Contrary to the absence of content posted to this blog, I am alive and I am no longer in the United Kingdom. Shocking. As soon as the Coast to Coast was done, my father and I slowed down our interaction with social media. I maintained a minor Instagram presence, but decided to focus my energy (what little I had left) elsewhere. For anyone following along, it might have seemed like we had stepped into a black hole, but really we were just quietly enjoying our last few days in northern England.
I had not really intended on doing a major write up of those days, but I will at some point. In doing so, I will destroy the chronological nature of blog posts, but some rules are meant to be broken. In short, we spent a day wandering the coast between Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby before taking a train to Manchester. There, we squirreled away in a 17th century farmhouse and spent our days wandering through Alan Garner’s landscapes in Alderley Edge and popped into Liverpool for a day trip. Just as we had become accustomed to that semi-urban way of life, we headed into Manchester for two days of pavement pounding and museums.
That was the end of our six week journey across and around the United Kingdom. It all began to feel very real once we stepped off the plane in Madison, WI, eyeing familiar places and headed in familiar directions. For me, this was crunch time. I had to organize all of my stuff, get my life in order, and then head north. Luckily, my Dad was with me every step of the way, ensuring that I left in good shape. So far, I think we did a great job.
The next phase of my journey was to head to Bayfield, our families outpost of serenity and bliss in northern Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Superior. This is where I feel truly at home. As I was driving north, I realized I hadn’t been there in over three years, which was quite shocking, but life gets in the way, for better or for worse. I’ve never had a smoother and more exciting six hour drive. I chalk that up to knowing what lay at the end: The big lake. No other body of water can seem so calm and the next minute so fierce. “Sublime” only begins to cover my association with this lake.
While Bayfield may have been our summer home for the majority of my childhood, it now represents the send off point for my next big adventure. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be building my interior storage/sleep system, compiling my gear lists (and checking them twice), making all my preparations, and finally hitting the road. It is all about to begin 🙂
2 Responses
Neil Howk
Hi Jeremy,
I heard about your trip and thought you might be interested in applying to the Find Your Park Expedition program. Here are the details.
Dear NPS Friends:
I’m happy to announce that NPF officially launched the Find Your Park Expedition (#FYPx) this morning! You can take a look at the press release that went live here (Spanish language version here).
To find out more about #FYPx or to provide more information to interested parties, you can direct them to the following links:
· #FYPx Homepage
· #FYPx FAQ
· #FYPx Contest Rules
· #FYPx Application
The application period for potential bloggers and social media influencers looking to participate begins today and will run until Friday, August 21, 2015.
As we discussed previously, this year’s Expedition is an expansion of the American Latino Expedition, a public awareness campaign that emphasized and highlighted Hispanic contributions and history found within the National Park Service – and delivered those stories online through bloggers, photographers, writers and social media personalities from across the country.
In light of the Find Your Park campaign and the celebration of the National Park Service Centennial, NPF is opening this year’s Expedition up to a larger audience as we hope to explore a new narrative of what diversity and inclusion within our national parks looks and feels like moving into the next 100 years.
This year’s ideal Expedition participants:
· Are passionate and/or professional bloggers, writers, or online influencers
· Have an active and strong following on a variety of social media platforms including (but not limited to): Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, Google+, Vine, etc.
· Identify as being racially or ethnically diverse and/or a member of the LGBT community
· Are U.S. citizens
· Are a member of the millennial generation
· Are open-minded and have an adventurous spirit
· Are eager to learn more about the work of the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation
As NPF looks to reach out to our contacts at organizations and networks across the country to help spread the word about this initiative, we hope you too can help spread the word in our effort to reach new audiences and help share with them the stories found within our national parks.
In the meantime, I wanted to share our posts from this morning announcing that the application opens today. Please feel free to share, retweet, repost.
· Facebook
· Twitter
· Instagram
Thanks again for taking the time to read the materials Alanna and I previously sent along and for your interest in what we think will be a fantastic program. We’re thrilled to be able to bring the Find Your Park campaign to life through #FYPx and help make our national parks a truly inclusive place for all Americans to enjoy and learn from.
Of course, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at any point.
Regards,
Mark DeSantis
Program Manager, Community Partnerships
National Park Foundation
1110 Vermont Ave NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
202.796.3152 direct | 202.796.2500 main
Jean Cronon
Thank you for your update. I know you and your Mom will be working hard to get your van ready for the long long journey it will be taking you on over the next few months. I look forward to being included in this journey via your blogs. Bill is still recovering from his illness so I haven’t seen him except for your brief stop when you returned from your long hike. It was very lucky that he didn’t get sick until after he got back!
Lots of Love , Grandma