31 Ways to Be Adventurous This Month

Sunset Magazine

Go beyond the same-old, same-old New Year's resolutions. Get inspired to step outside your comfort zone and try something new this month.


Check an item off your bucket list
Make this the year you check one of these iconic Western adventures off your bucket list, from kayaking Washington's San Juan Islands to bike-riding Colorado's Continental Divide.
> Related: Top 10 life-list adventures


Grow fruits
Don't forget dessert! The cold weather is the perfect time to get a jump-start on growing these fruits so you can incorporate them into all kinds of homemade confections.
> Related: The best fruits to plant in cold weather


Reinvent your commute
Make the most of your weekdays by ditching the car and hopping on a bike--a hydro-bike, that is.
> Related: How to reboot your commute


Rock a bold, new color scheme
Want to add a burst of color to your home without going overboard? The secret to lively (yet livable) rooms: Team a bold paint with robust neutrals.
> Related: 5 tastefully bright paint palettes


Be spontaneous
Hop the quick 30-minute ferry ride across the bay from San Francisco to Sausalito. Stroll past the famed houseboats, or bundle up for a hike in the Marin Headlands for unmatched views of the Pacific. Plus now's the time for Dungeness crab, served at the town's best restaurants like Fish or Plate Shop.
> Related: A spontaneous getaway to Sausalito


Get to know a new vegetable
Have you met escarole? This wonderful winter green is great in salads, since it resists wilting, and it's sweet and mellow when cooked. At Staple & Fancy, in Seattle, chef Ethan Stowell sautés it, then pairs it with buttery toasted pearl couscous and tops it with a poached egg. It's exactly what you want when the weather outside is frightening.
> Related: Get the recipe


Start from seed
This is the year you skip pre-sprouted plants and start something from seed.
> Related: How to start crops from seed


Bring back recess
Keyboard crumbs are about as depressing as a post-lunch coma from too much Mexican. Take back your lunch hour by strapping on skis and stealing away for an hour of cross-country skiing.
> Related: How to reboot your lunch hour


Stare down a canyon
There's nothing like standing on the edge of a snow-dusted abyss with nary another soul in sight. Sure, there are lots of canyons, but the Grand Canyon, that fabled mile-deep, 277-mile-long rift, lives up to its wonder-of-the-world status no matter how many times you've seen it. Peer over the rim, behold monumental buttes―and take in the sound of utter silence.
> Related: Have the Grand Canyon's South Rim to yourself


Start a rose garden
Plant a rose from bare root. It's as simple as digging a hole, and bare-root plants are much less expensive than those sold in containers later in the season.
> Related: How to plant a bare-root rose


Learn to cook from top chefs
The 27th annual Chefs' Holidays series at The Ahwahnee Hotel make Yosemite's quiet season a haven for foodies by inviting big-time toques from across the country for 2-3 days of multiple cooking demos, meet-the-chef mixers, and gala feasts. Grab a window seat by the kitchen and watch chefs like Brian Malarkey of San Diego's Searsucker work their magic; mingle with the men and women of Bravo TV's "Top Chef"; lunch in the soaring dining room; then shed the lethargic effects of so much tasting by climbing the snowpacked Yosemite Falls trail.
> Related: Learn to cook in Yosemite National Park


Redecorate with your own stuff
Instead of buying new, rearrange what you already have in your house.
> Related: How to practice freestyle decorating

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