25 years of (my) travel and photography
Part two: 2005-2009
Continuing my review of the last 25 years of my travel, it feels like this period from 2005 to 2009 was when things really started to pick up. Adding trips to South America, Asia and Africa, my continent count went from two to five.
2005
In 2005 we were seriously considering a big move. We listed criteria for what we wanted from a new home base and decided that the Pacific Northwest fit most of our needs. We made a list of possible locations and made an epic road trip to check them all out. In the end, we decided to move only 30 minutes away from our original house in Kansas, but we were glad we checked out the northwest to see what all it offered. It offered a lot, but the cost of living was our biggest stumbling block. Real estate prices especially. We didn’t “quite” make an international trip of it, but we did brush the border of Canada once or twice.
View of Canada across the Salish Sea from Port Angeles, Washington.
Harris State Park, Brookings, Oregon.
Countries visited in 2005:
Domestic travel only
Gear at that time:
Nikon D100
2006
A big year for new locations, 2006 brought a trip to South Korea (with just an airport stop in Japan — I’d have to return to visit that country later) and an SATW convention in Santiago, Chile, with a post-trip on Rapa Nui. A pretty epic year for exotic locations.
Bulguksa Temple, South Korea.
Valparaiso, Chile.
Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile.
Countries visited in 2006:
South Korea
Chile (including Rapa Nui)
Gear at that time:
Nikon D100 (South Korea)
Nikon D200 (Chile)
Panasonic DMC-LX1 (both)
2007
2007 brought another trip to Quebec and Montreal, this time with a train excursion to the Gaspe Peninsula. Canada had long been a favorite destination of mine and this trip helped cement that in my mind.
Perce Rock, Canada.
Countries visited in 2007:
Canada (Quebec Province)
Gear at that time:
Nikon D200
2008
Back to Canada — this time the Canadian Rockies for some snowy experiences. In august, I had a very last minute invite to explore the region around Shanghai and Suzhou, China. If memory serves, it was just a week from my initial emailed invitation to departure. I was actually on a press trip in a remote cabin in Arkansas when the email arrived and I had to duck out of the tour for a day to get my passport shipped off for a visa. All well worth it in the end, though. China is a spectacular destination that I’ve really come to enjoy exploring.
Sled dogs in Alberta, Canada.
Shanghai, China.
Countries visited in 2008:
Canada
China
Gear at that time:
Nikon D200
Nikon D300
2009
Getting to go to Egypt in 2009 was a great experience. I’ve never really subscribed to the idea of a “bucket list” but Egypt could probably have been considered a bucket list destination for me. I remember as a kid reading in National Geographic about the Temple of Abu Simbel being relocated due to the building of the Aswan dam and it was incredible to actually get to see it and so many other important sites first hand. It was also good to see another side of Mexico with a trip to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. I’d only been to the Yucatan previously so it was great to see more of that diverse country.
Giza, Egypt.
Guadalajara, Mexico.
Countries visited in 2009:
Egypt
Mexico
Gear at that time:
Nikon D300
Nikon D700 (full frame)
Up next: 2010-2014
Once all of this series of posts is on the site I’ll add links here to the other years for easy navigation.
