Our first day of travel in Scotland saw us visiting battlefields, monuments and castles. There is so much history here. I really don’t know how anyone can keep track of who fought which battle during what year. People have lived in Scotland for over 12,000 years, but her written history dates back only to the 1100s. I do know this much – the Scots love Robert the Bruce and William Wallace. After picking up our car in Glasgow, we headed 30 miles north to the city of Stirling. Geographically, this is where the Scottish highlands meet the lowlands. Ancient artifacts and bones found in the ar ..read more

About 7 years ago, Dale expressed a strong desire to travel to Scotland. Our last name is Dunbar – pretty Scottish, eh? We excitedly tossed around the idea. What should we do? Where should we go? How long should we be gone? They have amazing scotch, right? And hiking? Right? What about the food? Haggis? What in the hell is that? What kind of hunting and fishing do they have? Finally, last year, we started researching Scotland and all she has to offer. Last year? Why so long? Well, life always seems to get in the way when you’re making plans for something else. We attended graduations, our ..read more

The words, “Grammie! Can we go for a hike?”, are music to my ears. I get excited thinking about the memories I’m instilling in the little brains of my 2-year-old granddaughter, Brooklyn and my six-year-old grandson, Jackson.  We had been camping in our favorite spot on top of the Uncompahgre Plateau in western Colorado. My husband and I, our oldest son and his wife and their 2 kids and 2 dogs made up the camp. Camp was set up, we had no sooner settled back into our chairs with a nice cold drink when Brooklyn and Jackson patted my hand and asked me to take them on a hike.  I wa ..read more

Camping with the grandkids is always an adventure. Their level of activity keeps me on my toes! I’m constantly telling them to keep away from the fire. “Don’t stray too far from the campsite.” “Don’t swing sticks around the dogs.” “Don’t throw things into the fire.” “Watch where you’re stepping.” My radar is extra sensitive as the outdoor hazards are not as controlled as they are at home.  I forget they enjoy the outdoors differently than adults do. Recently, I got to enjoy some one-on-one time around the campfire with my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter, Brooklyn. Everyone had taken off for ..read more

Hike Like A Woman is a brilliant website brimming with women who celebrate being a woman in the outdoors and who inspire each other on a daily basis. I am one of the lucky few who is both an Ambassador and a staff member of HLAW. We are first and foremost, adventurers. We are bloggers, vloggers and freelancers. We are day hikers and backpackers. We are horsewomen, skiers, snowshoers and climbers. We mothers, sisters, daughters and friends. We blog about our day hike to amazing waterfalls or our solo hike into the wilderness. We write articles about our hopes, our dreams, our families, our hiki ..read more

When we pack for a backpacking trip, we pack the essentials to ensure our survival. Simply put ~ Food, clothing and shelter. But, there are other tricks we have up our sleeve that we can’t do without on the trail. Please do not make me leave my 4 year old trusty compression gloves at home!Lucky charms, tradition or superstition, call it what you will. I’m a firm believer. If it works to ensure a safe and uneventful trip for us, then I make sure I do the same thing over and over again. I wear the exact same clothes. That way there is no overthinking of what to wear. Worked last time. It’ll work ..read more

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Something epic is about to go down on Hike Like A Woman–the 10 Week Outdoor School. Will you join me for this online class? We’ll learn everything from risk management to backcountry cooking. Get the details right here (and sign up to get a $5.00 off coupon code when registration begins): https://hikelikeawoman.net/outdoor-school ..read more

Summertime is a long time coming when you live in the northwest corner of Colorado. It can snow one day, be 65 degrees the next, blow the salad off your plate, then rain that afternoon. I have sat in my front yard, wrapped in a sleeping bag on the 4th of July, watching the fireworks while it spit snow on us! While waiting for the weather to straighten out, trip planning is on the books. Camping at Steamboat Lake, ColoradoOur favorite summer trips are the ones we take with our friends. And family, of course. But because our kids don’t live in town, anymore, we often hook up with friends. Dale a ..read more

https://hikelikeawoman.net/2017/05/hiking-with-chardonnay-2/ So my podcast is out on Hike Like a Woman! It was my first time doing a podcast interview. We did the interview back in December, so I was still in trail prep mode. Rebecca is a great interviewer, checkout some of her other interviews they are more informative. I was nervous, if you […] via Podcast giggles — wandering chardonnay ..read more