Recently I was called “old man.”

Who?

Me?

Seems, given the years gone by, there’s some truth to the label.

You’d think, with my many miles traveled, roads taken, mountains climbed, and seas sailed, that I’d have achieved some sort of wisdom by now. You might think I’ve gained some smarts after bouncing through numerous careers and jobs, and survived the ups and downs of intimate relationships. But having knowledge and using it wisely are two different things.

Addicted to adventure and not particularly patient, I’ve often picked passion and excitement over smarts and common sense. I suspect this is why most of my life adventures did not start out as such.

The float trip down Hells Canyon’s Snake River was supposed to be an excursion easily done on inner tubes. After trashing our raft in the first rapids, it was obvious we’d underestimated the river. A simple ascent of Mt. Rainier did not anticipate the July snowstorm that turned the climb into a nightmare. Our sailboat would not have ended up high and dry on the beach if we’d checked the tide tables. The endless night walk through the Idaho backcountry could have been avoided if we’d had a map.

Yes, most of my adventure mishaps could have been prevented with a little more planning and lots more common sense, but where’s the fun in that?

Sure, more thought might have saved some anxiety and agony but in adapting and surviving these misadventures, I made lifelong friends and learned invaluable lessons. I learned that no matter how much we plan and anticipate what might happen, things still occur that we can’t control.

Like losing my sight. Like finding out my wife, my adventure buddy, was losing her mind to dementia.

Life has saved the biggest adventures, the highest summits, for “old age.”

Thankfully so, for Ive needed all my previous lessons and experience to grapple with these new challenges.

And blogging is one way I have adapted. “Travels with tio” is me reaching out, sharing, learning, exploring, living bigger, loving better with my fellow travelers.

It’s my pleasure to share the path with you.

– tio stib

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