Bucket Lists – The Year List

Now everyone should definitely have a year list. Most people’s lists are actually merged into one year list. As though they’re going to travel to all the countries they want to see and learn all the languages they want to learn and play all the musical pieces they want to play and see the things they want to see all before the next December 31st. However, we’re a little wiser than that. Every year I have a ritual during the Christmas vacation, where I take a look at my bucket lists and start scheduling items into the next year. This year I have these items:


  • Visit the Moving Rocks on Racetrack Playa in Death Valley in January
  • Visit Joshua Tree in February
  • Hike Mt. Baldy in April
  • Hike the Grand Canyon in April
  • Hike Half Dome in June
  • Go to Electric Daisy Carnival in July
  • Go to Burning Man in August
  • Hike the Narrows in Zion in September

The important part about these is that they are scheduled. If you never set a date, it’ll always be on the list and not on the calendar and it’ll never get done. I use google calendar all the time for this.

Now, some things will come up and you’ll have to reschedule things. For example, January is almost over and I didn’t make it to the moving rocks. That’s because I decided I wanted to go during a moonless night to take pictures of the Milky Way. The first opportunity I will have after I made that decision was in February. So I’ll go to Joshua tree in January instead. Last year I wanted to see the California Poppy Reserve, but because of lack of rain, there wasn’t a good bloom so I moved it to this year. Things happen, things come up, emergencies and holidays and people getting married or hurt, but the list allow us to roll with the punches and not wake up ten years later and realize that we never did what we wanted to do. After all, that’s what we work hard to do. Men are, that they might have joy.