Indiana Sand Dunes is the newest national park, designated as so in February. It used to be a national lakeshore. As a reminder, there are 419 “units” in the National Park Service and these units have about a dozen different names (monuments, historic sites, seashores, etc), with only 61 having the “national park” designation. We…
It’s been a hot minute since we checked off any state highpoints, mainly because the 7 left are pretty difficult to climb (Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon for Justin & Washington for me) or difficult to get to (Nevada, Hawaii and Illinois). Charles Mound, Illinois, is arguably the “most difficult to get to” because it is…
Currently living/working in: We’ve been on the road (for ourselves) while making several pit stops up the East Coast to see family and explore, and now back on the road headed back west. I will actually be writing a whole blog post about these comings and goings, but basically, it’s been a fun and busy.…
Guest post by Justin! Most of you know by now that I came off of Denali, what was supposed to be a 25-day expedition. I’ve spent months prepping my gear, my mind and my body. I thought I was ready. But it turns out I was not. I want to be super human, I want…
Well folks, you can stop worrying, because Justin is off the mountain. He is not hurt or ill. He just did not feel it at all this time and decided to end his climb. My dad had this saying and it has always been a favorite takeaway for Justin and I. Justin really dug deep…
Folks, the day is upon us. Justin and his 4 teammates have landed at Denali’s base camp at 7,200 feet (Denali’s summit is 20,310 feet). The team sorted all their gear on Sunday and left it in the K2 Aviation hanger in Talkeetna, then stayed at an Airbnb in Talkeetna owned by a friend of…
First things first. There are now 61 designated National Parks. Last time we visited a National Park, there were 59. The March signing of the public lands bill added 2 national park sites—one of which we’ve been to and the other we’ll need to add to our list. Just needed to update my numbers and…
Currently living/working in: Most of April has been on the road in our van. Our Leave No Trace contract ended April 8, meaning we returned our work-provided Subaru Ascent and moved into our van until the next Leave No Trace contract. We are still juggling lots of content projects, but it’s been fun to be…
We returned from our Eastern Caribbean Holland America Cruise with our niece, Sarah, and we have 2 revelations. 1st Revelation – We like cruising!! This was actually my 3rd, Justin’s 2nd, and truly, we enjoyed. Frankly, how could you not revel in a floating resort where meals appeared and dirty dishes disappeared like magic? Our…
Earlier this week, we returned the keys for the 2019 Subaru Ascent we lived and worked out of since January to our employer, Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. However, we will pick up keys to a 2019 Subaru Ascent again from Leave No Trace the first week of June … That’s right, we…
Currently living/working in: This last 2 months has been a whirlwind, as we’ve “lived” in 6 different states! Not only are we living and working on the road as Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers (contract ends April 8!), we are simultaneously juggling 6 Backpacker projects. Plus, I have 3 other writing project on top of…
Much of our time as Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers this winter has been spent setting up a booth at Subaru Winterfest weekend festival events, which take place at popular ski areas around the country. Our schedule took us to the ones at Copper Mountain (CO), Eldora (CO) and Snowbird (UT). Justin and I are…
It’s hard to believe this, but Justin’s Denali Climb (Take 2) is less than 2 months away!! The team is arriving in Anchorage May 10, then hoping to fly onto the mountain May 13 (obviously weather-dependent). I’ve always joked Justin’s training regimen for anything is less than stellar (he trained for a triathlon in 2010…
My dad passed away on Feb. 24. It was expected. He had been ill with a laundry list of medical conditions for years and in and out of the hospital often. But on November 15, 2018, he went into the hospital and never came home. He had been moved into a subacute facility, but was…
Justin & I have a goal of visiting all the national parks. Which, on a side note, has increased to 61!! So now we are at 46/61 (still close). But I digress. National Parks are just one of the types of units in the National Park System. There are also National Monuments, National Historic Sites,…
Justin & I wrapped up a week’s worth of Leave No Trace work in northern Arizona/southern Utah (and are now in the mountains for back-to-back Winterfest events). The Arizona trip had multiple purposes. We were shadowing another Traveling Trainer team to learn some of the ropes, like video-making, but also for outreach in a heavily…
Currently living/working in: We are back on the road for Leave No Trace as one of their Traveling Trainer teams until April 8. Our schedule has us starting in Colorado, and actually coming back through here a lot. But we’ll also be bouncing around Utah, Wyoming, Arizona and potentially New Mexico. Very stoked to be…
Earlier this month, when we landed back in Denver from Baja, Mexico (sea level), we decided Denver’s 5,000 feet of elevation wasn’t enough gain for one day. So we picked up Justin’s sister’s cats and dog and drove to their cabin for a long weekend of pet sitting. We, of all people, know going from…
About a year ago, our nomadic/hiker friends, BJ and Clara (also known by their trail names Shadow and Country Mouse) starting putting down roots again after 7 years on the road and purchased a casita on the peninsula of Baja, Mexico. Come visit, they said! We will, we said! Between its warm winters and cheap…
Happy New Year everyone! We are definitely ready for 2019. 2018 was such a mixed bag for us, although, in the end, we wouldn’t trade the year and experiences for anything!! Here’s our “best of” list for 2018. Biggest Risk Leaving our role as property caretakers and environmental educators at Fenton Ranch in New Mexico…