Normally the dogs and I catapult out of bed at first light. But alone in this  ponderosa forest, out of ear-shot of the nearest dirt road, I tend to lay there and watch dawn develop. It always surprises me how sudden it is. Yet it soothes more than a slow ritual would.

Dawn is a silent ritual here. Where are the birds? Is it because that ponderosa forests, despite all their attractions, are biological deserts with little variety of plants and food for birds? I have awakened in Walmart parking lots to the sounds of more birds than here, perhaps because of all the bushes and gardens in town.

On windy days the forest is loud--almost busy. Ponderosas are aptly named. It is a little frightening to see such big trees swaying a hundred feet over my head. I am boondocking on the edge of the ponderosa forest. On the windward side is a large clearing, a park.

On windy days walking out of the trees is like walking along a noisy lee-shore. The wind breaks against the tops of the ponderosas. Occasionally the air splashes against my skin like water spray.

I will never forgive the ranger who told me about the poorly developed root system that ponderosas have when then are growing on a volcanic layer, as is the case here. Sometimes I line up two adjacent trees to see how much they're leaning and swaying. Today I even moved to a clearing because of the wind and my suspicions of two huge ponderosas next to the trailer. Sometimes a pair of ponderosas lines up almost perfectly.


On a normal day I walk out of the trees into the clearing...I don't like that word because it defines the grassy ground in terms of what isn't there. None of the other words really work either: opening, gap, park, glade, prairie, etc.

Walking in the forest reminds me of the movie, Awakenings (1990), starring Robert Deniro and Robin Williams. Deniro's character had spent most of his life in a catatonic state until William's character, a doctor, started giving him experimental treatments.

Walking out of the forest is an awakening of wind and light. It is day's second dawn. The sudden viewscape excites you with choices. Space itself is decompressed.

There is simply no better campsite than on the edge of the forest where you can tune the weather to your liking. Too hot--move a little closer to the shade. Too windy--move down wind of a clump of trees.