Your camera is packed, you head out the door with a planned destination. You plan to go far, far up that is. High into the atmosphere where it will be colder, windier and a bit dangerous (more dangerous the higher you go).

Make sure you have charged up the battery on your camera. There is nothing quite so stupid feeling as to finally get to the top of the building, passing security measures, daring yourself to open that door and face the elements... then realize you can't take more than one damn photo because your camera battery is all but completely dead. You forgot to recharge it.

Bold adventurer are you.

Start Rooftopping

Rooftopping is not about going to the highest floor inside a building and taking photos, from inside. Those are still nice photos - but you aren't on the actual roof.

Rooftopping is not about putting yourself in the photo, in a dangerous pose. Rooftopping photographers have every reason to live to see another day. Don't stand on the edge of a roof and lean over. Be smart and lean over and take the photo without risking falling to your death. I'm not writing this post in support of skywalking, this is about photography from rooftops of buildings.

I'm not promoting dangerous activities but there is a thrill to getting out on the roof and photographing the world from a new perspective. Having said that, you don't have to be a big risk taker.

Start by getting on the roof of your own house even and just see if you really want to try it again, in another location.

Try a parking garage. You can get a few floors up and check out the world from the roof of a shopping mall too. See if you have access to the roof of an apartment building next time you are in one. If you can access a lighthouse that would be pretty great too.

If you really are worried about permission and trespassing arrange a photo shoot, with permission. The worst that can happen is they say no. Try again, offer them copies of the photos for their own use in promoting the building/ mall/ apartment, etc. If you work on some ideas you could be up on that roof will full permission and no trouble at all with the security presence in the building. If you do go this route, get some business cards printed up for yourself. People trust business cards that claim you are a professional photographer. Who says you aren't?

Make sure you have (at the very least) the wrist strap for your camera. Actually use it this time. Not only is this a bad place to drop your camera but this is a really bad place to drop your camera, have it fall a long way down and cause real damage to people or property when it hits bottom. Make sure your shoes are tied tightly and you are wearing nothing else which could fall off, for the same reason. If you wear glasses configure a strap to keep them on your head.

Rooftopping and Skywalking Resources: Photographers and Photos Taken

• Pencilprism | Ill make myself famous
• Daredevil Photographer Dangles Off the Edge - My Modern Metropolis
• Teetering on the edge | Photographers Blog
• I am Bidong: Photographer, Urban Explorer, Rooftopper
• Rooftopping & the story behind Tom Ryaboi's crazy fad | PhotoGuides
• Professional portfolio of Toronto-based Photographer, Neil Ta.(Rooftopping)
• Almost (I'll Make Ya) Famous
• Flickr: Rooftopping
• Flickr: Roof Hacker
• Climbing Eden Park | Photographers Blog
• View From the Top: The Audacious Photography Trends of Rooftopping and SkyWalking - Tested
• Toronto News:The guerrilla art of photographing cities from atop skyscrapers - thestar.com
• MINI Space -Rooftopping: A Balanced View of the City
• Roof Topping in Korea | Koreabridge
• Should the 'skywalking' photo craze be discouraged? - CBC
• Roof topping: Traveling Up to Shoot Down | Canadian Art Junkie
• Skywalking: A Dangerous New Photo Fad Popular Among Russian Teens
• Rooftopping, Taking Death Defying Photos From the Tops of Buildings
• Lincoln Cathedral trespassers take stunning rooftop photos | The Lincolnite
• Roof Topping by Tom Ryaboi
• Skywalking Is Not As Fun As It Sounds
• Skywalking Russians Take Amazing Photos
• Rooftopping: Urban Photography Shoots Up to New Heights | Dornob
• Photography craze 'Rooftopping' brings STUNNING results from on top of the world | Mail Online
• Vertigo-Inducing Trend: Rooftopping: Gothamist
• Portraits on Toronto's Forbidden Rooftops
• Parisian Rooftopping, France | Pridian.net
• Roof Topper
• Rooftopping | Word Grrls

Rooftopping is NOT about Jumping Off a Roof

Rooftopping is NOT about going on the roof of your house and jumping off. While I was looking for more rooftopping links I found a YouTube video with boys (of course) jumping off the roof of houses and landing on trees, bushes and snow banks. That is not rooftopping. That's just boys with nothing better to do.

Angels of the Underground - Flash-only site of a group of Toronto explorers.
Function - A stylishly chaotic collection of images focusing on decay in downtown Toronto.
Hamilton Urban Exploration Journals - An inconsistently designed set of pages describing one explorer's past and future excursions (no photos yet, and not much text either).
HR Urban Exploration - Extremely under construction site featuring photos of abandoned buildings in Whitby and Oshawa.
Infiltration - You are here, so clicking this link would be pointless. Don't waste your time.
Infiltrators: Be Quick or Be Dead - Pics, maps and descriptions related to several sites in Oakville, as well as a glossary and some legal advice.
Margins of Paradise - Graffiti and urban exploration photos mostly from around Toronto.
Nanoman's Piccah Page - Information relating to Whitby Psychiatic Hospital.
Ontario Abandoned Places - Awkward-to-navigate site with some useful information and some pictures relating to abandoned towns around the province. Lots of locations covered.
Recession Art - Photos of abandoned industrial sites around Ontario --- unfortunately, no descriptions of the trips or the photos are available.
Subway Secrets at Cygnals - Pictures and accounts of tours of Toronto's abandoned subway stations.
The Urban Landscape - Urban exploration in Ottawa, Gatineau and Montreal; focussed on abandoned buildings so far.
Undaground - Pictures and some text about expeditions to the top of the Royal York hotel and under the former Degrassi High.
Underground Belleville - Some photos and mission reports from a now-disbanded group of explorers based in Belleville.
University of Waterloo Service Tunnels - A brief photo tour of the tunnels under the University of Waterloo.
Urban Exploration Barrie - A loose affiliation of folks from in and around the Barrie Ontario area.
Urban-Ex London - They say not to be confused with "Urban Exploration London", but if that's the case why did they use this name? Anyhow, a site about exploring London and southwest Ontario.
Urban Exploration London - A well-established group of explorers exploring abandoned buildings and drains near the mighty Thames.
Urban Exploration Resource - Advice and discussion about some of the popular tunnels and abandoned buildings around Toronto.
Vanishing Point - An encyclopedic guide to Ontario drains, featuring useful advice, interesting write-ups and incredible photographs. Inspiring.
Viewing Hole Gallery - Good pictures and commentary on several expeditions, mostly in the Toronto area.

• Abandoned Farm Houses of Ontario - Photographic prints of abandoned farmhouses in Ontario. Taken by Allan Lewis.

• Axle's Dark Playgrounds - Photos from exploring in Ontario.

• Cygnals Zine: Subway Secrets - Pictures from tours of Toronto's abandoned subway stations.

• Dave Till: Toronto Ghost Signs - Flickr photo set with photos of old painted signs around Toronto.

• Edward Burtynsky - Photographer explores the intricate link between industry and nature. Based in Ontario.

• Flickr: Abandoned Niagara - Abandoned and decaying buildings, barns, and homes in the Niagara region of Ontario.

• Flickr: Air33 - A self-taught photographer living in Toronto. Architectural and industrial photography. Especially interested in exploring abandoned buildings.

• Flickr: BrickWorks - Images and art depicting the Don Valley Brickworks in Toronto, Ontario.

• Flickr: Creepy Ontario - This is a group dedicated to those who love to shoot pictures of the surreal, creepy and just plain unsettling.

• Flickr: Ontario Rural Ruins - Derelict, abandoned, ruined buildings, places or things in rural Ontario. Old farm houses, abandoned commercial buildings, ghost signs, old signposts, whatever you stumble upon as you travel around Ontario.

• Flickr: Thunder Bay In Decay - Decaying industrial and commercial buildings and miscellaneous debris in the area of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

• Flickr: Toronto Architecture - All images must be of buildings, building interiors, building details or other architectural structures. Images of buildings going up or coming down are also welcome.

• Flickr: Toronto Urban Decay - Sharing pictures of neglected and abandoned beauty in Toronto.

• Flickr: Toronto Urban Exploration Photography - A group for Toronto urban exploration photography.

• Flickr: Urban Toronto - For those who are interested in exploring and documenting the urban landscape in Toronto.

• Flickr: Wasteland Warriors - Urban exploration, no armchair explorers here.

• Flickr: Whitby Psych - Photos and art depicting the infamous abandoned Whitby Psychiatric Facility in Ontario, Canada.

• Function - Urban explorations of Toronto, Ontario.

• Google Groups: UrbEx Ontario - Members require approval to join. A loose affiliation of acquaintances who love to capture images of delicious structural decay. By researching and photographing Ontario abandonments, we all become more finely attuned to our recent past and rich history.

• Infiltrators: Be Quick or Be Dead - Pictures, maps and descriptions related to several sites in Oakville, Ontario.

• Kendall Anderson - Abandonments, decay, industrial mayhem based in Ontario.

• Live Journal: Toronto Explorers - Post stories, pictures, locations and arrange meet ups with other explorers in the Toronto, Ontario area.

• Nanoman's Piccah Page - Information relating to Whitby Psychiatic Hospital.

• Ontario Abandoned Places - Features mines, railways, urban exploration locations such as factories and hospitals located in Ontario.

• Sean M.L. Galbraith - Photographer and professional urban planner in Toronto, Ontario. Observing and documenting urban life.

• Spacing - Understanding Toronto's urban landscape and public spaces.

• The Heritage Photography Project - Abandoned houses in Ontario. Over 150 pictures from Genesis Creative Services.

• The PhotoMat - Individual collection of photographs taken of urban decay in Toronto.

• The Vanishing Point - Chronicling and photographing storm drainage and abandonments in Ontario and further afield.

• The View From Up Here - Photoblog from around Ontario. Includes abandoned buildings, farmhouses and urban architecture.

• Toronto Psychogeography Society - A loose collection of relentless flâneurs, explorers and walkers. Participants step out of their daily routine and explore the city's overlooked corners to imagine the dynamics of a better future urban environment.

• University of Waterloo Service Tunnels - A brief photo tour of the tunnels under the University of Waterloo.

• UrbEx Barrie : CopySix - Acquaintances who love to capture images of delicious structural decay in Ontario.

• Urban Tresspasser - Exploring locations in Ontario. Photo weblog with some history of the sites.

• Worksongs - A photoblog showcasing abandoned places in and around the Toronto area.

• Deviant Art: Abandoned Echos - Alicia, Canadian experimental photographer. Includes old and abandoned structures.

• Drains Of My City - Showcasing urban exploration in Edmonton, Canada. Includes discussion forum, missions, pictures, and information.

• Flickr: Abandoned Quebec - A group to share photos of abandoned urban and rural places in Quebec.

• Flickr: Abandoned Saskatchewan - Rural Saskatchewan and signs that humans once were there.

• Flickr: Canadian Industry - Everything from the CPR to Research in Motion labs in Waterloo to 4-story-high oil sands trucks to old factories on the lachine canal to Burtynsky-esque photos of slag heaps in the Shield to the tar pools in Sydney.

• Flickr: Rural Canada - Pictures from rural areas in Canada, small towns, ghost towns and old buildings.

• Flickr: Vanished Montreal - Vintage pictures of Montreal and buildings or things that are going to be demolished soon.

• Flickr: Vanishing Vancouver - This group is for photos of disappearing aspects, or little fragments of Vancouver. Share photos of houses slowly falling apart, a building downtown facing the wrecking ball, or photos of some places that are already gone.

• Infiltration - Website on urban exploration, featuring a webring, dictionary, and many pointers.

• Montreal's Abandoned Buildings - Descriptions and pictures of abandoned buildings in Montreal, PQ

• New Bedlam Mental Hospital Patients Alumni - A Winnipeg-based explorer's attempt to preserve history, one photograph at a time.

• Night Photographer - A gallery of night photography capturing moonlit landscapes, abandoned places, lightning, fireworks. Larrie Thomson based in Edmonton, Alberta.

• SaskUrbEx.com - The only urban exploration site in Saskatchewan covering several locations in the province.

• The Urban Landscape Project - Urban exploration in Ottawa, Gatineau and Montreal. Photographing the remarkable details of everything from construction sites, bridges, and modern architectural wonders to tiny features of derelict and decaying structures.

• Urban Artography - Photography-oriented site featuring text updates and photo galleries which include tunnels, bridge rooms, construction, abandonments. Based in Edmonton, Alberta.

• Urban Exploration Alberta - Dedicated to the exploration of drains, tunnels, buildings, rooftops, mines, and bridge rooms, in Alberta, Canada.

• Urban Exploration Resource - Advice and discussion about urban exploration, focusing on Canadian exploring.

• Ghost Towns of Canada Chat - Forum for discussion. Requires registration.

• Ghost Towns of Western Canada Photo Gallery - A collection of photos of abandoned homes, churches, grain elevators, and other structures in the western provinces.

• GhostTownPix.com - Stories, photographs, and history of ghost towns and abandoned structures in Ontario and Alberta, Canada.

• Ontario Ghost Towns and Abandoned Places - Extensive collection of photographs, maps and directions, and short histories.

• Wikipedia: Ghost towns in Canada - Ghost towns listed in Wikipedia.

• Canadian Association of Professional Heritage Consultants - Provides a directory of Canadian professional heritage consultants, calendar of heritage events, recommended reading and list of heritage conferences.

• Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland - Aims to protect, preserve, and promote the province's built heritage. Descriptions and histories of registered heritage structures, some with images.

• Heritage Society of British Columbia - Aims to conserve historic buildings and other heritage resources. Activities, advice on maintenance and conservation of historic buildings.

• North Shore Heritage Preservation Society - Promotes the conservation of historic buildings on the North Shore of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Alberta Urban Exploration Alberta Some very nice work by urban explorers in Red Deer and other Alberta cities. Drains of my City The city is Edmonton, though the webmaster has made quite a few trips to other places, and covers more than just drains. The Corrosion Project: Industrial Archeology Industrial expeditions going all the way back to the mid-80s; mostly around Calgary but venturing into Saskatchewan. All About Ghosts: Alberta

A list of haunted places in the province, complete with links to information about each site.
British Columbia

Wraiths

Some very nice work by urban explorers in the Vancouver area.

All About Ghosts: British Columbia

A list of haunted places in the province, complete with links to information about each site.

Vancouver Paranormal

Haunted places explored in the world's most liveable city.
Manitoba

All About Ghosts: Manitoba

A list of haunted places in the province, complete with links to information about each site.
New Brunswick

Danger Force Urban Adventure

Exploring forgotten train stations and such in the province of New Brunswick.

All About Ghosts: New Brunswick

A list of haunted places in the province, complete with links to information about each site.
Newfoundland

Forgotten Newfoundland

Large, extensive site covering forgotten places in this Maritime province.

All About Ghosts: Newfoundland

A list of haunted places in the province, complete with links to information about each site.
Ontario Infiltration The original urban exploration website and webzine, about "places you're not supposed to go." Located in Toronto. Viewing Hole Gallery Shockingly good photos of off-limits places of all kinds. Headquartered in Toronto but featuring sites from New York State as well. HR - Urban Exploration Illicit tours of abandoned places in and around Toronto. UEL: Urban Exploration London Exploring the abandoned in London, Ontario, and surrounding areas. UE Canada

Nearly defunct explorers' site out of Barrie, Ontario.

All About Ghosts: Ontario

A list of haunted places in the province, complete with links to information about each site.

Spooky Ontario

Dedicated to haunted, possessed, and otherwise spooky locations in Ontario.
Quebec Urban Exploration Montreal Abandoned, occupied, or underground locations of Montreal, explored and photographed. UEQ: Urban Exploration Quebec Highly talented Quebec City explorers with a bilingual website. The Urban Landscape Explore a world closer than you think, in Quebec. Also featuring sites in Ottawa. Urban Recon Montreal

Industrial wastelands and shattered places in Montreal.

Collectif 401

Explorers somewhere in Quebec, but the site is in French, so I don't know much more than that.

All About Ghosts: Quebec

A list of haunted places in the province, complete with links to information about each site.

Le Spectre de Montreal

Ghost photos from around the city, particularly the cemetery at Notre-Dame-Des-Neiges.
Saskatchewan

All About Ghosts: Saskatchewan

A list of haunted places in the province, complete with links to information about each site.

Urban exploration is about exploring the modern world, as it is. This includes infiltration (going where you are not really wanted or allowed) documenting abandoned and derelict places and being an actual explorer - with ethics.

Don't get the idea urban exploration is all about trespassing, goofing around and leaving your mark. That is entirely the wrong way to get started. Urban explorers have a respect for the locations they explore. "Take only photographs; leave only footprints" is the motto for people who are true urban explorers. We value history and we want to continue visiting the places as they decay and change.

Demolition is the sad fact of urban exploration - photograph history today because it may be gone tomorrow. This is very literally true! However, don't think of demolition as the enemy, this just makes you bitter. Change happens and we need change - everything can't just stay the same forever. So, be sad, but be glad you got the photographs while you could. Photographs of place now gone are treasures.

Rephotography

You can also get into rephotography. Take an old photo and photograph it again, included in the original location as it has evolved now. Look for rephotography for some really exceptional examples online, or on photography sites like Flickr.

Where to Explore

There are endless places to explore in the modern world. Not all urban explorers look at old buildings. There are industrial ruins, tunnels and drains and tall buildings where you can get photos of the whole city as you stand looking out over it (rooftopping). There are also ghost signs - faded signs from shops and advertising on the sides of buildings. There are ghost towns, if you can find much left of them. Urban explorers also like cemeteries - the old gravestones. You may be a rural urban explorer (like myself) and look at abandoned farm houses, barns, farm machinery, old cars too.

How to Explore

Before you begin exploring you will need some basic equipment: sturdy footwear, a map and a camera. These are the basics, you can certainly have more and will need more gear if you are exploring tunnels and other risky locations. But, for the average or new explorer you should stick to less risky places where you just need a good pair of boots to keep you safe.

Be aware, there are risks in most places. When exploring old farms I have been attacked by birds dive bombing me, I've made the mistake of walking in the flight path of a beehive and I worry about where I step each time I put my foot down. Always watch were you are stepping - you could find a deep trench under tall grass, an abandoned well which was not properly covered or marked or a big rusty nail which came from the house or something dumped there by someone else. If you explore consider yourself responsible for your own safety.

How do you Find Places to Explore

The question people usually as is how do I find places I have explored. I look for them! It really is that simple. You can get in the car and drive around and find places. I highly recommend you have someone else drive while you navigate and watch for signs of an old house. I have tried solo exploring while driving and it is not that great. The extra pair of eyes watching for old houses is great but - one of you needs to be watching the road as well. (No, I didn't actually drive off the road but I was not a safe driver on the road).

You can also check the Internet for locations. Not every explorer will share the locations they find. We can be cautious about giving away information when we don't know you or your intentions. Some people like to find abandoned places to salvage them for parts, some just want to find something to destroy and vandalize. Urban explorers don't vandalize, we don't leave trash on the site and we don't salvage parts or take anything (though I make an exception for garden plants because I like to save a living thing from dying in the weeds).

Pay attention to the news too. If you listen to the news or read the newspaper you will sometimes hear about a business, school or other location being closed or abandoned. A place up for sale is not really abandoned but may be interesting to explore. An old school or factory being closed and likely to be demolished is technically abandoned and really nice to explore and document  in your photographs (before it's gone).

Read about local history. Find out about the old buildings, places and locations in your area. Chances are there are great places to explore right under your nose - you just haven't found out about them. What was the first house built in your town - is it still standing? What was the first industry or business in your town - where is it now? Visit your local museums and libraries, you will find a lot of local history there. Join your local historical society. Not only does this give you access to more resources but you will have a membership card to give you validation as a local historian. Keep your membership card with you when you explore. If someone doesn't like you being there you can at least prove your interest in history rather than being labelled a troublemaker.

What do you do After Exploring

What I like best, once I've scraped some of the muck off my shoes or boots and cleaned the rest of me up as well as I can, is a good coffee. I seem to pick rainy days to wander around taking photographs. Good for the photos but the leave me (and my camera) damp or right soaked through at times. I stop for coffee somewhere, visit the washroom to clean my hands and tidy up a bit.

The best part about after exploring is seeing your own photos and sharing them online (not all of them - I tend to pick the best and save the rest). I've been posting my photos to Flickr for a few years. I began a group for other explorers in my area. You can search the site and see if there are local explorers in your area. Share your photos and as you get feedback and get to know them you can begin asking them where they have been and what they have seen. Share tips, and locations. Let them know what you found when you were there. (Was there a dog, a dive bombing bird, an abandoned swing set in the back, something else interesting or useful to watch for?).

*Originally, I wrote this for h2g2 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition ( the Unconventional Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything). But, they don't want illustrations added to the posts unless you have approval from a peer review, or more credentials from past work on the site. I don't know if I want to write for their site on top of the work I'm already doing so I'm just going to keep the post for here instead. *

I explore abandoned places, most often farm houses here in Ontario. I post my photos to Flickr, my account there and some of them I select to post to the groups I began for Ontario Rural Ruins and Canadian Rural Ruins. People like my photos and will often ask, "Did you go inside?".

I very seldom go inside the abandoned places I photograph. Not everyone understands this. Some people think you aren't a real explorer if you don't go inside. But, I feel differently. I love to see the outside of the homes for one thing. I also prefer the places which are very deteriorated, eroded by the elements and overgrown by plants. Those kind of places are not safe to enter. I know one explorer who has some engineering and fire fighter background, he takes more risks and enters the places which are risky. But, he is educated about it and decides to avoid anything dangerous.

There is another issue about entering an abandoned or derelict place. You don't own it. So you're trespassing in reality.

At an abandoned place you decide for yourself how far you should go. For me, I walk around the building (watching where I step) but I don't go inside. That's the point where it doesn't feel right to me.

About Trespassing

Basically, trespassing is going onto the owner's property knowing you are doing so and not having permission from the owner. So, by the law urban and rural and industrial exploring of property you don't own yourself, is trespassing.

But, I do it anyway. Sometimes I do stop at a clear sign that the property owner does not want anyone there. If I see a 'No Trespassing' sign or if the property has a locked gate blocking access, I will stop there and just use my camera's zoom feature to get what photos I can. You can take photos from a public access area - that isn't trespassing. You can walk up and down the street along a 'No Trespassing' location and take as many photos as you like. (From the public side).

But, I do sometimes take a step onto the property so I can see more. I don't cause any harm. I don't litter or take anything away with me. I also don't enter the premises (the building) on the property.

The odd times I have had someone stop and ask me what I was doing it was a neighbour who was curious. Sometimes they will tell me all they know about the building and the people who owned it (especially when it comes to old farm houses).

Once, I was asked to leave the premises by security. This was at a location in Orillia, Ontario which had once been a sanitarium. I think they left me to my own devices for awhile before approaching me. I was able to have a nice walk around and I had just finished taking the last photo I wanted to get when they stopped me. They were very nice about it and I had no problem leaving by then of course.

Just to note: a trespasser would probably not be prosecuted if the property was not fenced in, did not have trespassing signs and the land was open - if the trespasser did not interfere with the owner's use of the property and if the trespasser left without incident once (or if) they are asked to leave. (You can be asked to leave by someone who is not the owner and that counts too).

This is why I am strict about the 'Leave only footprints; take only photos' theme of exploration. This is also why I almost never enter the building on the property but I will carefully walk around it to view as much of it as I can.

Some people may think the property owner is just being a miser, a Scrooge or a Grinch about the whole trespassing thing. So, you need to consider it from their angle. First, if you are injured while on their property (even uninvited or as a trespasser) the property owner is liable for whatever happens to you. Not quite fair is it? The property owner isn't even there to have a voice in your exploration, yet they are responsible for you while you are there.

Of course, any harm you do while there will be left for them to deal with or clean up. So don't leave so much as a coffee cup around and don't take anything you didn't arrive with on your person. A property owner can claim ownership of the photos you have taken while accessing the property, if you were not on public grounds while taking the photograph.

As a kid, I really wanted to be one of those early explorers of the world. Travelling on a tall ship, braving the elements and the dragons at the edge of the map... Of course, as a kid, I ignored all the practical things like asthma, allergies, my financial allowance from my parents at the time and assorted other stuff that just gets in our way as adults.

It is sad how far we 'grow' from those days of being a care-free kid who thinks we can do so many things if we can just figure out how to make it get started and get our parents to understand and let us do all these great things. Still, now we are the adults and we can actually do some of the world exploring we wanted to do as bold adventurers when we were younger.

You don't have to take on the world, drain your bank account or find yourself a tall ship to be an explorer. Just get the basics: a map, a camera, maybe a flashlight, sturdy footwear, maybe a jacket if things get wet or messy and a good backpack to stash it all in for easy carrying around. Bring a few bags or something practical for any treasures you pick up along the way. Maybe some bottled water too, for yourself to drink or they also make good storage for plant cuttings, seeds, small fish or assorted other interesting finds.

Now, just take yourself out there, into the world. You can plan a destination, or just move your feet, pay attention to your surroundings (don't watch your feet - look up and really see where you are and what is around you, all the things you usually take for granted and miss). You might plan an adventure which ends up with you at your favourite coffee shop - an adventure doesn't have to be an all day or all week event. An hour is good. Just see something new - new to you. Stop and smell the roses as they say. But, I would say, you should touch some of those roses and not just settle for smelling and seeing them.

Explore your neighbourhood. Explore the alley behind your house. Explore your driveway if you broke your leg and can't get around much. Or, be braver and explore another town, an old house, a rooftop with a view, a cave, a museum, an art gallery, pick something interesting and find something new there. Explore your world.

This summer just past my nephew, Zack, and I did a little exploring together. I told him about some places to see in his town and area. Then we explored this school, which he had found, together. The school has been closed a few years but is not abandoned, just not still being used. Once a year it is open with the Doors Open event for people who come to tour the historical places.

Keri Smith has impressed me with her lust/ zest for life. We could all use more adventure and exploration in our day to day lives.