Do You Travel for Now or for Later?

Traveling for Now

Well now of course! What kind of question is that? Let’s think about this for a minute. Is the purpose of your vacation to just relax or are you looking for an adventure or two? If all you wanted to do was sit around the pool and sip refreshments you could do that in any hotel with a pool and save the expense of traveling to some exotic destination. Most of us want to get away from our daily routines to rejuvenate which involves traveling somewhere exciting. While on those trips often people will find and excursion to take and something new to explore. During those adventures how often do you stop to enjoy the moment? Sure, you are enjoying it but do you actually take a minute to take it all in or is that what pictures are for? For many people, the adventure is over before they realize it. I often forget to take a few minutes just to consciously enjoy the moment and what I’m doing, where I am, and who I’m with.

Re-living the Memories

Thankfully there are memories and photos to go over. It helps for me to share the memories with others who where there with me. This is one of the reasons I like to travel with a few people. Solo travel allows a lot of freedom but is not as meaningful for me as sharing the moments both during them and afterwards are. It can be interesting to share the different perspectives each has as well when talking about a past adventure. As time passes, it is interesting to find out which experiences where the most memorable. The memories from these adventures last a lifetime while the actual vacation may only last a few days or weeks. This is why I ask “do you travel for now or later?”. While on a trip to Mexico this realization occurred as I was traveling with someone who had never been there before. We began talking about how nice it was to escape winter and work and relax on the beach while exploring some of the highlights of that area. During the conversation I mentioned that it was nice at that moment but really the trip is more meaningful afterwards.

Yes, I travel for now but enjoy the memories and pictures more as time goes by. So, do you travel for now or later?

An Evening on The Mississippi

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Over the 4th of July holiday we had the opportunity to do some fishing on the Mississippi River. The fish were biting slow so I had some time to play with the camera and try a lot of different settings and angles. The water was very cooperative as you can see and the clouds mixed with the setting sun gave this spectacular view. To be honest, I had a difficult time selecting this picture as there were others to choose from. If you’re a member of this site, you may be able to take a look at those soon.

Wildflowers of Yosemite

Spotted Coralroot Orchid

One of the wild orchids found in Yosemite – a spotted coralroot.

Applegate's Paintbrush

In this cluster of Applegate’s Paintbrush the flowers ranged from orange to yellow. One of the yellow flower heads can be seen in the background near the top.

Western Wallflower

Some Western Wallflowers near a fallen sequoia that has survived a forest fire.

Wild Iris

A close up of an Iris.

Yosemite '12 208

Another Iris with a wild strawberry flowering in the left side of this photograph.

Blue Flowering Shrub

I’ve been unable to identify this flowering shrub at this point so any help would be appreciated.

Locust Tree in Flower

This appears to be some sort of Locust Tree in bloom.

Moss Covering Trees

Maybe not a flowering plant but I loved the bright green moss covering the bark of these trees.

Closeup of the Moss

The moss close up.

Snowflowers on the Hillside

This hillside was devoid of any other vegetation but these snowflowers insisted on flowering.

Close up of a Snowflower

One of the snowflowers close-up. They were near the end of their blooming period.

Cinquefoils

White cinquefoils in full bloom.

Wild Lupine

Wild Lupines were blooming in many areas of Yosemite during June. Many of them were 3 – 4 feet tall along the roadside while others were maybe a foot in height like this one.

Mountain Dogwood

The Mountain Dogwoods were near the end of their flowering stage but there were still a few showing off for us.

Phlox Creeping Out From a Boulder

It’s amazing where plants can live. Even under this boulder phlox can survive.