About Me

     As my 66th birthday was quickly approaching, and the everyday aches and pains of getting older were beginning to set in, I asked myself: “If not now, when?” The pandemic had made me antsy, and my deep-seated and lifelong desire to travel, to seek new adventures and to add to my life experiences were bubbling to the surface. With the loving support of my wife and three young adult children, who are all in college, by the way, the decision finally was made. This summer, I would set off on a 4-month, cross country journey to experience 27 National Parks. Then I would return home……maybe! Thus, my blog: Don’s Big Escape! 

     Growing up in a small town in western New York, I was always fascinated by travel---from what I saw on the TV screen to experiencing it vicariously through friends, relatives and neighbors. From my family’s annual trips to Niagara Falls to camping at Allegany State Park during the hot New York summers (we couldn’t afford anything else), I was always ready to go! I grew up in the seventies and remember leaving for college in Colorado and going the only way I could afford: by thumb. After college when I entered the work force, I was always the first to shoot up my hand to travel. Nothing was ever too far to see or never too far to go alone. As the Grateful Dead so famously sang “Oh what a long strange trip it’s been”.

     As a visitor here, you are a part of my adventure and life experience. Thank you for that! There are plenty of ways you can be involved; just subscribe to keep in touch.