How do you decide where you’re going this year?

But how do you decide among all the great places we can go this year?

Every now and then, we* kind of start with a theme, like visiting high vistas and seeing how many we can find. Or maybe finding a bunch of historically significant locations to travel. A few years, it was tackling the most notorious portages, while others it was about seeing as much of one area as possible. (*I say “we”, but really, Nancy usually doesn’t contribute much, probably because she seems fine with anything.)

Some years, like this one, the Paddle In The Park Contest helps me decide. (#GratuitousPlug) But that often creates more decisions. (I know, #PaddleHidingProblems.)

I should mention though, often the theme at the start changes as the year goes on, or just doesn’t pan out. That’s just how it goes, and is a good thing. Adventures should be that way, with an excited expectation to anticipate, then a twist to keep things interesting. Even if plans don’t go at all according to plan, it can be pretty amazing “Out There” – though that might mean getting more dirty, more wet or a lot more sore than you might have wanted in the moment.

I was thinking about a possible theme to start with this year. We’re going on quite a few trips for the Paddle In The Park Contest, and I thought perhaps this year we’d try to find a way to be more mindful and present, maybe even find places to stay a little longer, explore with a little more focus. While I’m definitely not one to go very fast, I do normally like to keep moving. (It also seems to go along with one of this year’s themes: #PaddleToHeal.) I’m not yet sure what that looks like, exactly, but I’m going to keep that in mind.

Of course, I’m just now realizing as I write this, after saying all that, it still doesn’t help me choose where to go. 😕 Oh well. You can’t really go wrong with our great outdoor places. They’re all good.