Reflections of mountains...... Oct. 9th

My last Mountain Bike ride of the season at Deer Valley

Hi All! Its amazing to think about the new adventures ahead... This is my first blog post, so it is a test run for loading images but also explains my emotions that occur before a large trip.

One of my friends recently asked, "why are you headed to Burma (Myanmar)?" and my response was because I am intrigued!  But really, why do we love to travel to places unknown? AND I am traveling for TWO WHOLE MONTHS!

Why not to Travel?---What is it about leaving our warm and safe home, easy daily routine, along with owning a personal car, that makes traveling so scary--because it is new and unknown? The exposure to diseases & germs, cuisine unknown, and scarey strangers contributes to the fear.

Why should we travel?---For me, it is the ADVENTURE behind the travel-- Seeing and meeting kindred souls, finding amazing people and friends along the road, feeling alive, and realizing that being a citizen of the U.S. is such a blessing. Why am I headed to Asia? I find development and infrastructure (my two fav words these days) fascinating in these South East Asian countries-- as things rapidly change.

My tentative route through Myanmar (Burma)

My Phantom Ranch Grand Canyon Junior Ranger Patch! Backpack is NOW ready for a big adventure!

As I pack my bags with Malaria pills, contact solution, water-treatment... I manage to squeeze in one tee-shirt and one-pair of those dorky zip off pants!  Frumpy-poor-gorilla foreigner is the look that I am going for :)