John Pointer Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary Trail, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
24 Christmases as a mom. My first one as what they call an empty-nester. Things 2 and 4 are in the world and chasing happiness. Thing 3 is settling into his first duty station and being a new homeowner in Virginia. Things 1 and 5 are making their way through the Rockies to then slog […]
Stevens Lakes, Murray, Idaho
This is hike 30 in 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest: Popular among weekend campers, this hike quickly leads from Interstate 90 to an area of quiet alpine lakes in the western reaches of the Bitterroot Mountains. The lakes are situated at the brink of timberline below Stevens Peak and just a ridge west of […]
Waypoint Vets, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Honor the Fallen by Living. Child abuse. Neglect. Racism. Rape. Homophobia. Financial insecurity. Homelessness. Spousal abuse. Religious trauma. Addiction. Human trafficking. War. Suicidal ideations and attempts. Cancer. Unimaginable despair and loneliness. I remember being a young soldier in one of my first college classes and being told that the military is made of individuals with […]
Marie Creek, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
The trees know about the winter about the change about the falling about the loss and they grow anyway Grow anyway. I wanted to hike with SB, a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. She had invited me on a last-minute trip to Nelson, British Columbia, but I had to decline, so she […]
Upper Coeur d’Alene River National Recreation Trail, Murray, Idaho
Finding ways to feel good in the gap of space between where you are and where you want to be is everything. I was supposed to go on an epic trip to the San Juan Islands on the Washington coast, courtesy of J Go. We were going to stay at her family cabin on Lopez […]
Olympic Coast North: Shipwreck Coast, Olympic National Park, Washington
If walking on Legos for 20 miles sounds fun, I have the hike for you. I have never been angry while hiking until this adventure. Actually, that is not true. There have been a couple of times that Barbarian Scientist’s family did something so offensive that it caused anger, and we went angry hiking until […]
Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
Nelson is a beautiful city less than four hours from Coeur d’Alene. I have said it before, but I love love love Canada. No morons are driving around with giant Trump flags hanging from their pickups, the respect and honor for the wilderness is incredible, and there is gluten-free food everywhere. Nelson was different from […]
Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Bend, Oregon
Newberry National Volcanic Monument, in the Deschutes National Forest, near Bend, Oregon, is meant to protect the Newberry Volcano. The Newberry Volcano is an active shield volcano that covers over 1,000 square miles. The monument has two visitor centers, a full calendar of park ranger-guided tours, camping, a cave, waterfalls, and many hiking trails. I was […]
McKenzie River National Recreation Trail, Chapter Two
Four days, 12 women and children, 14 miles of rafting, 27 miles of hiking, loaded with laughter and some tears. Memories were made. Trailkat and I scouted out this trail last year. I wrote about that here. It was really fun, and really really icy, and really really really cold. Like last year, I scheduled […]
Spokenya 7k Run, Spokane, Washington
I wasn’t going to write about it, but I keep thinking about it, so here I am. Running is on my list of no-nos, which launched me into depression. I’ve started bicycling, hoping to find a happy replacement for running. But there’s no such thing. Nothing else gives you that runner’s high like running. That’s […]