The Great Outdoors Thread!

Welcome to the Great Outdoors....thread😄!

This thread is for those that Love the Outdoors and for those that have yet to learn they are passionate about " God Country and Masterpiece". There is so much to do, swimming, hiking, bushcraft work. And let's not forget the fine art of camping ! Yes, so many things to do, so many Beautiful places to visit, see and so many things to do. Has God placed a deep seeded passionate in your Heart and are you called to seek adventure in the woods and forest lands ?

Then you have come to the right place! Feel free to share your many stories, experiences, tools of the trade and other things as they relate to being out in God's Country!

Here is an interesting item I came across the other day and thought I'd share it with you all. There is different people that sell it with their logo, but guessing it is the manufacture that makes them. Let me know if you've used it before!

Watch "4Patriots Sun Kettle : Product Review" on YouTube

Let's see my favorite outdoor adventure stories to tell include the rattlesnake bush story:

While I was serving at a mission center in a small New Zealand town, I'd biked about 5 miles out to this trail in the area. I'm about half an hour up the trail and have just climbed up to this ridge and sat down to rest a bit. Upon getting up from that rest I don't get more than 5 or 6 steps down the path when I hear this rattling sound down in the brush near my feet. I freeze and my brain goes : Rattlesnake. No one knows where I am. I'm half an hour's walk and a 5 mile bike ride from anyone I know. If it bites me, I'm dead. And so I wait there frozen to either get bit or hear sounds that indicate it is slithering away. When neither of those happen I eventually get bold enough to take another step and immediately hear that rattling sound again. Looking down I see my pant leg is brushing up against a bush with a bunch of dried seed pods that make the rattling sound I'm hearing.

It was a sound that went straight to the fight or flight part of my brain though because on subsequent hikes that sound still made me jump and made my heart skip a beat. Also if you ever need an experience that requires you to face your own mortality without being in any real danger, I highly recommend this.


Sadly these days the closest I get to the great outdoors is seeing the deer in the neighborhood as I walk my dog in the mornings. Haven't gotten any proper hiking in because I feel bad about going for a walk without her and she's not well behaved enough to be in places where there might be other people around that we have to walk close to.

what

there are no snakes in nz!

Didnt anybody tell you this? I am shocked.

Taniwhas and eels yes but definitely no snakes. We are not Australia.

well I cant say Ive been outdoors a lot even though my whole thing is gardening outdoors, I dont supoose you mean the gardens we have made but places where God Himself did the planting (or the birds have)

There is actually a rahui (a restriction or ban) placed on certain areas of the forest round here because of a thing called Kauri dieback disease. If you do go anywhere thats open you need to sanitise or disinfect your shoes.

My thing is those kauri are humble giants and we have lost so much of these gorgeous trees already. Plant some more!

I recall going into a redwood forest and tho redwoods are one the tallest trees around they are mere firewood compared to the beauty of the Kauri tree.

This was the last time I was outdoor out there lol and the most beautiful place I've been so far 😍 (I love to go places) but I have to prioritize some things 😊 I cropped out the picture 😅

😮 Ahhhhh! There's a arm without a body in the picture, Ahhhhh😯!

Lol, but seriously, that looks like a very serine place to visit. Honestly, one of the best things about getting outdoors, peace and beauty can found there....unless your being chased by a Bear, that (depending on who you are and how close you are to Jesus) could change the dynamics somewhat 😄.

lol yeah my arm 😄 It was sunny afternoon when we went to that place...so the sky was clear 😊 Now,looking back I wonder how it looks like in the afternoon when the sun goes down... and the moon comes up would be very pretty i guess 😍

And i totally agree with you...the beauty outdoor is amazing...God's creation is wonderful 😇😍

I hope to see more people sharing something on this thread 😍 would be so nice to scroll down 😀

Oh I agree!

Your last thoughts on that place at night with the moon reminded me of a night I went camping. It was Oct 31st (didn't think about the date until I went, over here is a holiday called Halloween incase you didn't know🙂). Anyway, it was into fall and I set up a tent on a small hill just above the beach. It also was a full moon this particular night. So, anyone that truly knows me knows i Love Love Love the outdoors. So, I had set up my tent with the entrance facing the ocean and the beach a stone throw from my tent. I lay there looking at them both, listening to the waves crash over and the water receding back out to the sea. The moon light shimmered on the massive canvas of water. As my eyes grew to tired to keep open, I closed the tent up. Wvwey so offen, I would awake and, like a child at Christmas time, zip open the tent and stare outside and the Blessed view before me. I'd take a few pictures, stare some more until I again had lead weights for eye lids and would zip it closed again. This went on all night. What a way to spent the night sleeping...when I was sleeping🙂.

The night time sky, especially during the fall and winter. It's my favorite!

This time of year, the fall and winter constellations are beginning to make their appearance in the mornings. Cooler weather is ahead!

Funny, lol, when I see the fall constellation start to peek out, it makes me sad. About the same time I start to feel in the air a change ever so slightly. lol

Just curious, is there anywhere you all have on your heart you would like to visit, having to do with the outdoors? If so, why that location?

Big Bear Lake has a huge lake and its cool to go in the winter to get a lot of snow and sleep in the wooden cabins.

I have wondered where the original Garden of Eden site was.

I suppose if I could go anywhere the Iguazu Falls would be awesome to see...

So, what is one of the most memorable times you can remember outdoors and why?

For me, I was hiking up on a new trail for me. There was still snow and ice on the trail, no big deal. As I hiked though, I began to see tracks I had not come across on the trail. I was pretty sure they were cougar tracks. At one set of the, I noticed some bones. No, not people or large animals, but smaller animals. Well, I had set out to hike , so continue onward I did. I continually scanned the trees, as cougars can lay in wait (or so I've heard) high up in trees, as well as on the trails or high ground like over hangs to get the drop on you. Cougars also (again, from what I have heard) , unlike dogs, retract their claws until the need to use them (I believe to run and / or go after pray). As I went, more and more tracks, like the others, no claw Mark's in the tracks on the ground or the white snowfall. I finally came to a bit of a clearing on the trail. Here is where I turned around. On the ground is where I saw several , several I say, of the same tracks around. I figured it was better to live to hike another day, so I headed back down the way I came. Needless to say, I made it back down.

Along with the tracks, there was an odd feeling i never had while out and about in the woods. I don't know how to describe it here, just a very distinct feeling I Know I would recognize again, should I ever have it again. Pretty certain there was at least one cougar out there and that it knew I was there but (as much as I looked about), I never did catch a glimpse of it.

I recently went backpacking in Waterton National Park. It was one of the most beautiful and amazing things I’ve ever done. It was my first time, so it was pretty awesome!
I just remember thinking to myself while hiking and seeing all this beautiful nature, how could someone see all of this and NOT believe in God? I honestly cannot look at the mountains, the clean, blue lakes, the beautiful, tough, little flowers up so high, without somehow seeing the glory of God. His creation is absolutely amazing!!!

I think that when I'm out in the woods. And then sometimes just silently enjoy it. I thank God for it all.
I see a small little ant as a masterpiece of the Lord. It is small, yet made in such a way that it all works amazingly well (if your confused by this, feel free to ask or just find a local ant and see for yourself what I mean). And the other side of the spectrum, there is the breath taking view from the top of a hill or mountain top when the climb is done. That is No accident, that is amazingly and wonderfully made! And everything in between: The fast little bird that flaps its wings so fast with the high metabolism. The lumbering bear that has so much muscle it can shiney up a tree in no time! The Jack Rabbit, that uses its foot to warn the others of possible danger (sorry little rabbit, it was dark, I didn't mean to high beam you with my flashlight looking for what was making that noise that awoke me...). Ehem, anyway😄, so much that is made and is not the product of accident. To see these things is truly a Blessing in and of itself! Praise be to God for that!
Thanks for sharing 🙂.

When you go out into nature, what are the things you bring with you? Whether it is something to make your trip more successful, safety or just to remember the trip, inquiring mind wants to know🤠!

Anyone been to the Jurassic coast in England?

Not I. What stands out to about it?