Okay, so I am thinking out loud in this post.

I won’t be retiring anytime soon. However, I am always–perhaps to a fault–thinking about the future. Where will I camp next summer, and the next? Where are the best birding spots this fall? When can I see whopping cranes? What kind of camper upgrade will I find?

Working on this book now!

Circumstances can and will change, of course, but my dream is to travel full time in a camper for a few years. The first year, I plan on completing a Birding Big Year. While traveling I will figure out where to buy a house. North Dakota appeals because of the solitude and great housing prices. After that, I plan to be a snowbird or reverse snowbird, 1/2 year in camper, 1/2 year in small house. I plan to focus on writing non-fiction most of the year, even when traveling.

The pre-retirement bucket list follows. Most people hear pre-retirement planning and think about money. That’s important of course, but it doesn’t prepare me in other ways. Here are the big things!

1. Read the John Burroughs Award winners for the last 25 years. This is the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize for nature writers.  Those 25 are on  my Amazon Wishlist, where I keep track of such things. I will start with last year’s winner (Sightlines: A Conversation with the Natural World, by Kathrine Jamie) and go backwards to the 1990 winner. I have already read many of the earlier winners. This kind of reading helps me become a better writer of my own adventures.

2. Finish Jack London and James Oliver Curwood novels (all are available for free as Kindle downloads). They write fiction, but both of them write in outdoor settings

3. Read one or two books on writing skills each year

4. Learn more about the night skies

5. Learn much more about identifying the smaller birds, like sparrows and warblers. Right now, if I see a small bird silhouette I look the other way. Too confusing! For a  Big Year, however, I must learn the little guys. It is a real challenge for me.

6. Learn to recognize more bird songs

7. Explore Canada and Alaska as much as possible while living up here in No. Dakota

8. Upgrade camper

9.Replace van with another cargo van (Flying Cloud 2)

10. Stay healthy! Walking, camping, growing my food.

11.. Write when possible while working full time. Find a comfortable writing schedule, less hit and miss.