A Photo Journal: Flying High to Lopez Island

I like meeting new people — especially when those people broaden my horizons.

Meet my new friend, Larry. Larry literally flew me to new horizons.

Meet Larry.

Larry has an array of interests. One of those interests is piloting his Cessna 150. Larry likes to fly to places and then explore those places via land.

Suppose you were Larry. Suppose you wanted to fly your plane somewhere — let's say the San Juan Islands — to explore the isles. What might be a good way to explore once you've touched down?

Yes, you got it — a bicycle!

A Photo Journal: A Month Pedaling the Long Way

When you have a whole month to get from Point A to Point B, it clearly makes sense to go the long way, especially when doubling your mileage means quadrupling the gorgeous vistas.

Me and Don, doubling our mileage to quadruple our views.

My buddy, Donald, and I staffed an Adventure Cycling trip together in Whitefish in early July. A month later, we were leading another trip together out of Bellingham. As we both share an interest in hitting the open road (albeit dirt road) on two wheels, and as we both had a month of free time between trips, we decided to cycle together from the ending point of our first trip to the starting point of our next trip -- the long way. 

This is a photo journal of the month we spent pedaling from Whitefish, Montana to Bellingham, Washington...via Jasper, Alberta.

A Photo Journal: Around Dharamsala

Below are my favorite photos from my time in and around Dharamsala.

McLeod Ganj, a suburb of Dharamsala, is in the Himachal Pradesh state of India.
At 6800 ft, the hill city is surrounded by a dense coniferous forest of Deodar cedars.

A Photo Journal: In & Around Dadh

While in India, I spent a month taking an intensive yoga teacher training course (see An Unexpected Takeaway from My Yoga Course).

Tara, yoga master, surrounded by his class of new yoga instructors.
This is a powerful photo for me,
as it represents an abundance of emotions.
(Photo: Siddhi Yoga)

The course was held in Dadh, about an hour's drive outside of Dharamsala. On the few days when we didn't have classes, I explored the countryside by foot. Below are my favorite photos from in and around Dadh.

A Photo Journal: The Dalai Lama's Temple & The Tibetans

I'm far behind on blog posts. I'm about to leave the country for three months, and I have not yet shared my favorite photos from my last overseas trip. It is time for some serious catching up! This is the first of three photo journal posts from my trip to India.

Last spring I traveled to McLeod Ganj. Situated in northern India, at the base of the Himalayan Mountains, the town is the home of the exiled Tibetan people. In McLeod Ganj, I had a Meeting with the Dalai Lama  and Volunteered with the Tibetan Refugees. Below are my favorite photos from McLeod.

The Dalai Lama's Temple

The Dalai Lama's Temple is just one facet of the much larger complex known as "Tsuglagkhang." In addition to the main temple, the complex also includes the Dalai Lama's residence, the Namgyal Gompa, the Tibetan Museum, and the heart-breaking wall displaying the photographs of those who have self-immolated over the years in protest of Tibet's freedom. Tsuglagkhang is a pilgrimage destination for Tibetans and followers of the Dalai Lama.

Around the circumference of Tsuglagkhang is a walk known as the "Kora Circuit."
I had the great pleasure of walking the Kora a number of times.
The Kora Circuit is lined with messages etched into and painted onto stones...

Housesitting in Bellingham: A Photo Journal

I spend a majority of my time alternating between traveling and housesitting. While I greatly enjoy my travels, I look forward to my housesits as an opportunity to hunker down in one place, recharge my batteries, catch up on life logistics, and prepare for my next bout of travels.

I spent the months of April and May housesitting in Bellingham, about 90 miles north of Seattle. I watched over a large property in the country and took care of five kitties who lived on the property. I relished in the solitude, nature, and peace that country living proffers.

I settled into a nice daily routine -- yoga first thing in the morning, followed by a run, a bike ride, or a walk, an afternoon of being either entirely productive or productively leisurely, and a three-mile round-trip walk after dinner merely so I could smell the lilacs (and later the roses) at the end of a nearby road. I also spent a lot of time Bathing in the Forest, noticing the tiny details in nature (the tadpoles growing fatter and fatter each day) as well as the more macro ones (the snow melting on the nearby peaks as green filled in the trees). There were days that passed when I didn't talk to anyone except for myself and the kitties.

Exploring the Country

It was a 20-mile roundtrip bike ride to and from the grocery store.
I didn't mind the ride, especially since I got to see this
dreamy view of Mt Baker every time I approached the property.

Biking the Baja Divide: A Photo Journal

At the end of January, I traveled to Mexico to bike the new Baja Divide route. This a photo journal of my trip.

Part I: Biking from Tecate to San Quintin with Ronaldo

I rode the first ~270 miles from Tecate to San Quintin with Ronaldo. We covered this section in just over a week. 

Due to recent heavy rains, the desert in the north was unusually lush.
(Photo: Ron Norton)

Housesitting on Salt Spring Island

For thirty two days in December and January, I lived in a magical place. A place where arbutus and Garry oaks hold a steadfast stance on salty shores. A place where thick mossy rugs are like opium on hilltops, coaxing you to sit down for just a moment -- no, rather lie down for an entire afternoon snooze. A place where cormorants gather by the dozens to roost in treetops, noisily chattering as the sun sets. A place where time is measured only by the ferries that enter and leave the harbours.

An eagle eye's view of the magical place, looking north from Reginald Hill.
The Fulford-Burgoyne Valley, straight ahead, is nestled between
Mt Bruce (2,326 ft / 709 m) and Mt Maxwell (1,946 ft / 593 m).
If I were to turn towards the south, I would see the San Juan Islands.

If I were to turn so that the water was at my back,
I would see this soft, sunny spot,
begging for a picnic or a nose to be buried in a book. 

This magical place is Salt Spring Island. One of the southern Gulf Islands, Salt Spring is located in the Strait of Georgia, snuggled between mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island. The Gulf Islands are close relatives to Washington state's San Juan Islands. They are separated only by an international border and distinguished by citizens who look the same but end their sentences with "eh." With 10,000 year-round residents, many of them "artist-types," Salt Spring is the most populous of the Gulf Islands. But it certainly doesn't feel that way; nature and solitude are abundant.

Riding the Tetons-Yellowstone Route: A Photo Journal

As mentioned in my previous post, Getting to the Start of the Reconnaissance Ride, I did a solo, self-contained "reconnaissance ride" around the Tetons-Yellowstone loop. Immediately following my Reconnaissance Ride, I co-lead two separate week-long tours around the same route for Adventure Cycling. All in all, the trip included about 800 miles of pedaling. This is a photo journal of my trips.

I picked up Adventure Cycling's Tetons-Yellowstone loop in the town of West Yellowstone, at the far north end of the route. A few miles outside of West Yellowstone, I crossed the Continental Divide and entered Idaho.

Ingredients for a Tenday

Recently, I've been noticing myself thinking: "Today is a tenday."

"What is a tenday?," you ask.

Well, for starters, I should clarify that the term is my own device. I never intended to create the word; I just started using it.

Now, imagine a scale that ranges from 1 to 10. At the far left of the scale is the 1, which represents "not-so-hot." At the far right of the scale is the 10, which represents "flippin' fantastic." Given that scale, a "tenday" is used to describe a day that is a 10.

"Today is a tenday."
Coming across the words of Mary Oliver, chalked on the front steps of a home.

For the record, I experience sevendays. And fivedays. And occasionally, though rare, onedays as well. After all, it's very much part of the human experience to have ups and downs in life.

I'm Officially Homeless

Someone once said that the days are long, and the years are short. I'm reminded of this today.

I've had so many wonderful, long days over the last few months since I returned from my visit overseas. I crossed two items off my bucket list -- including getting a tattoo (see Sailors, Whores, & Ink) and taking a sailing course. I've spent lazy afternoons enjoying Seattle's unseasonably mild weather. I've spent hours relearning the Spanish language that I haven't spoken since the last millennium. I've started to plan a big bike trip for this upcoming fall and winter. Oh, and I finally met my financial target for early retirement (even though I left my job two and a half years ago, only 75% of the way to my target).

Suffice it to say, it's been a great few months of back-to-back long days. But it's already June 4th, and I am officially homeless!

Let me back up a bit...to October of last year...

Reflections on My Turkey Trip - Part 3: What I Learned About Myself

What did I think of Turkey? My answer is threefold. 

In my prior two posts, I addressed Part 1: What I Like About Turkey and Part 2: What I Like About the United States. In today's post I cover Part 3: What I Learned About Myself.

Let's start off with an analogy...

Imagine a mosaic. The more tiles that compose the mosaic, the clearer the image. ¿Comprende? Bueno.

As you've likely heard before, we are a sum of all our experiences. These experiences combine to create a mosaic of our unique selves. As is true for the tiles in a mosaic, the more experiences we add to our lives, the clearer the image of our true selves.

A mosaic of me, with all the Turkey photos as individual tiles.
Enlarge the image to fully appreciate the mosaic.

The Turkey trip served to add more and more tiles to the mosaic of my life. Though some of these experiences confirmed what I already knew about myself, others revealed something new. Regardless, all of the experiences helped me to get a clearer image of myself. All of the experiences helped me to learn more about myself and to asymptotically hone in on my true nature.

Reflections on My Turkey Trip - Part 2: What I Like About the United States

If you recall from yesterday's post, I have been asked numerous times: "So, what did you think of Turkey?" I had been hemming and hawing at my response, but I am now ready to share my answer, via three separate posts.

In yesterday's post, I covered Part 1: What I Like About Turkey. In today's post, I cover Part 2: What I Like About the United States.

Yes, smarty pants, "what I like about the United States" is a nice way of saying "what I don't like about Turkey." My trip to Turkey made me appreciate a lot of the things that I take for granted living in the United States.

Let's get this show on the road, folks...

Reflections on My Turkey Trip - Part 1: What I Like About Turkey

My trip to Turkey ended a little over a month ago. Since my return, one task has remained on my to-do list.

While I'm typically not one to procrastinate, the distance in time, as it turns out, has been valuable at enabling me to thoroughly reflect on my trip.

Exploring Vancouver Island: A Photo Journal

For twenty-two days in July and August, Ferit and I explored Vancouver Island. Located in the southwest corner of British Columbia, Vancouver Island is the largest island in the Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand. This is a photo journal of our trip.

Some days we camped in campgrounds.
Other days we claimed our own "Private Idahos" in the forest.
This is our bush camping site at the end of a logging road near Port Alberni.
We spent two days/nights here, in our own little heaven.

As one who has always slept in tents mounted on the ground,
getting used to climbing in and out of a car-top tent took a little getting used to...
especially for mid-night tea-pees.

What's Next?

"So, what's next?" you ask.

My plan was to spend a week or so chilling in Seattle after I returned from the Sierra-Cascades ride. During this time, I would relax, swap out my tires, throw some additional gear into the panniers (bear spray and the such), and then head out for the next adventure -- a few months riding the Icefields Parkway and The Great Divide.

My route for the Icefields Parkway and The Great Divide.

For those of you not familiar with these rides, the Icefields Parkway runs from Jasper to Banff, in Alberta, Canada. The ride is 140 miles of flippin' gorgeousness, with picture perfect lakes and icefields as far as one's laser-vision-corrected eyes can see.

Exploration & The Meat of Life

I have a great fascination with explorers. I love that they venture into the unknown. That they do their best to prepare, despite the multitude of uncertainties before them. That they discover places and things not yet known to others.