Back on the Road

After sitting still for the last 3 weeks in Wisconsin working tirelessly on my new website design, doing interviews , delivering my freelance pieces, and kicking ass running up hills – I’m busy packing again. And I’m not packing alone this time – I’m also helping my niece Allie get her packing done.

Not only do I have the 4th Niece Project kicking off on today, but I also have some epic trips coming up in August that I can’t wait to share!

Niece Project

Allie with her new passport

Allie and I take off today for Belize where we’ll get her first passport stamp. I’m really excited to see how we get along and what she thinks about traveling abroad. We are doing an Adventure Life trip that includes ziplining, caving, snorkeling, and more. We will spend 4 days in the jungle, and 4 days on the beach. The jungle portion will be off the grid, so this will be quite the test for both of us to be without internet and cell! Oh lord, we might actually have to talk…much to Allie’s dismay!  I love these Niece Project trips because it’s about growth for them, but even more so, it’s growth for me.  When I do have a connection, I’ll be capturing it all social media so follow along on Facebook, Twitter, or  Instagram.

Wrangel Island

Photo by ©ATerauds for Heritage Expeditions

While everyone is racing to the Galapagos, I’m heading North – waaaayyy North. Located above the Arctic Circle, Wrangel Island is a wildlife haven – in Russia. So it’s not quite the warm waters of the Galapagos – but it is less touristed and has amazing wildlife and culture. In 1881 John Muir described Wrangel Island as a “grand wilderness of untouched freshness, a severely solitary land in the topmost, frost-killed end of creation”. The island is the world’s largest denning ground for polar bears in the winter, and it houses the largest population of Pacific walruses, and the only snow goose nesting colony in Asia. It is home to snowy owls, muskoxen, arctic foxes, and reindeer as well as large populations of lemmings and seabirds. And, it’s an adventure to even get there; you can only arrive there by Heritage Expeditions ice breaker ship in the summer when the days are long and the ice is breaking up.

Total dream trip for me – not only because of the animals, and the fact that this is a place that few people visit, but also because I’ll be unplugged off the grid and have some time to just be.

Alaska

Denali phot by Michael DeYoung

With the explosion of Alaska reality shows on television, I thought I better finally get there and see it for myself. However I of course don’t want to do the traditional Alaska inside passage touring, I wanted to go places that aren’t touristed. I wanted to explore the remote sides of Alaska, inland Alaska. I am still working on the details, but I’ll be spending time in Nome, Fairbanks, Talkeetna, McCarthy, Seward, Anchorage, and even attending the Alaska State Fair!  And keeping with the unplugged theme, I’ll also be staying at the remote, boat-in-only Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge.

I’ll be winding down summer with long days of sunlight, icy adventures, and new experiences.  I’m bursting with anticipation; which is just how I love it.

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Would you rather go to Belize, Wrangel Island, or Alaska and unplug?