Monday
Feb162009
Wanderlust
Monday, February 16, 2009 at 11:02PM
Wanderlust: A strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.
As I get older (and, by definition, as I have less and less time to do things), I find myself thinking - a lot - about places I want to see and trips I want to make. I don't hold any real hope of checking off more than just a few places on the list, but I hope to keep making progress.
For some reason, I love the desert. I love mountains, too, and the coast (the more rugged the better), but the desert moves me the most. I think it's all the wide open space, the ability to see so far, the fact that life flourishes in such a dry, hostile space. I thrill in the solitude and quiet, the sunrises and sunsets. Yes sir, for me, it's hard to beat the desert.
One place I long to see is the Namib desert in Namibia, Africa. This desert, perhaps the oldest on earth, is home to the some of biggest dunes anywhere. Here's a Google Earth look at some Namib dunes:
Namib Desert - Dunes from Above
Maybe someday...
Two of my favorite national parks are desert parks:
Big Bend in Texas
Big Bend National Park
Capital Reef in Utah
Capital Reef National Park
There are four deserts in the United States: The Sonoran, the Mojave, the Chihuahuan, and the Great Basin. With the exception of the Great Basin desert (mainly Nevada), I've spent a decent amount of time in these deserts, and everytime I go to the desert, my fondness for the dry, lonely, quiet places is confirmed.
As I get older (and, by definition, as I have less and less time to do things), I find myself thinking - a lot - about places I want to see and trips I want to make. I don't hold any real hope of checking off more than just a few places on the list, but I hope to keep making progress.
For some reason, I love the desert. I love mountains, too, and the coast (the more rugged the better), but the desert moves me the most. I think it's all the wide open space, the ability to see so far, the fact that life flourishes in such a dry, hostile space. I thrill in the solitude and quiet, the sunrises and sunsets. Yes sir, for me, it's hard to beat the desert.
One place I long to see is the Namib desert in Namibia, Africa. This desert, perhaps the oldest on earth, is home to the some of biggest dunes anywhere. Here's a Google Earth look at some Namib dunes:
Namib Desert - Dunes from AboveMaybe someday...
Two of my favorite national parks are desert parks:
Big Bend in Texas
Big Bend National ParkCapital Reef in Utah
Capital Reef National ParkThere are four deserts in the United States: The Sonoran, the Mojave, the Chihuahuan, and the Great Basin. With the exception of the Great Basin desert (mainly Nevada), I've spent a decent amount of time in these deserts, and everytime I go to the desert, my fondness for the dry, lonely, quiet places is confirmed.
Reader Comments (2)
I definately experience wanderlust quite often. I have not ever wanderlusted for a desert place though - I will need to check one out.
GUILTY!! I am also a huge Wanderluster...