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- Nancy in Burbank, CA: This photo was taken on Lassen Peak. I went there and was determined to climb to the top on my 40th birthday, I even made a paddle that said ’40’ (as seen here, and complete with glitter) to hold up for the summit photo. The day before was crazy rain, which my LA brain didn’t grasp would mean crazy amounts of snow at that altitude. The morning of my bday, the roads were all closed on the way to the peak due to excessive snow. Luckily by about 10am, they had cleared the roads and we went to the peak. We were woefully unprepared for the conditions with just jeans and hiking boots (I learned what ‘gaiters’ are and the value of them that day). There were spots where we sunk into our thighs in the snow. The views were so gorgeous though that we found ourselves trekking on ‘just to see what’s around the next corner’ all the way to the top. We ended up being the ones “breaking trail” since everyone else who came to hike and was as unprepared as we were just took their photos at the bottom and left. We did have some company coming up behind us and made friends with them. Somewhere there is a fella and two other couples with photos of me and my ’40’ paddle at the top of the peak. I cannot think of a better way to deal with a scary birthday then to take on an even scarier hike! By the way, this year is Angel’s Crest and the Narrows in Zion, UT.
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- Richard in Los Angeles, CA: On Mooselookmeguntic Lake near Rangeley, Maine, in 2009. We vacation here with family almost every summer. After living amid the urban noise of L.A. for most of the year, the quiet of this place is so calming and rejuvenating.
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- Kimmy in Pittsburgh, PA: I met my two best friends in the park after work and another friend had just bought a new camera. We were goofing around.
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- Vicki in Chandler, AZ: I was 12 when this photo was taken. My family and I were moving from Philadelphia to Phoenix, and we drove cross-country in a convertible Corvair. (The kind that blew up.) It’s so crazy that I am sitting there on some sort of ledge, because I’m really afraid of heights. If you’d have asked me if I ever sat on the edge of the Grand Canyon my answer would have been “Absolutely not.” But here’s the proof! And check out those desert boots with those knee socks, hey?
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- Lisa in Eden Prairie, Minnesota: Our girls on a hill in Victoria, BC. We hike so we can eat.
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- Annie in Huntsville, AL: I am hanging out with some giant skunk cabbage leaves in Juneau, Alaska. I lived there for 4 years and these giant cabbages made me feel like I was hiking in a fairyland.
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- Angie in Los Angeles, CA: My friend Amanda and I jello wrestling at SWIFT Explorer camp in the mid-90s. Yes, they allowed that.
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- Beth in Castroville, TX: This is me exploring the mountains outside of Scranton, PA. I was in town to work a camping music festival, and my favorite part is always the week before- before the people, stages, and lights fill the area, there is just wilderness.
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- Melina in Mililani, HI: My little sister and I moved to Oahu last July, this was from our hike up the Makapuu Light House trail. There is so much hiking to be done on this island but this is one of my favorite hikes to do. It’s easy and the views never get old!
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- Emily in Torrance, CA: This photo is from our Spring Break trip to Cancun in 2015. We snorkeled in 3 different locations that day. This photo is from our first snorkeling destination– a freshwater, open cenote.
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- Emily in Torrance, CA: In April 2012, our Spring Break adventure was camping and hiking in Utah and Arizona. This photo was at the top of Angel’s Landing. I am terrified of heights (more like terrified of falling from a height), so this hike was a great personal accomplishment. The views were a great reward, too!
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- Emily in Torrance, CA: This photo is from summer 2016. Rick and I went on a Central and South American adventure, and our first stop was Costa Rica. Near Manuel Antonio/Quepos, there are many places to hike and explore. I loved the waterfalls–so beautiful!
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- Jenni Marshfield, WI: Camping shenanigans — Milk jug regatta in Arbor Vitae, WI. I forgot the skeleton’s name but he rode on the pirate ship we built and got into all sorts of trouble. Here he is drinking, smoking, and molesting our milk jug skeleton! ? ? ? Summer lovin’! ? ?
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- Cliff in Pomona, CA: My older brother decided that we should celebrate my sixteenth birthday by hiking up Mt. Whitney.
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- Photo 43: Jenni in Marshfield, WI: Milk jug Regatta, Arbor Vitae WI
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- Deb in Austin, TX: We like to go swimming in the winter here in Texas. On December 26th we ventured into the small falls at McKinney Falls State Park.
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- Dan in Minneapolis, MN: This was my first trip to Devil’s Tower.
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- Barbara in Orange, CA: I was living in coastal Baja Mexico and had to park my car on one side of a small bay and make a water crossing to my cabin. I used both a canoe or a peddle boat. When I had the dogs to cross it was a lot safer to use the peddle boat, trust me!
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- Mark in Snowmass Village, CO: Each year, I take a trip in celebration of my birthday. (I LOVE my birthday. I know some dread theirs. I’d like to end that silliness, worldwide.) A few years ago I fulfilled a longtime dream of visiting Paris, where I found cheese and an amazing girl from Iran with feet incredibly similar to my own. The year before that, I just went out to the park in back of my place and played songs I’d sort of learned on acoustic guitar to this random girl and we ate popcorn. Pictured herein is a shot from another birthday trip; a solo sea kayak paddle up Alaska’s Inside Passage. Well, a large portion of it. After several hundred miles, my forearms were swollen and my ass permanently numb and…a variety of other challenges presented. But – and at the full-on risk of sounding cliche – it was truly a life-changing sojourn. AND I got to see a great deal of lovely examples of my fave color, ice blue. But enough about me. I don’t see another opportunity within this form to tell you how much I dig your show. So…I really dig your show. And I…participate! I always end up…breaking the ice, telling the jokes, and I’ve made perhaps 50% of the cocktail recipes. And I ALWAYS…tentacle out to further explore the work of your guests. I build playlists, score books, and queue movies galore from all the inspiration your show provides. So, THANKS! (I could go on, but reaching the point at which a…writing box such as this no longer accepts letters…well, I fear it. So I must stop before I even get to the good stuff.
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- Leanne in New Ipswich, NH: A couple of years ago, I got to take my brother out on a charter fishing boat trip into the cold, rough waters of the Southern Ocean for a story I was doing for a travel mag. We didn’t intend to actually do any fishing but when we spotted some tuna biting we decided to have a crack. 15 minutes later we’d snagged this guy (a 12kg Southern Bluefin Tuna). It ended up as sashimi for dinner with our family that night.
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- Shelagh in Edmonton, Alberta, CA: On Lopez Island, Washington… July 2016. we cycled for awhile to get to this beach and here I am standing in a rock. Then we cycled back and bought some clams and beer!
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- Don P. in West Covina, CA: October 2015 – Silver Lake in June Lake Loop -Eastern Sierra – Rain, wind, and soon to be snow, but I’m Still going fishing!
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- Kim in Kingwood, Texas: Here ya go – a snap of me taking a selfie on a hiking trail in Texas ? the show sounds amazing and I wish I was closer! NNicholas Ducoteand KKelly Belton Ducotemight could make it though. Road trip?
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- Karen via Facebook: My husband & me on our Silver Anniversary (2013) in lovely Peninsula State Park, WI, just outside the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse.
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- Jacqueline via Facebook: We were in Mali for the Festival au Desert and took a trip to Dogon country and hiked up the ridge in Bandiagara. From various points on the hike you can see giant ancient baobob trees, cliff dwellings and miles and miles of open land. Parts of the terrain look like a lunar landscape as you can see. It’s a UNESCO site now, hopefully that still means something.
