I“It’s just for a photo.” “It’s only a
tiny piece.” “It’ll just be for a second.” Those have been some excuses I used when
I violated a rule to get a thrill. Now at 75, I do know there isn’t any place for
this.
Snow and Ice within the Yukon
On the best way to Whitehorse, the largest
metropolis on Alaska Highway, between Upper 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 turned the 67,000th addition. I used to be within the “leaving indicators
mode” so I pleaded with Bill to cease. When
he did, I rapidly collected some rocks and commenced to type the letters of our
names. Bill adopted. But it was so time-consuming that we simply did two letters:
B & C, not British Columbia, not Before Christ, however Bill and Carol.
Then I noticed the signal. It mentioned, “Take
nothing however photos. Kill nothing however time. Leave nothing however footprints.” It
was too late. I had already dedicated the crime. Later, I realized that the warning
was to forestall folks 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 around 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
Highway.
Bill 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 bit of the glacier. He
did. But 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 worthwhile prime
area in our RV’s tiny freezer.
The Littlest Penguins of Australia
Another alternative to interrupt one other
rule offered itself in Melbourne, Australia whereas I used to be babysitting my
youngest grandson. Every weekend when the younger dad and mom have been dwelling, I went out to
see some sights. One of 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 few 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 few hundred meters from shore and waited to type 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 Photography Allowed. But I couldn’t assist it. It
was the cutest sight. I took a shot.
The ones who didn’t swim to feed
got here out of their burrow to affix those that did. Soon they have been throughout,
below the boardwalk. I couldn’t assist myself and took just a few extra photographs. 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 virtually seventy however nonetheless unable to comply with the foundations.
They usually are not made to be damaged. They
are there for a purpose. You shall be horrified on the penalties when they’re
not adopted. Just have a look at the tons of plastic floating on the Pacific Ocean. There’s
no purpose for breaking guidelines when touring. There is not any purpose in any respect, even
when you find yourself not touring.