Gone Fishin'

Dear Adventurous Women,

Thanks so much for reading Adventurous Women Blog. Since starting this project, I've had the good fortune to "meet" many of you and have made a lot of wonderful new cyber-friends. I've also thoroughly enjoyed seeking out interesting, new or weird activities to share on this space. The possibilities, of course, are endless but recently other parts of my life have filled all my free time and I'm afraid blogging is going to have to take a back seat...for awhile.

Adventurous Women Blog will remain on the Web so I hope you'll continue to use the resources on the right side of the page. There are lots of links and ideas for Adventure Clubs and individuals alike and I'll try to make sure they stay current. Thanks again for clicking in!

Happy trails!
Michaelle



Life is either a great adventure or nothing--Helen Keller

Fun New Site for Adventurous Women

Beth "Ava Aviatrix" Walz of Roseberg, Oregon, has launched a new site called, Adventure Woman. Ava's outpost let's you meet and nominate real Adventure Women, share stories, get tips, voice an opinion, plan an adventure and, well so much more that you'll really just have to visit and see for yourselves.

Check out Adventure Woman here.

AWB Featured on "Blogging Women"

I'm happy to say that Blogging Women is featuring Adventurous Women Blog today. Blogging Women is great directory of blogs written by women. Organized by category, the site aims to be your comprehensive online resource. Check out Blogging Women if you are looking for a particular blog or type of blog. If you're a blogger yourself, you can submit your site for review.

Thanks, Fay for adding AWB to your terrific blog!

Happy Earth Day!

I have spent the better part of the last week doing the most un-Earth Day thing possible -- working at a trade show in Las Vegas. Yes, it was an adventure but one I will save for next week.

On a more appropriate note, I hope you'll click in on Friday when I'll have a Q&A with Park Ranger Gaelyn Olmsted. After being a wife, mom and business owner, Gaelyn chose to completely re-invent herself and has been living an amazingly nomadic life ever since. Her seasonal position allows Gaelyn to spend six months in a national park and six months in her camper going wherever the road leads her. I think you'll enjoy reading about Gaelyn and her travels and as a bonus, the Geogypsy will reveal where she'll be working this summer. Hey, Gaelyn! Wanna swap places?


Image:© Madartists | Dreamstime.com

100 Best Adventure Web Sites

The Adventue Blog alerted me to this nice little article on Outside Online. Click here to find a list of the 100 Best Adventure Web Sites. Organized into categories like Travel Planning, Skiing & Snowboarding, Biking, Running, Environment, Health, Gear, Employment, Weather, Maps, and Friends, you're sure to find a few more reasons to stay at your computer today.

Ghost Hunters Wanted: Become a Paranormal Investigator

TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) has become famous as the Sci Fi Channel's Ghost Hunters investigative team. The show always offers some spooky fun but for a more 3-D adventure TAPS offers Paranormal 101 classes.

According to their web site, "Paranormal 101 will prepare you for an investigation. This course will cover everything from the initial client email through the investigation to the resolution." The next class, the only one this month, is scheduled for October 26 at the Colonial House Inn, Yarthmout Port, MA. Most classes are held at the TAPS office in Warwick, RI.

Don't have time for a class? Can't get to New Hampshire or Rhode Island? TAPS' Grant Wilson has written an article on launching your own ghost hunting career. For TAPS' library of articles on everything from buying haunted objects to fairies to demonology FAQs, click here.

Road Trip! All National Parks are FREE this Weekend!

The Adventure Blog is reporting that the National Park Service has declared that all 147 parks will waive their admission fees this weekend. NPS is celebrating National Public Lands Day on September 27 and honoring new U.S. citizens on the 28th.

In addition to waiving entrance fees, national parks and other public lands will host special programs and volunteer projects on Saturday to commemorate the 15th annual National Public Lands Day.

In all 50 states, volunteers can take part in projects to improve public places. Last year, more than 110,000 people helped with tasks such as planting trees, building trails, or removing invasive plants. Anyone who volunteers at a National Park Service area on National Public Lands Day will receive a free one day pass valid for future use at any site.

Grab your Adventure Club and volunteer your time, plan a girls' day out or take this opportunity to enjoy the peace and quiet of our natural treasures on your own.

For a list of National Parks by state, click here. To get to the official site of a particular park click here and type in its name. For a list of parks and sites under the National Park Service in alpha order and links to their official pages, click here.

Photo credit: William Bradfield

 Links updated 4/17/2010

Labyrinth Event in San Francisco

From Roberta Sautter, Veriditas

The Women's Dream Quest, will be held October 28-29, 2011 at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. You get to spend the night IN the cathedral, which is very cool. Click here for more information.

Galavanting – Online Women's Travel Magazine Launches

From PR.com

Chicago, IL, July 23, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Galavanting, a new online women’s travel magazine, officially launched July 15th to thousands of readers in its first week.

Editors-in-chief Kim Mance and Katy Quissell recruited a diverse and impressive group of women writers to tell their stories of adventures from around the globe for the inaugural online issue.

Mance says, "We take women as seriously as women take their travel adventures. We provide lighthearted, funny essays and tips, but you’ll find no fluff within Galavanting’s content. We’re smashing the stereotypes that surround women travelers—and women are flocking to it. It’s a lot of fun.”

July’s travel feature essays and entries on the worldwide blog give perspectives from women on topics from apartment-swapping to staying safe while traveling alone.

Quissell, who uses her master’s in public health from Columbia University to pen travel tips on protecting one’s health, says, “We want to empower women to discover themselves and far off places, while creating a trusted community atmosphere.”

Galavanting also works to connect female travelers to the communities they visit and profiles women-owned businesses in popular travel destinations. Its launch issue features Valerie’s Chicago Chocolate Tours, Kimberley’s Parisian Events, and Anitra’s Lova Lava Land Eco Resort in Hawaii.

Mance and Quissell will embark on an edgy, adventurous trip next month while shooting the first Galavanting destination web-video in Costa Rica. They will also highlight local women-owned businesses, and sustainable tourism opportunities for women on a budget.



updated 1/11/2012

New York Apartment Full of Hidden Adventure

The New York Times tells the amazing tale of an architectural designer, Eric Clough, who created a scavenger hunt within the walls of a Fifth Avenue apartment. The Klinsky-Sherry family, who lives in the mysterious flat, found clues hidden behind secret panels, codes etched into radiators, and so so so much more. You have to read the story and see the photos to believe it. Read the story here. See slide show here.

Start an Adventure Club!

I was a Girl Scout leader for years. I took Scouts on dozens of fun trips but my part was counting heads and applying Band-Aids and filling in paperwork. A few years ago, 2005 to be exact, I decided that it was time for the adults to have fun too. So, I e-mailed some friends explaining that I wanted to start an adventure club and asking them to respond if they were interested. Personally, I was surprised by the number of women who told me that they were too old for "that sort of thing"!

When I had about a dozen women I had a meeting -- involving a lot of wine and appetizers -- and proposed that we pick four adventures for the year. I told everyone that participation wasn't a requirement. Every activity should be an opportunity not an obligation so there shouldn't be any stress. We all agreed that we would limit the group to women -- no kids, no husbands, no significant others.

That was years ago and these days the League of Adventurous Women has more than 50 members representing a variety of ages and backgrounds.  We have single 30-somethings and grandmothers, research scientists, teachers, federal workers and stay-at-home moms. Friends invite friends, I still invite women that I meet along the way. I keep a master list of adventures but I don't limit our adventure list in any way. An adventure to one woman may be ordinary or scary to another so it's good to have a variety of choices. I do keep all of the suggestions anonymous (I'll never tell who wants to learn pole dancing!).

FYI, some of the women who told me they were too old are now the ones who lead the most adventurous trips.