Teenage wasteland

I was out on the trail yesterday for a few hours of fishing. As I often do, I went to the special regulation (artificial lures only, 12" minimum length) section between Taylor's Valley and Creek Junction. The water in the stream was exceptionally clear, which may have had something to do with the fact that the fishing was terrible. After a while, I just kind of gave up and sat streamside watching and listening to the water and the woods. The silence was intermittent, however, since the trail was in pretty heavy use by some large groups of teenagers. I didn't ask but wondered if an entire church youth group was riding the trail together. They dropped their bikes and had a great time climbing on the boulders nearby my fishing spot. My feelings were mixed as I was a little miffed that they would choose "my" quiet spot to stop. But then I quickly came to my senses and realized what a great thing it was that somebody had chosen to bring these kids out on the trail. They were clearly having a blast riding and bouldering, and there wasn't a video game in sight. It was an affirmation of a book I recently read, "The Geography of Childhood".