Dirtbag Writer

What’s next? Plans, Plans and More Plans

Posted on 14. Dec, 2009 by Writer in On The Road

I am about ready to take a dart to the world map that is sitting over my desk.  The list of places I would like to visit is growing larger by the minute and I can’t honestly decide where to go.  I never imagined myself in the following situation: no real job or commitments or anywhere I really need to be, plenty of money in the bank in a fund specifically labeled TRAVEL, and so much STOKE – I can’t believe my head hasn’t totally exploded.

I’ve decided to enjoy these winter months skiing and writing away in Salt Lake City.   But come April I am out of here.  I have been scouring the web, you all’s blogs, and guidebooks for ideas on where to go.  Sometimes I feel that I get too overwhelmed by the world’s offerings that I never end up going anywhere.

One of my favorite bloggers, Nomad Needles, offers the following advice (along with much other totally inspiring advice) on her blog:

Make Your Plan. Or Plans – Write down all the different scenarios you envision. This is where you set yourself free and brainstorm all the ideas that flutter through your head.

Here are some of the many ideas churning through my head.  I want to travel but I also want to do something positive in the process whether it is volunteering with an environmental group or teaching or learning some fabulous new skill.  I am open to suggestions so leave a comment if you have any great volunturism trip ideas.

Seasonal Job at a National Park – Last year when I was wanderlusting from the confines of the cube I saw a job call for Interpretative Rangers at Mesa Verde National Park.  Oooh if I did this I would not only learn a ton and most likely have a blast but I would get to cross that sucker off my life list – #82 To Work in a National Park.

Europe – Travel all over the rural European countryside.  Do a bit of rock climbing and running up mountains and stuff.  Get an awesome WWOOF-ing gig and squash grapes with my toes.

Crazy-Ass Desert Trip – It is pretty apparent that I am thoroughly desert obsessed and the spring is the best time to visit.  There are still so many deserts in the Southwest that I have not thoroughly explored and I have never even been to the Sonoran and the Chihuahuan.  I could travel for months and months on the uber cheap – paying for not much more than rice, beans, and gas and hopefully wind up somewhere in Mexico.

NOLS Course – I have always wondered how people become “guides.”  How sweet would it be to somehow get paid for leading people into the lands that you so absolutely love.  During a trip to Lander, Wyoming last summer, every single bearded hippy type guy in the Lander Bar was talking about NOLS.  I had heard of NOLS but didn’t really know what it was.  Now I know it stands for National Outdoor Leadership School and that it is one of the largest wilderness education schools in the country and that it is based out of Lander.  I was intrigued.  Turns out they have this instructor course that consists of 6 intensive weeks in the backcountry and you learn all these guiding, teaching, and wilderness skills.  And it sounds amazing but sooooo expensive.

Random Archeological Gig or Conservation Type Job – When I first moved to Salt Lake City it was to do an Americorps program with the Red Cross.  I taught HIV prevention courses like how to clean needles and handed out condoms and (chap stick) during the 2002 Winter Olympics.  I did some cool stuff and leaned some crazy ass shit but the program basically blew.  I spent too much time in the cube and not enough time in the field, a pattern that would repeat itself for the next 8 years.  Now I just want to get dirty, I recently found this organization called the Great Basin Institute and they have some Americorps positions starting in the spring with such titles as Desert Tortoise Field Technician and Restoration Team Member – how awesome does that sound?

Intensive Spanish Learning – Head to Central American and immerse myself in Spanish and find an awesome volunteer gig.

Tags: Plans, Preparation