Outdoors: Why a Good Life Is Not Perfect

I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions. Nonetheless, my 1998 New Year's Resolution was to spend more time outdoors.

Progress has been slight.

Today on MSN.com, I saw America's 10 Best Outdoor Towns.

The story says:

In choosing the “101 Best Outdoor Towns: Unspoiled Places to Visit, Live & Play” (The Countryman Press, 2007), authors Sarah Tuff and Greg Melville researched access to national and state parks, major bodies of water, hiking and mountain biking trails, and ski and snowboard terrain; population; affordability; and such downtown resources as gear shops, brewpubs and coffee houses.

Thinking back to my almost decade-old resolution, I surmised that life would be better if I lived in/near/within the same time zone of one of these places.

So I decided to plot them out. Thanks, Google Maps! You can see these places in red (which in hindsight was a poor color choice). You can see Lubbock in green (again, an ironic choice for Lubbock).

You will notice that the green point actually appears to repel the red points. Except for marginally Salida, Colorado.

Hmmm. Maybe next summer it will be time to fire up the ol' minivan -- the ultimate outdoor vehicle, of course -- and head northwest. We're only 493 miles away. Since I cannot "live" in one of these places, I will have to "visit" and "play."

I wonder what the wife will say.