How Did It All Begin? This Travel Life of Mine

I'm not sure where to start, but I'll go back to around 2014.

That was the year I got divorced, closed my real estate brokerage, and started finding my way outside. I found my longtime friendships waned, and I sought to find new relationships that aligned with my evolving lifestyle.

Discovering New Experiences

I discovered meetup groups, Facebook communities, and participated in activities that were either new to me or that I had always been interested in. I also enjoyed local bands and live music, often venturing south of the border to Mexico for annual and semi-annual concerts. I loved the social aspects, meeting new people, and discovering who I truly was.

Breaking Free from the Past

In my former life, I found myself working non-stop, running several businesses, and honestly, I was numb. I wasn't as present as I could have been for pretty much everything—I was just getting through each day to wake up and do it all again the next. I think my boys helped me refocus on what was most important. I wanted to be happy. I loved watching them grow up and wanted to lead by example—showing them that things weren't as important as experiences. That meant I had to experience more.

Exploring My True Self

As I started becoming more of my true self, I began exploring more—traveling with new friends, setting up adventures, entering lotteries for exclusive hiking permits, camping, sleeping in my jeep, and taking off for 2 or 3 days at a time while my boys were with their dad. I traveled to Cancun solo but met friends from various parts of the country there. I drove solo to Kanab, Arizona, leaving at midnight to ensure I'd arrive early enough to enter the lottery for the Wave hike. Miraculously, I was the third person drawn—only 10 people were selected that morning to hike the following day, with 10 others having won four months prior via the online lottery. I became more confident about traveling alone and made it a priority to see more places.

The T@G Camper and New Adventures

I decided to purchase a cute teardrop camper—a T@g—traveling to Kansas City, Missouri from Arizona to buy it. I had a few days off work at the golf course (where I still work), so I packed some clothes and snacks, purchased a hitch, and left town. I towed it back to Arizona, and my dad helped me back it into the garage for its first night home. I spent an hour or so the next day at the high school parking lot, determined to figure out how to back it up. I towed it home and backed it into the garage all by myself.

Sedona: The Beginning of Something Special

The first trip I took with it was to beautiful Sedona. I brought my pug, Stitch, along. I planned to find a spot on a forest road known for dispersed camping, with the stunning red rock landscape as the backdrop. I wasn't lucky enough to find my own spot but asked a solo female traveler if I could share her area. She obliged, and after a short hike, I set up camp.

And this—is possibly the moment, the point in time, where this chapter began. She and I chatted, and she suggested I send her my resume—she was working for REI as an adventure guide, and they needed female guides. This was just as the world was reopening from the COVID shutdown, in February of 2021. With friends' help, I put together a resume and sent it off. A couple of months later, I got the call (or email, I don't remember which), but they wanted to schedule an interview. This job sounded absolutely amazing—guiding people on hikes in Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park for the summer. And then it happened: I landed the job, and summer 2021 was a blur.

A New Chapter: Guiding and Finding My Place

After the summer season, I was asked to work full-time. This meant guiding other itineraries, including Sedona trips—mostly women's trips. The same lady I met in February was the person who trained me on how she ran those trips. It was truly an amazing, surreal, and awesome job! I loved Sedona. Over the next few years, I guided over 30 of those Sedona trips and felt very at home there, surrounded by those magnificent red rocks.

I loved watching the groups of ladies come together, bond, and connect over the four days we spent together. I knew I belonged here, in this place, leading groups of women on hikes, in conversation, and creating lasting memories.

This is how it all began... But then it ended. REI chose to close down its adventure division. Over 400 employees were let go. I was not going to be doing what I loved any longer. I had to find a way.

I've done the work, put in countless hours and days, working to create this thing—a place where women can come, solo or with friends, and hike in Sedona. Share meals, laughs, and continue to create memories.

Join Me on an Adventure in Sedona

I hope you'll join me—and others—on an adventure in Sedona. I've worked diligently to create an amazing 4-day hiking vacation in the red rocks of Sedona. I can't wait to share more of the journey with you!