My flagship experience that formed the basis for this platform was centered on a river trip down the Mississippi River.  Although there were a couple harrowing and countless rewarding experiences, it really was just a long river trip, of which I had done dozens by the time I got around to this one.  River camping, while one of the most worthwhile things I can imagine, wasn't anything new to me. 

 

Far more noteworthy and eye opening than this 1753 mile trip was the 15 minutes I spent with my parents in a canoe for the first time when I was about five years old.  That waterscape opened an entirely new universe to me.  The silent movement of the vessel, the grace of the paddle strokes, the reflection of the sunset off our bow wave, and a whole slew of other firsts all were tied into the bundle of this experience.  The only thing that comes remotely close to the learning curve of that experience was the 9 months it took me, almost 20 years later, to build a canoe.  

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An Endeavor can be virtually any activity, done at any scale.  If it has a net benefit to society or the environment and you find it stimulating, we want to hear about it.  We're hungry for things to get excited about, that can inspire us to do something new that helps others.  If you're brand new to something, all the better.  It's so much easier to get a rise out of the bunny hill for a first time skier than it is to find euphoria in the 1000th drop out of a helicopter at 13000 feet.  Let alone the resources that get squandered as we continue to chase the adrenal high to bigger and better feats.  If we'd merely take the time to explore our own backyards, we might just find that we don't have to go very far to get out there.