The Great Outdoors

In the great outdoors we can find peace and tranquility. As I stood at the edge of the slopping bank, looking out into the setting sun, I was in the perfect place. This place is Oakwood Lake State Park just north of Volga, South Dakota. It may not be equivalent to the great Black Hills, but for the eastern side of the state this place is a small paradise. The trees bare, but budding with the changing season, the cacophony of geese, ducks, and birds overhead brought me back to that simple peace that the outdoors can never get old.
As the Sun was receding ever so smoothly into the western sky the dark of Night was on us quickly. The fire, starting small in size, grew to warm the faces of four men with each snap, crackle, and pop. The taste of fire roasted hot dogs and marshmallows were on the menu for the night. As Night progressed and the pile of wood became increasingly thin, the Stars became alive in the sky. With no moon to overpower their glow, they gave us a window to the galaxies far away. I stood watching in anticipation for one to fall, but with no avail, no stars would depart this night.
Stories of old and new were told, laughter, smiles, and the smell of a good cigar and the occasional American Spirit filed the air. It was a peaceful night in the great state of South Dakota. In the words my roommate put it, “If one is not content right now, they never will be.”
The great South Dakota poet laureate, Badger Clark comes to mind, and his poem “A Cowboy's Prayer.”

Oh Lord, I've never lived where churches grow. I loved creation better as it
stood That day You finished it so long ago And looked upon Your work and called
it good. I know that others find You in the light That's sifted down through
tinted window panes, And yet I seem to feel You near tonight In this dim, quiet
starlight on the plains.
I thank You, Lord, that I am placed so well, That
You have made my freedom so complete; That I'm no slave of whistle, clock or
bell, Nor weak-eyed prisoner of wall and street, Just let me live my life as
I've begun And give me work that's open to the sky; Make me a pardner of the
wind and sun, And I won't ask a life that's soft or high.
Let me be easy on
the man that's down; Let me be square and generous with all. I'm careless
sometimes, Lord, when I'm in town, But never let 'em say I'm mean or small! Make
me as big and open as the plains, As honest as the hawse between my knees, Clean
as the wind that blows behind the rains, Free as the hawk that circles down the
breeze!
Forgive me, Lord, if sometimes I forget. You know about the reasons
that are hid. You understand the things that gall and fret; You know me better
than my mother did. Just keep an eye on all that's done and said And right me,
sometimes, when I turn aside, And guide me down the long, dim trail ahead That
stretches upward toward the Great Divide.