Although I had already moved around quite a bit by then, living in Talkeetna, Alaska ten years ago had a big impact on my current vagabond lifestyle. I used to walk into town and sit on a bench and watch 10-20 tour buses roll in every day with people 70+ years old, and many of them would have canes, walkers, and wheelchairs.
While I felt great that those people were able to see a part of the town, I also knew that they couldn’t see all of the town. For instance, they couldn’t go down by the rivers because it was a bit of a walk, and there was no access for disabled people. Walking by the rivers is one of the great things about being in Talkeetna.
As I sat there I realized that when you get to that age that’s going to be the only way you can travel, and soon after that you won’t be able to travel at all. More recently, when I was pretty sick the last couple of years I became even more aware that the clock was ticking. So I plan to keep wandering around as long as I can.