ast issue, I wrote about all the celebrating that takes place around Central Oregon when the weather gets warm. Well, summer is in full swing now, and where I live, near the river in Old Bend, I am perfectly situated to hear the sound of music floating on the air every night, the distant cheers, the carousing and Segway tours, the shouts and laughter of people walking to and fro as they launch in and out of the river. I feel connected to the life of the community, even though I don’t carouse quite as much as I once did. I enjoy sitting in the yard, listening to the soundtrack of the city.

But it’s summer! Time to get out of town, to spend time outdoors, celebrating the glories of nature all around us. Time to run, climb, ride, camp, boat, fish, swim to our heart’s content.

My dad loved to go places. When I was a child, he’d pack us all up in a station wagon with a tent, later a camper, later still a trailer. I loved the nest my mother would make for my sister and me in the back of the station wagon. We’d set off so early it would still be dark. They’d bundle us into the back in our pajamas and we could look out at the stars and drift back to sleep until we stopped a couple of hours down the road at the Pancake House.

We have some fun pieces this time about camping: a look at classic gear vs. gear light and a comparison of a vintage vs. a luxury RV. There’s a feature about camping qua camping. Why we do it, the need we have to get out into the woods, which we should meet whenever we can. If you don’t want to go to all the trouble of setting up camp, though, take a trip to the lake and try one of the resort restaurants in the area.

The High Desert Horse Classics are coming up. You may not be one of the horsey set, but you can go see a first-rate horse show held right here every year. Plus, it benefits J Bar J Youth Services, so even more reason to check it out. (See the back page for some of those reasons.)

We talk about the cycling community too—you might well be a part of it; it seems just about everyone here is on a bike somewhere, sometime. And if you’re not yet, it’s pretty easy to find a group to ride with—just look around.

Have you heard about the #LikeaGirl campaign? We want to introduce you to some women who play like girls—you may be surprised just how tough they are.

And in our Ageless feature this month, we met some older adults who travel around to state parks as volunteer camp hosts—now there’s a job I’d take on in my retirement.

My father always seemed happiest when we were setting out on a long summer trip. He passed away a week ago, and although I’m still in shock, still grieving, I can’t help but smile when I remember those early camping trips. The little leather boots he bought us one year that were just like his except for the nifty little slot for a penlight. The time a bear came into our campsite and ate the sugar. Another time when an even larger bear loomed up over the top of the bathhouse as we squeakily backed away. The panic when my dad was maneuvering the trailer into a particularly narrow corkscrew spot on the banks of a river in British Columbia and thought he’d knocked my grandmother in. The fraught moment he saved me from drowning just as I was about to be swept away by the rushing Green River.

Not the only time he saved me from drowning, to be sure.

My dad taught me many things—how to treat people, how to face the world, how to see the forest and the trees. His wisdom seemed especially distilled in the last few months.

Pay attention to what matters.

Don’t waste time.

Do what you love.

Let the people you love know that you love them.

Good lessons for us all. Thanks, Dad.

Now off you go. And make the summer count. •