“Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Howard Thurman
Dear Fellow Hikers,
It’s been about 20 years since I wrote my last Christmas Letter. That marked about a dozen year run of full page letters, sometimes two sided, complete with family photos. Also required are updates on… employment, health, education, kids activities, housing, pets, etc. Then there are my two favorite categories: travel and some personal thoughts on seasons greetings. There is a community, maybe better described as a culture (okay, call it a cult…) of people that truly enjoy reading the Annual Christmas Letter, and a smaller community that really does enjoy writing them. And I do confess, I belong to both.
For my first Life Hike Annual Christmas Letter, I’ll limit myself to my two favorite topics. I’ll share an excerpt from my 1997 Christmas Letter describing a life changing travel experience that defines much of what my Life Hike Journey would look like for the rest of my life. Then I’ll conclude with our Season's Greetings while saving room for Cam’s message as well.
Christmas 1997
Dear Family and Friends,
I’d like to start with one of my witty openings again this year, but we need to get down to business. Too much to say and not enough space. This year's Christmas letter topic can be described in one word: "SCAMPACROSSAMERICA".
After a good day and a half of planning, we finally pulled off the family vacation / adventure of a lifetime. "SCAMPACROSSAMERICA 97" is defined in the Carlson New World Dictionary as: "43 days, 8,733 miles, two adults, two children, one pre-toddler, 28 states, three time zones, one 13 foot twenty-one year old trailer (brand name SCAMP), five hotels, only God remembers how many camp sites, one flat tire, body surfing in the Atlantic, The Falmouth Road Race, horseback riding in the Rockies, train rides, Charles Kuralt's resting place (the cemetery at UNC Chapel Hill N,C.), Walden Pond, The Poconos, a bee sting, 48 of 50 state license plates (do you believe Iowa was one we never saw!), miniature golf in four states, a volcano, several national monuments, "George of the Jungle", snorkeling in the Florida Keys, ports of call at friends and relatives, Disney World, one case swimmers ear, Fenway Park and "The Green Monster", Uncle Erik's hole-in-one in a thunderstorm, Pikes Peak, the Kennedy Space Center, a bike crash with lots of road rash, Rocky Mountain trout fishing, The US Basketball Hall of Fame, Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory Tour, Dingmans Ferry, and one heck of a lot of what they now call - Quality Family Time!”
Now you are probably wondering what possessed us to take a trip like that. What we did was plan a reasonable trip in regards to time, distance and activities, then quadrupled it in the name of adventure. I've always had a bit of passion towards nomadic cultures and I wanted to see if we could establish a state of "nomadic mobility" in our present family situation (something more than a campout on the living room floor). Well we did and we loved it! Since we were totally self contained, and carried all of the essentials of life with us, you may be wondering what the sight looked like. Some people envision the scene in The Grapes of Wrath as people fled the dust bowl. I never saw the similarity, however I did overhear one envious onlooker say "Give em a rocking chair for the roof and they could be the Beverly Hillbillies" …
SCAMPACROSSAMERICA is a wonderful memory for me, and I know it is also a lasting memory for the rest of the family as well. The six-week, 8000 mile journey honestly made me come alive!What I find interesting is that… as I relived the journey, and wrote this story, and had hopes of others being inspired, and hopes that others would better hear their own stories… I felt myself coming alive again!
This is our Christmas Wish for you… that we all can Come Alive in The Light of the Season… The Light of The Birth of Christ… The Healing Power of Returning Daylight… The Hopeful Light of a New Year of Possibilities… The Light of Being Alive Together in Community!
And last but not least, in her own words, where less is more… Cam’s fine, she says hi!
With Care and Gratitude, Dan’n Cam.
Postscript…
Up Next: “Thoughts on the New Year” (Friday 01/10/25, S1/L5)
