My Childhood: Trip To Idyllwild

My parents loved to take small, one or two day trips to nearby wilderness areas. One of my most fondly remembered trips was to a wonderful place called Idyllwild.

Idyllwild is an old volcano located way out in the desert. To get there, you have to drive for miles and miles through very hot and boring territory, until you see the mountain poking its head over the clouds. You follow the road up the flanks of the mountain until you reach the village of Idyllwild, at the very top.

The town was a typical tourist town. It had the usual cabins, tourist junk shops and run-down gas station. My mother always seemed to go wild over such places, although I always thought they were dull and boring.

Anyway, one weekend we visited Idyllwild. I think we’d been there before, because we seemed to come prepared. My dad had recently purchased a raft, paddles and some life jackets, which were for use on a small lake a couple of miles outside that town.

I remember that lake very well. It was small and not very deep. It was very beautiful, surrounded by moss-covered trees, with a gorgeous waterfall at one end. I remember my parents, sister and myself spent many hours hiking around that lake. I was fascinated by all the wildlife and scenery - especially by the rocks and moss and lichen (which I had never seen before).

After hiking around for a bit, my dad pulled the raft out of the car. He took out a bicycle pump, and filled the raft with air. Then we dragged it to the lake, and we all jumped in. My dad was a little paranoid, and made us all wear the life jackets. I thought it was rather silly, since the lake was very shallow and the raft was very stable and the lake wasn’t very deep.

We spent the next hour or so drifting around on that lake, looking at all of the scenery and relaxing in the sun. I think that raft trip was one of the major highlights of my young life. It was a unique experience for me, and I have never forgotten it.

After that, we paddled back to the car and let the air out of the raft. After loading the raft back into the car, we unpacked our picnic lunch and ate some food. Mom spread a blanket on the ground, and we sat around eating, talking and having a great time.

It was getting dark, however, and it was time to leave. We all piled back in the car and began the long trip home. I slept most of the way, and we arrived at home a few hours later.

The next day, my dad and I unloaded the raft and its accessories and carefully placed them in the garage. The raft had done well on its maiden voyage, and I hoped we’d use it again fairly often. However, it was not to be. That raft remained buried in the garage for years, and was never used again.