Travel
If there were one thing I could do anytime and all the time, it would be to travel. I have been fortunate in my school, work, and personal life to have traveled all over the U.S. (45 states and 2 territories) and the world (21 countries). I have a never-finished list of places I want to visit. I enjoy learning about different cultures and their histories and generally prefer landscapes to cityscapes while getting off the ‘tourist’ paths. I do not have the ear for language, but try to learn how to say at least ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ where I visit. I also love cooking and trying food from different places. Sometimes it is just watching and visiting local restaurants, other times taking a cooking class and I try to pick up a cookbook if I can find one in English. Below are some highlights of the recent places I have gone.
Living in Alaska
Greece (Athens, Mykonos, Paros, Santorini) 2016
Hiking the Chilkoot Trail 2016
Starting the historic Chilkoot Trail from the trailhead in Dyea, AK.
Reached a socked in summit (after two false ones) and entered into Canada.
The first of the trail on the Alaskan side was very lush and dump. (coastal rainforest)
Summit cleared as we passed through, leading to the beautiful Canadian high alpine zone.
It is amazing what the gold rusher brought to the trail. Many of the large artifacts weren't moved out.
Entering the boreal forest area on the Canadian side.
End of the trail in Bennett Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Trekking in Nepal (Sept - Dec 2013)
Summiting Gokyo Ri 4750 m (17,575 ft).
Looking towards the town of Gokyo, sacred third Gokyo Lake, and the Ngozumpa Glacier from the top of Gokyo Ri.