Photo Journey Turns Inward

What I was looking for on Little South America was to spend 30 days exploring what in many ways is a semi-closed ecosystem; I wanted to see how the animals lived, where they got water, what their patterns of movement where, what they ate, how the light moved across the landscape, where the birds roosted, where the fox dens were, what kind of sea birds and marine mammals frequented the surrounding waters. I saw many things both breathtakingly beautiful and ugly beyond belief. I read stories in the snow - I saw traffic patterns and watering holes and ambush sites where life and death struggles had occurred. I saw ptarmigan, foxes, eagles, ravens, many types of seabirds, and sea lions. I also found a pile of dead carcasses, five foxes and a duck, and a mostly eaten bald eagle lying on the beach.

The most important discovery I made didn't take place on Little South America; I ended up exploring the nature of a relationship and fairness and love. You see, in less than a month Goldfish and I are getting married, and my decision to spend 30 evenings on Little South America exploring (with my long hours, that time constitutes essentially all my free time each day) was maybe not the most mature idea I've had . . . . . and the ensuing discussions brought us both to a lot better place, the terrain we covered as important as any I was hiking.

I will always be pushing the envelope more than Goldfish - we're just wired differently. We have different dreams but are facing in the same direction and maybe someday I'll drag her with me to Little South America 30 days in a row but for now we're walking together and life is good. I'm going to have to put this one on the shelf for now . . .