Speaking of meditative hiking another hike I’d really like to take is the Nakasendo Way in Japan. Nakasendo – Japan ancient road | VISIT GIFU – JAPAN Official Tourism Website – visitgifu.com
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Wow, I would love to do that! Japan inspires a peace that is hard to find elsewhere.
That is a really fun trip. My wife and I did it in 2017.
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Thanks, that’s good to know! Which end did you start from (and does it matter), and how much time did you allow yourselves to get from end to end?
We did east to west (Wallsend to Bowness on Solway). The advantage of doing it this way is you get the least interesting part done 1st. While the walk through Newcastle is cool it isn’t as pretty as the rest.
We had 8 walking days and 1 rest day (we stopped more or less halfway near Vindolanda and spent our rest day visiting there). We used a tour company that selected our lodging for us each night and used their baggage transfer so we only carried daypacks each day.
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Revisit London (was last there in 1982); take a Viking River cruise; go to the US Open. I think D & I are doing a NYC trip next year during the Open to celebrate a big birthday year for me & retirement - fingers crossed.
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Mine is not original with lots of travel. I do want to see Milky Way, Northern lights, see Puffins in the wild, take Trans Siberian train, do a cattle drive somewhere in Arizona/New Mexico, get PhD in something absolutely unrelated to what I currently do (possibly Egyptology), visit Egypt to see their new Grand Egyptian Museum, travel to Galapagos with National Geographic or any actual working scientific ship (not just your regular cruise)… So many things, so little time and funds… But one thing at a time!!! Enjoying reading everyone’s lists!
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You could always come to our farm on a clear night to see the Milky Way, but if anyone wants to see STARS in the nighttime sky, I very highly recommend Chaco Canyon (a National Park) in NM. It’s in the desert (low humidity) miles from major nearby lights allowing the night sky to really shine. When we were there my youngest was 8 and even he was mesmerized.
He totally grew up where most visitors remark about how well they can see the stars outside our house.
If anyone likes camping, there’s a campground there.
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Thank you! It seems though every time I attempt to see Milky Way during my National Parks trips it either not really visible during this time of the year/lunar calendar or weather is bad…. But I will keep trying!!
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I was just thinking today if I live another 20 years I will see our youngest grandchild be 20 (with the other two being 22 and 23). I am more focused on family and spending time with our kids/grandkids and other family and friends. All about relationships. Still trying to ‘figure out’ what is going to happen on our primary residence after DH does decide to leave here – but in the mean time I have a lot of decluttering and house upgrading to do in between getting more exercise and losing weight (I am doing well on the dieting but need to get in more exercise). DH and I have ‘slowed down’ to where we cannot imagine a faster paced day where you do what you want around your 8 hour job.
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Try the winter in Vermont or New Hampshire or probably any northern state. When my brother lived on an old farm we’d go up there in the winter and the stars would just take my breath away the second we got out of the car. (We always seemed to arrive at night!)
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Bryce Canyon National Park and Arches National Park are both great for seeing the night sky too.
Also love to the see the Milky Way at NC’s Outer Banks.
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Big Bend National Park is fantastic for stargazing. They have made a concerted effort to reduce “light pollution” by dimming the exterior lights on the park’s buildings at night. The park is so remote that other than the park headquarters and concessions, there are no lights around for miles.
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Reviving this thread because I think most people are thinking possibilities again.
Not sure I have a bucket list. I’m going to call it ‘keep my options open’ list. We have been very fortunate to live in a remote outdoorsy place for the last 30 years and still make a living in science and then recently retiring. This would be h@#& for city people, at least some. I used to say to my patients ‘The first thing out of your mouth should be ‘yes’ instead of ‘no’ when friends or family says would you like to…’
H is definitely the traveler and we have seen a lot of the world and camped at a lot of the national parks and BLM land because of him. I would never have imagined living here as a child growing up in a steel mill town in PA. Milky Way stars and living with wildlife are a way of life.
As a somewhat continued risk taker, in our older age we have: climbed a 14er, marched in a protest, run a half marathon, learned to ski and snowshoe. I hosted a bookclub (never had time for books not in the science area). We kept up with the latest technology (I think is the most important thing you can do to remain young, and relate to the younger generations), have an instagram, and volunteer in parks.
I won some local photography and art awards, and taken tap and art classes and French at the local Uni. All the activity with people came to a screeching halt with covid. But I now see the light at the end of the tunnel. What is next…we shall see…I keep my options open.
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rockymtnhigh2 - that all sounds amazing! Good for you!
As I think of ‘stage 2’ locations - I keep coming back to living in/near nature. I wouldn’t want to be isolated, but I’d like access to hiking, beautiful natural scenery.
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@rockymtnhigh2 — agree that it sounds like you’ve been having wonderful adventures. I will try to say “yes” more and have more fun too.
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Most of our bucket list items are travel, and we plan on several trips within the next couple of years.
Italy (multiple areas, including riding a bicycle for days) and New Zealand are high on our list for international travel. Trips were supposed to occur in 2020 and 2022, but you know what interfered.
Within the US, Getting to several additional national parks, doing a small ship (200 people or less) in Alaska, plus trip to Denali, and driving along the Pacific Coastal Highway (we’ve done parts of it) are high on our list. Other plans include taking advantage of places near where we’ve lived for a long time but haven’t bothered to visit.
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I so appreciate your emphasis on saying “yes” as a way to stay young and engaged. So often I see folks my age defining themselves rather narrowly, if perhaps with an increased sense of individual priorities and no becomes a default reaction. But on a moment by moment basis, saying yes has a great deal to recommend it.
In the last few months I drove across the country alone for the first time, and visited all the places and people in the west dear to my heart. I can’t say I went much of anyplace new, but rediscovered much of what I care about from my early years. Driving is not something I’ve done much of aside from local trips and a few airport pick ups in big cities in recent decades. But I learned as the miles passed and if not now, when?
I’ve seen more of the world than some and adore travel. But part of what I want for the future is to rediscover skills lost during my busy work and family raising years. Playing music, writing, and rediscoving how to be a creative person are what call to me the most.
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Sadly, I called the woman I have keeping in touch with for 50 years. She doesn’t remember me nor that she ever lived in KY not much of anything. I didn’t want to upset her so kept the conversation short.