Every year in December, I’d reflect back on the year and think about the experiences I had and the places that I’d visited. I’d comb through my photos and try to find my top 9 moments of the year. But one year, it hit me – wow, where did the year go? I didn’t get to climb that mountain or kayak that river. Work, life, and family activities just took over and before I knew it, I’d run out of year. I didn’t get to incorporate those adventures into my year – again. Sound familiar?

After several years of seeing another year pass where I didn’t make it to these really cool places and didn’t do these really cool things, I came up with a solution! That December, I made an Adventure List. You know all those trails that you want to hike, rivers you want to kayak, mountains you want to climb, and cool activities you see and want to do (aka the “Bucket List”)? I now pick one or two (or a dozen) and make a list of adventures for the year. Then I plot out time on my calendar to make them happen. These “adventure appointments” are equally as important as the other scheduled events. I even plan my family vacation around some of these adventures now. It’s really a fun process! 

My 2020 Adventure List is pretty long. I plan to squeeze as many as possible into my calendar this year. Most of the items on my list are just a few hours from me and are easily incorporated into a weekend – without a major hit to the budget.

Some examples are Yosemite Horsetail Falls (Fire Fall event), Devil’s Postpile National Monument, & Rainbow Falls. I also have numerous local trails on my list – including some that are new to the area and some that are new to me. 

So, to begin, make your list. Put down all of the places that you want to go, the things you want to do, the adventures you want to have. Make sure that you include inexpensive, local adventures as well as shoot-for-the-moon bucket list items. Next, get out your calendar. See where you can fit things in. Big family vacation planned? Why not plan it around one of those Bucket List adventures? We schedule doctor appointments and bill payments. Why not schedule some fun for ourselves too? What’s on your list?

 

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Yvonne Meares