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Hot Air, Cold Mornings, and a Whole Lot of Magic
Stef and I have called Albuquerque, New Mexico, home for going on eight years now. And if you know me, you know Albuquerque hasn’t exactly won my heart. But before I start listing my grievances, there is one thing I will enthusiastically defend about this city: the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Love Albuquerque or hate…
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Pubs, Ponies, and the English Countryside
My brother-in-law, Richard, is from a small village in the southwest of England called Newton Ferrers. It sits on an estuary, and he grew up sailing there—learning to read the water, understand the tides and apparently develop all sorts of useful maritime skills the rest of us missed out on as children. His stories about growing…
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Beastie
The desire to explore the unreachable led Stef to buy a used 2013 Toyota 4Runner in August of 2014. Car modifications have always appealed to her and this truck was as basic as you could get and ready for some tweaks. Sliders, roof rack, tent, awning, suspension, tires, ladder, front bumper, dual swing arm rear…
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14,202 FEET & WORTH EVERY STEP
Blame it all on my roots…or possibly just geography, but growing up in Colorado lit the fire for my love of hiking. I’ve never had a goal of summiting all 58 of Colorado’s 14ers, but over the years I’ve managed to knock out a handful. Some more than once. In college, I spent a summer…
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Marmots, Mountain Water, and Mont Blanc
Stef and I have spent countless hours dreaming about trekking in the Alps, and on July 29, 2026, that dream finally became reality. We left Albuquerque, New Mexico, and roughly 16 hours later found ourselves in the bustling city of Geneva, Switzerland—slightly dazed, a little confused, and very excited. We wandered the city trying to…
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Kon’nichiwa, Nihon
Stef and I, along with her mom and brother, had an unforgettable trip to Japan that ended all too quickly! From the serene beauty of Kyoto to the majestic Mt. Fuji, from the charming town of Nikko to the bustling streets of Tokyo, each destination offered a unique and incredible experience. In Kyoto, we immersed…
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BUEN CAMINO!
In June 2024, six adventurous, resilient women said yes to an idea that had been taking shape for more than a year: meet in Porto, Portugal, lace up our shoes, shoulder our packs, and walk the Camino de Santiago together. On June 10, 2024, we took our first steps along the Camino’s coastal route with…
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A Magical Place Called Lapland
Roughly a year ago I gave Stef four itineraries to choose from for her big initiation into 4-0. To my surprise, she chose a trip to Finland. We spent the next several months planning…and paying for this journey into winter wonderland. On November 22 we flew to Rovaniemi, arriving at 5 pm into a dark,…
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Kongeriket Norge
My great-grandmother was from Bergum, Norway and sailed to America when she was a teenager. When I was a kid, we heard stories of her growing up in Norway. Through her deep Norwegian accent we learned about our Scandinavian heritage. She had such a vitality for life and had a great influence on my childhood.…
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Traversing the Gila
Stef and I packed up Beastie and headed south to the Gila this past weekend with a rough plan and a Delorme map. We drove I-40 west out of Albuquerque to highway 117 and found Apache Creek campground a couple of hours later. Along the way we had a bear run across the road right…
TURAS GIRLS
The journey is the point.
