This month’s theme over at the new Go Questing Community (send me a message for an invite!) is focused not on the big epic quests that take you a decade to complete, but on the small local quests that help you explore more of your own local community. Local quests are great ways to finally get around to visiting those nearby places you’ve always intended to go, but haven’t quite found the time yet. And they often include places you never even knew existed! And because they’re close by, you can make progress on your quest within the confines of your everyday schedule—no vacation time needed. It’s a great way to use the structure of a quest to inspire a bit more adventure and exploration in your life.
Pictured above is Tovrea Castle—aka the Wedding Cake Castle—a landmark here in Phoenix that took me more than a decade to visit. It was one of those “I should tour that someday” places that you drive past constantly but never quite make it to. But once I adopted a quest to visit the Phoenix “Points of Pride” I finally found the motivation to make it happen. It’s a great example of how a local quest can enrich your life, even when you’re not traveling far from home.
What local quest would you adopt? Tell me in the comments.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Community of questers I’m building, send me a message and I’ll give you the low down.
Last weekend’s adventure.
I was reminded today of my visit to Shenandoah National Park in May 2016. It was intended to be a birthday trip for Jen, though we arrived to find a very foggy park.
Undeterred, we embraced the circumstances and decided to adopt a scenic overlook “mini-quest.” Whether we could see a damn thing or not, we would stop at all 75 overlooks and snap a photo. We expected to end the day with an album of foggy vistaswhich is exactly what we got, but the quest aspect made it more fun than it otherwise should have been. It’s a good reminder for when things don’t go quite as you had planned or hoped they go.
Wish I could be transported back to summer to float down the Buffalo National River. It looked so inviting during our last visit, but we only had a couple of hours available—too short for a paddle.
We’re picking some new photos for our living room wall this week, and this aerial shot from Gates of the Arctic National Park has made the cut. We had had no idea how amazing flightseeing in remote Alaska would be until this day—my first significant exposure to bush planes in the backcountry. Holy shit it did not disappoint!
Still missing being up on Montana, where I finished my Treasured Places quest, comprised of the 478 specially-protected public lands in the country. Check out treasuredplaces.us for more on how you adopt the quest too.
It’s been awhile since i’ve planned a trip to Arizona’s “West Coast.” It’s probably time to change that… [launches calendar app to look for appropriate weekends]
Earlier this week I visited the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. This photo is taken from “Decision Point,” where Lewis and Clark made a critically important decision on which riverway to follow during their expedition westward.
The Breaks was the final place I needed to complete an incredible public lands journey—one that involved visiting all 419 National Park units, plus all 124 National Monuments, plus all 17 National Conservation Areas in the United States. After accounting for overlap, that’s a total 478 protected public lands areas (managed by many agencies) that represent what I call our “Treasured Places.” While I’m the first known person to complete this mega quest, my goal is get as many people as possible to adopt this quest of visiting our Treasured Places. Whether or not you might or might not finish the quest isn’t the point—it’s simply about visiting more of our special public lands, especially the places that don’t include the iconic words “National Park” in their official name. America is fortunate to have sooooo many amazing places, and I hope you make the effort to visit as many of them as you possibly can.
To this end, I’ve set up a (still somewhat draft) website at TreasuredPlaces.us to inspire and help people in this endeavor. Soon I’ll add a tool for keeping track of your visits, and we’ll have stickers and other merch that can help you spread the word.
So please, adopt the TREASURED PLACES quest. I promise you that you’ll have an amazing time visiting these incredible places!
#GoQuesting #TreasuredPlaces #OptOutside #FindYourPark #MonumentsForAll #PublicLands
I’m currently plotting out some kayaking trips for the rest of the year, and I’m realizing how few Arizona lakes I’ve actually paddled. Guess I should change that. #optoutside #kayakarizona
It was great to finally get back up to Blue Ridge to paddle last weekend. #kayakarizona #optoutside
If you want to catch a fish, you’ve got to get in the water.
One of the excellent surprises of our Alaska trip was exceptionally gorgeous Misty Fjords National Monument. It’s a great reminder that the National Park Service doesn’t have a monopoly on amazing landscapes. Keep that in mind as you plan your future travels… #treasuredplaces
I just realized that I never posted here that I finished my lifelong quest to visit all 419 National Park units! Glacier Bay National Park was my final park unit; what a great place to finish. Deep thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout the journey. I’ve been overwhelmed by your support & investment in this goal.
I just scheduled a party on Sept 7 in Phoenix for friends who want to help me celebrate the completion of this lifelong quest. DM me for details if you’d like to stop by.
Why wait 2 months to celebrate? Well, because I’ve been quietly working on a MUCH BIGGER public lands quest—and we’ll be celebrating finishing that, too.
#findyourpark #optoutside #FinishedThemAll! #GoQuesting1003
We’re in Alaska for the rest of the month, trying to mark off the last 11 national park units I haven’t yet visited. If you’re interested in following along, check out my IG stories for updates. Here’s a shot from our bush flight to Glacier Bay National Preserve earlier today.
My favorite photo from last year’s Alaska trip was this shot of Denali looming over a family canoeing. I took this on the long bus ride back from Kantishna, and was annoyed when the family started paddling towards the middle of the lake, disrupting the great relfection we were hoping for. Instead, it probably made the image the better. #optoutside #nationalparkgeek #findyourpark
A week from today, we leave for another Alaska trip. Tobe told, I’m equal parts excited and nervous. If things go exactly as planned, I’ll reach a pretty big milestone—a life goal that I never seriously expected to finish until the last handful of years. #optoutside #goquesting
I’m looking forward to today’s adventure to Fossil Creek, one of the true gems of Arizona’s public lands. I’m especially thankful for all those advocates that fought hard to restore natural flows here, and who are doing what they can today to ensure this place remains as wild and undeveloped as possible.
In less than a month, I’ll be back up in Alaska. Last year’s trip was incredibly special. It was my first time there and even though I arrived with high expectations, it still blew my mind. If things go as planned, I’ll finish off my quest to visit every unit of the National Parks System. I wonder how I’ll feel when I’m finally done? #findyourpark #nationalparkgeek #goquesting #keepitwild
So…our weekend backpacking trip had a few glitches, but it was great nonetheless to spend some time in a gorgeous wilderness with some fun friends. Thanks for joining me @swissmissthefirst @exploringisinmydna @mjames126 @mcarr093
A wet winter has scuffled the normal water management schedule for the Lower Salt River. Not only has kayaking season been delayed by more than a month, but it looks like we’ll have half the usual flows until monsoon season. Nonetheless, I can’t wait until we can get back out to paddling longer stretches on the river later this week.
