I'm an Explorer

As I've followed the running schedule I've set up for myself, I find myself not knowing exactly where to go. This past week I started running towards the mountains, Maple Mountain to be precise, and found a little trail leading into the "foothills". I ran up and down and all around a system of paved trails. At times I was forced to slow to a walk to carefully navigate a steep descent. My trips into unknown trails, I realized, made the running a whole lot more fun.

This isn't the first time I've wandered as I jog. One time I started jogging up rock canyon, and I didn't stop until I got to the top of the trail, discovered the rock canyon campground, and followed a dirt road for at least a mile until it went no further. When I started running that day I had no intention of ending up in the woods. But as I started going up rock canyon, I pushed myself to keep going further, and a little further, and a little further. Each minute there was another sight to see, another "novidade." Like that Pocahontas song, "Just around the river bend." I just had to keep going.

After thinking about this the other day, it came to me: I'm an explorer! When I run, I like to do more than run. I like to explore my neighborhood and all the other ones too. I rarely run the same route. Hiking is one of my favorite activities, and it's not because I want to conquer another mountain. It's because I want to see another sight and enjoy another view. I explore nature. Rarely do I repeat a hike I've done before. Traveling is an activity I wish I could do more often. And while I enjoy the major landmarks and tourist attractions, what I really enjoy about traveling is exploring the city and discovering its residents in their daily activities, such as riding a city bus in San Francisco or hanging out in a city square in Rio de Janeiro. I explore their culture. There is so much to be seen and experimented in this world. Discovering more of the vast unknown is what intrigues me. I'm an Explorer.