The days are getting longer and warmer. Final exams are history and with college commencement exercises happening across the country, high school graduation can’t be far behind. All this can only mean one thing; vacation time is here again for millions of Americans.

Time to load up the car with sun screen, bug spray, inflatable toys, gooey snacks, lawn chairs, coolers, sports equipment, maps, travelers checks and credit cards. Depending on your plans you may also need your camping gear, hiking boots, passport, laptop, binoculars, fishing boat, cell phone, cameras, the shirt Aunt Lucy sent for Christmas so she can see you in it, and don’t forget the aspirin, pepto-bismol and the kaopectate.

Americans spend billions each year on their week or so of vacation time. Travel and tourism is big business, and in many areas is the major source of revenue for counties and states to operate on for the entire year. We happen to live in just such an area here in the mountains, and with the leaves out and temperatures climbing, the starting gun has been fired.

With outdoor activities everywhere, summer dramas, train rides, quaint shops, famous drives, stellar scenery and the nations most visited national park in our backyard, it’s no wonder tourists flock to our region each summer filling county coffers, creating long lines at eateries and quick stops, and plugging up our usually quiet country roads with motor homes, boats in tow, 4 x 4s and Harleys.

So where do we take our holidays? We live year round in a vacationer’s paradise, why should we go somewhere else on our time off? I suspect one of the biggest reasons is to experience something different, something not so ordinary as the mountain vistas we see every day on the way to the grocery store and the post office. It may be our only chance this year to visit with friends and relatives, drive over high mountain passes in the Rockies, or sit on the beach and watch the waves sing and dance their hypnotic song. We crave a change, a new experience to tell our friends about as we show them unending stacks of mediocre photographs. We want to know our lives are rich and varied, never boring or humdrum.

Growing up with five siblings, each family vacation was an experiment in excitement and frustration, laughter and tears, war and peace. Our customary pattern was to pile into the station wagon and drive from Buffalo to Cape Cod in 10 hours, stopping only to eat our picnic, settle disputes and rearrange the seating to get the most recent trouble-maker up front between the parents, easily within swatting distance. These excursions taught lessons, tested bonds and toughened hides as much as they showed us the world.

When my wife and I met and started vacationing together we pursued our own special interests: the wonders of nature and world cultures. Our travels have taken us from the Himalayas of Nepal, to the cloud forests of Costa Rica, across the coral reefs of Mexico, Belize and Bonaire, to the dry uninhabited islands of Galapagos. We’ve hiked Big Bend in Texas, shot rapids in Colorado, explored the rainforests of the Pacific northwest and spent time in dozens of state and national parks and historic sites. The earth may be shrinking but there is still plenty to do if one has the time, energy and frequent flyer miles.

This week we’ll be joining the traveling hordes in Atlanta for a flight to Duluth , Minnesota ... yes, Minnesota. Once there (assuming the pilot can find it), we’ll pick up our rental car for the 2- to 3-hour drive to Ely (pop. 4,000) within a stones throw of the Canadian border and home to the International Wolf Center. We were picked from 20 people on a three-year waiting list to spend three days studying and experiencing wolves and black bears in the virtually wild setting of the center. One weekend each year, 20 people participate in field studies, radio-telemetry tracking, seeing the new litter of wolf pups, and the Saturday night howling session with the local inhabitants. Maybe not everyone’s idea of the perfect summer vacation, but definitely different and a change from building, farming and teaching in Western North Carolina.

We all have our own ideas of a good time and what constitutes the perfect getaway. The tourists about to descend on our mountains are coming for a variety of reasons, seeking a vast array of pleasures and experiences. They’re bringing their own ideas, likes, precepts and notions of what makes a vacation a special event, something to plan for and talk about all year long. We as the locals, their hosts, can have a big impact on their travels by our attitudes and actions when we choose or are forced to interact with them. As difficult as it may be at times, it is important for us to show that wonderful friendly, helpful, kind-hearted nature that make the inhabitants of these hills and hollers the best kind of neighbors. As is often the case for my wife and I when we travel, the people we meet along the way in the least likely circumstances are some of the most memorable parts of the whole journey.

When you find yourself in the company of an exasperated, grouchy traveler, take a moment and show them the best of the mountain people. They may remember you more than the lost keys, over-cooked entree or even the views from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

(John Beckman is a builder, organic farmer and Operation Manager at Unahwi Ridge Community in Jackson County. Contact can be made at www.unahwiridge.com)

 

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The Smoky Mountain News