Expanding Your Horizons

By Arlene F. Harder, MA, MFT

For many years my husband and I talked about seeing the great state of Alaska but kept putting it off. Yet we knew there might come a point at which postponing the trip would mean we'd never get there, so we decided to use the trip as a celebration of our 40th anniversary. True, our anniversary was on January 2nd, but who wants to visit Alaska when it's dark—and very, very, very cold—most of the day?

Wanting to share some of the many pictures I took, I've decided they might make a nice virtual tour that could encourage you to take a trip you've always wanted before it is too late.

Of course, Alaska is only one of many states that would make a great destination and I recommend you visit a website called Postcards from America. It can be a good place to begin planning your next trip and tells a story that is particularly interesting. You see, on Columbus Day 1997, which was their fifth wedding anniversary, Ken and Priscilla Sarsfield, who run the website, quit their jobs, sold their cars, bought a truck and TV and took off to discover America. (They were smart enough not to wait as long as we did to see Alaska.) Along the way, Ken, a photographer and graphic designer, took digital pictures while she used her experience as a history teacher to write their own "live-at-the-scene" postcards.

The result of their collaboration is very informative. Also, it's interesting to learn what twenty-eight governors responded to the following request she wrote to all fifty governors a month before leaving:

"If I had only one week to visit your state, what would you recommend I see? Please don't refer my request to your Tourist Bureau; I'm looking for your personal recommendation. It's a question I'm asking every State Governor in the country and will post all answers on our website, Postcards From America" . . .

We were pleased to notice that we went to almost every place Tony Knowles, Alaska's governor, recommended, with the exception of Point Barrow. Even so, it is a HUGE state and we only scratched the surface. After all, Alaskans love to brag that they could divide it into two and make Texas the third largest state. So I realize that my photos can only give you a tiny glimpse of what we saw in a very small fraction of a vast, majestic land.

In order not to bore you to death with all my pictures, I've picked out only a few of the highlights. As you take the virtual tour (below), you can read the commentary with the pictures or just watch the scenes and imagine what it would be like to be there.

And if you need a reminder to make time for your special trip, I suggest you find a picture of the place you want to first and put it on your refrigerator. Then plan how you can get there as soon a possible. Life is much too uncertain to assume there will always be time to take the trips you want.