by Natalie Ogbourne | Jan 1, 2023 | Navigating Tough Terrain
A long, long time ago—forty years last month—my parents took my little brother and me to Yellowstone. If you’ve read around here long, you know my life has never been the same. (Thank you, Mom and Dad.) One of the sights I most remember from that first visit is...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Oct 8, 2022 | Pause, Ponder the Path, Press On
At the switchback, I paused for a breath and surveyed the landscape. Interested as I was in the spruce and fir trees dotting Lamar Valley’s faded grass, what I really wanted was to see how far my husband and I had come so I could figure out know how much further I had...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Oct 17, 2021 | Navigating Tough Terrain
Two Octobers ago, I paused on the bank of the Gardner River and wondered just exactly why I would choose to be standing there in a swimsuit in twelve-degree air. We’d been there before–at least, my husband, two older kids, and I had. At that particular stretch of the...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Jul 30, 2021 | Navigating Tough Terrain
My husband and I set off into the woods at a brisker than usual clip. Sooner than I hoped, the trail made good on its short-but-steep reputation. After a short lag, my steps slowed because there was no way I could keep that pace at that grade all the way to the top....
by Natalie Ogbourne | Mar 16, 2021 | Navigating Tough Terrain
“Time to get going,” Dad said as he thumped on the tent I shared with my husband. Going? I could barely move. I freed my beleaguered body from my sleeping bag and crawled from our tent out into the morning chill. Stiff and sore from the previous day’s ride, I picked...
by Natalie Ogbourne | Jun 18, 2020 | Navigating Tough Terrain
My great-grandma was a woman of summer. She kept a garden. She grew the flowers and vegetables that graced her table. She picked the berries that topped our ice cream. Every once in a while, I helped her in the garden or the berry patch and it always shocked me when...