Down the Backroads - Kentucky Farm Bureau

Down the Backroads

Posted on Nov 6, 2023

My wife and I recently took a short vacation to Lake Barley to camp and relax. Now, my way of camping is hardly roughing it but rather bringing many of the comforts from home by way of our RV. I think the term nowadays is “glamping.”

Regardless of my camping method, it was a very enjoyable time. The lake was beautiful as was the surrounding forest. The sounds from the birds and geese were like music to my ears.

It had been many years since I stayed in that area, and it was just as serene and tranquil as I remembered.

I spent many hours watching the sunset over the water and watching the bright blue sky become filled with shining stars. I was reminded of the camping trips I made with my dad when I was much younger.

And these trips were the real deal camping excursions. No RVs; no comforts from home. And often there were with no tents. The stars and the moon served as our canopy.

This was my dad’s kind of camping. He loved the outdoors and seemed to cherish those times he spent around a campfire way out in the woods, far away from any noises that weren’t made by nature.

I’m not sure if he grew up camping like this or if it was something he became accustomed to when he was in the army. I have a stack of photos he took during his time in Korea. And often they were made from his trusty tent.

The terrain looked rough and somewhat bleak, to be honest. But it was wartime after all.

And as awful as it must have been at times, my dad loved the army and had many fond memories of his time serving our country.

War was certainly not his thing, but he was proud to serve. I’m sure many of the survival skills he learned in the service, he brought home. I believe he could have fully lived off the grid just depending on nature to take care of him.

I spent many hours in the woods with him hiking mostly, and the occasional camping trip. I would notice how much he embraced the places we would go. It truly was the place he felt the most comfortable, I believe.  

He loved the outdoors so much that he would sometimes sleep in a lawn chair on the front yard during clear, warm nights. It was his way of being one with nature. I really think it was his way to feel closer to God.

I felt his presence during our recent trip to the lake. I could almost hear his voice and smell the coffee he would brew over our campfires.

As we remember all of our veterans during this Veterans Day month, I hope we all realize what they have done and do for us and our country. We all have that special service man or woman in our lives, and my dad is mine; Staff Sergeant Leon Thornberry, U.S. Army, Korean War veteran; Purple Heart recipient, my hero.

I know I will see him again and we will, as we once did, hike down the backroads.    

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