REI. Again.

Tonight I headed back to REI for the hundredth time to update my gear. Little financial tip for you if you're going to spend the GDP of an island nation on one store -- get its rewards card. I made sure I received an REI Visa before my first shopping excursion, and now I get 5% off my purchases in addition to the 10% off I get as a member. REI is having a summer sale right now, and I managed to pick up a Katadyn Hiker water filter on sale for $39.99 plus that additional 15% off.

Water filters are a somewhat new concept to me. In Alaska we'd always just drink from the glaciel runoff, and in places like Tahiti or Zanzibar I'd just pack in locally sourced bottled water. Seemed kind of funny to have folks paying $30 per gallon for a bottle of Fiji "artesian" Water back in the States to not get the same bottled water while I'm over there.

Heading on a new wildlife adventure.

I'm going to go on a semi-spontaneous backpacking trip. Because of extraneous events, I can't really nail down a date for awhile but it will be in about three weeks. I also don't really have a destination per se, but I was thinking about Yosemite or Sequoia National Park out in California. I'm thinking of driving up Highway 1 to Big Sur (which incidentally is on fire right now) for a photography expedition. I've always wanted to make that drive along the coast.

I was staying at The Venetian out in Las Vegas a month or so ago, and was blown away by a gallery there featuring the work of Australian photographer Peter Lik. This gallery renewed my interest in panoramic photography, and thus inspired my interest in a trip out to the coast (or possibly the mountains around Yellowstone/Montana.

I'm still in the planning stages right now, and sending out feelers to my friends and family seeing if anyone is interested, but I'd say my chances of going are 99%.

I made a mistake.

I stopped blogging. I thought I wouldn't have anything interesting to talk about after I came back to the States. It turns out things were just getting started. Expect big changes coming soon from this blog, with all new trips and photos from around the U.S. and the world.