I know. I know. The date on my previous post is embarrassing. I had a rough spring. Uncertainty and doubt. Then I ran away to Mongolia in June.

Well, not exactly “ran away”.

In June 2018, I received an email from Australia’s Intrepid Travel—an email that had been sent out to those Intrepid travelers who had previous experience with Expedition-style travel. I clicked a link to a video that featured deserts, dust, mountains, and the note: “No fussy eaters!” with a reference to the Mongolian national drink: fermented mare’s milk. Yes, from horses.

The trip would be their first “Uncharted Expedition”. 22 days with no itinerary. Those accepted would agree to meet at 6 PM at a hotel in Astana, Kazakhstan on June 30, 2019. The only other detail revealed was that we should plan our departure from Ulaanbataar, Mongolia after July 22.

At the time, I was healing from two major breast cancer surgeries. Naturally, I signed up immediately. Within minutes.

I got a call the next day and learned that they were taking ten travelers and I was #11. I was assured that, more than likely, at least one person would back out, and someone did. I was in.

Now all I had to do was wait for June 30, 2019. A year forward. And plan my gear.

I’m not going to go into much detail here tonight. I kept a journal while on the expedition, but it’s not easy to write when you’re hiking or bouncing along in a Russian army truck making its way up a mountain.

I took hundreds of photos and dozens of video clips. I just this weekend finished a PowerPoint presentation that I’ll be sharing at the Vashon Senior Center (Vashon, WA, USA) on Friday, September 27, 2019 at 1 PM.

Creating the presentation has taken longer than the actual expedition. I’m admittedly some kind of perfectionist.

If you’re in the area, come see my captivating images and hear my stories. I promise you won’t feel like a literally captive audience.