Status Report at Halftime

About 500 of my 1001 days have gone by and I've been doing some math.  Out of the original 101 items, I have completed 17 of them and partially completed another 11.  Looking at the list with fresh eyes, I know I won't complete all of them by next Christmas.  I'll be satisfied if I get over 50 done and thrilled if I get over 75.  Some of the remainder might make the next list, some of them will be discarded to make way for new goals in my life.  Even since making the list, some new priorities have emerged that have taken some of my time and focus away from completing more of the list, which is OK.  This list was to be a series of guideposts - a place to enumerate some of my goals and some of my dreams.  I have completed all of the travel goals, but I haven't touched the creativity, home, computer, or financial goals - and many of these are important that I get done, like setting up an emergency cash fund and decluttering my house.  Time to get to work.

#49 - Wilderness Medicine Conference

Today I completed a 5-day Conference on Wilderness Medicine.  I have been wanting to attend this conference for years.  Needless to say, wilderness medicine is not covered as a discipline in medical school in St. Louis.  My oldest son is involved in Cub Scouts and I realized that I would eventually be on a remote campout with his pack or troop.  If someone got injured, they'd look at me to provide medical care.  Beyond first aid, my medical skills all center around working in an office or hospital environment, and I felt that I wanted to expand those skills.  This course taught me ways to improvise medical equipment, to decide whether to treat something in the field or evacuate the patient, to prepare for an expedition, and to spend the unexpected night out with simple supplies to provide shelter, water, warmth, and food if necessary.  I learned about many of the hazards that the wilderness exposes us to (hypothermia, overheating, animal attacks, weather, avalanche, etc.) and how to prevent problems or treat the consequences if necessary.  I'm not an expert now, but I have a foundation that I will continue to expand in the future.

#64 - Yellowstone National Park

I had been to several state parks, but I had never been to a national park, until today.  We drove down from our cabin in Big Sky, Montana and made it to the West Gate in about an hour.  We then drove around the central loop, hitting the Paint Pots, Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, Hayden Valley, and the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River.  We got to see lots of wildlife, especially the 4 bison that chose to walk in the road in front of us. 

8/8/08 - We couldn't get enough so we came back and attended a ranger program, saw several more water falls and drove above the clouds in the mountains of Yellowstone.  Our last view of the day was of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone capped by the Lower Falls at Artist Point.  We made it there at dusk and saw the moon over the falls. 

Next trip we'll try to plan time to make it down to Grand Teton National Park south of Yellowstone.  It would have been a 6 hour round trip from where we were staying (it doesn't look that far on the map).

#61 - Lone Peak

 I was born in Colorado Springs, at the foot of Pike's Peak.  When I was a kid, we took several family vacations to Colorado and even camped (in a camper) in the Rockies.  Ever since then I have wanted to return.  We have driven through (literally through) the Appalachian Mountains in the past few years, but it isn't the same. I even spent a long weekend indoors in Salt Lake City, seeing the mountains from a distance when I stepped outside. Today we landed in Bozeman, Montana and the pilot had to reassure us that we were landing safely, even though it looked like the mountains were right outside our window.  We rented a car and drove south to Big Sky, through the Gallatin Mountain Range and then up the mountain range to get to our cabin at the foot of Lone Peak, elev. 11,253 feet.  
Standing among the lodgepole pines with mountains above my head and streams running by my feet - there's nothing like it for me.  I need to start planning my next trip.