Category: Personal

Photo Scavenger Hunt – Redeveloped!

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Nicole has announced another photo scavenger hunt, so I thought I’d jump in again. I definitely enjoyed the last one and expect this one to be just as good.

What is a Photo Scavenger Hunt?
For you new readers, a photo scavenger hunt is exactly what it sounds like; a scavenger hunt where, instead of bringing back the item, you take a photo of it. Of course, this means that it can be more flexible than a traditional scavenger hunt. I can’t very well carry a tiger around with me, but if it’s on the list, I can take a photo of one (from a safe distance).

The List:
I will be adding photos as I take them (Click on photos to see them full-sized).

  1. Souvenir – The mugs have characters from the Finnish children’t story, Moomin, and were a gift from the neighbors. The glassware was a wedding present, it is from a Finnish design company, Marimekko.
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  2. Fish
  3. Religious Building – This tiny building is located inside the cemetery.
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  4. Fire Department
    [singlepic id=98 w=320 h=240 float=none]
  5. Manhole Cover
  6. Post Card
  7. Water
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  8. Communication Device
  9. Life Event
  10. Foreign Stamp
  11. Tree – This is my wife’s favorite tree. Of course, it was windy when we came to photograph it. We might return and try again on a less-windy day.
    [singlepic id=105 w=320 h=240 float=none]
  12. Living Space of Non-Human – at least it used to be.
    [singlepic id=102 w=320 h=240 float=none]
  13. Street Mirror
  14. Decoration Fixed on a House
  15. Foreign Flag
  16. Fire – I love my little can stove! The tea-pot fits perfectly upon it.
    [singlepic id=99 w=320 h=240 float=none]
  17. Antenna – This is just a cool-looking antenna that I had never noticed before.
    [singlepic id=96 w=320 h=240 float=none]
  18. Phone Booth
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  19. “Verboten” Sign
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  20. Beach
  21. Cityscape
  22. Something Goofy
  23. Something Carved
    [singlepic id=97 w=320 h=240 float=none]
  24. Eye
  25. Something Rural
    [singlepic id=103 w=320 h=240 float=none]

Wooden Rock Bridge – Photo

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Follow the Rock Bridge Trail, and you arrive at this… wooden bridge? If the trees are full of leaves, it can be hard to spot the rock bridge before you see this more obvious wooden one. As you walk between the stone “walls” you are actually walking “through” the bridge; to your right (as seen in the photo) is the actual bridge’s foot. It can be hard to see until you cross this wooden bridge, where its location becomes obvious.

As mentioned before, I proposed in the Red River Gorge and my wife and I returned for part of our honeymoon. My soon-to-be wife walked across this bridge in her wedding dress on the day of our wedding. The (real) Rock Bridge was our backdrop and the first time I saw her in her dress was as she emerged from that path between the stones.

It’s definitely not “just a wooden bridge” to us!

Wooden Rock Bridge

Life in Ireland with One Suitcase

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Have you ever come home from a trip and unpacked stuff that you never used? That won’t happen to me on this trip. I will return from nearly 5 months in Ireland having used everything that I brought. With some careful planning, I was able to fit everything for the trip in a single suitcase and carry-on backpack.

What worked:

  • I planned on dressing in layers to stay warm, and this system worked out quite well. Even with the worst winter in 40 years, I stayed warm and comfortable. I might not have looked properly outfitted, but with thermals, “regular” clothes and the rain jacket on for wind protection was more than enough.
  • My packtowel has been used for the entire trip and has worked splendidly. I have received a number of compliments and jealous looks on weekend excursions; my large bath towel fits into my toiletries bag, while other travelers’ towels took up half of their backpack.
  • The bar shampoo experiment. My bar of J.R. Liggett’s shampoo has lasted the entire trip and will still be in use after I return home. I am looking forward to returning to the Co-op where I purchased it and trying one of the other scents.

What could use some work:

  • Next time I will pack less in the way of clothing. The one dress outfit has only been worn when I pushed the laundry day too far back. Likewise, I could easily get by with fewer socks and underwear.
  • Both my wife and I could have brought less in the way of hobbies. She finished knitting a beautiful scarf for me, but has not used her knitting needles much otherwise.
  • I could pretty safely get by with less in the way of school supplies. It seemed like a waste to buy more when I already had so much at home, so I brought it with me. During orientation the library gave out pads of paper, and I have typed the notes for all but one of my classes. As a compulsive list-maker, the binder full of paper still came in quite handy.

It is quite a feeling to realize that you can comfortably live out of a suitcase. It is nice to know that we can safely pack up and head out to different lands without looking like this guy.

Watch the Sunrise

Just like a sunset, sunrises provide an opportunity to see one of nature’s most frequent wonders. Watching the sun rise can give you a sense of fresh beginnings and is a wonderful way to start the day. It requires a bit of planning, however.

You need to know:

  • what time the sun comes up
  • a good place to watch the sunrise
  • how long it takes to get to your viewing point

A sunrise actually begins about 15 minutes before you can see the sun. The sky starts to change colors, objects begin to take shape, the world unfolds. If you don’t time it right, you will miss out on the best part of the sunrise. This is why you need to know how long it takes to get to your viewing spot, you don’t want to be en route and miss the best part!

Plan on watching tomorrow’s sunrise. Pick your spot, check the times and set your alarm!

Caching in the Gorge – Photo

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Nothing like finding a treasure while you’re out hiking! A beautiful fall day provided a perfect setting for finding this geocache. My wife and I followed our GPSr down the trail to the GeoCache. We detoured many times, admiring the views and exploring side-trails. This was one of those adventures that provided the openings for many more in the future.

I found the cache and am checking out its contents.

Click to see full-sized.

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The Geocache itself, along with the GPSr and a geocoin.

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Chase a Sunset

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How often do you take the time to really appreciate a beautiful sunset? Do you do more than look for a few seconds and comment/think how beautiful it is before you continue whatever you were doing? This is something that I often have a hard time with and am trying to work on.

I have heard that sunsets are like snowflakes, no two are alike. When you start to pay attention, it is easy to see that this is true. The clouds are different, the coloration is more or less vivid, the horizon changes depending on your location. However, if you don’t take the time to really look, you might never appreciate this fact. “It’s a sunset, look at the pretty colors” and move on…

Today’s challenge is two-part:

  1. When you see a sunset, “chase it down”
  2. Really take time time to appreciate a sunset

Chase it down by finding the best vantage point to view the sunset. This might be as simple as walking around a building or to the side of some trees so that you have a better view. It could mean getting in the car and driving to a nearby hill.

Appreciate the sunset by taking 10 or 15 minutes to really watch it. Pay attention to the changing colors of the clouds, how the silhouetted trees/buildings change from a purple to black, to the fading color of the sky. Don’t forget that the sky continues to change even after the sun is out of sight.

This evening, pay attention. I want to hear about your sunset views in the comments!

Dear Readers

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Adventure-Some.com has been live for over 3.5 months now. It has over 70 posts, 5 pages and a steady number of readers.

The question now is, where do you want this site to go? I enjoy running this site, but ultimately, it is written for YOU. Here’s you chance to influence the future of the site.

    4 questions to consider:

  1. Do you like what I’m writing, and if not what about it don’t you like?
  2. What topics do you want to see covered? (completely different subjects or more of the same?)
  3. Do you want more in-depth information? (do you prefer shorter or longer posts?)
  4. Should I continue focusing on the small adventures that you can have in your everyday life, or should I move my focus to the bigger adventures that take more time?

Please let me know what you think. Good, bad, indifferent; I want to hear it all. You can email me, message me on Twitter @FrenchHolt, or leave me a comment after this post.

Some Sort of Altar – Photo

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A short distance from the caves is a natural “altar” that my wife and I stumbled upon. When you’re walking along the trail below the cliff and look up, it can be a bit of a shock to see this formation and wonder who built it (too many viewings of The Blair Witch, I suppose). After a few moments, you realize that it is just how the trees fell onto one another.

Click to see full-sized.

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