I have developed this habit of doing awesome things on the weekends. Hikes, trips to the coast, jaunts downtown. Only, they always take place on Saturdays. Sundays I rarely even leave the house, except to run brief errands. I've always blamed that on the fact that Sunday is the day I either take the kids to MA's house, or they come back to me. Either way, I know that at 6:00 there is something penciled into my schedule, every Sunday, without fail.
Still, that's a pretty poor excuse to treat Sunday as this day where I can't go out and do something fun. Because in doing so, I'm essentially left with a one-day weekend. When the weekend rolls around, my attitude is - whoo-hoo, Mark, go crazy, have fun, get out and about! But only on Saturday. And then there is the whole mental attitude that Monday is coming, Monday is coming, oh no oh god back to the daily grind, and that automatically leaves me dreading Sunday. Poor Sunday. What did it ever do to me to deserve my wrath? It's a perfectly good day in its own right. I can sleep in as long as I want, I often make a nice breakfast that morning, and best of all, well, I'm not at work. Monday is much worse, and yet, I probably am most depressed on Sunday. Thinking about what will be, instead of living in the moment and enjoying what is. I've made a vow to change all that, though. I plan on taking back Sunday. Turning it into a fun day in its own right, one in which I can - and will - get out more and do things. 
Today was the first day of this great social experiment of mine, and I have to say, as far as Sundays go, it kicked ass. I was up early - about 7:30. And out the door by 8:45. I decided to go hiking, since it had been a couple of weeks since I'd been out, and I was itching to hit the trail. My original destination was Siouxon Creek, but unbeknownst to me the road there was, umm, basically destroyed thanks to a landslide. I've never seen a road "washed out" this badly before. Fortunately, I left home with a Plan B. I'd actually been torn between Siouxon Creek and June Lake, and so I simply turned around and headed for the latter destination. It's out past Cougar, 7.2 miles down Forest Road 83. Got there and set out for the lake. The nice thing was, much of the hike meandered through second-growth forests, so there was plenty of shade. The bad part? It was still hot as blazes. Ended up hitting 94 today, not the best hiking weather, but I was a man on a mission, and I did enjoy the
hike. June Lake is kind of "haunted" looking with dead trees in the water, but at the same time it's beautiful. It seems to "pour" right out of the side of a cliff, surrounded by second-growth forests of hemlock. A very unique lake. I stopped there and ate lunch on an old log, the only person at the time. And then, because I'm adventurous, I decided to continue on to the Worm Fields, a series of old lava flows that my book said required careful navigating. Now, there was an understatement. I don't often like to admit defeat, but this 50' wall of boulders and rocks conquered me. I tried, though. Got about half way to the top, but it was really high up there and I figured, while the view would have been spectacular, I've seen Mt. St. Helens up close and personal already this summer. Decided that, really, I was good after all. So I carefully traversed my way down and returned to June Lake. I chanced up
on an animal swimming in the water, and when he saw me, he hopped onto a log and eyed me curiously. I assumed it was a beaver at first, but the otter-like body and thin tail made me realize that it was actually a mink. How cool to see him up close! He was putting on a show for me. Nice little encounter with nature, kind of a Call Of The Wild moment for me. Not only am I becoming knowledgeable about wild animals, but I am also learning to identify the various wildflowers I come across on my hikes. This one, for instance, is larkspur. I did not know that at the time, but I checked my guidebook lat
er, thought it looked close, Googled it, and sure enough, I was right. I like how I'm really getting to know the land and the flora and fauna. Finally, I headed back, because as I have stated it was HOT and my beverages were running low. I was quasi-dehydrated, as it was. I really need to pack along more water and Gatorade on these hikes, but my backpack is getting heavy as it is. Still, a heavy backpack beats heatstroke. Learn your lesson, Mark.
hike. June Lake is kind of "haunted" looking with dead trees in the water, but at the same time it's beautiful. It seems to "pour" right out of the side of a cliff, surrounded by second-growth forests of hemlock. A very unique lake. I stopped there and ate lunch on an old log, the only person at the time. And then, because I'm adventurous, I decided to continue on to the Worm Fields, a series of old lava flows that my book said required careful navigating. Now, there was an understatement. I don't often like to admit defeat, but this 50' wall of boulders and rocks conquered me. I tried, though. Got about half way to the top, but it was really high up there and I figured, while the view would have been spectacular, I've seen Mt. St. Helens up close and personal already this summer. Decided that, really, I was good after all. So I carefully traversed my way down and returned to June Lake. I chanced up
on an animal swimming in the water, and when he saw me, he hopped onto a log and eyed me curiously. I assumed it was a beaver at first, but the otter-like body and thin tail made me realize that it was actually a mink. How cool to see him up close! He was putting on a show for me. Nice little encounter with nature, kind of a Call Of The Wild moment for me. Not only am I becoming knowledgeable about wild animals, but I am also learning to identify the various wildflowers I come across on my hikes. This one, for instance, is larkspur. I did not know that at the time, but I checked my guidebook lat
er, thought it looked close, Googled it, and sure enough, I was right. I like how I'm really getting to know the land and the flora and fauna. Finally, I headed back, because as I have stated it was HOT and my beverages were running low. I was quasi-dehydrated, as it was. I really need to pack along more water and Gatorade on these hikes, but my backpack is getting heavy as it is. Still, a heavy backpack beats heatstroke. Learn your lesson, Mark.It's Sunday evening now, late. I should be in bed because 6:05 will be here awfully early. But, maybe because I did go out and do something fun today, this Sunday - even as I am about to turn in - feels more complete than any other has in a long time.
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