After three years of submitting an application for a backcountry permit to hike the Grand Canyon, rim to rim, we’ve come to my fourth attempt. It’s a pretty discouraging process to hear, year after year, that my application has been denied when I only want to visit the Grand Canyon and do the infamous hike. Here’s how it went.

I just read this book called Wanderess, which is about female travelling (solo and group). I picked it up because I am a female traveler, and have travelled abroad to 10 countries solo. It’s an invigorating experience, and I have managed to learn a lot throughout the years, but was curious if I could learn anything new. I did. So I present to you, the 5 takeaways from this book.

The plan was to travel to Iceland one week on my own, and one week with friends that were to join me. That turned out not to happen at all. I was on my own for two weeks in Iceland, but it wasn’t my first rodeo (travelling solo as a female), This is how the 14-day trip went in 30 seconds per day.

After the first few days of being in Iceland (training to scuba dive in a dry suit between tectonic plates), every other day of the two weeks was spent hiking. Some were smaller trails, some longer, some more strenuous, some full of tourists, some alongside waterfalls, and I am going to rank them all. At least all of the trails that I managed to hike.

After having visited Iceland a few weeks ago, and going through the dry suit course, I wanted to share the experience and the dive in the clearest water in the world, which also happens to be the only place in the world where you can dive between tectonic plates.

After having gone and returned from a two week trip to Iceland, I want to share the items I ended up packing, some things I forgot, and some things that I didn’t need but did end up bringing. Learn from my mistakes!

If you haven’t already been to Iceland, and are on the fence about whether or not it’s worth the money (because yes, it is an expensive country - or maybe just for me!), here are a few reasons why it’s worth the journey. It wasn’t even on my list of places to go because I did not know all of the wonderful things available there, but I regret nothing. In addition to being an incredible country, it’s commonly listed among the most safe countries for solo female travellers.

Well we were already in the area, being in South Dakota to visit Badlands National Park, so why not visit another national park? These particular parks are located in the Dakotas, probably one of the least visited states in the United States so I am not sure when I am going to be in the area again.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is separate, there are three units (technically), but we went to the north and south unit. It wasn’t the “best” weather being overcast, cold, windy, a bit rainy, and maybe that meant less people visiting the park. Jaron, the park ranger at the Visitor Center, assured us that there was not a big chance of rain. And it turned out still to be gorgeous and maybe just the right weather for visiting.

Our annual trip to a national park has come and gone, and this year we chose to visit the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. We did a few of the hiking trails, or tried to, and learned lots along the way. Come along as we share our experience, if you’re trying to visit the various national parks or if you just like to tag along in the fun.

AllTrails lists Black Elk Peak Loop: South Dakota Highpoint as the #1 hike in South Dakota. This rating is based on how other hikers have rated the trail. It’s a little surprising because, as an outsider, I would think the best hike might possibly be in the national park, the Badlands. Instead Black Elk Peak Loop: South Dakota Highpoint lies in the Black Hills National Forest. Join us as we trek up to see what the fuss is about and judge for ourselves.

I just finished all 5 units of Pimsleur Spanish, which comes out to 4500 minutes, or 75 hours of language lessons. But does Pimselur work? What even is the Pimsleur method? I wanted to share thoughts on my experience, and explain what Pimsleur is… and if I would even recommend it to other language learners. It’s just one of the many options that is available to those learning a language.

There are plenty of people that really enjoy the art and history that is so popular in Santa Fe, New Mexico. But I’m not one of them. I appreciate that they exist and I appreciate that other people appreciate it, but I would rather find one of the many trails that are splattered all over the surrounding area. I’ve selected one to add to my travel vlog called the Atalaya Trail; it’s my mom’s favourite and I’ve done it only once before with my cousin. Hiking is one of the many things to do in Santa Fe, New Mexico, so join me as I embark on this solo adventure.

I made a mistake. I think it’s important to share my failures, as well as wins, to remember what has passed and what lessons I can take away from each experience. I can now see why history is so important to study. If we do not study history, it is bound to repeat itself. So after owning my drone, not even a few months, I crashed it. Woe is me.

If you like hiking, reading, and cafes, then we should probably be friends. But also, I want to share a few places to stop at, and things to do, if you’re visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico. I got the opportunity to interview a local, and she gave me all the inside scoops of a few great bookstores, some cafes, and a magnificent view.

If you’re going on a trip, like to stay organized, and have a Google account, then you will want to know how to save locations, enable dark mode, view your timeline, and more with Google Maps. For your next trip, you will be able to save locations and much more. Why not utilize this free app?

There are plenty of coffee shops in Austin, Texas, but finding one with POC owners was especially difficult. After hours of searching, I found a few coffee shops with POC owners and want to share the experience and give support.

About a week ago I bought a drone (DJI Mini 2), but it stayed in the packaging. There are at least 2 reasons for this: 1) I am nervous that it will crash; 2) I don't want to invade others' privacy.

The San Marcos River has made it to the top of so many lists for best of floating in Texas. Join us on this adventure as I share a few things to keep in mind when you come to visit.

It's complicated because there are so many factors to consider. Already I've gone to Portland and Mexico (pre vaccine during COVID). I'm not done traveling yet though. I think.

I've been trying to learn Spanish for a little over a year now, so when I actually travelled for speaking Spanish in Mexico? Here's how that speaking practice went down in Mexico.