Bucket List

100 Ways to Live a Better Life (or “A Fancy Bucket List”)

I took the title from this Outside Magazine article from 1998. However, like many things including smart phones, Taylor Swift albums, and all of the Sharknado films, the term “Bucket list” wasn’t yet coined in 1998 (because you’re now wondering, most sources date the modern incarnation of the term “bucket list” to around June of 2006). But I decided to use the Outside title instead of just calling this a bucket list because I appreciate that the article switches between enormous generalities (“3. Get Big Air.”) and extreme specificity (“22. “Ski the Dachstein by Starlight, One More Time.”). They published another list(using the “bucket list” term) a bit more recently – I even stole a couple ideas from it. Many bucket lists focus on places to go or activities to do and those are here, but I like the idea of adding things to learn or perfect in addition to a laundry list of travel destinations. Some of the items on my list are simple and straight forward, while some are incredibly difficult, but reading even portions of this list make me grin maniacally at the thought of trying to achieve each and every one of them. Some of the below items can certainly be accomplished together (if I were to do #3 (Backpack from Cupertino to the beach), it’s reasonable that at least one of those days would satisfy #26 (Experience a solo backpacking trip)) but that’s fine — I got through my General Education at UCSC  by stacking requirements (shout out to “Earthquakes and You,” you mind-numbingly boring, GE killer, you!).
In the process of compiling this list I learned a lot about myself. I learned what’s important, and what I dream to accomplish. And this is why I highly encourage you to try this – and make the list substantial. If offhand you can think of a dozen things for your bucket list, challenge yourself to come up with 25, or 50. Dare to dream! We’re afforded so few opportunities to just dream, “what if…”. Before starting this project it I relegated these thoughts to fantasy outcomes should I win the lottery. Really, though, we win the lottery every day just living. Cheesy? Absolutely. But not without merit. Aim high and you might surprise yourself.

  1. Snowmobile into Yellowstone and watch Old Faithful erupt in the dead of winter.
  2. Drink a Guinness in a pub in Dublin.
  3. Backpack from Cupertino to the beach.
  4. Drive a proper Ferrari.
  5. While away an afternoon at Stone Brewing - the main Stone facility.
  6. Stay at Bluefish B&B on Cape Cod.
  7. Walk the streets of Arles, France.
  8. Meditate among the ancient bristlecone pines.
  9. Go through the RawHyde Offroad adventure motorcycle course and feel comfortable (or at least confident) on my bike when the pavement turns to dirt.
  10. Brew my own beer.
  11. Rent a practice space and enjoy the ragged edge of an over-amplified guitar and distortion.
  12. Drive a lap of the Nürburgring.
  13. Soak in a hot spring in the middle of nowhere.
  14. Experience the insanity of SXSW.
  15. Visit a rain forest.
  16. Stare slack-jawed at the Aurora Borealis.
  17. Own a pair of black cowboy boots again.
  18. Eat a conch sandwich in Key West.
  19. Ride the Stelvio pass in Italy.
  20. Closer to home, ride Sheman Pass Road through Sequoia National Forest.
  21. Make the perfect cup of coffee.
  22. Make the perfect summer cocktail.
  23. Spend the night alone in a ghost town.
  24. Hike to the top of Half Dome.
  25. Ride the Dalton Highway in Alaska to the Arctic Ocean.
  26. Experience a solo backpacking trip.
  27. Ride in an Icon 4x4 vehicle.
  28. Shoot a round at Golden Gate park archery range.
  29. Learn to weld.
  30. Replace my own motorcycle tire.
  31. Publish a book (self publishing doesn't count).
  32. Shoot at a gun range.
  33. Publish an album on Bandcamp.
  34. Ride a mountain bike at a ski resort (summer).
  35. Sew my own shirt.
  36. Beyond shirts: sew my own clothes.
  37. Build the ultimate BBQ cart.
  38. Change someone's life.
  39. Go back to Switzerland and spend some time enjoying Morges and Lausanne
  40. Tacos in Tijuana! And beers on the beach in Ensenada.
  41. See The Wave formation in Arizona.
  42. Properly sharpen knives.
  43. Visit famous graves: Salvador Dali in Catalonia, Alexander Hamilton in New York, Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore, Jim Morrison in Paris, Shakespeare in Warwickshire, England.
  44. Drive the length of the historic Route 66 in a proper ride with Jazz at my side.
  45. Stroll along the Seine in Paris.
  46. Learn how to put up drywall properly… and make it look good.
  47. Build my dream Telecaster.
  48. Savor a Cuban Romeo y Julieta in Havana.
  49. Put together my ultimate garage workspace complete with vehicle lift and air lines.
  50. Take part in a Polar Bear Plunge.
  51. Gently sway on a porch swing I built and installed myself.
  52. Meet one of my heroes... and not regret it.
  53. Visit Machu Picchu.
  54. Make a perfect dovetail joint.
  55. Attend the Cantaloupe Festival in Fallon, Nevada.
  56. Make (and keep alive) a sourdough starter.
  57. Learn to juggle.
  58. Jog regularly.
  59. Visit the 'Door to Hell' in Turkmenistan near the village of Deweze.
  60. Break 200 miles per hour.
  61. Become geographically-independent.
  62. Have a complete stranger tell me s/he enjoys my work.
  63. Get a tattoo
  64. Get another.
  65. Visit all 59 National Parks.
  66. Fire a Barrett 50 caliber rifle.
  67. View the only remaining Franciscan manzanita and/or Presidio manzanita in the wild.
  68. Ride the Four Corners Tour: San Ysidro, CA; Blain, WA; Madawaska, ME; Key West, FL in 21 days.
  69. Stand under a waterfall.
  70. Build a Murphy bed.
  71. Learn to speak French.
  72. Visit historic battlefields – Yorktown, Gettysburg, Little Bighorn (again), Omaha Beach.
  73. Ride a Harley Davidson.
  74. Get a new passport. Fill it.
  75. Hike to the top of Telescope Peak in Death Valley.
  76. Set up an archery range.
  77. Do at least one chin up.
  78. Spend time in a structure I've built.
  79. See the world's great art museums -- the Louvre, the Smithsonian, the Met in New York, The Vatican Museum, Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and The Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
  80. Fly high enough to see the curvature of the Earth and the blackness of space beyond.
  81. Own a gun.
  82. Take a trip to the other US – the remote islands of Guam, or Midway, and the closer-to-home Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
  83. Visit a silverback gorilla in Rwanda.
  84. Perform Shakespeare publicly.
  85. Spend a moonless night in a Dark Sky Park.
  86. Enjoy the weirdness of a sunny day...at midnight.
  87. Fly in a helicopter (preferably not a medical flight!!)
  88. View a total eclipse.
  89. Competently play a drum set.
  90. Visit Sue the T-Rex at the Field Museum in Chicago, as well as visit where she was discovered in South Dakota.
  91. Enjoy a long train ride in a private berth.
  92. Live in a place that has a dishwasher and a garbage disposal.
  93. Build something wonderful out of exotic hardwood.
  94. Regularly practice Tai Chi.
  95. Visit Bodie.
  96. Play in a band.
  97. Picture this: get a DSLR and take good pictures standing still and get a GoPro and take good pictures on the go!
  98. Live in an unexpected city for at least six months.
  99. Visit Jack White's Third Man Records factory in Detroit (bonus points for his original Nashville store).
  100. Be content with where I'm at.

And that’s it! My marching orders for a lifetime. When I achieve things on this list, count on me keeping you updated! Until then, try writing down your own list – it doesn’t have to be 100 items, but writing these things down is more powerful than absently saying, “that’s on my bucket list.” It is? Write it down! And drop me a line and let me know what you think!