On April 14th, 2012 and into the early hours of the next morning,  I sat down with my composition notebook, a cup of tea and let my imagination run wild. Here then, is the beginning of my ultimate bucket list– those things I want to see/ make or do before I shuffle off this mortal coil. I have a long list and it will only continue growing. Things that are crossed out, I’ve already done. They were things I had always wanted to to before I had even attempted to compile such a list. Most of them have a related blog post or three, which I will link to later. I’m also permalinking this post in the sidebar of my blog for easy access. Here we go! Let’s see what the next 30+ years hold. Onward, friends!

Also, you’re all invited on any of these adventures. I don’t want to do everything alone! If you have a must-see or do item on your list that you think should be on my list, leave a comment below.

In no particular order:

• Travel across the country for a year in an old RV, making photographs, sleeping in Walmart Parking lots, and reading Great American Novels by candlelight.
• Learn to speak Spanish fluently and with confidence.
• Learn to identify wild edible plants and mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest.
• Cook an amazing four course vegetarian meal for a group of lovely friends.
• Participate in a national protest in the streets of Washington, D.C.
• Hike the Inca trail and spend a day at Machu Picchu contemplating mortality.
• Stare at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and try to feel God.
• Find a Guru.
• Attend Wrestlemania at least once.
• Swim in the sea surrounding Bora Bora while wearing a bikini (and look good in it).
• Swim in the salty Dead Sea and be healed.
• Watch Old Faithful erupt in Yellowstone.
• Have a soirée at Stonehenge…
• and a picnic on Easter Island.
• Stand in the Sedona vortexes and feel the good vibrations.
• Wander the streets of ancient Pompeii.
• Ride a camel in the Sahara Desert.
• Spend Christmas in the Hoh Rainforest.
• Take a solo camping trip to Crater Lake National Park and swim off the shores of Wizard Island.
• Read the Bible.
• Read Moby Dick.
• Read all the books I haven’t read that are sitting on my library shelves.
• Write a book other people will want to read.
• Create a renowned self-published serial photo zine.
• See Bruce Springsteen live in concert.
• See Morrissey live in concert.
• Have a Bill Murray “no one will ever believe you” moment.
• See wolves in the wild.
• See Grizzly Bears in the wild.
• Get a tattoo (and look good with it).
• Take an Eco tour of Chernobyl.
• Feel an earthquake.
• Chase a tornado.
• While in Russia, explore the Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
• Tour Gemini G.E.L. studios and Crown Point Press.
• Visit the temples and monasteries at Luang Prabang.
• Be humbled by Petra in Jordan…
• and be forgiven by Christ Redeemer in Brazil.
• Travel Alaska’s Inside Passage by Ferry.
• See glaciers in Alaska and feel small.
  
• Watch the Northern Lights from Denali National Park.
• See the bats fly out of the Carlsbad Caverns at dusk.
• Sled down the dunes at White Sands National Monument.
• Visit Shi Shi Beach and Point of Arches on  the westernmost tip of the continental United States.
• Visit the famous temple of Angkor Wat and read the Bhagavad Gita in the shade.
• Stand in front of the Taj Mahal and have my picture taken.
• While in India, visit Varanasi, boat on the Ganges, and see the Himalayas.
• Be awed by the Great Pyramids and the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.
• Walk inside a crop circle formed in fields along the English country side.
• Go to the annual Pendleton Roundup.
• Hike a portion of the Great Wall of China and pretend I can be seen from space.
• Explore the Everglade National Park.
• Spend a day at the Tate Modern, from open to close.
• Spend a night in Badlands National Park and go stargazing.
• Travel the Oregon Trail.
• Go camping in the Redwood National Park.
• Take a ferry down the Mississppi.
• Celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
• See the sun come up over Paris.
• Learn how to make salt prints.
• Lock eyes with the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.
• See and sketch the petroglyphs in Chaco Canyon.
• Raft down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
• Explore Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in Alberta, Canada and contemplate history and time.
• Visit, explore and hike in these National Parks: Yosemite, Banff, Mesa Verde, Glacier, Joshua Tree, Hawaii Volcanoes, and Yellowstone (again).
• Visit Antarctica before it melts away.
• Explore the Baja Penninsula.
• Travel the United States Gulf Coast from Corpus Christi, Texas to Mobile, Alabama.
• Kiss the Blarney Stone.