Robin Williams mainstreamed the Latin phrase “carpe diem” i.e. “seize the day” and made it part of our everyday vocabulary. One of the worst movies ever made morphed “carpe diem” into “seize the carp!” Somehow in our family “seize the carp” took hold and has became our rallying cry…to take the road less traveled, to suck the marrow out of life, to make the most of every adventure and live every day to the fullest. Since 2001, we’ve made Flagstaff, Arizona our basecamp from which to seize the carp.

The genesis of this blog, however, took place long before Arizona, long before a family seemed even a remote possibility. At some point during the “Alaska phase” of my life, I had driven to the end of a road, hiked along a trail and looked up at a mountain ridge. “I wonder what I could see if I got up there” I wondered to myself, so I started climbing. Mountains being what they are, that first ridge gave way to another higher ridge, and another behind that, and so on until eventually the mountain ran out of ridges. From my high perch on the highest ridge I looked out on a whole universe of mountain ridges stretching to the horizon. Those endless ridges were attached to snow covered peaks, they separated valleys, and were home to glaciers and streams. It was a scene of such grandeur that my heart ached at the beauty of it. I may even have shed a tear, I don’t recall now. I do remember spending a long time up there, relaxing, enjoying the moment, and trying desperately to permanently implant that moment in my memory.

At some point during that perfect day, one small negative thought crept in. There was no one with whom to share this perfect moment. Even if I had had a camera, no photograph would have captured the feeling of finding that special place. Any effort to describe with words what I had seen and experienced were inevitably going to fall flat…at best they might elicit a polite, “mmm, sounds nice.”

Fast forward half a lifetime. In the intervening years I have continued to seek out special places. The carp has been well and truly seized on countless other adventures – by myself and more often than not in the past 30+ years, in the company of my lovely bride – an amazing woman who also enjoys wandering down the “less traveled” road(s) and trails. Along the way we’ve also been privileged to cross paths with an entertaining cast of characters we count as friends, wonderful folks who are always game for more “stupid fun.”

Part of my motivation for starting this blog, though, goes back to that mountain ridge. With technology not available back in the dark ages, in some small way, I hope to share some of those special moments with family and friends – and anyone who might be interested. Knowing that my pictures and descriptions will always fall short, my hope is also that you are inspired to lace up your boots or running shoes, hop on a bike, grab a paddle, a climbing rope, skis – whatever – and seek out those special places yourself…and better yet, with a friend. This site then is meant to be both a celebration of this great adventure called life and an encouragement to get out and – Seize the Carp!

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