I“It’s only for a photograph.” “It’s only a
tiny piece.” “It’ll simply be for a second.” These had been some excuses I used when
I violated a rule to get a thrill. Now at 75, I do know there is no such thing as a place for
this.
Snow and Ice within the Yukon
On the best way to Whitehorse, the most important
metropolis on Alaska Freeway, between Higher Liard and Rancheria, we noticed rocky
embankments with many names of individuals assembled from rocks. We had simply come from the Signpost Forest
the place ours grew to become the 67,000th addition. I used to be within the “leaving indicators
mode” so I pleaded with Invoice to cease. When
he did, I shortly collected some rocks and commenced to kind the letters of our
names. Invoice adopted. However it was so time-consuming that we simply did two letters:
B & C, not British Columbia, not Earlier than Christ, however Invoice and Carol.
Then I noticed the signal. It mentioned, “Take
nothing however footage. Kill nothing however time. Depart nothing however footprints.” It
was too late. I had already dedicated the crime. Later, I discovered that the warning
was to stop individuals from displacing too many rocks as a result of that will weaken the
wall constructed to guard the street from onrushing snow or ice.
The Glaciers of Alaska
Per week later en path to Valdez,
Alaska, I remarked “Gosh, the glaciers are puny round right here.” There have been simply
tiny patches of white. A couple of minutes later, as our 24-foot Class C RV was
negotiating a bend on the street, a white glistening mountain loomed bigger and
bigger. It was Worthington, a 113-acre road-accessible glacier on Richardson
Freeway.
Invoice was ecstatic, parked the RV, and
started to climb the ice mountain. As normal, I used to be not as inclined to danger the
slippery slopes and shouted for him to convey again a piece of the glacier. He
did. However it was too late once I realized it was fairly silly to interrupt one other golden
rule, for a block of ice that won’t final lengthy anyway and solely hug beneficial prime
area in our RV’s tiny freezer.
The Littlest Penguins of Australia
One other alternative to interrupt one other
rule offered itself in Melbourne, Australia whereas I used to be babysitting my
youngest grandson. Each weekend when the younger dad and mom had been residence, I went out to
see some sights. One among my first outings was to Philip Island, solely a
one-and-a-half-hour drive from Melbourne. It’s the house of the world’s littlest
penguins, a couple of foot tall.
The ranger defined that the
penguins waited for darkish earlier than they got here in after feeding within the ocean. They
waited for one another a couple of hundred meters from shore and waited to kind a
group for extra safety towards birds of prey. At 5:49 pm, when there have been eight
of them, they slowly walked into the area between the 2 viewing platforms. The
ranger repeated the rule: No Pictures Allowed. However I couldn’t assist it. It
was the cutest sight. I took a shot.
Those who didn’t swim to feed
got here out of their burrow to hitch those that did. Quickly they had been throughout,
underneath the boardwalk. I couldn’t assist myself and took a number of extra pictures. I believed
I used to be going to get away with my crime, till a ranger approached me to say, “The
penguins don’t do nicely with the sunshine coming from cameras.” I felt so ashamed.
I used to be nearly seventy however nonetheless unable to comply with the foundations.
They don’t seem to be made to be damaged. They
are there for a purpose. You can be horrified on the penalties when they’re
not adopted. Simply take a look at the tons of plastic floating on the Pacific Ocean. There’s
no purpose for breaking guidelines when touring. There isn’t a purpose in any respect, even
if you end up not touring.