Category ArchiveEverywhere Once |

Preparing for an Extended Backpacking Excursion (Part I)

by Brian on February 1, 2012 in Backpacking, How To, Planning and Prep, Travel

One hundred and six. That is the number of stops we’ve made during twenty months of continuous travel. We move so often that it has become second nature. These days, getting to a new destination isn’t much different than commuting to work. We experience no anxiety, or make special plans. We don’t even really need to give it a lot of thought. We just pack up and go. That is, as long as we’re driving the RV.

Our 107th stop is something else entirely. Shortly we’ll be leaving the RV behind and taking a flight to Belize. From there we’ll spend two months backpacking across Northern Central America. This is a completely new form of travel for us and required a bit more preparation. This is how we got ready.

Travel Bags

We didn’t absolutely need new luggage for the kind of travel we envision, but for ultra-mobility a backpack is hard to beat. The variety of bags available surprised and overwhelmed us, though. Complicating matters is that many retailers only carry certain brands, making comparison shopping a bit of pain. We also discovered that most backpacks are designed with the hiker, not the traveler, in mind. Travelers have special needs, and most bags fell short somehow.

Here’s what we were looking for, and ultimately what we got:

American Safari

by Brian on January 30, 2012 in Travel, United States

When we think about wildlife viewing trips our minds immediately conjure images of a long coveted African safari, or maybe a sail through the Galapagos Islands. We don’t normally think of the American mid-west.

A travel truism is that we appreciate the far off and discount the nearby. I spent nearly two decades in one of the best cities on earth but didn’t really understand New York as a travel destination until after I left. Similarly, we have some pretty spectacular wildlife right here in the U.S. that often gets overlooked.

The good news is that we didn’t need a reminder to marvel at all the fabulous critters that crossed our path over the past six months. Here’s a partial tribute to what we saw, both great and small.

Petroglyph National Monument

by Brian on January 26, 2012 in New Mexico, Travel, United States

It is believed Petroglyph National Monument near Albuquerque, New Mexico contains over 25,000 stone carvings created some 800 years ago. On our visit, I think we saw at least as many of these guys . . .

Photo of the Day: Great Sand Dunes National Park

by Brian on January 25, 2012 in Colorado, Photo of the Day, Travel, United States

Last week’s post on White Sands National Monument reminded me of one of my favorite places. White Sands is neat, but Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes is simply out of this world.

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

by Brian on January 23, 2012 in New Mexico, Travel, United States

Our love for subterranean spaces is something we discovered only within the last year. It began with our spelunking trip in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave where we learned there are better ways to experience the underworld than along paved paths. There’s just something unnatural about the aluminum handrails and colored ceiling lights that are the hallmark of developed cave tours. Far better, in our view, to turn on a headlamp and squeeze into pitch black sections few other people get to see.