The First Time I’ve Seen a Deer Do This!

I’ll write more about my 3 days at Village Creek State Park in Lumberton, Texas but there’s one really cool story that needs to be told on its own. Hello, I’m Ben and I write daily here at Out of the Wilderness. I’ve been living in a camper and traveling around the southeast. I’ve got quite a few stories (for camping recaps, click here) but here at Village Creek, there was another “first.”

One morning I decided to spend time doing a photo adventure around the park. How the campground is situated is that the only road in the camp leads you to the campgrounds then down to the river where the it dead-ends. Therefore, I would walk down to the creek taking photos on the way and way back. It was around 830am so I was hoping to catch whatever critters were waking up and perhaps just starting their morning routines. The biggest hiccup happened just a few minutes into the adventure. Does anyone else procrastinate, then forget what they were supposed to do entirely? That was me this morning. I forgot to charge the camera! So there I am trying to capture nature at its finest with a camera that has 3% battery left. Lord, how do you put up with me sometimes!?

I’d like to say I was deliberate and efficient with the use of the dwindling battery power, but the truth is that most of the pictures I took felt rushed. This is because I’d see something to photograph, turn the camera on to quickly snap a photo, then switch it off. That’s not the best way, and it might be the worst way, to enjoy a photo tour around a state park. It led to shots like this…

Rushed. If I had plenty of battery, I might not have missed that osprey gliding over the creek. I managed to spend a little extra time on these shots below, thinking they might be all I get before the battery dies.

The battery was down to 1% now but as I tried for more photos, the warning indicator started flashing. The end was near. Very near. My battery about to die…

At least I made it to the creek, I thought to myself. For what, though? Just to have anxiety about the battery? Then all of the sudden, movement on the shoreline. I glance over to see a doe dipping her head low for a sip of water. Oh my goodness! I quickly turned the camera on, knowing full well it could shut off at any second. Wait, what’s she doing!?

She’s not drinking water, she’s crossing the creek! I’m halfway panicking that the camera’s about to power off but I just zoom and click like it’s 1999. Panic gives way to admiration. In what felt like an instant, I decided to simply enjoy the moment and if all I have are memories, that’s cool, too. But honestly, I’d be pretty ticked off if the battery went dead. Just being real 😉 Thank you Jesus, there was enough juice to stay on for the photos I got below…

It was a close call but this experience with the deer DIDN’T turn out like my brother’s college graduation or that time my brother-in-law caught a huge nurse shark. Do you have those kind of moments where you thought you hit ‘record’ on the video camera but you didn’t? Yeah. Not my best moments.

But this deer crossing will be one of my favorite camping moments for a long, long time.

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness