Kayak

The risk of stir craziness was high today. I’ve been holed up at home for a couple of days because of a snow storm and for part of that time there was no power. So today I needed to get out and breathe.

Last year I bought myself an incredible bargain—a lifetime pass to all the National Parks in the United States. Because I’m officially a senior citizen, it cost me only $10. Frequently I go to Great Falls National Park just to flash my LIFETIME PASS and to walk and absorb the seasonal changes. (Can you tell how much I love that lifetime pass?) Today it was snowing lightly, peaceful and quiet in the chilly fog, and the moody day gave me a great opportunity to take some photos. The photos appear to be black and white because of the snow, the grey Potomac River, the barren trees, and the rocks. I had the entire park almost to myself.

Almost to myself. There was a guy in an orange kayak running the rapids. He paddled around in the eddies, struggled upstream, and disappeared. He soon reappeared carrying his kayak to the top of a huge craggy island and back down the other side. Then he reappeared in the river, paddling down a section of the rapids, then back up to repeat his climb over the island back to the river. He must have been some kind of crazy.

For some reason I kept worrying that I was going to lose my keys today as I scrambled along the rocks and snow to get a view of the falls. Is that ridiculous? I’m worried about losing my keys while the guy in the orange kayak is in freezing water, climbing snow-covered rocks with his kayak on his back? I was in such danger—what if I had lost my keys? Who's the crazy one?