Outdoor Adventures

  • High Altitude Hiking: How to Train for 14ers at Sea Level

    High Altitude Hiking: How to Train for 14ers at Sea Level

    Hiking a 14er can be an exhilarating experience, but it’s not without its challenges. One of the biggest obstacles for hikers who live at or near sea level (we’re lovingly known as flatlanders) is the altitude. Training for a 14er can be difficult, especially if you don’t have access to high-altitude environments to prepare your…

  • Exploring Colorful Horse Art

    Exploring Colorful Horse Art

    When I was a young girl, I was obsessed with horses, and not just My Little Ponies, but that was a big part of it! My room was decorated with horses and unicorns and I was constantly making horse art. I’m sure it started with coloring books, then there was the barnyard scene I won…

  • Biohacking: Review of Oura Ring fitness tracker

    Biohacking: Review of Oura Ring fitness tracker

    What could be more exciting to a data nerd and health geek like me than a device that gives you data about your own health on a daily basis? There have been lots of fitness trackers in the market the last several years but none have piqued my interest like the Oura Ring and accompanying…

  • Ways to Love Yourself: Self Love and Why It’s Important

    Ways to Love Yourself: Self Love and Why It’s Important

    Earlier this month I shared the speech I had the honor of giving at a local National Art Honor Society induction ceremony. The culmination of the speech was that once I had finally learned to love myself, I could love my own artwork, and feel confident calling myself an artist. Here I want to share…

  • An intentional 2021

    An intentional 2021

    This past year was a wild one, everyone knows that. It wasn’t exactly the worst or hardest year I’ve ever experienced – our family has been through much tougher stuff. However this was unique in that it was a difficult, strange, and overwhelming year for EVERYONE to different degrees. The collective anxiety and tension over…

  • Our romantic getaway in Eureka Springs Arkansas

    Our romantic getaway in Eureka Springs Arkansas

    Just before Christmas in 2019, my husband surprised me with a weekend getaway to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I had been before on a girls’ trip years ago and he’d been even longer ago than me, but we hadn’t yet visited together. I’d been swamped with Christmas art commissions, so it was a great opportunity for…

  • Quandary Peak Hike: My First 14er

    Quandary Peak Hike: My First 14er

    There are pivotal firsts in everyone’s life – many that we share, like a first home, first child, first funeral. And then there are the firsts that are less common, and maybe even unexpected, like my first 14er (14,000+ foot mountain) in September of 2017. I had no idea what I was getting into when…

  • Backpacking at South Colony Lakes Colorado

    Backpacking at South Colony Lakes Colorado

    This post contains one or more affiliate links, which means I could make a commission if you purchase a product through my link. The price isn’t any different than if you shopped directly, and I don’t link to any product I don’t recommend! If you catch me daydreaming, I’m either contemplating my next artwork or…

  • Beginner backpacking tips from my first time backpacking

    Beginner backpacking tips from my first time backpacking

    First time backpacking tips and lessons learned from a beginner backpacker in South Colony Lakes, Colorado