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.
