Lake Tahoe in Winter

Hey there! It is me again. I have recently have come back from a long weekend staying in Reno and South Lake Tahoe. It was 1) in the winter time and 2) we did not ski. I know absolutely crazy that we did not pick up a pair of skis in Lake Tahoe in February! I have listed below some things we did in Tahoe that I would recommend, so basically my whole trip to be honest.. It was rare I wasn't smiling, laughing, or just staring in awe!

Sand Harbor – Northern side of Lake Tahoe

Hotel: We stayed at Hotel Azure, which was a great location and a good stay, more so your typical hotel. It was reasonably priced, quite a bit of space, up-to-date, with microwave & mini fridge, fun multi-level hot tub, and in the heart of everything! We enjoyed most of the stay here (except a cat being stuck in a tree for multiple days, but that is a story for another time). I would definitely recommend staying here if you need something lowkey and simple! The one drawback... no continental breakfast, typically a selling point for me!

Food

MacDuff's Public House: This place was quite an environment! I recommend eating in a yurt. It was a plastic one, so not super private and warm, but it had a little heater on the inside and was for sure an experience you wouldn't get in many places. If you do go for one, get there early to get your name on the list. We put our name in at their "slow" time at 5:30pm and was still waiting over an hour. The staff was very nice and welcoming, they were willing to explain almost everything on the menu. We ended up getting the pasta of the week, mac & cheese, and French onion soup. All were good for sure! The mac & cheese would be tricky to heat up, being that it was on the drier side, but the flavor (with bacon) was good!

Revive Coffee & Wine: This was a little hole-in-the-wall place where we got breakfast and coffee on morning. Fantastic! Obviously a little different, COVID style, but it was a cute place that is not too heavily trafficked during the week (but apparently weekends can be busy). They have such a good array of food with great drinks for any type of morning drinker! The staff here was also fabulous, we ended up chatting with the owner and she was great at recommending places to visit and things to do in the area.

AleWorX: This area was great! There were two different restaurants where you could order food from, one you could get a beer on tap while the other you could get a mixed drink. You then go sit and drink out on the patio by the fires they have all about and they will come deliver the food to your table. The environment was great, private enough, but great people watching too! When we sat our there, there was a dog hanging out around the patio and would come up to us just to check-in and see what we would drop. It was a great time and a great night out!

Cup of Cherries: This was a cute place, unfortunately would have been cuter in a full hustle and bustle and not just take out. However, the food was good! We tried a Vietnamese sandwich and it was surprisingly good! I would have kept the jalapeños off, but it was still good, even eating around those 🙂 Drinks were a little more on the stronger side and, if you like chocolate milk, then get the Cocoa Chai... definitely up your alley!

Activities

Emerald Bay: This area is completely gorgeous and breathtaking! Many of the hikes we were wanting to go on were closed due to the weather (and possibly due to COVID). We did end up doing more of the scenic drive to save on some time, but did a little hike down to Vikingsholm (Norwegian Castle). That was a very amazing structure from the outside, but they do tours on the inside during the warmer months. On the back side of this castle, there is a small trail to find a small waterfall (Lower Eagle Falls) with other hikes branching from it. This hike is not very heavily trafficked during the winter, hence us making our own trail on the way up. But it was a beautiful area and there are such great views of Fannette Island from the castle area!

Heavenly Village: If you love Hallmark, take a few walks through here at night! I am obsessed with Christmas Hallmark movies during the season and this really gets you back in the holiday spirit with the snow, lights, and people bundled up. Lots of shops and food to check out during your wanders, but not such great people watching we found.. Little too cold for that in the winter!

Snowshoe: Luckily, we were given some snowshoes by some family friends, so didn't have to purchase those! We did end up taking them to Fallen Leaf Lake and did this hike (Angora Lakes). This was a beautiful view! However, we only got a couple miles in and had to turn around.. We followed the 'when in doubt, turn around' motto and decided to stop the hike when a snowstorm was rolling in. Snowshoeing was overall easy, but definitely get a workout doing it! I do recommend doing a little bit of this 🙂

Sand Harbor: This area is a very nice place, especially in the winter, since it is a little less trafficked. It has a beach, visitor center/museum, horse-drawn carriage rides, and little rock formations hidden around the corner. It does have a $10 fee to enter, due to it being a state park. However, the views are fabulous from anywhere here, but from the rocks it is amazing. We did a little bit of climbing around on the rocks to get some fun views, this was overall very quiet and secluded (depending on what rocks you climb). Visitor center has really great information, so it was fun to take a little walk around learning a little bit more about Lake Tahoe's history.

Overall, I do recommend going to Lake Tahoe in the winter! It was absolutely gorgeous and there were areas less traveled compared to the summertime. It is mostly known for it's skiing (so if you are into it, please do it!), however there is a lot more to do that does not include skiing. Hopefully this helps to plan your trip to Lake Tahoe and gives you a better idea of what to do!

-Natalie-

Long(ish) Weekend in Arizona

January should be a great time to travel to Arizona. You go for the sun, warmer weather than where you came from, and the desert life AKA cacti everywhere. However, I am now one for three, in regards to weather, with my trips to Arizona. First trip I made was the coldest week they had had in years.. Second time was summer, so it was basically 120 degrees and we lived in the pool.. This past time it rained most of weekend, but luckily we were still able to do some fun activities around the desert! Here is what we did over the long weekend, while meeting up with friends.

Friday

1:00(ish)pm - Left Vegas to make the drive to Arizona

5:45pm - We have arrived at our Airbnb. This Airbnb I highly recommend, the owners were fabulous with communication and checking in to see if we needed anything. We also had a conversation with them once over the weekend and he explained to us the history of the house. This house was originally a trailer that the previous owner lived in with an outhouse in the back, but the house was built around the trailer. You are able to see the side of the trailer from the living room and you can also see the axel of the trailer in the floor of the kitchen. It had a wonderful history and made the stay that much better, very unique!

8:00pm - Went out to eat in Churchill located in downtown Phoenix. This is a place that has bars and restaurants inside of shipping containers with a seating area in the middle. Music is playing and the environment was great! We ate at the Mexican restaurant, Provecho. I would most definitely eat there again!

10:00pm - Arrived at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company for a drink and a bite with friends. Environment was so great with wonderful people watching! Highly recommend 🙂

Saturday

9:30am - Uptown Farmers Market. Personally, I love farmer's markets! I also have been blessed to grow up in Minnesota where farmer's markets are abundant and I worked at the largest farmers market in the state. It was multiple blocks and just purely amazing! I was kind of nervous to go there and see what Phoenix had for farmers markets, but I was pleasantly surprised! This was huge and had so many fun tables, so whatever you want, you will find here.

11:00am - Hike time. Friends brought us to McDowell Sonoran Preserve to hike the Gateway Loop Trail. I am an avid hiker in the Las Vegas area, so this hike was fairly easy. There was one or two areas that did make my heart beat a little faster, but overall it was a nice hike that was easy to make your way around! You also get some good views in a couple spots on the trail.

4:30pm - After an afternoon of relaxing and enjoying our Airbnb, we traveled over to Snakes and Lattes in Tempe, Arizona. This place was such a blast! It is a restaurant that you can get coffee in the morning or drinks at night (whatever you are in the mood for) and play board games. It is a $5 charge to your bill to play the board games, if you want, but so worth it! You can try any game you would like, there is a board on the wall that helps you pick games based on your typical favorites, and they also have a 'game master' that will just walk around giving recommendations and teaching you how to play a new game. We spent about 5 1/2 hours here just playing games and have some pretty great drinks & food. Highly recommend and have definitely looked now for some board game cafes in Las Vegas 🙂

Sunday

10:30am - Brunch with other friends before we left from our weekend. We went to Ocotillo and had, yet again, a great experience! The environment was great and they had a gorgeous patio space. Their cinnamon rolls is giant and delicious, but their Iron Skillet Pancake is gigantic! If you like banana bread, this is a great option. However, be prepared to have it for like 2-3 meals or share it with another person... It is the size of an iron skillet literally!

12:00pm - Hike at Camelback Mountain. This was about half hike/half rock scramble, it definitely got the heart rate going but still doable! We didn't have to make any stops going up or down, but we also are pretty avid hikers so know that when thinking about difficulty. We were fortunate enough to not have too many people trying to hike this mountain in the rain, so it was pretty easy for us to get up and down without waiting for others to go over the trickier parts, however I have heard that it is extremely busy on nice days, so beware of maybe waiting and being in close proximity to others! The view of Phoenix from the top was great as well!

2:00pm - Walk around Downtown Scottsdale before heading home. This was fun and it had great shops for souvenirs! It isn't too large so easy to walk around and just a relaxing little place to people watch and enjoy the weather with a pretty view of the river that runs through.

3:00pm - Drive from Phoenix, Arizona back to Las Vegas, Nevada.

7:30(ish)pm - Made it back to good ol' Las Vegas!

Overall, we had a wonderful time with some great friends and seeing the sights! It was a great little getaway from Vegas and will definitely need to go back in the next coming months before moving farther away 🙂

-Natalie-

Things I Learned as a First-Time Backpacker

Many people know me as a city girl.. cause I most definitely am! I love the city and views of city lights/sunsets behind a city/nooks and crannies of the city are my favorite. However, I have been in Las Vegas during a pandemic, so hiking has become a weekly activity for me! I have done hiking mostly near Las Vegas, some in Zion National Park, and some in Arizona (Phoenix/Flagstaff).

One day I got told that a group was going backpacking (9 miles one way/18 miles total) through Utah to get to Reflection Canyon. Fortunately for me, I knew someone that had an abundance of backpacking items that I could borrow to try it out for myself! We spent 2 nights camping to get out and back.

The drive to our first camping site was decent, only about 5 hours, and then set up our campsite in the snow to stay for our first night. The following day we woke up, drove 2 hours to get to our backpacking starting point, and were off! The hike was mostly desert with some rock scrambling at the very end, so not the most exciting. However, Reflection Canyon was pretty and so quiet. We saw two other men out there camping, but other than that, not a soul! It was so peaceful and we ended up just laying back, looking at the thousands of stars in the sky.. so pretty! The only thing that had me on my toes that evening were the mice running around our campsite along a canyon. Yeah… not a fan! Next morning we packed our things up, hiked the 9 miles back to our vehicle (best view ever), and drove the 7 hours back to Vegas.

Tips that may (or may not) help another newbie…

1. Always bring extra propone! Even if you don’t think you will need it, you probably will.. We ran out on the edge of cliff and about 9 miles of hiking/3 hours from a restaurant.. So no warm food for us over the course of a below freezing night haha
2. Water.. bring lots of water! You should account for the few liters you will drink to and from your location, but to make hot meals, you will also have to use water to cook that. That water you will also have to carry in your bag (unless you forget extra propone, just leave your warm food in the car lol). This will be a lot on the way out to your destination, but hiking back will be a lot better!
3. Avoid breaks as much as possible during the walking! This sounds crazy, but backpacking is so mentally difficult! If I would have stopped for a break whenever I wanted, then I would still be out in that desert.. It is tricky, but it is amazing to acknowledge how powerful your body really is! I also took one break that was very hard to get back into.. that was slightly painful to start back up..
4. No new hiking shoes! Do not wear these on an almost 20 mile backpacking trip… I came out just fine, all 10 toe nails intact, but mentally it was hard again. Also, my feet just straight up hurt where the blisters started to form! (Blister band-aids, bring a box!)
5. Pack your snacks where they are easily accessible. This might be a given, but some pockets are not as easy to reach as you might think, so make sure they are as close to your back as possible! Makes the hike a little more enjoyable when you have trail mix at arm’s length.
6. Pack more clothes than you think you need. This is specific for hiking in the winter time in Utah (or even canyons), but it is cold at night and you will appreciate this tip. Don’t overdue it obviously, you do have to carry it all, but you would rather not wear that extra long sleeve than wish you packed it!
7. Hand warmers! Get a whole bag of them for winter hikes or just a couple for summer hikes (maybe). These will be a life saver, especially while sleeping! Also, shoutout to the cashier at REI for this next tip. Stick those hand warmers into your socks when sleeping.. Boy, those do wonders and just warm you up (literally) from your toes all the way up to your head. It was tried on this trip and was proven that it works!
8. It is okay to be quiet. Okay this one might be specific to just me, I am a talker! However, when backpacking, you are doing it for longer distances and spending the night in a secluded place. You might feel the urge to keep having conversation, ask all the questions, and tell all the stories. I am here to tell you, you can just sit/walk silently and enjoy the view. Stop and take those pictures. Enjoy being away from the hustle and bustle while soaking in the environment. It can be relaxing if you let it!
9. Don’t be scared! You will feel all emotions (i.e. excitement, hurt, amazement, pain, joy, power, relaxation) throughout the whole journey at different points. I do believe that is important! You will be excited to start the journey, amazement at the views, power for what your body is accomplishing, pain for when you start to think about what your body is doing, relaxation once you take that backpack off, and joy of spending time with friends/family or learning about yourself. It is okay to feel any and all emotions, just don’t focus on the negative ones or you will not have a good time!
10. Create a good playlist for the car. Okay, this is not super important.. However, I have realized how great music is to bring people together and sometimes it is just fun to sit in a car and sing! If you have a good playlist with songs from all genres and ages, then it will be more enjoyable to maybe sit in silence for the 7 hour drive. (I am a talker, so music was my medicine in a car of exhausted hikers)

Overall, I learned a lot on this backpacking trip! It was an eye-opening experience that not everyone has to experience lol. It was mentally and physically challenging as a first-timer, but the view was great for a bit and have great pictures to show! Would I do that one again? Probably not.. A good one and done backpacking trip! Would I do another backpacking trip again? Possibly! I would just appreciate a little more scenery on the hike to make it a little more mentally stimulating 🙂 Although, the view was phenomenal from our campsite, I must say!

-Natalie-

All About Minnesota Seasons

I lived in Minnesota for many years (about 18 years to be exact!). I have now been on a journey to see the rest of the world and embark on my own adventure outside of my “home” state. Most people joke about Minnesota as well as joke about me being from there and leaving it. However, I always embrace Minnesota and will vouch for it at any time! I think Minnesota is a great place to visit and even live for one full year. When arriving in Minnesota, you definitely have to take into account what season you are visiting during.. There are only certain times of the year things will be available because of all of our four distinct seasons! I have gone a little more into detail below to help identify the best time to visit to do the things you may love!

• Summer: Valley Fair for roller coasters; lakes (i.e. paddle boarding, boating, swimming, tanning, water sports, kayaking, etc.); many outdoor patios for drinks and food; farmer’s markets, but specifically the Minneapolis farmer’s market since it is huge; sporting events to watch (i.e. beach volleyball, baseball, softball); Hiking (especially on the northern side of the state); Outdoor Yoga sessions; walking along the Stone Arch Bridge to get some good views of the gorgeous city skyline; and Minnesota State Fair (must-see).
  • Weather: Everyone thinks of Minnesota has cold and large jackets. However, in the summer time, we get hot, so pack your Mexico clothes and suits! I would also include at least one pair of pants and a sweatshirt for the bonfires you can have at night.

• Fall: Apple Orchards that include apple picking, apple cider, apple donuts, hayrides, corn mazes; Haunted houses in a variety of forms; Pumpkin patches for carving pumpkins; Bonfires that you will find at every other house on the block; Football (any kind of football, like peewee to professional); walking around the University of Minnesota on a Gopher football game day; generally walking around the University of Minnesota campus (you can spend a full day there and get all of your fall colors in one area); camping at any of the lakes around the state or on the northern side before it cools for the winter to see the beautiful fall colors.
  • Weather: My personal favorite time of year when the cooler sweaters come out, lighter jackets, booties, and jeans become a daily fashion.

• Winter: {We don’t typically lock ourselves in our houses, but if we do, we do it in style} Ice fishing in fish houses that could be as nice as your actual house; ice skating on frozen lakes; pond hockey and/or broomball on the same frozen lakes; ice sculptures to go check out; snow, very good amount of snow; and bundling up in 17 layers of clothing to see Christmas lights because you drove through a blizzard to get there. People don’t typically come visit in the winter, but there is such a magical feeling of bundling up to go somewhere, fires keeping you warm at night, and Christmas lights reflecting of the fresh white snow (lots of large light shows!).
  • Weather: This will obviously be cold, so pack all of your clothes and layer up!

• Spring: Minnesota Landscape Arboretum starts to bloom; baseball games all over the city (peewee up to professional); lots of trails around the state to allow you to see the leaves coming back on the trees; Minnesota Zoo; one or more of the various rooftop bars; Minnehaha Falls; Mall of America (with the amusement park and aquarium); Can Can Wonderland (indoor miniature golf for a rainy day); and Apple Blossoms Drive (southern Minnesota, also check out the bluffs in that area while you are there).
  • Weather: This is the rainy time, so dress for semi-warm weather, but it will still be chilly on the days that it rains.

For first time travelers that will be in the area, I would recommend going in the fall or summer. This time is the most appreciated time to be in Minnesota and there are so many fun activities that can be done in those times!

If you are making your second trip to Minnesota, I will recommend coming in the winter. We know how much people don’t like the cold, so we make it worth it!

Lastly, if you are coming for a longer-term stay (i.e. travel assignment), I would recommend summer into fall or fall into winter. If you are hear over Labor Day, you will get the opportunity to attend our extremely large State Fair! If you stay for the Christmas season, you will most definitely be filled with the Christmas season. I just am biased for our Minnesota fall weather, so I think everyone should experience it!

Are you a fellow Minnesotan and can think of something I missed that would make someone’s stay in Minnesota even better? Let me know! Send me a message or drop a comment below and I would love to add to the list 🙂

-Natalie-

Weekend Trips from Las Vegas

I have now been in Las Vegas for close to 5 months! Is that crazy or what?? I have kept busy with meeting new people, trying new activities, and of course my new job. I wanted to take a second to highlight some great weekend trips that I have done or have been told to do! I would love to do more traveling around the area right now, but it is also tricky with the Coronavirus still present and not under control. Look below to see the fun you can have just a few hours away (at most)!

– Kanarra Falls (Utah) was absolutely gorgeous and such a fun way to hike that is not just going up the heights. This hike took us through lots of water, scrambling over rocks, and using ladders/ropes to help ourselves up the taller ones all leads to some pretty falls tucked in a canyon! I highly recommend this hike, especially in the warmer months. We went early in October and it was perfect! It got a bit chilly once you were in the canyon and water for too long, but your shoes dried off just a few minutes after going back into the sun! If you do this hike, pack some tall waterproof socks.. most of the hike is literally through water. On the drive be sure to stop in St. George and eat at Peppers Cantina for some delicious Mexican food and Margaritas! Portions are large and service is great. (~ 2.5 hours from Vegas}

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– Flagstaff, Arizona is a small(ish) town that is well-known for its fall colors in the south. We went and took a weekend mid-October to embrace some fall colors while living in the desert. This was a fun trip that we got to embrace breweries, hiking, and of course brought the pups on this one! If you come to this small town, there are for sure some places you need to visit for some good food and drinks. These include Galaxy Diner (50s diner feel), Lumberyard Tap Room & Grille (fun flights of beer), and Civano Coffee House (fun night club vibe and great staff). If you have a big enough group, The Mayor is a great place to sit around a fire and have some drinks! Inner Basin Trail is where we got to see colors of fall. This was a great, not too strenuous hike that I would say anybody could do! It doesn’t have an endpoint with a view, but the trees that you are walking through and the colors of fall in October are so great and beautiful throughout the hike. (~ 4 hours from Las Vegas)

– Zion National Park (Utah) is a great day/overnight trip with some great views! We went and stayed in the glamping tents, on the Northern side of the park, for a full weekend. Zion itself is a natural beauty that you need to drive through and see! The fun part of here is that you can see many different seasons in the southern part of the country. When we went (early November), it was great weather to be hiking! The first day of hikes it was cool enough we weren’t getting dehydrated, but warm enough that we had to strip layers at one point. The second day we did a hike with a little more elevation and ended up hiking through inches of snow. The hikes we completed (and I would highly recommend for those that are not afraid of hikes and are fairly active) would be Angel’s Landing and Observation Point. Angel’s Landing is not for the faint of heart, I am not scared of heights typically and like to think I am active, but that one tested me mentally more than anything! Gorgeous views at the top and small chipmunks that have no social boundaries. The nice thing about this hike is that if you don’t want to go all up through the mentally difficult part, take a left at the Y and continue up the West Rim trail. This is a little bit easier with similar great views! Observation Point is great! For the most part it is a moderate level hike, mostly due to the elevation, because I was for sure heavy breathing at times. This one is also cooler in temperature, so if you are going to hike it anytime after October, layers are key! From this area, you get a great view on top of Zion looking down. It is actually gorgeous! (park ~ 2 hours & 45 minutes from Vegas)

West Rim Trail

Observation Point

Climb up Angel’s Landing

With all of that being said, this is for sure not an exhaustive list! These are just the trips I have taken.. Here are some other places I want to visit before moving that are just a drive away: San Diego, CA (5 1/2 hours); Los Angeles, CA (4 1/2 hours); Palm Springs, CA (4 hours); Joshua Tree National Park (3 1/2 hours); Phoenix, AZ (4 hours & 45 minutes); Lake Tahoe (7 hours); and Death Valley (2 hours & 15 minutes).

-Natalie-

Just Another Week (or two) in Vegas

I am trying to see all of Vegas while I am living here for the next 10 months, but I also have gotten a little bit overwhelmed with the start of therapy tomorrow and I don’t really know what is going on.. little hectic!

Here I am just going to do a quick recap of what has happened in Vegas and the places that I have seen!

First, you will see here some girls that I have been fortunate enough to hang out with while in the crazy city they call Vegas! Met them all via Facebook and I don’t think I have appreciated social media as much until this point lol

I’ve gotten a few hikes in. I have been averaging between 1 & 3 hikes per week.. There are literally so many to do and I am going to try get a good chunk of them done!

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Hike #1: Lone Mountain at sunrise – This hike is a great one that it isn’t very long (only about 1.2 miles there and back), but it does get your heart rate up! This mountain is also a good place to make friends, everyone is so nice and wanting to talk. I mean we also sat on top of this mountain for 3 hours, so that might have had something to do with it too! But sunrise was beautiful, since you got to see the whole city with the sun shining over it.

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Hike #2: Gypsum Ridge at Sunrise – This hike was not as crazy as I was expecting. It was about 4 miles, but the first like 2 miles are just at the base of the mountain. I had almost missed the sunrise by not knowing it just went around the base, but it still was a hike I was able to accomplish fast enough to catch the sun! I do recommend this for a nice leisurely hike. It has a little bit of going up the mountain (and you kind of have to slide at the end), but other than that it is fairly flat!

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Hike #3: Cathedral Rock Trail – This one is located about 40 minutes outside of Las Vegas, but looks like we were in Colorado! This one kicked me in the butt endurance wise.. It had the highest elevation that I have done yet and it was strictly just straight up.. Worked those glutes that day! But it was also an amazing view on all sides, definitely worth the sweat going up. Fun part is once you reach the very top (depending on where you park) you can see your vehicle haha

Hike #4: James Brown Trail – This trail was not too strenuous, but definitely have a map because there are a lot of random hikes in this area. We had come here for the sunset, which was pretty and the weather was great! However, it was cloudy, but also when the sun sets here, it is gone. You have about a 20 minute slot of the sun setting, but then it is pitch black. So, needless to say, I have encountered my first rattlesnake!

A friend and I also took a little day trip to Lake Las Vegas (about 30 minutes from our apartments) to paddle board. This was a blast! The company we went through had so much to do, but we just took the paddleboards out, sat on them for the entire time, and went back in. It was the best decision I made that day!

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I went and played some Top Golf for the first time as well. Although this isn’t only a Las Vegas thing, it did have a fun view of the strip, since it is only about a block from the actual strip. I would highly recommend going with a group and embracing it all. This one has a pool that I am now waiting to open, it is an amazing facility!

Our big group went to a rooftop brewery on the strip one night. We got dressed up and embraced an evening in party city! This brewery was fun, because it is located right across the street from the Bellagio. That means while you are sipping on your beers and eating your food, you can watch the fountains dance and people watch! It is also a great environment that is always a good time!

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About 30 minutes south of Vegas, there are some colored rocks in stacks. These are called the Seven Magic Mountains. They are a fun, artsy spot in the middle of literally nowhere. They are just off of a highway too, so you can just do a drive-by. However, I would recommend just stopping real fast, because these are massive! We went as the sun was setting, so it was nice as it got quieter. Pictures were a little better too after people had left, obviously!

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Some random other things I have accomplished besides work:

• Wine and Paint Class
• Ate at In ‘N Out Burger for the very first time
• Got groceries at the Downtown Summerlin Farmer’s Market
• Ate at Vickie’s Diner (the last day it would be open at its location)
• Found and ate at a secret pizza place in the Cosmopolitan Hotel

Unfortunately for me, I am a busybody and trying to see everything I can see and meeting everyone that I can meet! It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks, especially with my job at the school picking up. I start sessions tomorrow!

I have been so thankful for this chance to travel and meet the people I am meeting. There is just something so exhilarating about moving to a new place not knowing a soul! I also am slightly thinking ahead to how I will be doing this so often. It is kind of a terrifying thought that I will be having to go through all of this again when I get to a new spot, because it is a lot of work! But I also know that I am either going to grow my network and friend groups world wide, which will be great! I could even find some people that I end up traveling with.

Again, if there is anything you have heard to do in Vegas, let me know! I would love to give it a try and let you know if it is worth a stop. I am down for anything! Well… for the most part 🙂 Bungee jumping will not be in my books anytime soon!

-Natalie-

New Home, Improved Me

Sunrise Hike

Story time: I like to work out before like 7am; I enjoy getting it out of the way so that I can be productive the rest of the day. However, today I went later in the day. As I started my workout, I was the only one in the gym. As I finished, there was one young kid that just kind of laid on the floor. Obviously, I had no idea what he was doing. But as I was working out, I was just wanting to remember to breath! I finished my workout, sanitized all my equipment, and was about to head back to my apartment to get some work done. This kid then, completely out of the blue, asks me, “What keeps you motivated to work out?” You bet my jaw fell to the floor.. What does keep me motivated?? I probably talked in circles because I had never thought about that..

I had started working out during quarantine because I didn’t want to be bored and now I work out about 6x/week. I basically told him that the beginning stages were rough! I had to basically force myself to workout, shed a few tears, and then cross it off my list. Since I now have included it in my daily routine, it is a little bit easier to get it done. As our conversation kept up, he mentioned to me that he had joined the Marines and was trying to physically get ready for his training that he was shipping out to do soon, but he just didn’t have the motivation. Boy, did that comment make me kind of sad. I wanted to help, but what can you do with a complete stranger to help them get motivated when you don’t even know your own motivations?

My motivation isn’t really prominent because I am internally a driven person that has spent the last few years having the sole motivation of finishing school with little debt. Being a single traveler, a lot of things I do are pretty selfish and I don’t have a lot of external motivators. I only have myself to think about at this time in my life. I obviously care for my family, but I most definitely am not working out and travelling for them right now.

After chatting with him for a while and sharing all that I could think of, I got to thinking what is motivating for people? Why do people do what they do? I have listed some of the challenges I have experienced and what I think my motivation was to pursue more.

Challenge	Motivation
Losing friends after moving from place to place	I will meet new people when I move to the new location. They might not stay in my life forever, but they will be there for the current experiences I am looking for at the current state I am in.
Working out	I get the feeling of accomplishment when I increase weights or accomplish a strenuous activity as well as see results that improve my self-confidence and feeling of increased energy throughout the day.
New job amid COVID	I get to help students improve their lives and their communication during a hard time as well as me growing as a new clinician.
Living in a new place by myself	I need to remind myself that it is okay to do things by myself, but also I get motivated to not say ‘no’ to invites that I may receive because you never know how the experience will affect you.
Doing activities by myself	{hardest one for me} Self-empowerment that allows me to slow down and enjoy the place I am living as well as appreciating where I am at this point in my life

Now I want to know what motivates you! Let me know what motivates you to do certain things in your life.. Is it someone or something? Is it a mindset? Is it the future? You can put it in the comments here, message it to me, any shape or form! I have had so many conversations with people recently where they talk about not having the motivation anymore for things that they are doing and just want more.. But it is hard to get to that point of changing if your motivation isn’t there! So let’s talk about it!

This post is a little hard for me to be posting, since it isn’t about all the fun things that I have done or seen, but about the real conversations. That is what I want this blog to be. It is going to show the fun side within the life of travel, but also dig into those conversations that people don’t typically have with each other, especially when they have a job that requires a lot of change.

-Natalie-

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao Tzu

What is Travel Therapy?

I have come to find that travel therapy is not a well-known occupation and people are quite confused as to what we actually do. To be honest, I was that person too, I had no idea what was even going on and had to do a lot of research to finally decide to take on the travel life. I have listed below some common questions that are asked about travel therapy!

1. Who can travel? Well obviously a lot of people, but doing this type of travel therapy is mostly medical field. Some of the more popular professions that travel are nursing, speech pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. However, there are some companies that take others that travel within the medical settings.. You could be a radiologist, respiratory therapist, surgical technician, or dosimetrist and still find a job traveling. The options are endless pretty much!
2. Do you get to chose where you travel? For the most part, you get a say in it. You work with a recruiting company and basically tell them where you would prefer to go and they look at what jobs are available and what areas are similar to your preference location. So sometimes you get to go to your favorite spot, while other times you might just be going where the jobs are. For example, I mentioned I just wanted some place warmer than Minnesota. We put in applications for jobs in CA, GA, FL, and NV.
3. Is travel going to one new place for a job? Nope! Travel therapy is literally traveling for your job. Most of the jobs that we accept are about 13 weeks long (school contracts can be longer), but you can extend in certain areas if they need you longer. Although you would have the choice to extend or not, some people even seek out extensions because they love the area so much. You could travel just a few hours down the road or across the country, it doesn’t matter how far you go as long as you travel a certain amount of miles (about 50 miles from you previous job)!
4. Where can you travel to? You can travel anywhere! Small towns, mountain towns, big cities, etc. You can live anywhere in the US as well (even Hawaii and Alaska!). There is not a lot of limitations as to where you can go, you might just have a more difficult time with those popular locations (like Hawaii).
5. Do you know anybody when you travel to a new place? Most likely not! This question I get more from locals here in Vegas, but that is up to us. We could tell our recruiter to apply for jobs only in towns where we know others, but that could be very limiting! The nice part of travel is we are a little community, so down the road you might end up just knowing the other travelers in the area to make moving a little easier, but not at my first assignment. That is for sure!
6. How is the pay, since you will be paying to travel? The pay is typically better than if you get a permanent position. Our hourly pay is smaller, but it makes up for it with the reimbursements that we get. We also get a certain amount of travel reimbursement to get from one location to another. This amount would typically depend on how far you are traveling, so it will vary.
7. Do you have to sign on for a certain amount of time? Nope! You can sign on to do one contract or travel for many years. There is no limit or minimum. Some companies do have incentives to keep you on for a longer time (i.e. tuition reimbursement), which is why I will be traveling for at least 2 years within my company.You don’t have to stay with the same recruiters through your entire travel career either, there are many therapists that will switch recruiters. It all depends on who finds the best job for the best price.
8. Where do you live during assignments? Well currently I am in an apartment, since it is a full school year I figured it would be nice to have my place. Most of the time, especially for the shorter assignments, one might get an Airbnb and get the discount for staying long-term or there are plenty of people that just rent out single rooms within their homes. The real hardcore travelers will travel with a camper or RV and just live in that for the time at and between assignments.
9. How will you meet new people being in a place for so little time? Well so far the ways I have learned to meet new people are Facebook pages, other travelers in the area, and obviously your job. Another way to meet people (especially during quarantine) would be online “dating”. This is obviously not an ideal way to make friends, but it does kind of work! If the other person is looking for more than friends, you aren’t out too much because they just showed you a new part of your new city!
10. Why would you choose to travel every 13 weeks for your job? To make a long story short… I am young and single as well as bit by the travel bug! Travel is a great way to meet new people and identify where my passion is within my career. Graduate school taught me all the basics for me to succeed in my profession, but it also confused me on what I wanted to do with my life.. Adults vs pediatrics, hospital vs school.. What population and what setting is right for me? That’s why I am here! Travel was the best way to try to determine what my niche is in this career and what my true passion is for. This also allows me to see the world! I am not tied down, so I want to see what this world has to offer and more.. See the tourist spots as well as be a local in a new place. Most definitely the ideal ‘vacation’ for me!

I chose this lifestyle now for the next couple years at least and am ready to see where it will end up bringing me! I am ready to have all the experiences that this kind of crazy lifestyle will bring me. I have concluded that relationships will not be ideal at this time (unless I talk him into coming with me lol), but I also know that I will be having the time of my life while I wait for that to happen. Like most people say… Maybe you will meet someone on an assignment?? Maybe.. but definitely not banking on that! If have any other questions about travel therapy and what I am doing, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

I want to keep track of activities and adventures that I do while in this stage of my life on Instagram, so feel free to give me a follow in order to see some of the specific places that I visit and activities that I come across!

-Natalie-

• Instagram

Thoughts on Vegas – First Week

It has officially been one week since I have moved to Vegas! This past week has had its ups and downs for sure. With COVID affecting how the schools are looking this year, that process has been a little slower than we would have liked, but technically I kept my start date, so I couldn’t ask for much more! Although I haven’t done too much since my start date (technical issues), I have been able to experience so much of Vegas, this is such an incredible place.. I just want to take some time and share what I think of the place so far!

1. It is a large city, but it is not. You look at it and it is big, but you talk to anyone who has lived here at least a week (I now find myself saying this same quote) and they will say you can get anywhere you want within 30 minutes. It is absolutely true! I have had to drive from one side to the other and it just took 30 minutes. I also live 15 minutes from the strip, which is kind of unreal!
2. There is more hiking than you know what to do with. I have been trying to narrow down hikes to do, which hopefully soon I will pick my favorites, but there are so many! Later on I will mention a hike I did that is barely outside the city, again 15 minutes from my place.
3. The people are so extremely nice! There is something about Vegas that just has people reaching out in every shape and form. Most people are just looking for a new friend, which is perfect for me, since I didn’t know a soul coming down here! One person I actually met just a few days ago, he went to high school with me. Yup, we have lived in the same town (and down the road from each other), but we met in Vegas. Obviously, right??
4. There are so many restaurants. This one surprised me for some reason.. I was looking at a map of the area around me the first day I was here and found that there were 4-5 Mexican Restaurants on one block. How they are all still in business just blows my mind! The nice thing about the restaurants too is there is so much variety. I can be craving the most elaborate meal or food item and I can probably find it within 10 minutes of my apartment!
5. The strip is amazing! It is full of lights and people, casinos and liquor. Although, the amount of families I saw strolling along was quite spectacular. Not quite sure what fun the kids have besides M&M World on the strip, but maybe I will find out soon enough! I had a friend mention that they couldn’t take more than a few days in Vegas, but if you want to see all the cool stuff on the strip you definitely need many days! I haven’t seen barely any of it and I have had 2 trips there.
6. Yes, the weather is hot in August. I am from Minnesota, so obviously I have to address what the weather is like! This is a nice kind of hot and I can feel myself slowly getting used to it already. It is nice to not have the humidity, but if you are also in the sun too long, well you can feel your skin start to fry 🙂 so lots of sunscreen is preferred!
7. Branch out by yourself to more secluded areas. The touristy spots are great, but it is also great to get out by yourself and check out the smaller places or more secluded places to keep your sanity. I am a busybody and love the hustle and bustle, but getting away to a more secluded mountain or even just hanging out at my pool by myself (cause nobody else uses it..) is so peaceful.
8. There are so many big sights that are just a short drive away. This last one I have not experienced yet, but literally everyone I have talked to has mentioned this. For example, Arizona is a good hour away, Utah is a good 2 hours, and Los Angeles and/or San Diego is a good 4-5 hours away. Just to name a few.. Will I be branching to see some of these places on day trips or weekend trips? You betcha!

Uffda… So I have learned a lot and I hope you did too! Below I have listed some places and things that I have seen during this first week just to give a little hint into my first week. After all of this, I know I am going to love this place! I have also learned that I was a city girl coming into Vegas, but boy am I going to regret doing the nice things in the area.. I may turn into a high class city girl.. I guess time will tell!

• Hiked up La Madre Mountain
• Strolled down the Strip
• Spent an evening at Fremont Street
• Spent an evening at Townsquare
• Visited the Neon Museum
• Had a drink at the Allegro
• Ate at Tacos el Gordo
• Sat by my pool, enjoyed the sun
• Ate at Norm’s Diner
• Got a peak at my school and speech room

-Natalie-

On to my First Assignment… LAS VEGAS!

So you may know… I will be in Las Vegas, NV for the next 10 months. I could not be any more excited to be here! I recently just spent 3 days making the drive down here with Layla, but we have finally arrived and are now in the process of getting settled in. I thought I would give a little update on how my few days went and what we saw!

{Day 1}

Eden Prairie, MN ~ North Platte, NE

This day sounds about as boring as it could have been to be honest! I traveled through Southern Minnesota, Sioux Falls, and then the entire state of Nebraska. The most exciting part of this day was me losing my signal in the middle of Nebraska and I had to navigate myself through the state to my hotel with no GPS.. Only made 3 wrong turns (2 due to construction) in that 2 1/2 hours. I made it thankfully!

Total Time Traveling (with my detours): about 12 hours

{Day 2}

North Platte, NE ~ Grand Junction, CO

This was the most exciting part of my trip, at least the last half. The eastern half of Colorado was still a little tough to get to, but after Denver I was completely in awe! I tried to get pictures of how amazing the mountains and canyons were that I drove through.. but even my best picture couldn’t capture it! Here we made a couple stops.. Ho Wei Chinese Restaurant in Denver for lunch, ate in the City Park, and stopped by Red Rocks Amphitheater on our way out to the mountains.

Ho Wei Chinese Restaurant: Super cheap! I got the combo (2 entrees, lo mein, an egg roll, and a drink for less than $6. I had so much food I spread it over both meals that day! It was just a small little place, but the workers were nice. The food was good, not great, but still satisfied with my choice.

City Park: Great little spot right outside the heart of the city. There is part of the park that has a view of skyline, but I did not go to that end with my cat… They do have some nice little ponds throughout the park and there were so many dogs, that it must be popular for some casually walking.

Red Rocks Amphitheater: This place I would like to go back to just to spend some more time around the area! I had my cat with me, so I wasn’t going to do too much with her. But I did put her in her carrier and walk up the amphitheater to get the amazing view! I did get some eye turns about why I was carrying a cat with me, but some people really loved it. 🙂

Total Time Traveling: about 10 hours

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  Rainbow Bridge

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  Red Rock Lookout

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  Red Rock Amphitheater

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  Glenwood Canyon

{Day 3}

Grand Junction, CO ~ Las Vegas, NV

This was a cool drive to start with, since I went through Utah, and it is extremely beautiful! The bummer about the drive was it was very redundant along the interstate. I didn’t want to leave the interstate just so I could get to my apartment as soon as possible. I did leave to see a small ghost town (although some people say it isn’t a ghost town, I didn’t see any movement though) where I did get to see some wildlife along the way. Otherwise, the stops we made were pulling off to the side of the interstate to enjoy the landscapes. I would love to go back to get off the beaten trail to see some of the gorgeous landscapes I have heard about!

Total Time Traveling: 7 hours

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  Capitol Reef Entrance

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  Cisco, Utah

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  Landscape

Las Vegas Arrival

Now I have finally made it and am making my current apartment home.. I go in next week to get my badge for this upcoming school year and I cannot believe how times have changed from a year ago to right now. Looking forward to all of the new adventures here in the desert! Be sure to keep in touch!

-Natalie-