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Lots of Amazing Places! Introduction




               


The Groto; Bruce Peninsula National Park of Canada



Hi, and thanks for checking out this blog!  It is supposed to be mainly a photo blog, showing beautiful places that I've visited in North America.  If you've landed here hoping for pictures and a bit of my back story, well, then stick around; that's what this post is all about.  I'll tell you a little bit about me, something about my travels and travel plans, a bit about the rig and gear I use to travel with, and a few of the things I've learned about solo adventure travel.  It should help you figure out how to use the rest of this blog as well.  

 So, I'm a single retired guy who spends 8 to 9 months per year living out of my van, traveling mostly in Canada and the USA where I go to amazing places and do fun stuff while I'm there.  Amazing places to me mostly involve nature: Rivers and lakes, waterfalls, rocks, trees, mountains, wildlife, geology.  Fun stuff to me includes activities like river paddling (kayaking or canoeing), paddle sailing, hiking, mountain biking, motorcycling, skiing, snowboarding and camping.  So doing fun stuff in amazing places is kind of perfect for me.


This is me...
Doing fun stuff, on the Ottawa River in 2017

One of my passions for the ten or so years before I retired was whitewater kayaking.  That is the kind of kayaking that people do more for excitement and thrills than for being mellow and relaxing (though I found the excitement of kayaking kind of relaxing).  It got me outside and active, on water, with like minded people.  As I got closer to retirement, the idea of paddling famous whitewater rivers in Canada and the US  became more and more appealing.  I met a few people who had paddled some of these rivers, I read a few books and watched a few videos about that kind of travel, and became more and more convinced that was what I wanted to do.  I did know that while my primary passion was whitewater kayaking, I was also a multi-sport guy who would want to do  more than one thing all the time.  So I knew that I wanted to hike, bike, and paddle while I was relatively young and fit, and I wanted to do those things in beautiful places mainly in the US and Canada.

Angel's Landing; Zion National Park, Utah

Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta

My home base is Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  That's where I've lived for the past 40 years or so, and that's where I return when I need some down time or turnaround time between trips.  The Lancaster area is where some of my best friends live, and that's where I've worked as a clinical psychologist for about 30 of those years.  I was born and raised near Niagara Falls, Ontario, and while I am a legal permanent resident in the US, I'm still a Canadian citizen.  Most of my family lives in Canada, and I love to go back there to spend time with them.  Most of my friends live in the US, and I love to spend them with them as well.  My townhouse in Lancaster?  Well, it is pretty comfortable and convenient.  It is also very easy to lock up and leave for weeks or months on end.

Virginia Falls, South Nahanni River, Northwest Territories
Yellowstone Falls, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

I had the good fortune of having done well with my retirement planning and investments, and I decided that as much as I loved my work, there was a lot more that I wanted to see and do before I got too old or too decrepit to do them. I was also relatively free to become a kind of nomad:  Single, no kids, pets, houseplants, or other commitments to hold me back, and enough interest, desire, and confidence to pull me forward.   So at age 62, with my retirement accounts and my health in decent enough shape, I closed my practice and started going to amazing places.
MacDonald Creek, Glacier National Park, Montana

Sunrise in Massasauga Provincial Park, Ontario

In my trip planning, I generally think about parks and rivers as primary destinations.  I am more of a nature and wilderness guy, and less of a cities and culture guy.  National parks are places set aside and protected in part because of their natural beauty.  Wild and scenic rivers are designated in part because of their natural beauty.  So I planned trips to areas that had rivers or parks in them.  I also wanted to spend time in an area to really get to know it, and to have the freedom to follow opportunities that I might learn about only after I got there.  So I thought in terms of spending weeks or months, not days or a week, in an area. 
Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, Wyoming

When I started this, I knew that I'd mainly be traveling solo.  I didn't know anyone who shared my set of interests and who would be able to join me for extended (2 to 4 month long) trips.  And I didn't want my lack of travel partners stop me from my plans.  As it turns out, this worked out really well for me.  I'm reasonably confident and pretty comfortable in my own skin.  I don't need to be with people all the time.  Yet I also like and feel comfortable meeting and doing things with people.  This was a source of some anxiety early on, but I discovered that there are usually plenty of interesting people to meet along the way.  And as a bonus, we are pretty likely to enjoy the people we meet while doing things we all enjoy.  I've met some amazing people along the way, and have been fortunate to make some great new friends through my travels.

Moulton Barn in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona


I knew I'd be in more or less remote places away from cities and civilization in my trips.  So I figured I'd want to travel in a vehicle that I could live in.  I wanted to be able to eat and sleep in it.  I wanted it to be reliable and reasonably comfortable. I wanted to haul my toys and gear:  Three or four kayaks, a couple of mountain bikes, a motorcycle, camping gear, hiking gear, food, and so on.  I wanted enough space and extra gear so that a friend or two could join me for a week or two if they were interested.  After a bunch of research, I opted to get a new Ford Transit cargo van, and outfitted it to suit my needs.  It has lots of storage, comfortable places to sleep, and convenient space to do food prep and eating.  It is more of a toy hauler than a motor home, but I've tried to combine what I need to be able to live out of it for months on end, not just for a weekend or two.  I do warn guests that if their frame of reference is a Winnebago RV or a Holiday Inn, they might be a bit uncomfortable.  If their frame of reference is a tent, they will be delighted!  I think of the rig as my steel tent on wheels.  I'm delighted.  For me, the rig is a way to get me to the places I want to visit.  It is not a second home or a place I'd want to live in.   When I travel, I don't live in it, I live out of it.  
Living in a van, down by the river!

Every year since I started this, I've generally done two or three shorter trips that last for a month or two,  and one or two longer trips that last for three or more months.  I generally pick a destination (a region or a state or province) and do stuff in that area for the whole time.   I don't do a lot of trip planning except for a general idea of the parks or rivers I want to visit.  I have a plan but I don't have a tight time frame.  I want to leave plenty of opportunity to explore and discover.  And I want to feel free to stay on move on as long (or as short) as I like.  So examples of trip plans I've made include a few months of whitewater rivers in Idaho (maybe the single best state for whitewater paddling, by the way), a few months of hiking and paddling in national parks in northern California, a month of visiting and paddling wild and scenic rivers in Oregon, a couple of months to do whatever there is to do in the Canadian Rockies, and so on.  The general plan gets me to a cool destination, with enough flexibility to explore whatever I'm interested in that is in the area.
Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta

St Mary Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana

Being kind of a visual guy, I discovered early on that I enjoyed taking pictures of the places I'd visit.  I've always liked landscape photography and art, and I was in places that have inspired people to do both.  Being kind of a sociable guy, I also discovered that it was fun to share these pictures with people who liked me, who liked what I was doing, or who liked where I was going.  So I developed a habit of sorting through the pictures I took and saved them in trip albums.  I shared the best of those pictures on facebook and instagram and by text or email.  About once a month I'd send out a "travel note" that would include something about where I was, what it was like, and what was coming up next.  I'd also share some of the pictures I took, usually through links to google photo albums I made. 

Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

  
Pyramid Mountain along the Maligne Canyon Trail, Jasper, Alberta

In addition to the monthly travel notes, I send a year end note to friends and family.  These annual notes summarized what I've been up during the year, and gave previews about what I hoped to be doing in the coming year or two.  They included what I think of as the very best photos I've taken during the year. 

Spirit Island, an Amazing Place in Jasper National Park, Alberta

Those email and social media shares provide the framework for what is in this blog.  Organized by year, each of the following blog entries summarizes some of the amazing places I've visited and the things I did when I was there.  Each entry shows a few pictures of those places.  And at the end of each entry are links to google photo albums that provide more depth, detail, and images of the individual trips and destinations. 
Nevada Falls, Yosemite National Park, California

I hope you enjoy the tours and maybe get inspired to discover amazing places yourself.  I welcome your feedback, and am happy to reply to any questions you might have about solo adventure travel to amazing places.

 Thanks for visiting!

Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah

Navigation:

 Intro:  Intro to Amazing Places!
2019:  https://lotsofamazingplaces.blogspot.com/2019/12/
2018:  https://lotsofamazingplaces.blogspot.com/2018/12/
  














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