I just graduated optometry school and I feel like I’ve lost a bit of my identity. I didn’t have much free time to focus on the things that make me happy and now I’m lacking inspiration. I can’t work until my license is approved so I’ve had days of doing nothing since May 7. It’s been great but it’s starting to get boring; I can only play so much Zelda and doom scroll so often.
So whatcha got? What do you like to do? What are some hobbies or passions everyone has? What are non-drinking related activities to do with a partner or friends?
Yes! We want to take a trip to the badlands but I need to start work before doing that because money is a bit tight until then. But we try to hit up local trails, which there aren’t many in my area. I’m going to research national parks near me for future trips! Great advice!
Try out photography! Get some basic tips on composition and light before your trip. Use your own phone so you don’t have to make an initial investment. If you search for “badlands” on Flickr.com, you’ll get some ideas on photography and find some interesting places, too. You might even consider expanding your initial photography skills upon your return, and this could become a rewarding hobby that encourages you to visit and photograph beautiful places.
Absolutely do it. I am yet to regret any trip to a state or national park. Based on their size and proximity you can plan your yearly visits around long weekends or just take a couple of days off work and go.
National parks are great, but also look for national forests and grasslands, state parks and forests, conservation areas, and BLM land.
National forests/grasslands are my favorite because they are free and well documented. Unfortunately I live in the midwest, so it’s a long-ass drive to the nearest ones, so for short trips I’m usually going to state-owned facilities (also great, but usually not as big or free to use).
As a hobby you can usually practice at home and then take on the road, try some stargazing and sky photography! With a little work most modern phones can do pretty fun astrophotography (not amazing, but interesting enough to make for some fun times, and maybe of interest if you like lenses and shit).
Ayyy fellow midwesterner! I used national parks/forests interchangeably and never made the connection they could be distinct things. I looked up some places within 4-5 hour drives and most were grassy areas with some type of small water feature. There’s some good primitive camping close to me too that I want to check out.
The grasslands are underappreciated in my view (good for me, fewer people out there using them!)
I have spent a lot of time out in the Bessey Ranger District near Halsey Nebraska. It’s a nice mix of hand-planted forest and prairie in the sandhills area. Great place to go for a variety of camping options, and really excellent for stargazing because it’s one of the darkest places in the US. I’ve spent many deep-black nights laying on top of my vehicle parked on top of a tall hill listening to the breeze in the grass while watching meteor showers and satellites (saw the ISS go over once, amazing sight!).
The landscape ranges from impenetrably dense forest to wide-open rolling native prairie. You can drive miles of trails (best in a moderate clearance 4x4, and informed by the Motor Vehicle Use Map loaded into the Avenza mobile app) to see seemingly endless interesting areas, and in most places you can pull off the side of the road and set up camp. We are getting into a good time of year to see big puffball mushrooms out there (edible if you like mushrooms).
The other national forest areas in Nebraska are similar, though the forest at Bessey is unique, being the largest hand-planted forest in the US. Also there was a large fire there (last year I think), so it’s a good time to see the recovery process and compare the recently burned areas to the unburned.
This is great info since I’ve had my eye on dark parks in Michigan for quite some time! I will definitely be adding this area to my list of possibilities to check out this fall. Gonna let the summer pass before doing too much outdoor things. Tho I’m sad I’ll miss the puffballs; I’ve been interested in foraging. The real bummer is we just sold our Tacoma so we no longer have a vehicle capable of off-roading. But that’s okay, camping and stargazing are enough for now :)