by Natalie Ogbourne | Feb 3, 2015 | Navigating Tough Terrain
We pulled into the gravel parking lot at the base of Bunsen Peak, piled out, grabbed day packs and water from the back of the vehicle, and set off. Dust had barely begun to accumulate around our ankles when we saw him: a lone bison, a bull, just twenty-five feet off...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Jan 21, 2015 | Pause, Ponder the Path, Press On
Two Septembers ago my family spent a few weeks in South Dakota. It wasn’t a vacation; it was a working trip. My husband tucked us away in the hills and commuted every morning into Rapid City. The kids and I did schoolwork and read and whiled away the remains of...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Sep 16, 2014 | Pondering Life Outside
Dad and I went to Yellowstone about a year ago—just the two of us, to the Lamar Buffalo Ranch, for a nature writing class—and we did some hiking and camping along the way. Most of the time, the end-of-August days delighted us with warm sun and cool air, but the...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Sep 8, 2014 | Pondering Life Outside
Gary Smalley, founder of the Smalley Relationship Center, says that the secret to a “close-knit relationship is shared experiences that turn into shared trials.” He mentions camping as one source for shared trials and a potential relationship-building...
by Natalie Ogbourne | May 19, 2014 | Pause, Ponder the Path, Press On
We don’t always get it right out on the trail. We knew it would be close. Still, we hopped out at the picnic area, grabbed a late lunch, and prepared to hit the trail to Harney Peak, the highest point in the Black Hills. My husband filled our camel paks while I...
by Natalie Ogbourne | May 8, 2014 | Pause, Ponder the Path, Press On
There is more to a hike than a pair of boots, a granola bar, and the trail. There’s technique. At least that’s what they taught in the hiking class I took to satisfy a college P.E. requirement. I was slow to come to a love of hiking and didn’t yet have it...