It felt like I was on the edge, perpetually falling, on the verge of tipping over constantly. I tried to swallow the panic that rose in my throat like bile. I tried to keep calm. To not give up. I gave up several times over, for a brief second each time.

I remember the very first time I went rock climbing. It was summer of 2016, indoors at the University of Utah with the man who became my first husband. I could barely boulder half a wall. I never ceased to find opportunities to climb since that day, and I have explored a good amount of indoor facilities since. I even taught yoga at a climbing gym for a time and received free climbing in return. My ex and I talked of buying a rope and climbing in a natural setting, but for one reason or another that dream was never realized. When my first husband I separated, I was left with my shoes, harness, a belay device, and a choice: I could leave what was "our thing" in the past, or make it my own. And make it mine, I did. I continued to climb with friends and dates, and my love for climbing (barely) survived my second marriage, in which my ex did not appreciate the sport one bit. Fast forward to Saturday, March 14th, 2020. My current boyfriend and I took a spontaneous trip to the mall after dinner, where he bought a climbing rope and shoes at Al's Sporting Goods with a generous gift of birthday money. We do love climbing at indoor gyms, but the recent Covid-19 pandemic caused all the climbing gyms to close.

I have a theory. There are many things in life that we would regard a hundred years ago as genuine torture, if you asked most people if they would like to be submerged into sub zero temperature water with no guarantee that they could get out, or if they would like to run for miles and miles to the point of vomiting, they would probably look at you like you’d just said that you were an Instagram influencer on a first date. However ice swimming and marathon running are two tried and tested pastimes that our modern society deems leisurely. And this is my issue with something I have been told to enjoy my entire life as I’m sure many of you have, camping.

When they hear the title Nudist Colony, most people assume the place is some kind of a sex cult full of pervs and orgies. So how did nudity end up equalling sex? You don’t even have to be completely naked to have sex. And yet the idea of nudity as sex has infiltrated society in all aspects, from songs to advertisements to television shows.

Los Dells festival is a Latino festival that is celebrated during the labor day weekend. Around 35 different artists attend this festival; including artist like Ozuna, Logic, Bad Bunny, Carlos Vives, T3r Elemento, and Natalia Lafourcade among other great artists. I attended this festival last year (2019) and it was crazy to the point that I had a realization of my own mortality, and this is how it happened..

” How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains” - John Muir

Throughout my life I always had this weird recurring dream where I was in an unfamiliar house and I had to climb and crawl through tight secret passages. Each passage led to another dimension. After visiting Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I wondered if this was a common dream others have, much like those dreams where you're naked in public. Because this house was a physical embodiment of those dreams I have from time to time.

Waking up on a cold September morning, the valley of Post Mills, Vermont was socked in with thick, late-summer fog. Michael Libby, a visiting artist from Maine, and I rose with a purpose and trudged out to prep “The Uncle Sally,” a 14-foot, baby blue, experimentally built steamboat. The curious name is a wink and a nod to Samuel Morey, a local Vermont legend, whose boat “The Aunt Sally,” featured the first internal combustion engine to be used on a watercraft in the early 19th century.

Portsmouth usually attracts a certain type of tourist. They are seekers of picturesque sunsets, salted air, ice cream, a quaint town square, maybe a boat ride up the Piscataqua. And it's easy to see why. Portsmouth has all of this in spades and if you were to just spend your time downtown and staring at the water, you'd have a pretty good time. But you're not coming just for sunsets. I know you're not. You know you're not. You want the bar that slings the best cocktails, the townie dive that hosts shameless karaoke, maybe a game of pickup sand volleyball and a sunset hike. You're an adventurer, a young, open eyed traveler who knows that behind corners and down side streets is where the real party is. Any seaside town that's been around for almost 400 years has some serious layers to it. Let's explore some of them right now.

My actual words when my cousin from out of town (Jamaica to be exact) visited me in D.C and asked if we could swing by the Washington Monument;

Every city in this world has a unique vibe. Some have history. Some have fashion. Some have nature. Some have food. What if a city has an exceptionally extraordinary nightlife? And, what if you are a part of that imaginary night? Some cities in the world are splendid for the way its night rises in the sky. You can find the best drinks, alive and energetic nights, fun people, rocking dance floors, crazy music, bizarre crowd, overall, and an ultimate experience of life. You can forget about all the odds and live to the fullest amidst the cheering crowds and loud sounds.

Hi, my name is Ellie. The photo above is me waiting eagerly for one of my aunties (pictured right) to take me on a regularly scheduled stroll/detailed evaluation of their surrounding territory. They are very special to me, so whenever my parents bring me by their place in Pasadena, CA to check on them I am always sure to not leave any patch of grass un-sniffed nor any errant cats un-warned. Both my aunties and my parents call their house “the Unicorn” and talk about how special it is all the time. While it’s great and I really enjoy my time here, they tend to forget about the rest of the neighborhood, which I actually think is much more special.