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Attitude Determines Outlook

I have a book about some of the best travel stories for a certain year, and in one of them there is a passage that I thought was extremely interesting. It deals with some of the hardships that come with travel (especially a more extreme version of travel than most of us do)... and the difference in attitude that the author had as compared to the person he was writing about. He wrote:

"Thubrun is a modest and undemonstrative fellow, but he grew animated as he described for me the pleasures of spending weeks sleeping on hard floors, eaing strange and stringy foods, being days beyond the reach of editors and friends. I had always thought of that type of discomfort and dislocation as the price you paid to experience interesting places, but not part of the pleasure. For Thubron it was - he positively rejoiced in it - and for me it was the greatest revelation."

We see in this paragraph the difference that your attitude can have on a situation. On the one hand, the author thought of these types of things as necessary evils, unpleasant but something you had to go through. His friend had the opposite reaction. He looked at them as another adventure, another experience to be lived. It is not hard to guess who enjoyed the seemingly negative side effects of traveling more.

In the same way we can see things in our own life. We can see those unpleasantries as a burden to be overcome, or as part of the joy in living life and growing as a person.

For every time someone cuts you off in traffic, it can be a [very, very] frustrating experience, or it can be a time to grow in patience and understanding.

For every time something does not go your way or how you had planned it, you can view it as an annoyance and frustration, or you can view it as a learning experience and a chance to make something better of the situation.

Trying to find the bright side of any situation is going to make us much happier, much more pleasant people. We will be better friends, better co-workers, and just simply better people. A positive attitude breeds a positive outlook, and that makes all the difference.

The Pursuit of Knowledge

There is a lot to be learned in the world - the pursuit of knowledge is literally endless. However, I don't think that should stop us.

In a book I read, "The Best American Travel Writing," there was this little nugget in the introduction that I thought was very interesting. It read:

"The more we know of particular things, the more we know of God." (xii)

In this case, it was something to inspire you to travel more, and I think it works in that capacity. In my opinion, the more that we travel, the more we understand of other people and places, and this allows us to understand God. When we know more of His creation, we can know more of him. (Of course, and hopefully this goes without saying, this does not mean that those who travel more by default know more about God).

I think this goes for all walks of life. On the surface, what is the point of reading a fiction novel, or in learning math, or science, or history, or any other such thing that we can learn about? In order to love and worship God, we do not need these things.

However, anything, everything, can help us understand God better. If they did not, then they would never have been created. But the more we know of God's creation, the better it may help us to understand Him.

Places in the USA I most want to visit

I think it's very important to have dreams and goals, and a lot of mine center around travel and places that I would love to visit and see and experience. Traveling allows you to see all of the beauty of creation, to experience new people and cultures, and just kick back and relax and enjoy life the way you were meant to enjoy life.

So that said, here are the top places as of now that I want to visit (not counting places in Colorado, of which there are tons that I am excited to explore upon my permanent arrival in the state!)

- Crater Lake (Oregon)- This is atop my travel wish list.... just looks incredibly beautiful. I'd love to visit Oregon as a whole, and Crater Lake tops the list of things I want to see there.

- Yosemite National Park (California) - "Yosemite National Park, one of the first wilderness parks in the United States, is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more."

- Maine and Vermont - There is a lot of beauty here, along the coast, in the Green Mountains, in Acadia National Park, the trees.... I am just very excited to explore it all!

- Glacier National Park (Montana) - The glaciers are quickly becoming an endangered species out in nature, so hopefully I will be able to visit soon. Between the glaciers themselves and all of the mountain lakes and wildlife, it would be an incredible Park to be able to visit.

- Alaska - The vast region features too many breathtaking spots to only list a couple. The whole state really looks incredible and just filled with beauty.

- Utah National Parks (Bryce Canyon, Arches, Zion, et al) - A ton of variety out there, with incredible rock formations, hikes, unique geological wonders.... basically they would all be incredible!

What places do you want to visit most?

Places in the world I most want to visit

Much like my list of places in the USA that I would most love to visit, I also have some places in the mind from the rest of the world that interest me the most and I would most want to visit.

There are hundreds of thousands of incredible things out there in the world, and narrowing the list down to a few is very difficult, but that is OK. I have traveled overseas once, and I can't wait to do it again. Even more than traveling in the USA, it opens you up to a whole different part of the world that is very fun and interesting to be able to experience. Some of the places on my list...

- Machu Picchu (Peru) - To me, it looks like the most breathtaking place on the planet. I can't wait to visit! All of the history of the Incan people combined with the beauty of the area and the incredible things that they left behind make it an incredible looking place.

- Rome and Italy - This is where I got the opportunity to visit, and I can't wait to go back. Rome is such an unreal city, you turn a corner while walking down the street and there is another remarkable landmark and incredible piece of architecture. Italy as a whole is a beautiful country with incredible depth and variety.

- New Zealand/Greece/Ireland - I put these three together only because they are all countries that have really caught my eye has being just beautiful and diverse in what they have to offer. The different types of landscapes and scenery and cultures all seem fascinating. I imagine you could spend a ton of time in these places and see something totally different every day.

- Aztec/Mayan ruins - This is just a personal interest of mine, I love reading and learning about these ancient cultures. The things that they left behind and the knowledge that they had just blows my mind. I think we can learn a lot just by seeing what they left behind.

Where do you most want to visit?

Garden of the Gods

I got a quick chance to drive through Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs last fall, and it is amazing!

While we didn't do much in the park itself while we were there (due to time constraints), there are ample opportunities for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. I hope to get back there someday and do some of that, because there are some amazing things to see.

The rock formations are beautiful. It is a reddish color that can be seen from all around the area, and there is a good variety of rocks in the park. From the famous Kissing Camels to Balanced Rock, there is plenty to be awestruck by.

Whenever I see stuff like this (or Mt. Cutler, which we hiked the same day), or any type of natural beauty like this, I wonder how there is crime and bad things in the world. This is the idealist in me, but who can see such natural beauty and then think about ever committing a crime, or being anything less than the best they can be?

I know this probably isn't a realistic thought pattern, but it seems like nature and its beauty should be all the crime deterrent we would ever need. If only.

My Favorite State High Points

So far in my life I have climbed the high point for 3 states. Ideally, I will reach all 50 before the end of my days, but for now, here are the rankings of my favorites (to be updated as I climb more!)

1) Eagle Mountain, Minnesota - This one is helped by the fact that I climbed it with Hannah! It's also helped that it's in the area of the beautiful North Shore of Minnesota, right along Lake Superior. The views aren't spectacular along the way, but the area is gorgeous, filled with plenty of vegetation (the trail enters the Boundary Waters about a mile in, which is a prime spot if you like remote nature that has been well-preserved from too much human contact). It is not a super strenuous hike but it does get a little long, about 7 miles round trip. But totally worth it!

(Note: If you are in the area you would be remiss if you did not stop at all of the state parks along the North Shore. Temperance River, Tettegouche, Split Rock, and Gooseberry Falls are all beautiful, more scenic than the high point itself. I can't recommend it highly enough).



2) Mt. Frissell, Connecticut - I liked this hike and high point because I felt like a real explorer. The high point was pretty remote, and it didn't seem to be popular at all. Just finding it was an adventure, as was the fact that I was the only one on the trail. Adding to it, it rained steadily on me as I approached the top, and then while I was at the high point itself. Pretty darn fun to explore and adventure around there.

On a funny note, the high point of Connecticut is a point on Mt. Frissell. This is funny because the actual peak of the mountain is in Massachusetts! At one point during the hike I was in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts.... pretty darn cool!



3) High Point State Park, New Jersey - This one was a bit lame, I must say. Because it was within a state park, it was a very popular tourist area, with beaches within the park. They also had a road that took you right up to the top, which (for me) kinda defeats the purpose of the high point. So I did what any good adventurer would do.... drove to the high point, but then didn't look out at all, hiked to the bottom, and then hiked back up. That made things a lot more fun!

The thing it did have going for it is that there was a gorgeous view at the high point. From the high point you can look out and see New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, as well as the Delaware River... so that is pretty cool! Definitely still worth a trip if you are in the area!

Quotes on Adventure

In my mind, the word adventure is very subjective... anything can be made into an adventure if only we allow it to be.

I think life is all about having such adventures, it makes us feel more fully alive. It gives us a sense of excitement, and the feeling like we are accomplishing and living life to the fullest.

Here are a couple of quotes on adventure:

"Life is not a problem to be solved, it is an adventure to be lived." (John Eldredge - Wild at Heart)

"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered." - GK Chesterton

I especially like the quote by Chesterton... how different life would be if we saw all of our inconveniences as merely adventures, or if we saw all of the burdens in life as challenges to be overcome. It would turn sorrows and hardships into something better, and give us a mindset that would allow us to conquer them and learn from them.