Travel [publisher's letter]

When I read this month’s feature, “Traveling With Purpose,” it made me want to pack up and head to one of these inviting destinations—not from a superficial standpoint of just wanting to get away, but from a deeper level of feeling the need to reconnect with my authentic self in a place that I have never been before.

Alas, at the present moment I am not in a position to make such a journey (although I have a few of these locales stored away in my mind for future reference). However, my husband and I do have plans to visit the White Mountains this fall, a place we’ve never ventured to in the time we’ve lived in Arizona.

I started thinking about this little adventure, and it occurred to me that I don’t necessarily need to travel far and wide to find inner sanctity. Because I “find” myself in the wilderness, it’s entirely possible for me to accomplish my goal closer to home.

I’ve decided that a little cabin in the woods that reminds me of days gone by in the Rocky Mountains, exploring the trails and spending quiet time in this new-to-me wilderness such a short distance from my home (relatively speaking!) will fill that craving I have to tap into my inner self.

Another bonus is that time away with my husband is always a great way to strengthen our relationship―away from the blur of daily life. We joke that we are often ships that pass in the night, and we always feel a closer bond when we’ve spent some quality time together.

And so, I will leave the big travel goals for another time and get to planning our excursion to the yet unexplored ponderosa pine forest of the Arizona White Mountains.