About Me

Hi! I’m Charlene. I love traveling, discovering new places, and spending time in the outdoors. I also love sharing my photos and experiences. Whether you’re here to live vicariously through my adventures or planning similar ones of your own.

I caught the travel bug early. My father would take me on small day trips with no particular destination in mind, and sometimes longer multi-day journeys. We always traveled by road, and the journey itself was just as exciting as the destination. That spirit carried over into my adult life.

I spent a full career in the Marine Corps, and throughout it I was always drawn to new places. I actively sought out deployments that would take me around the world and chose duty stations in places I’d never been, using them as base camps to explore local and regional attractions on my time off.

I’ve always loved being outdoors, and over the years I’ve found joy in everything from relaxed camping trips to snowboarding to long and strenuous hikes. While serving, I discovered the long trails of the United States and became captivated by the Continental Divide Trail. It winds through some of my favorite parts of the country and offers an incredible variety of terrain. I spent years planning a thru-hike before my retirement, and in 2023 that dream became a reality. While I didn’t complete all 3,100 miles, I hiked the longest continuous distance of my life, made lasting friendships, and came away with an experience that genuinely changed me.

I’m fortunate that my military retirement pension, along with a few small income sources, gives me the flexibility to live without the need for full-time employment. I’m mostly living the life I always imagined, free to pursue the adventures I’ve dreamed about. My current goal is at least one big adventure per year, usually a one, to two-month road trip, with smaller trips woven in whenever I can. I’m excited to share all of it here!