“What will you do with your one wild and precious life?”
— Mary Oliver

A Wandering Jack

My name is Nicole and I'm an aspiring polymath (homo universalis). I love learning and have a consuming curiosity of the world around me.

In 2013, I was granted a leave of absence from my accounting job to pursue a wild idea I'd been harboring since 2012 to work on an organic vegetable farm. Farm life changed me. It reinforced the original thought that prompted me to work on the farm in the first place: the one thing you can't get back is time. I knew that if I didn't actively pursue my ideas, I'd blink and another year of my life would disappear. 

After almost ten months of planning and almost a year and a half of saving, I'm ready to embark on my next adventure. I welcome you to follow me as I explore North America overland.

What Is This Website?

This website is primarily a space for me to share my many loves including: travel, the outdoors, nature, food, social issues, finance, poetry, photography, etc. As stated above, I have many interests. However, the Truck Travels blog will be dedicated to chronicling my travels across North America and beyond.

I hope this website can give you some food for thought and inspire you to do whatever it is you will with you one wild and precious life.

My Biases

I've read many travel/adventure blogs and think it's helpful to know where the writer is coming from when telling you about their experiences or recommendations. So, here is the low down:

  • I love the outdoors and nature and natural landscapes.Thus, many of the things on my "to-do" list are exploring natural landscapes.
  • I prefer walking over most modes of transportation because I feel the most connected to what it is I'm doing. 
  • I prefer owning less and owning high quality equipment when I do decide to own (as long as it's within my means to purchase it). I believe in the phrase "penny saved, pound foolish".
  • I am insanely attracted to gear that is light weight, compact, low maintenance, durable, and versatile.
  • While I have nothing against hotels, resorts, cruises, and other forms of money sucking tourism, I don't seek out such things. I love hiking the Superior Hiking Trail because it's free camping and the remoteness and ruggedness of the trails deters most yahoos from ruining the experience.
  • In the same vein, I don't generally choose to eat out unless it's local cuisine. I prefer to purchase food at the stores and markets where the locals do.