I’m back from my digital vacation, 10 days with little to no Internet. I not only survived, I thrived. It made me realize how much time I spend on social media (yeah, I’m looking at you, Facebook…) and how much less I can do there. It’s a great place to catch up with friends, and keep on top of who’s where in my circle of camping friends, but it can also be the great time suck.
So where was I the last 10 days? Grayson Highlands State Park. Literally, I was right there, under that grey awning, spending a lot of time in my easy chair reading and writing and thinking and sometimes just watching the wind play with the leaves around me.
One day, I hiked a bit of the Appalachian Trail. Beautiful timing, weather-wise, and the views were amazing in all directions. My Garmin InReach tracker showed I stopped about 1/3 of the time overall and I’m going to say that most of that was taking pictures rather than resting or drinking water.
And there are wild ponies at Grayson Highlands! Here are three of them, mostly so my friend Sue can say, “oh, wow, horses!”
Two of my other hikes were deep in the forest, one down, down, down to Wilson Creek (and then hiking back up…) and the other to Little Pinnacle and Big Pinnacle, the highest places in the park.
It was a windy freaking day up there, but the views were worth it. I took this shot looking down and across to where I hiked the AT. I started where that field is at the lower right, went up that road to the far right, and then across the whole of the photo and up to that rocky peak (Wilburn Ridge) at the upper left.
Back to the little/no internet thing… I had some good breakthroughs about my writing projects and set some goals for myself that I’ll be working on the next several months. No announcements yet. Oh, wait, I do have one. Since you’ve read all the way to the bottom of this post:
I’m on instagram as @UncertainVagabond and you’re welcome to follow along on my adventures there. I post photos there that I don’t feature here or on Facebook, focusing on moments in my day that are special in some way.
We refuse to turn off our computers, turn off our phone, log off Facebook, and just sit in silence because in those moments we might actually have to face up to who we really are.
Jefferson Bethke
I have had a chance to read many of your blog posts, as I have been searching for answers on the Alto.
I know! It’s a blessing and sometimes a curse. I’ve met great people from FB and also realized how superficial other relationships are. Currently trying to figure out if I really want Instagram, I have gone back and forth on that for a while.
Mostly now, I write what I want when I want, and if people read it and leave a comment (btw, thanks for the comment), that’s awesome. I’m not in it for the money or fame (which is good because I have no idea how people get 10K followers!)
Ah Facebook… and all social media… such a double edged sword. I would love to dump it completely, but then I would lose touch with many people. And yet – if I’m being honest, I get so little out of the hours I often waste on it. A well placed break is smart every so often. Just put down the phone and look around for a bit. Crazy how fast our entire society has changed with the introduction of this technology.
In any case, I’m glad to hear you took a break.Your photos are lovely as always.
Beautiful photos of a beautiful place.
UncertainVagabond ….LOVE it!
Thank you, Lois! I appreciate your comment so much. I was much more undisciplined when I first started traveling, reveling in the freedom of not having a 9-5 job and all those responsibilities. Now I’m trying to make the most of the time I have (and have left) in a more focused way. We’ll have to see how it goes, I try to take people along for the ride 🙂
We don’t know each other, but I so admire how thoughtful you are and your discipline in what could so easily be a very undisciplined life!