I created this Blog to document my own travels. My name is Darren and I own and operate a domestic adventure travel company. I have a blog that I do for customer trips (Adventure Weekends) and a website that lists all the trips I offer (Hitz Adventures) but until now I really had nowhere to list my own travels and my unsanitized musings on my experiences and their effect on my life's purpose. In a couple weeks I am heading out to Utah to complete the Grand Circle.

I will fly into Las Vegas, check out Red Rock and Mt Charleston before following the predetermined route:

1.Zion National Park2.Bryce Canyon National Park3.Capitol Reef National Park4.Arches National Park5.Canyonlands National Park6.Monument Valley Tribal Park7.Grand Canyon National Park

I am planning a bit to make sure I know where campgrounds and showers are located and lodges in case snow is too heavy, but I want to have enough freedom to explore without consulting the itinerary every hour to make sure I am on schedule.

I decided to embark on this journey after watching "Into The Wild" last month and reading the following quote by Chris McCandless

So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality, nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different Sun."

I am not going to retell the story here or debate whether he was a hero or a fool, rather just say that I was impressed by his spirit, courage and intelligence at such a young age. While others were off getting drunk at bars and parties, he was questioning life's meaning and how he fit into the grand plan. I know I was not this consumed by issues larger than myself at 20 years old.

So, based on his adventure and my desire to recapture the new experiences we have as kids exploring our backyard, I decided to set off on my own for a bit. I know this is no great risk, liking climbing Everest or kayaking the Amazon, but it is a start and who knows where it will lead. I picked this exact trip because I recently made a list of the 25 things I want to do before I am too old, and visiting all the National Parks in Utah was one of them. Not going to share the entire list but here are a few others, hoping to knock at least one off each year:

1.Climb one of the top 10 highest peaks in World   2. Raft the Colorado from Start to Finish 3. Visit and sleep in Bryce, Zion, Glacier, Arches and Grand Canyon 4. Hitchhike the Canadian Highway to Vancouver and Go To Alaska to See Northern Lights 5. Live on a boat at Sea for at least 10 Days 6. Read what are considered to be the 50 greatest books ever written 7. Learn to Ride a Motorcycle 8. Hike the Entire Appalacian Trail (Not necessary all at once)

My next Post will be Day 1 From Vegas!