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8.07.2025
Sicily in May
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6.22.2025
The Art of Roaming: Travel Tips for the Independent Globetrotter
A few of us lit up as we talked about the benefits of a journey abroad. There was consensus that international travel is a great way to expand your horizons, get a new perspective, keep your mind active, build confidence by navigating new places and unfamiliar languages and cultures, learn about the world, and maybe learn a few things about yourself.
This conversation coupled with my recent trip to Sicily (Story coming soon!) got me thinking about travel advice. Here are a few practical tips for anyone wanting to explore the planet.
There are endless places to go and many, many ways to strike out on an adventure. This is my advice based on 15+ trips abroad since 2000. Your advice, which you can leave in the comments section of this post, is welcome but please be kind to novices and don't tell me "you're doing it wrong." I am well aware that there many things I've left out and not all tips works for all destinations.
5.05.2025
Skiing Quadrant Mountain
Over Easter weekend Mike and I joined a few friends for a spring ski tour up Quadrant Mountain in Yellowstone National Park.
Elements of mystery are inherent in many spring ski tours. Will there there be sufficient coverage? What will the weather do? Will the snow conditions hold up? What about the creek crossings?
As I began writing up this post I realized that our outing was very much like our tour up Sepulcher in 2021 where we asked the same questions, didn't know what to expect, and a web search that revealed nothing about skiing it. As with Sepulcher, we got very lucky and everything worked out perfectly.
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3.10.2025
2024-2025 Snow Update
1.27.2025
From Sea to Shining Sea
My writing practice has really stalled. Here is another one stuck in my drafts folder. I wrote up the New York City piece shortly after I returned from that trip (Over a year ago!) but the San Francisco trip report (Last March) never materialized so I'm including a short paragraph and a few photos.
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10.02.2024
Things That Go Thud, Puff in the Night
in Yellowstone National Park
Over the past decade, Mike and I have done tons of backpacking in Yellowstone National Park, throughout southwest Montana, and beyond, many times in grizzly bear country. While we have a healthy respect for bears when we are in their backyard, we do not fear them. I suspect this is due to a combination of our nature and the fact that we have seen so few of them during our many miles of backcountry travel.
9.27.2024
A Trip to Glacier National Park
7.16.2024
Gardening Bliss on a Tenth of an Acre

6.17.2024
Walking Ireland's Wicklow Way - A Guide for Independent Travelers
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Marley Park, Dublin |
5.16.2024
Sky on Fire - Aurora Borealis May 2024
3.02.2024
Treading Lightly on the Planet
Thoughts on thrift and 14 ways I lessen my impact on the earth
When I was a little girl, I sometimes made cookies with my mother. I can still hear her say, “Your grandmother could make a dozen cookies with the batter left in that bowl” when I put what I thought was an empty bowl into the sink. I don’t know if my mother was able to get 12 cookies out of what remained, but the lesson made an impact on me and was one of many messages on thrift that I heard throughout my childhood.

Lately, I have been thinking about what I have been doing to lessen my impact on the planet. Here is my list. Feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section of this post.