Fail
I would rename this Fail Blog, if the name wasn't already taken. For the second year in a row I failed to reach 20 states. Even though my official tally for 2014 stood at nine, I had actually managed to get a photo in Maine. I thought it was so boring I opted not to post it. It was another photo of Rigby yard from the Rte. 1 overpass.
The big reason we didn't get to the goal of 20 states is that a planned road trip to St. Louis never happened. My uncle broke his hip. He was trying to test whether he had lost any of his balance at age 90. He has. Let this be a cautionary tale to all of you out there who think you will live forever and maintain your youthful abilities -- you won't. (At least not without divine intervention.)
Anyway, we couldn't go off and leave the old fellow.
The other reason that I didn't reach the goal is that I have shifted how I use a lot of my off time. Whereas in the past I would have hopped in the car and gone trackside, I tend to go hiking and put a lot of my efforts into wildlife photography. A sample of the animals I managed to photograph this year include 170 different species of birds, elephant seals, gray seals, harbor seals, sealions, a whale (I think it was a fin whale), elk, two types of deer, a bear, a fox, coyotes, and a few more I can't recall right now.
I am not quitting though. I may have failed at my goal for 2014, but I am setting back out in 2015. I already have shots from New York and Connecticut in the bag. I will likely pick up a shot from Massachusetts tomorrow and I leave for Arizona on Sunday (weather permitting). It is quite probably I will have four, maybe five, in the can by January 10. A pretty good start if I manage it.
In the meantime I will look for you trackside and if you have any suggestions, requests or photos of your own you'd like to share... email me at twentystates@gmail.com
The big reason we didn't get to the goal of 20 states is that a planned road trip to St. Louis never happened. My uncle broke his hip. He was trying to test whether he had lost any of his balance at age 90. He has. Let this be a cautionary tale to all of you out there who think you will live forever and maintain your youthful abilities -- you won't. (At least not without divine intervention.)
Anyway, we couldn't go off and leave the old fellow.
The other reason that I didn't reach the goal is that I have shifted how I use a lot of my off time. Whereas in the past I would have hopped in the car and gone trackside, I tend to go hiking and put a lot of my efforts into wildlife photography. A sample of the animals I managed to photograph this year include 170 different species of birds, elephant seals, gray seals, harbor seals, sealions, a whale (I think it was a fin whale), elk, two types of deer, a bear, a fox, coyotes, and a few more I can't recall right now.
I am not quitting though. I may have failed at my goal for 2014, but I am setting back out in 2015. I already have shots from New York and Connecticut in the bag. I will likely pick up a shot from Massachusetts tomorrow and I leave for Arizona on Sunday (weather permitting). It is quite probably I will have four, maybe five, in the can by January 10. A pretty good start if I manage it.
In the meantime I will look for you trackside and if you have any suggestions, requests or photos of your own you'd like to share... email me at twentystates@gmail.com
Comments