atlastrekker.com

So here I am, at yet another crossroad in life. Nothing in life stays the same, nothing that’s worth it in life is easy. I can think of a hundred sayings that are meant to help people get through times like this, but not one is helping me right now.

The path before me is split many ways. Some of them are obviously not right for me, but others are not so easily written off the list. I love my job and traveling, very much. I love my kids more than life. How I balance the two in the coming months is probably going to dictate how, not only my life goes for the next several years, but also the lives of both my children. I keep worrying on and on about it, but I know it’s just because I’ve had way too much time to think about it. I want what’s best for my kids, but I also feel very strongly that me being who I am and doing what I believe is a good thing is very important for them as well.

The next couple of weeks will unfold, I know that I will come out ok in the end of it all, but I still can’t help but worry. It’s not such a good thing, and I know it.

As if Alaska was reminding me of why exactly I come here, this last few weeks has been the most scenic and enjoyable time I’ve spent here. It’s her way of telling me not to leave it all too far behind, I think. I’ve taken some amazing pictures and seen many things that I will never ever forget, and I am so very grateful for it. I hope it doesn’t get taken away, but I know that no matter what it will always be waiting for me in the future.

What I’ve come to realize, is that life is just like a book. Just because you are turning the page doesn’t mean it’s the end of the chapter and even if it is there is always still the rest of the book. I still have much more life to write, so I’ll take it as it comes and enjoy what I can while it lasts.

And so it goes…. I wrote a nice piece to go along with a nice picture and through the miracle of the net and some help of a slightly sea eroded mind it vanished into thin air….

So let me try and re-create it.

The smell of salt in the air. The motion of the ship as it chugs along, from wave to wave up the coast. Albatross as they glide through the air current created by the forming of a wave. The irony and eerie similarity when a humpback whale crosses the path of the ship in exactly the same manner as a squirrel would do on the highway back home.

These are all things that I enjoy so much about this trip I’m on right now. To make the three thousand mile journey from La Paz, Baja California, Mexico to Sitka, Alaska is something that I’m very glad to have done in my lifetime. Many people will never know the trials and tribulations, both mentally and physically, that go with this journey. I’m grateful to I know it, and someday will have great stories to tell my grand children.

The funny thing is, just how little the people around me seem to care about it. It’s really just another thing for them, mostly not even a good thing. Human nature sure is an interesting subject, maybe with some more study I will understand it better. Until then, I guess I will just have to go enjoy it myself!

In the next six weeks I will set foot in four states and three countries making a big loop from home to Mexico, then up to Alaska along the Pacific coast and then back home. I’ll see (and hopefully photograph) the rockies, the sea of cortez, all of the west coast of the US from the side most people never see, the San Juan islands, Vancouver island, the Inside Passage through British Columbia and many points is southeast Alaska.

I’m thinking I should be able to snap a good picture or two! Or at least I sure hope so!

I have my camera situation slightly under control now, decent lenses, two ok bodies and a hope that I don’t have any issues like my last time out. The only lens I brought literally falling apart in my hands was NOT a good thing! I’ve been taking some practice shots with my new lens (I’ll post them up soon) and I think I’m ready for action.

Wish me luck!

Well, I’m happy to report that winter has finally arrived in northern California. I even have some proof!

Dinner with my dad the other night sent me into a thought process that was pretty deep. We all have our thoughts about what life is, and how we are going to live it. Many people never really worry about retirement, some people do. It’s one thing to prepare financially for retirement, but what I’ve been so entrenched with is the thought of how to prepare for retirement MENTALLY.

My dad is a pretty good example. He’s retired a little early, and pretty comfortably. He doesn’t necessarily need to worry about money for a while, which is great because he’s worked hard for it and deserves this luxury. Here’s the problem. He’s fairly fit, mentally capable and bored out of his mind. Working hard for fifty years to get to the point of retirement, now all of the sudden there isn’t much to do.

It’s hard to imagine what retirement would be like for me. I’d like to think that I could just travel and spend my “’golden years” on the road, but we all know that’s very expensive. It’s hard to think that I could ever be happy just sitting on the porch in my rocking chair drinking lemonade and passing time doing nothing. Golf? Fishing? Not so much for me.

What seems like the best solution in my eyes is having a cause to fight for, like maybe volunteering or something similar. Many people go into business for themselves after they retire, nothing too stressful, just enough to keep them occupied and happy. Maybe this is a good solution as well. The one thing that I do know is that it seems like the best way to go about it is to start a transition a few years before the actual retirement date comes.

One thought that I’ve had quite a lot lately is going back to school in my fifties or sixties to study geography and the ever important art of grant writing. Learning how to go through the process of getting grants could seriously offset the cost factor of traveling, plus it would define what needed to be done and give me a goal to attain. I know that the world is less and less wild every day that passes, but I have no doubt in my mind that fifty years from now there will still need to be someone who will make that trip to study something in the wilds.

This leads me to another thought, and it’s summed up pretty good with this quote:

“What does it mean to grow rich? Is it to have red-blooded adventures and to make a fortune which is what brought the whalers and other entrepreneurs north? Or is it, rather, to have a good family life and to be imbued with a far-reaching and intimate knowledge of one’s homeland, which is what the Tununirmiut told the whalers at Pond Bay wealth was? Is it to retain a capacity for awe and astonishment in our lives, to continue to hunger after what is genuine and worthy? Is it to live moral peace with the universe?

It is impossible to know, clearly, the answer to this question, but by coming to know a place where the common elements of life are understood differently one has the advantage of an altered perspective. With that shift, it is possible to imagine afresh the way to a lasting security of the soul and heart, and toward an accommodation in the flow of time we call history, ours and the worlds.”

Barry Lopez, author, Arctic Dreams- Imagination and desire in a northern landscape.

From there I head off into the thought process of which is better? Knowing the area around me? Or being a well-traveled soul who knows the world in little bits and pieces? It feels like some mixture of the two makes sense, but I’ve yet to define it. What I imagine for myself is, knowing the geography of my home area better than like the back of my hand, as well as studying similar places and how different people deal with the same problems. Like the quote above states, having the capacity to be awed by the world around us is something that we should never give up. Whether one is fifteen, thirty or seventy years old, having a direction in life is the true key to happiness, and it’s something that should never be taken lightly.

Learning to make a place for yourself in the world once is no easy task, learning to do it again (after retirement) can be a whole other challenge. My father is a resourceful and intelligent man, I’m sure he will be fine in his retirement, but for those of us who have a ways to go in life we can learn a good lesson from him. Take the time to think about the future, and you will be rewarded in the end.

I started investing some time in my baja photos page today, so open it up and take a look.

Baja 2012

Last night we got into a bit of rough seas, nothing compared to some of the positioning trips I’ve been on in the past, but as far as having guests aboard it was pretty bad. Talking to some guests that had never even imagined what this could be like opened my eyes a bit. It’s really no different than a lot of things that have come in gone in my life, but it’s easy for me to forget that not everyone in the world knows how it feels to look at an inanimate object with the affection of knowing the emotion that goes along with the very thing that it is.

When I look at a ship, the first thing that I ask myself is how it handles the seas. Then I envision what it must be like to be on that ship when it’s getting pounded by gale-force winds and 30 foot seas. It’s very much the same way I look at a well-built Jeep, and know what it feels like to get stuck in the mountains on a rock or in a snow drift with nothing but your own mind and some tools to get you out. The knowledge that’s gained by experiencing what a vehicle can do to get you into and out of trouble of various shapes and sizes is something that isn’t easily described in pictures or words. It comes from standing there, taking part in whatever it is that the world has put in front of you.

So, for those of you reading this who don’t know what it feels like to bond with an inanimate object like I have, I want to strongly encourage you to do so. It doesn’t have to be a ship, although that’s a good one. People do it with everything from mountain bikes to sail boats and snow skis. Take the time to use these things as a tool that can further your adventures in life, because these are the things that encourage us to go places we’ve never been and see places that many other will never have a chance. On top of that, it’s always a great idea to take a look into the way that others use their machines or equipment to encourage adventure. One of my favorite pastimes is to sit and stare dreamily at that muddy Jeep in the parking lot, or the ship tied up at the dock, wondering just where it’s been and where it’s going next.

Oh, and always remember, getting a little sea sick along the way is ok. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, AND it sure does make the story all the better when we get home.

I know I’ve talked about it before, and I’m sure I’ll talk about it again. Here I am at the end of another rotation, six weeks of solid work, with a bit of free time thrown in here and there. I’m tired, emotional, sometimes irrational, and for the most part just ready to go home and have a “real” life once again. The last six months have been a bit rough on me, the last six weeks have been really rough on me. I’ve attempted to and unsuccessfully tried to reign in several aspects of my life with not much luck. Love, friends, kids and work have all been a bumpy road. Once again I sit here and ponder just how hard we really are supposed to try. Like many other people, I’ve learned the lesson (again) that the more we struggle to get somewhere in life, the more we are let down when it doesn’t come together. I’ve always been somewhat of a go-getter, never one to let a bad decision or wrong move slow me down too much. So now, I’m at the point where I sit back and wait. See what happens. Try and remember how to be grateful for what I have and grateful for the troubles that I don’t have. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to do, but it’s possible.

Baja isn’t totally over for me this year. I am scheduled to come back for the last week of the season, which is usually a pretty good time. All in all, Baja has been really good to me so far this year and I have much to be grateful for. I’ve touched Gray Whales, seen the ever elusive Brydes (pronounced Bru-tus) whales, seen some great Orcas playing, both began and ended many days with epic sunrises and sunsets, and even had some really awesome hikes. When it comes right down to it, I’ve been taken pretty good care of the last few weeks. Nothing to complain about, that’s for sure.

Internet the last 6 weeks has been horrible. I know that I’ve promised pictures, and I have some pretty good ones, but you will just have to wait a bit longer. How about within two weeks of this post, I promise to have my “Baja 2012” photo page up for you to check out. I think you’ll like it, and I hope you’ll think it’s worth the wait. As a little bit of a teaser I put up a shot from a couple weeks back, Lands’ End at sunset, with one of the booze-cruise tall ships out of Cabo san Lucas in the background.

I am happy to hear that my new (to me) lens has been delivered and is peacefully awaiting my arrival back in Nevada City. So now I’ll be traveling with the 17-40mm f/4 L lens and the 70-200mm f/4 L lens and I think my photos are going to get a bit better because of it. I do feel that I should probably get something that will fill the gap these two lenses leave, but I have no idea what at this point. I feel like it’s probably a good time to buy a 50mm prime lens, but I still need to do some research on them and save some money. I’ll have to see just how much I need it, when I get into the field with my other lenses. I’m also contemplating another body too, those 60d’s sure are nice…. If only I were could afford one….

After my lens last week, I figured my picture taking was done until I got home. Luckily one of the deck hands aboard had a spare “loaner” lens that he was nice enough to lend me. So, a big thanks goes out to Garland Sutton for that.

I managed to get back over to Magdelena Island yesterday for a stroll and some nice quiet time away from things. Boat life has been fairly stressful lately, lots of mid-night wake up calls meaning sleep is never really something I get to caught up on. Sometimes naps can make that better, but it also is nice to just get away from things for a while.

The beach on the northern tip of the island has some pretty cool shell collections that wash up and make for some decent pictures. I spent a good part of my time over there just sorting through and strolling around staring at them. It’s always been very interesting to me what must live in there, or why they even exist at all. Just thinking about the crazy microcosms of life that are all around us is always a fun place to go mentally. It’s one of my favorite things to lay in the sand and think what “a day in the life of” some crazy sea critter must be like.

Well.. it finally happened. I kind of wondered if it would, but it did. My “perfect” travel lens era has come to an end. I’ve been using the Canon 18-200mm “super zoom” lens for quite a while now, but that looks like it’s come and gone. The lens pretty much just fell apart on me. First something let loose inside and it wouldn’t zoom easily, then the autofocus stuck in one spot. This is not a very good thing, especially when you only travel with one lens and rely on it for several weeks at a time.

Really, what it means is a two-fold. First, it’s obvious to me that I’ve reached a level with my photography and where I take photos that means I need to buy the good stuff. All of Canon’s “L” series lenses are built to withstand the types of things I do for years and years. The “EF-S” series I have been using is more of a weekend warrior or every now and then type of lens. Second, I’ve recently got a little bit better with my gear, and my knowledge and the flaws that lens had were really starting to stand out to me. I can look at my pictures and see all the problems that the lens has. While it’s good to be able to counter-act these problems, I think it’s much better to spend the effort on other things while composing a photo.

So, I got on ebay and found a pretty good deal on a wide angle zoom lens in the “L” series, a 17-40mm f4 lens that I think will go fairly well with the 70-200mm f4 lens I already own but don’t travel with. I’m looking now for a 50mm prime lens to finish it off, and this will be what I travel with from now on. It’ll be a bit more stuff than I’ve had in the past, but I think the benefits will outweigh the negatives. It’s kind of exciting to making a leap ahead, and at the same time opening up a whole other set of rules to learn. It should be interesting and good.