the turquoise trail

I have been inspired again to start blogging.

A good friend of mine has started her own travel blog, and I am loving reading about and following along on her adventures.

Right now, she is touring Eastern Canada solo on her motorbike. Amazing.

GrownupBackpackers.com

Have you heard this quote about life?

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don't need to escape from.”

Seth Godin

I'm not really sure who Seth Godin is, but I love the idea of a life from which you don't need a vacation. For me, that reality would include a high enough income to be able to live comfortably, travel extensively, and save easily for retirement.

All of that aside, a co-worker of mine and his wife are currently backpacking around Europe for 6 months. I'm loving following along on their blog: heels and cameras: a couples travel guide

And while I'm not at all sure how their experience ties into the quote about a life you don't need to escape from, they both make my mind spin giddily.

Making no promises, but I might be turning into a backpacker...

Photo by Adarsh Thakuri

As a note, the proper reaction to a statement like that coming from me is "WHAAT!?!?! You, backpacking??? On Purpose!?!?!?!"

Seriously. That's what is going through my head right now.

Despite the fact that I am absolutely NOT a backpacker, I am planning on a 7-day trek through the mountains of Peru as a birthday present to myself the year I turn 40. I'm also planning a return visit to Paris that year, but that is completely irrelevant to this post.

So in preparation for the trek to Machu Picchu, I'm looking into what the best boots will be, what camera it makes sense to take, what backpack would work best... and then I found an article on backpacker.com that is called "The Perfect Circle: Hiking the Annapurna Circuit" and I'm reading it thinking "That would be a great follow-up to both Machu Picchu and my tour of Iceland..."

And then, it lists all these other famous backpacking treks you can go on, and how they can almost compete with the Annapurna Circuit, and lo and behold, I have a list of hiking trips and multisport vacations I want to go on! Also, now that I know that such a thing exists, I think my plan for Iceland fits the "multisport" vacation definition.

1. Machu Picchu
2. Annapurna Circuit

• New Zealand - I'm not sure that this qualifies as a trek, but at the very least, I've added it to the list of places I want to go, and I envision my trip here being a little more like the tour I have planned of Iceland, where you do a little bit of everything, including backpacking.
• Grand Canyon (low on the priority list - I was just there this summer)
• Sweden’s Sarek National Park
• Tour Du Mont Blanc
• Spain’s Valencia region - also possibly more of a regional tour than a strictly backpacking trek
• Italy’s Alta Via 1
• England’s Pennine Way

New Inspirational Blog/Group: Travelettes

I happened across a new (to me) Facebook page/travel blog/Instagram group that has already (after reading only one post) given me some (one, so far) great ideas to enrich my future travel experiences. The group is the Travelettes, and the blog is http://www.travelettes.net/.

The first tip I've picked up from them? Have a "quest" for each destination - something that can only be done there, or that is particularly fitting for that location.

I'm very excited about this idea - it's going to be like having my own personal world-wide scavenger hunt!!!

And it made me join Instagram, something I have been avoiding doing for some unknown reason. Should anyone be interested, I can be found on Instagram under the name drake.anna.

National Geographic Trips and Adventures lists for 2014

I'm a little bit late with this update, but I'm very excited... I finally took some time to check out National Geographic's best trips and adventures for 2014.

Best Trips 2014

The list this year is as impressive as ever, including locations around the world: Rwanda, Australia, United States, Canada - who knew there was a Nahanni National Park??? - Italy, Argentina, India, Iraq, Russia, France, Liechtenstein, and so on. If ever you have some time to spend on a vacation, and you want to do something just a little bit different, this is the place to start planning, as far as I'm concerned.

Ultimate Adventure Bucket List 2014

The adventure list is broken into two categories, Classic Trips and New Frontiers, and as ever, is just a little bit more... "adventure-y" than I am.

National Geographic asked 20 of the world's top adventurers to share their dazzling new frontiers, and their all-time classic trips. The result is a list that includes mountain climbing, surfing, kayaking, hiking, paddle boarding and mountain biking. Which sounds not so bad, until you add the details:

Mountain Bike the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Vietnam. 

..."roughly 800 miles"... "it traces the ridgelines of the Annamite Mountains, passes through tiny villages, and skirts verdant terraced agricultural lands"...

Seriously. WAAAY out of my comfort zone.

There is one National Geographic Adventure that I am planning on doing: The Machu Picchu Inn to Inn Hike. 10 days, staying in what looks like absolutely the best accommodations available... I have found the trip I'm taking as the highlight of my "Mid-Life Crisis/Year-long Celebration" the year I turn 40.

It's a very strange feeling to be really excited about something on one hand and completely dreading it on the other!

My plan is to distract myself with training for the next three years... kickboxing, here I come!!!

Gotta Love National Geographic!

I am a little bit obsessive-compulsive when it comes to certain things like planning my trips, eating my M&Ms, and loading a dishwasher.

Also, about what my desktop background looks like. And for that, I go to National Geographic. (www.nationalgeographic.com) They have a section called Photo of the Day, which I have mentioned previously on this blog. (Trier, Germany) The photos are generally spectacular, with a different theme each month. Much better than any stock image that comes with a computer.

This morning, on my daily check for the Photo of the Day, I noticed a couple of other sections on their website. Really, I was looking for what I have decided will be my Christmas gift to myself (after I move into my new house, which is why I don't have it already) - a set of hard-cover books called the 500 Best... Road trips, food trips, journeys, hidden journeys, etc. - I think I am going to get myself 4-5 of the series. ANYWAY, what I found were two sections that I hadn't noticed before: Adventure and Travel. And within each of them, a list of 20 must-see places this year!!! (Lists figure high on my Most Favourite Things List) :)

After a VERY brief glimpse, I decided that the Adventure section was a little to... adventurous for me, but oh, the travel section is just right!

Trier, Germany

Thank you, National Geographic!!!

The photo of the day on Saturday (October 13, 2012) was of a town that I visited when I was 18 years old, and loved - but forgot the name of. :) It makes it very difficult to go back to a place when you don't remember what it is called.

Trier, Germany. Added to my bucket list.

Roman Ruin Picture -- Germany Photo -- National Geographic Photo of the Day

The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List

Part of the Series: Experiencing Saskatchewan, Living in Saskatchewan

I bought myself a book shortly after starting to work in Saskatchewan called The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List: 50 Unforgettable Natural Wonders to See Before You "Kick the Bucket". I immediately started planning, because really, isn't that the whole point of a list?

50 is a lot, and some of them are going to require some serious planning and investment... it cannot be cheap to fly into Northern Saskatchewan, and I am not at all sure about how able I am to canoe through some of the rivers up there... but I am very interested in exploring as much as I possibly can.

To follow along on my adventures, click the links below:

• Buffalo Pound Provincial Park
• The Crooked Bush
• Castle Butte
• Camping in Cypress Hills
• Conglomerate Cliffs
• Hidden Conglomerate Cliffs
• Bald Butte
• Cypress Hills Lookout