Poppers

Today's post is dedicated to someone very important to me. He's had a profound influence on my life. Its because of him that I have such a great love for the outdoors. His stories about hitch hiking in his youth inspired me to take risks that I may not have otherwise. Today's post is dedicated to my Dad.

When I was a child, we lived in a very small town in South-Western Manitoba. My brother and I had total freedom to run, play with our friends, bike, or do whatever. My favourite thing to do though was spend time with my Poppers at a creek just outside of town. This is where I fell in love with nature. He would take me on little walks in the woods and show me things I hadn't seen before like black swans, beaver, eagles. We even found a plant fossil once. We spent countless summer days catching minnows and hopping on rocks across the creek. Those moments inspired me to look for more and appreciate the beauty of he world around me.

I remember the first time I saw a porcupine. It was early spring and there was still a bit of snow on the ground. We walked a ways and I stopped under a tree. Dad chuckled and warned me to move. “Why?”, I asked. “Look at the snow”, he replied. I looked down and at my feet were little yellow patches in the snow. “Now look up” he said. There, sitting in the tree, was a chubby blonde porcupine. We had so many precious little experiences like that.

When we were a bit older, we moved to the city. We lost a lot of freedom and I really struggled to adjust. One thing that always made me feel better though were days spent in the park or fishing with my Dad. To this day, he's still my favourite fishing partner. He taught me how to rig a line, hook on bait, and cast. I used to be very finicky about touching fish so he'd always take them off the line for me. Fire coffee was a must on every trip and if it ever rained, he would break out the red-neck gazebo ( a lean to made from a blue tarp).
 
  If that wasn't enough, my Dad also had a lot to do with my love of travel. We would spend hours sitting and talking over hot cups of coffee. He would talk about all the places he'd been and different jobs that he had. Most often he would talk about BC and the mountains there and their unparalleled beauty. Before we came along, my Dad was quite the nomad. He hitch hiked through Western Canada in a time where sticking out your thumb was much more common and unlike me, he did it alone. Once he was even picked up by the great Lanny McDonald.

 What I'm trying to say is that I wouldn't be the person I am now if it weren't for my Dad. I'm sure of that. Even though he worries, he's always supported my little escapades and helped to inspire new ones. Thanks Poppers.