The first thing Courtney said after introducing herself was, “we don’t adopt out our dogs”. At the moment, I thought it was an odd thing to lead with as we prepared to go on our first Alaska dog sledding expedition. I love Alaska sled dogs, but I had never considered adopting one…but then again, I […]
Anchorage is the biggest city in the state (population 282,000) and has the largest airport in the state. So when you visit Alaska, you’ll likely end up spending some time there at some point. It’s a great jumping off point for your Alaska travels and I like to use it as a hub for adventure […]
As I landed in the Anchorage airport in February 2021, I was prepared to experience something new in travel – a line to get into Alaska. There were a row of podiums and iPads manned by masked locals up late welcoming visitors into Alaska. When I arrived, visitors had to have proof of a negative […]
Is it possible to fall more in love with a place after visiting for a 3rd time? Yes! This was my 3rd trip to the small community of Talkeetna Alaska, but my first visit in the winter. Talkeetna has always been one of my favorite small communities in Alaska . This once popular Denali climbing […]
I adore hiking; being outside, pushing myself, enjoying nature, and photographing beautiful views. However, when winter comes around, I’m always a little sad to hang up my hiking boots. Don’t despair fellow hiking lovers, you can still get out on the trails in the winter – all you need are snowshoes and to know what […]
When you think of Hawaii, you probably think of beaches. However there’s much more to Maui than just beaches. In fact, I’m the type of person that rarely ever just sits on a beach, I want to be doing something. There are so many outdoor Maui adventures to have on the island it’s hard to […]
The sweat was rolling down my face as I stared intently at the green leaf. Did it meet the criteria? I picked up my example leaf and placed it next to the one that held my gaze. I compared it – were the points of the leaves the same? Was the stem the same? The […]
“I am attaching a document to help you train for your hike into the canyon,” the email said. I was a bit shocked – a training plan? I know I wasn’t supposed to take hiking in the Grand Canyon lightly, but I had never before had a tour operator be so thorough and serious about […]
In an effort to bring you some new voices on Ottsworld, here is a guest post from writer Sherry Spitsnaugle. I met Sherry at a Denver event and found out that she was a travel writer! So not only does she have a cool name, but she also has a way with words! All opinions, […]
“I’m going to play you something,” my rafting guide Mike said to me. It was just the two of us as my other raftmates were in the kayak. Mike, a 40+ year veteran of the Colorado River set down his phone near me in the raft and I heard the familiar sound of Vivaldi’s Four […]
