I was asked why I travel so much and why my destinations are mainly national parks, national forests, bike trails, hiking trails, and rivers to paddle. My answer lies in this poem that I wrote 20 years ago.
Curious to know what's over that rise
or around that bend?
What's a mile beyond here,
or a minute beyond now?
Courageous enough to scale that intervening rise
and round that obscuring bend?
To venture that further mile
and live that eternal minute?
What education may the side canyon confer?
What treasures may the endless trail unearth
or the infinite night sky reveal?
What headwaters of new-thought await?
Wilderness is home to the soul,
and its sights and sounds and scents
vital to the soul's nourishment,
beckoning one's spirit.
Abandon inertia and reap Nature's bounty:
moments to savor,
memories to share; both
mementoes to save.
Travel both diverging paths
within yonder yellow wood.
Be one traveler who avoids
the sorrow of the road not taken.
Curiosity kills neither cat nor man,
but bequeaths adventure and mission and exultation
to otherwise humdrum existence.
Acquiescence kills.
Yet few Dare.
Even fewer Do.
But none who Do
ever regret.
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