When my dad asked me if I wanted to go camping with him for Labor Day weekend I thought, “What a great idea!”

“We'll see if you can get your sister to go, too. It’ll just be the three of us driving up and camping for the first night. Amy, Brock, and Nicole will be there Saturday,” he said with excitement. The first thing that came to my mind was that my sister had previously borrowed some camping gear from my dad. The sleeping bag covers for his down, North Face sleeping bags had flown out of the back of her truck on the way home from camping earlier this summer. Reason number one my sister would probably find a way out of going.

“He’s going to be so mad, and I don’t have the money to buy him replacement covers,” she said worriedly. I told her not to stress, that I would buy the covers so she could come with us guilt-free. I knew this would be a great trip for the three of us to do a little bonding, soul-searching, and even a little reconciliation. Things had been tense in the family with a new baby on the way and the trials and tribulations of maintaining positive relationships in the wake of a divorce, now 13 years removed.

So my sister Amanda and I showed up at our dad’s house in Eureka on the Friday of Labor Day weekend ready with our backpacks full of tank-tops, shorts, sunscreen, whiskey, smokes, and our sleeping bags. All the essential elements of a successful camping trip, we thought. My dad, an avid mountain-biker, finished packing his lifted Nissan X-Terra full of all of our gear and let us both know, “I loaded up three bikes, so all of us can ride the trails at the lake. Lets roll!”

So it began. The journey north to the beautiful campgrounds at Diamond Lake, Oreg., which is located between Mt. Thielsen on the east side and Mt. Bailey on the west. Diamond Lake sits at an elevation of 5190 feet. The lake attracts guests and bike riders from all over the country.

A hot spot for outdoor activities, the lake hosts mountain bike races throughout the spring and summer, such as the Northwest Challenge - an end of the season race, which includes trails designed for beginners, semi-pros, pros, and experts. The beginner route consists of a 10-mile loop on high alpine singletrack, a short climb through one of the featured trails, Silent Creek, and finishes with a sprint through the campgrounds surrounding Diamond Lake.

“You girls know I love you right?” my dad reinforced after a long conversation of the past. “I will do anything for you, and am really glad you could both make it camping with your old man,” he added. From the backseat I wiped tears from my eyes; the reminiscing was digging up a lot of buried emotion.

“Oooohhh look how beautiful those mountains are!” Amanda shouted as she whipped out her digital camera and proceeded to take pictures of the snow-capped mountains surrounding Diamond Lake. We were almost there. “Thank God,” I thought. We finally arrived at Diamond Lake Campground, site number 11.

“Alright girls, you know the drill,” my dad ordered light-heartedly. The familiar smell of campfires filled the crisp night air as we toiled over tent rods and unloaded the bikes, gear, and coolers. Amanda got a fire started, while my dad and I set up the tents. Forty-five minutes after our arrival the whole camp was set up and we had settled into our camp chairs around the fire, beers in hand. “It's much colder than I packed for dad. I thought it was supposed to be warm?” I asked, inching closer to the fire. “Ah, it’s good for ya,” he replied. His reply prompted me to cut the whining short. It was sure to get warmer by morning.

I woke up early on Saturday. Something about being out in nature, the clean smell of fresh air and the crackling of early morning campfires pleasantly wakes me earlier than I’m used to. Just as Amanda and I crawled out of our tent, Dad greeted us, “Good morning girls! Good day for a ride around the lake isn’t it?”

A sigh of discontent came from Amanda, “Dad, are you SERIOUS? I haven’t even worked out in like a month!”

“Don’t worry, Mandy. There is a paved trail that goes all the way around the lake. It’s a beginners trail, very little incline. It’s a great way to check out the lake and all the scenic beauty that surrounds it,” he answered with a tone of encouragement. Amanda and I gave each other a look that we both knew meant, “Yeah, right. Dad doesn’t ride 'easy' trails.” Nevertheless we chose our bikes, strapped on our goofy-looking helmets that my dad insisted we wear, and stretched out for the ride.

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2008 Travel Journal

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