Dave Ford Does Earth

In the winter of 2004 I wrote down a list of 101 goals involving every aspect of my life. The goals covered where I wanted to go, what I wanted to have, what I wanted to do, how I wanted to spend my time, what I wanted to become, how much I wanted to earn, what I wanted to learn, etc… After my year and a half of travels were over in 2008 I went back to this list and was surprised to see that I had accomplished nearly 25 major life goals within that 4 year time frame–many are in bold in the list below. Ironically, one of the goals was to have my own web page. Another goal was to live in New York City where I currently reside.

I wanted to share my future travel goals with my friends, family, and anyone else that might be interested. I am not the first guy out there to put together a lengthy list of goals. John Goddard put together of list of 127 life goals a long time ago and has completed nearly all of them. I figure what the hell? I love to travel. Oh, and to answer the frequently asked question: No! I did not smoke crack before putting this list together.

Dave Ford’s Travel Goals (Completed tasks are in bold)

• The 7 Wonders of the World

1. Great Wall of China
2. Christ the Redeemer Statue — Brazil (March 2007)
3. Petra — Jordan
4. Machu Picchu — Peru (April 2007) PICTURED
   
5. Chichen Itza — Mexico
6. Taj Mahal –India
7. Colosseum — Rome
8. The Great Pyramid — Egypt

• Special Destinations

1. The North Pole
2. Antarctica (2/2007) PICTURED
3. Easter Island
4. Tahiti
5. Cuba (7/2007)
6. Space (Technology permitting)

• Places to Live

1. New York City (2008-????) PICTURED
   
2. California
3. Australia
4. Europe
5. South America

• The 7 Summits– Climb the highest mountain on each continent

1. North America- Denali (Mt. McKinley)–Alaska, USA
2. South America- Aconcagua–Argentina
3. Africa– Mt. Kilmanjaro–Tanzania (March 7, 2008) PICTURED
   
4. Europe– Mt. Elbrus–Russia
5. Austronesia–Pucak Jaya– New Guinea
6. Asia– Mt. Everest–Nepal
7. Antarctica–Mt. Vincent

• Events and Festivals

1. Octoberfest
2. Burning Man
3. New Orleans Jazzfest (5/2005)
4. Running of the Bulls
5. Chinese New Years (In China)
6. Carnival
7. Bonnaroo–in Tennessee (2003) (2004) PICTURED
   

• Backpacking and Trekking

1. The Appalachian Trail, US (Shenandoah National Park 7/2005)
2. The Continental Divide, US
3. The Pacific Crest Trail
4. Torres del Paine, Chile (2/2007) PICTURED
   
5. The Inca Trail, Peru (4/2007)
6. Bryce and Zion, Utah, USA
   
7. The Lost City Trek, Colombia (8/2007)
8. The Snowman Trek, Bhutan
9. The Grand Canyon (11/2007) (3/2008)
10. Everest Base Camp, Nepal

• Spiritual Destinations and Event

1. Jerusalem
2. Stonehenge
3. Tibet
4. Varnasi, India
5. Ankgor Watt, Cambodia
6. Dharamsala, India
7. Amazonian Ayahuasca Ceremony (4x in Bolivia 4/2007-6/2007) PICTURED
   

• Crazy Shit
  

1. Skydiving (8/2001)
2. Hangliding (3/2007) PICTURED IN RIO DE JANEIRO
3. Bungee Jumping

• Skiing

1. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
2. The Alps
3. New Zealand
4. Japan
5. The Andes in Argentina and Chile
6. Utah
7. Canada (Fernie 12/2007) (Banff 12/2007)
   
8. Colorado (Vail 12/2003) (Steamboat 2/2005)

• Wildlife Excursions
  

1. Safari in the Serengeti Plains (3/2008)
2. Galapagos Islands (6/2007)
3. Ngorogoro Crater (3/2008)
4. Gabon (Western Africa)
5. Mountain Gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda, or Congo
6. Indian Safari
7. Orangutans in Borneo
8. The Northern Territory, Australia
9. Okavango Delta, Botswana
   
10. Antarctica (2/2007) PICTURED
11. Amazonian Wildlife Tour (Bolivian Pampas 4/2007)

• Golf Courses

1. Pebble Beach (USA)
2. Pine Valley (USA)
3. The Old Course at St. Andrews (Scotland)
4. Ballybunion (Ireland)
5. Augusta National (USA)

• Rafting and River Trips

1. Raft the Colorado River
2. Raft the Zambezi River
3. The Nile
4. The Amazon

• Diving

1. With Whale Sharks–either Broom, Australia or Honduras
2. Galapagos Islands- Hammerhead dive
3. The Great Barrier Reef
4. Indonesia
5. Fiji
6. The Red Sea

• Extended Overland Travel

I will travel overland through _____________.

1. The United States– Cross Country Road Trip (MD, WVA, TENN, MISS, LA, TX, NM, CO, UT, AZ, NV, CA—11/2007) NOTE: I still need to do the north
2. Western Europe
3. Eastern Europe
4. South East Asia
5. China
6. Moscow to Beijing via the Trans-Siberian Railroad
7. Australia –Completing the Coastal Loop
8. South America ( ARGENTINA, CHILE, BRAZIL, PERU, BOLIVIA, ECUADOR, COLOMBIA—1/9/2007 - 8/15/2007)
9. India
10. The Middle East
11. Mexico and Central America
12. Eastern Africa
13. Southern Africa
14. Western Africa

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