Why do you go away?
So that you can come back.
So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and
extra colors.
And the people there see you differently, too.
Coming back to where you started is not the same as never
leaving.
~ Terry Pratchett, A
Hat Full of Sky
|
T
|
ravel anxiety bites.
It’s not quite a panic
attack (although I’ve never had one of those); and it’s not quite social phobia
(although I’ve never had that either).
If I’m traveling by car with close friends, I’m completely copacetic. No worries except to wonder whether I packed
enough underwear or my toothbrush (yep – forgot it one time. The one time I was glad for the big box
store).
Traveling by train
bumps me up to Level 1 travel anxiety ~ am I on the right side of the tracks?
(Ha!) Will my luggage fit (why did I
pack that extra bulky sweater)? Will I
go stark raving mad if I have to sit still for ten hours? Not to mention making sure I’m on time so I
don’t miss the train. Flying, however,
ratchets me up to Level 5. What can I
say? I like the ground.
A lot.
In addition I’m not
the most patient person in the world when there is pressure (again, don’t miss
the flight!), the time it takes to go through security these days is
nerve-shredding. As long as the line is
actually moving, I can breathe. But if
I’m standing and shuffling every few millifeet, then the minute hand seems to
race the second hand and my departure time looms closer.
Then there’s the added
stresses of wondering whether my luggage weighs the correct amount, whether the
crew is well-rested and sober, and whether the plane will indeed stay up in the
air until it lands safely at my destination airport. And I know all the statistics about plane
crashes vs. car crashes. Doesn’t
mattah!
Feet. Ground.
Good.
Yet, last week I was on
vacation. I left on the 3rd and took my
first flight that had a connection.
Great. Just what I needed ~
another stressor! Anyway, I made it.
Otherwise, I’d be publishing this from my great writing desk in the sky.
For all that I don’t
enjoy the getting there, I usually
love it once I’m at my destination and am sad to leave at the end of my
stay. Which is exactly what happened on
this trip. I am now an official Alaska
junkie. If it is possible to fall in
love with a place, than I am head-over-heels for Alaska ~ specifically her
mountain ranges. To be surrounded on a
daily basis by such majesty and beauty ~ it truly was breathtaking. And none
of my pictures do them justice. You have
to go there.
Now I find myself
planning a return trip (hopefully in March for the Iditarod) and looking for
other places to visit that boast majestic mountain ranges. So today’s Top Five are all places (with
mountains) that I would like to visit before I die (which is hopefully awhile
from now, in my own bed, and not in a twisted pile of metal).
Having
seen Exit Glacier in Seward, Alaska, I see the word “glacier” and my heartbeat
speeds up. They are now my second
favorite natural phenomenon ~ waterfalls being my first. On their webpage, the line that grabbed
me: “Glacier is a hiker's paradise for
adventurous visitors seeking wilderness and solitude.” Sign me up!
Guess
it’s time to get that passport. Because the
picture of the Canadian Rockies on their webpage sold me as soon as I saw
it. It’s not a bad picture ~ so I know
the real thing is even more spectacular.
Plus, I have a cousin in Canada that I might be able to drag along.
Selling
point here? “Seven of the largest
glaciers in the Rocky Mountains are located in the Wind River Range. There
are no roads in the wilderness, and mechanized vehicles, including mountain
bikes and snowmobiles, are not allowed.”
Yes!
Yellowstone
National Park, ID, WY, MT
Two
words: geysers and gray wolves.
Yellowstone has the largest collection of geysers. Unfortunately, it only has less than hundred
gray wolves.
Yosemite
National Park, California
Yosemite
combines my two great loves: mountains and waterfalls. And this one is the mother lode: Yosemite
Falls is the highest waterfall in North America at 2,425 feet. To hike that baby is definitely a bucket list
item!
And remember the most important rule of hiking in
bear country: you don’t have to be the
fastest runner, just faster than the guy behind you!
Oremus pro invicem,
~
Mikaela
What places are on your bucket list?
No comments:
Post a Comment