Currently living/working: I’m still in that scheming/pitching/planning groove for future freelance writing projects and working on getting my book on shelves in bookstores. The hustle will forever be the least favorite part of my job, but I’m doing it. We did have a few actual projects with deadlines this month, such as my 2022 Best…
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Dear Dad, We still cry and we still grieve, but admittedly we moved forward in life without you for 3 years now. There are absolutely moments when my voice is full of loss and longing—either triggered by a memory, a dream (I love when you visit me in my dreams), your voice on a voicemail…
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Alaska leads the nation in homes without plumbing, which shouldn’t be a shock as the harsh weather conditions make traditional plumbing and septics very, very cranky. Alaskans know that running water = headaches, and this has been especially true this winter! I thought this would be a good time to explain our unique plumbing situation!…
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Currently living/working: We returned to our cabin in Alaska 1/6, and it feels so good to be home!! Work is slow right now, so we are doing more scheming/pitching/planning to fill in gaps (AKA, the non-paying, soul-sucking part of our freelance life), as well as focusing on adult life chores. Thankfully, we did have a…
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As I previously posted, we took a side trip to Mexico after our post-Christmas flight back to Alaska from Denver was cancelled day after day, and Alaska Airlines said we couldn’t get us on a flight until after the new year. We quickly thought of Plan B, and were lucky to have so many privileges…
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Ever hear of the 2008 movie, Four Christmases? The one where the child-less couple travels to everyone’s homes to visit for the holidays? Change the name to Three Christmases, and that was us this year! From NJ/CT to Massachusetts to Colorado, we were all over the map. And thanks to holiday/weather/Covid airport delays and cancellations, we arrived…
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Currently living/working: It’s been a holiday whirlwind! We’ve been all over the map this month: Hawaii, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts & Colorado … and we were supposed to return to Alaska 12/26, but Mother Nature had other plans for us. And after three flight cancellations, we decided, let’s just make a Plan B. And that’s…
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Well, I might as well post our last Hawaii trip roundup as we are delayed getting back to Alaska from all our holiday family time and I need a distraction from that stress … Anyway, our last stop in Hawaii was the Big Island with a triple purpose of bagging another state high point, exploring…
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Maui was our first stop on our November Hawaii tour … and sadly, we only planned 2.5 days there. People come to Maui for the balmy ocean air, stupidly perfect sunsets and dancing palm trees. And we did that. But our main Maui purpose included none of that. Marking our 57th National Park, we were…
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I gave fair warning that I’d be posting all about our first-ever trip to Hawaii in several posts!!! So here goes the first one. And a second warning: it’s long and I am sharing a gazillion pictures. As I said, Justin’s mom instigated the trip, saying she wanted to celebrate her 70th birthday in Hawaii…
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Currently living/working: We spent the first half of November in Alaska, and the second half in Hawaii! We purposely stacked our work projects so that our time in Hawaii would be 90% blissfully free of any work. And when we hit the eject button from Alaska on 11/16, we stuffed away our puffies and long…
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My trail/travel memoir, Between Each Step: A Married Couple’s Thru Hike on New Zealand’s Te Araroa, took a full lap around the sun! It’s a small pebble of a detail, but I’ve sold 293 books directly from my website and 718 from Amazon/Ingram. You guys, that’s almost 1000 books in my first year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cue incredulous…
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You read that correctly: we now own a yurt! Even though we no longer live on the road, we will always be a bit feral. All this to say, our version of “settling down” fits a life less ordinary, which is why we now own a cabin AND a yurt in Healy, Alaska! We purchased…
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Currently living/working: Alaska! Work-wise, our multiple income streams have slowed, but we squirreled away paychecks knowing this. We have tons of Backpacker work due in November, and are also working on the seasonal list of top 50 forthcoming products for Outside Business Journal through December. We are also still cleaning airbnbs occasionally. But overall, we’ve…
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Justin & I have been married for 15 years. 15 years??? Holy cannoli. It feels like a milestone, so I thought I’d do a little unpacking of the arc of our relationship. I warned you I’m very reflective in my 40s! As most couples, we started our years wrapped in a blanket of bliss, living…
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Geographically speaking, Alaska beats any part of the Lower 48. With only so many roads connecting Alaska, the attempt to see it all seems futile. We obviously hope to get to a few far-reaching corners during our lifetime, but we’ve probably only covered 6.4 percent of the state so far! This is why we were…
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Guess who wrote this blog post??? JUSTIN! For my 45th birthday, I thought I would write about one the biggest influences in my life … MUSIC! I estimate that I’ve seen around 400 live concerts, with a few bands multiple times. Music is a way for me to escape, to celebrate with friends, to bring people…
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Currently living/working: As predicted, we’ve had a bit more time now that our summer gigs (e.g. Justin guiding, Patrice cleaning) mostly wrapped up mid month. I say a “bit” more time because it doesn’t feel like enough yet! I’m still putting the finishing touches on the Leave No Trace curriculum project and UCO history book…
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I have a lot of blog posts backlogged, and I’m hoping to post regularly and catch up in the next few weeks!! Let’s start with the fact that we checked off another national park: Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska. Quick note: Some might remember we have a goal of visiting all the national parks,…
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Currently living/working: It’s been full-on gangbusters still this month, but summer tourists are dwindling down, which means we both SHOULD have more time in September without our seasonal jobs. Plus, I’m putting the finishing touches on the Leave No Trace curriculum project and UCO history book project, wrapping up my biggest freelance projects soon. Maybe…
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