There’s always more to see
Sometimes it’s difficult to comprehend just how large our planet is and how little of it most of us get to see. Since I was blessed enough to start serving as a travel coordinator and escort back in 2000, I’ve been to places and seen things I never could have even imagined — but the truth is, there is so much more to see and so little time to see it.
Even if I were a 20 year old, which I’m not even close to, there is so much to see and so little time to take it all in.
In that sense, I’m a little jealous of my friend in Rotary Karl Waechtler, who has worked in so many places around the globe. His work took to him to so many more and
I love seeing the pictures he frequently posts on Facebook. (That, by the way, is what Facebook is for, not your daily source of news).
So today I thought I’d do a little daydreaming and pray that one day the old Monkees tune “Daydream Believer” might nudge me closer to making some of the places on my bucket list come to reality.
At the top of my list are the Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis. I don’t much care where I go to see them, I just want to be mesmerized by them. The challenge to seeing the Northern Lights is that you have to go way far to the north, typically at the coldest time of the year, to see them.
I could combine the Northern Lights with a photo safari that is focused on the polar bear. Again, the exact location is not all that important; it’s the bear I want to get pictures of. It could be the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Churchill in Manitoba or Svalbard, Norway. I just want to get pictures of them in their natural habitat, which is shrinking fast.
I think I’ve probably also written previously about the desire to get pictures of the Spirit Bears. Those are white black bears. Not albinos but, rather, certain bears that can be found in the Great Bear Rain Forest off the coast of British Columbia. They are also known as Kermode bears. About 10% of the black bears in the area of Princess Royale Island off Prince Rupert are born with a double recessive gene that makes them white.
While their habitat is very restrictive, the bears are VERY limited and paying $10,000 for a week-long trip and not being guaranteed of seeing one are obvious drawbacks.
I’d really like to go back to Israel again. For such a small country, there is so much to see. My trip last June was incredible but there is so much more to take in. Joel Thornton and I are talking about making that happen in 2024. The one place that I would really like to see that we didn’t visit last year is Jericho. We drove by Nimrod’s Fortress but did not go in, and I’d like to make that happen next time.
Nimrod was the great grandson of Noah but most don’t actually believe he had anything to do with its construction.
Another place I’d like to visit is Cape Town, South Africa. The African continent has never been really high on my bucket list, but it gained position after pictures posted by Mr. Waechtler intrigued me with the natural beauty of the mountains juxtaposed with the sea. I’d kind of like to see elephants, giraffes and zebras in their native habitat.
While the many far-flung places around the globe are calling my name, so are a lot of places right here in this country.
I’ve never been to Yellowstone and I’d love to spend a night or three in the historic Old Faithful Lodge and watch the geyser do its thing. The rest of that park could take a whole week or more to take in.
Yosemite National Park is another place I want to see. My Uncle Bob Cook was a park ranger there long ago. Though he didn’t spend much time there, he always said it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever been. I’d love to take a picture of Yosemite Falls and the moonbow that is generally visible in April and May.
The Grand Canyon is another place that has never been high on my bucket list, for reasons I can’t explain. After my visit through the Judean Desert last summer, I can only imagine how beautiful the Grand Canyon might be with the different colors in the rock.
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is another place that has worked its way onto my bucket list.
Staying on the continent, but leaving the borders of the US, I’d love to spend more time in the Canadian Maritimes. The history of that region coupled with its natural beauty are astounding. St. John, Charlottetown, Sydney and Cape Breton Island all have a special place in my heart, as does the magnificent city of Quebec.
All I need are the right six ping pong balls.