

The solstice walk normally concludes with a bonfire, hot chocolate, snacks, and conversation, but as the hike neared its end the weather began to turn. At first it was just wind, then distant thunder, then flashes of lightning. It became obvious a storm was moving in, and not knowing how bad it would get or how long it would last, I decided to head down the mountain early.

In hindsight, waiting might have been the wiser choice, but I was worried the rain would last and the dirt road I needed to drive down would become impossible in my little Sentra.

Driving down Casper Mountain during the storm was probably one of the creepiest drives I've ever experienced. There are no streetlights up there. Just darkness, dense forest, jagged rock walls, twisting roads, sheets of rain, and the occasional flash of lightning illuminating everything for a split second before plunging it back into shadow. Heavy mist drifted across the road while the wind pushed rain in every direction.

It felt like driving through the setting of a ghost story.

But as I finally descended toward the city and the trees began to thin, I was rewarded with one of the most beautiful views I've seen in a long time. Storm clouds stretched across the horizon while the lights of Casper glowed below. Rain softened into a mist, and in one corner of the sky the last traces of sunset painted the clouds shades of red.

For a moment, it felt like the storm and the light were sharing the same sky.

It was a fitting end to a Father's Day spent thinking about the past, appreciating the present, and feeling my way through both.Read more