I always have loved the outdoors and found wilderness synonymous with adventure. When my daughter was born three years ago, I knew in that moment that she took her first breath that I’d spend the rest of my life showing her wilderness experiences that would take her breath away. I had friends say, “enjoy your adventures now because, after you become a parent, it’s all over.”

But I refused to let that be my norm. Replacing sticks with Lincoln logs would have been a disservice to her childhood and an inauthentic approach to motherhood for me.

Before she could walk, I carried her on my back on hikes and into trout streams, and as soon as she could stand on her own, she became “Goose,” my tiny wingman, exploring the great outdoors with me. She’s canoed the most beautiful lake, fished the most secret of trout streams, hiked behind waterfalls, ridden as my retrofitted copilot on the fat bike, has camped in the desert under the winter stars, learned to yodel in a Utah canyon and can ride a horse with the best of ’em.

I made a conscious effort after she was born to be a play-outside mom instead of a stay-at-home mom. So, with Goose’s tiny hand in mine, we’ve ventured out into a world of natural wonder and wild fun.

I believe you can’t truly nurture without nature, and I love the innocence and creativity with which she sees the outside world. It’s easy to grow up and be afraid to be ourselves in any natural sense of the word. Somewhere along the way, we gain the inhibition to jump in muddy puddles and to stop and lay in the grass and quietly watch the clouds float by. But there is something about being outdoors that brings me back to the authenticity where I can be myself, use my imagination freely, feel with all of my senses and realize how my presence impacts my surroundings. If I can teach these things and impart my love for all things wild and free to my little one, then I’ve succeeded in the adventure of parenthood.

Goose and I are human and have plenty of days where we want to tell each other to take a hike, so most of the time, we do just that. We are lucky to have so many opportunities for hiking and exploring in our own Four Corners backyard. Goose likes art and I am a professional at drawing stick people at her command, so I decided to combine the two for an adventure and we headed to Mesa Verde to hike Petroglyph Point Loop.

At 2.4 miles, it’s doable for her at 3 and doable for me at 39 if I have to carry her a portion of the way. The first mile-and-a-quarter is filled with opportunities to learn about the natural environment. There are plenty of moments along the trail to learn about lizards, flowers, trees, birds, rocks and, of course, the Anasazi Indians. All points of interest are marked with numbers 1 through 34, which we found great for counting. The trail is fairly flat, though tight in spots, and there are some steep, rocky stairs up and down along the way.

At Marker 24, we came to Petroglyph Point, which offers the “largest and best-known group of petroglyphs in Mesa Verde.” Here, an unexpected adventure was waiting for us – we came across a woman visiting from Canada who was painting, and she kindly offered Goose the opportunity to sit quietly and paint her own interpretation of the ancient rock art story. We sat there taking in the quiet while Goose dipped her brush in the paint and let the colors run together in a beautiful rendering of her environment. She painted a story of what she saw and of her day and it will hang as proudly above my writing desk as the images hang so thoughtfully marked on the rocks.

When you open yourself up to opportunity in life for your children, magical things like this seem to happen and make the adventure even more exciting along the way. If you take your little one on this adventure, head out early before the heat of the day, make sure to take plenty of water, comfortable shoes, sunscreen, hats, snacks and perhaps some crayons and a notebook to create your own petroglyph memento. Be prepared for an hour’s drive from Durango and $10 park admission.

I have to admit I’d have been a little disappointed if Goose wasn’t as passionate about getting outside as I am. But we’re both lucky. She took to the woods like a fish to water, and I find it rewarding that my daughter knows what a Petroglyph is because she’s seen one, that she knows the difference between lichen and moss and especially that she can differentiate a rainbow trout from a brook trout.

But mostly, I love that, when she feels dirt under her toes, she smiles, and that she has a rock collection in a jar on her windowsill and knows where each one came from. I love that when she hikes, she enjoys it, and when she’s at her favorite lake, she feels the urge to get naked and fish that way. Being metaphorically naked outdoors is the best way to experience nature, to let down your guard and put your preconceived notions aside of who you are supposed to be as a parent and as a person and just experience the authentic stick-drawing version of yourself.

Jenny Johnston can be reached at jennyandgooseoutdoors@outlook.com