Life is stress. There are so many things that we do every day that cause it. Most of the time it is impossible to escape from it, and we are forced to endure it. School, friends, and family are three huge things that cause it, but almost everyone has somewhere that they can go where it all melts away. My stress free location is a campground called Dinkey Creek, located above Fresno, California.

The morning at Dinkey starts with a cup of hot cocoa and a book to read while my dad and I talk about life and catch up with each other while we appreciate the silence and tranquility. Once everyone is up, my dad makes breakfast, which consists of pancakes or eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes. Food always tastes way better in the mountains and I think about the first time I discovered this whenever I have breakfast. After lunch, I start pushing my parents to get ready to go down to the creek. On the way down to the creek, we look at the differences from last year and recall past memories from the different trees and rocks that each held their own meaning to each of us.
When we get to our favorite pool, I look to see the water level using the boulder jutting out of the water at the center of the pool. Again, memories come streaming into my head, memories of me trying to get up onto this rock when I was little. I remember the joy of success and how hard my dog tried to get up there, too. I get into the water and let it soothe and relax me. I bring a pair of goggles to look at the trout in the water and watch them dart away from my incoming hand, enjoying their gracefulness and recalling past attempts to catch them. I also look for lures that fishermen have lost in the rocks, looking around while letting the current carry me. I love how the water makes me feel and the fond memories of swimming, splashing, and dam building. Swimming is my favorite thing to do while at Dinkey Creek, and I can stay in the water for hours. Eventually, though, it?s time to go back up to camp and get dinner started.

For dinner, we either cook on our barbeque, or in our Dutch Oven, and make some of the best dinners ever. After dinner, we do my second favorite thing to do, and that is to build a fire. I build the fire up nice and warm, and we all sit around the fire and cook s?mores. While sitting around the fire, we all just sit in silence staring at the fire and thinking with a great peacefulness over us all. We laugh, tell jokes and stories, and think of fond memories. I?m usually the first to drift off to bed, tired from the day?s events and looking forward to the next day.

I love everything at Dinkey Creek, and anyone who hasn?t been there should visit, go down to the creek, and let the current wash away all of their worries. Just bask in the beauty of the surrounding mountains, the trees, the creek, and everything else. I wish I could visit the beauty more often and experience the true silence, without the sounds of the freeway while you sleep. Every time we leave, all I can think about is, ?I can?t wait till next time.?