Work started in camp on May 19. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Katmai, it is home to the famous Brooks river. A river that hosts one of the largest Red Salmon runs in the world. For obvious reasons, its a great spot for fishermen, and folks who love to see bears. I worked as a housekeeper and server in the lodge and we saw all kinds of different people. This lodge itself is remote. It’s only accessible by boat or float plane. Katmai NP is also one of the largest national parks in America with over 4 million acres. Continue reading →

We both have picked up our first pairs of Vibram FiveFingers and started the slow but rewarding process of converting to barefoot running. If you are impatient (which I am) this can be quite a challenge. Suddenly I was running one mile instead of 20. Continue reading →

Walking through the pens of goats, chickens, pigs and cows scattered around the Boulder County Fair, all of the time and hard work put into each project shines through. The county fair is a place for local kids to show off the work of the past year in the form of animals, crafts, baked goods and technical projects. Most of the kids participate in the fair through 4-H, a local group that allows kids to group together with others with similar goals. While they do compete against each other, there is a sense of camaraderie throughout the buildings. Continue reading →

Since working at JAX since May 2010, I’ve done many running races. Fargo Marathon, Des Moines Half Marathon, Living History Farms Road Race, Trek the Trails…also run with my fellow JAX Employees where we spelled out JAX! Continue reading →

It seems that everyone now a days knows someone or has a family member serving in the military. And as is right, we hold them in our thoughts and hearts as they serve in faraway places. As a former naval officer, it touched me that Jax Mercantile was providing a tangible link to home for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Continue reading →

I was being cocky when Ray Woodruff invited me to join in at the inaugural Rocky Mountain Woman’s Disc Golf Championship. I neatly explained how I would win… the whole thing. He simply replied “OK”. How was I to know that he would hold me the challenge of winning and that I would be embraced by one of the coolest sports I’ve ever known? Thank you, Ray Woodruff. Continue reading →

I was both excited and nervous about returning to Mount Rainier. I was lucky enough to go with RMI guides about 10 years ago and made the summit after a week-long skills class at Camp Muir. This trip in June would be an all women team from Colorado and I would be leading the route. The DC or Disappointment Cleaver route is the most popular route and is used by several guide services. There are still imminent dangers even though the route is well flagged and most say its not a technical climb. Continue reading →