Happy New Year!
Since it’s time when people traditionally make resolutions and look forward to what they hope to accomplish in the next year, I’ll look at that as well and share them here with you.
Some things I’m planning and hoping happen this year:
-A trip into Gates of the Arctic National Park, hopefully around mid-late June. This has been on my heart for a while now as I look towards an upcoming milestone birthday. There is quite a bit of planning and preparation that will be going into it. Finances need to be in place at the right time to charter a plane out and back for myself, my husband, and hopefully a few close friends. We all need to be in good physical shape and mentally prepared to be out in the wilderness without much if any support from outside sources.
-Hunting and fishing excursions. This is important for filling our freezer. While my husband isn’t a fan of salmon, he will eat beer battered halibut. I hope to go out and catch some of both, dip netting in Chitina and going out on a charter for halibut in Seward after my sister’s wedding or on a trip to Valdez. I put in for a few draw hunts this year, but if those don’t pan out, there’s always the regular season hunts. Maybe there will be some good shots to share.
-Multiple hikes into new-to-us trails and drives out to familiar and novel areas of Alaska. We have gone along most of the main highway routes around the state over the last few years, but there are many maintained trail systems we have not explored yet. Some of these hikes need to happen before the Gates of the Arctic (GoTA) trip to help with our conditioning in a natural setting, including breaking in or testing some gear. We’d also like to drive some familiar roads to see them at different times of year. Some of the scenery (looking at you, Denali) never seems to get old. Maybe we’ll see some different wildlife too. As always, I’ll take my camera along.
-Sell my first photo. I got the website going last year, but haven’t finished setting up the purchasing options. There’s a few items showing, but I don’t have the prints stuff worked out yet and there are many more photos to add to water bottles, masks and such. (On that note, if there is a particular photo you would like to have on a particular product, please message me and I can prioritize it.)
A little while ago, my daughter walked in while I was editing some of the products and exclaimed, “Mom! Are you making merch?” I said, “Basically I guess.” “Cool! I want a water bottle with a pretty picture on it.” I surprised her before Christmas (because I couldn’t wait the extra week) with a “Ducks by Lake at Sunset” one and she is loving it.
