Life Update

Well it sure has been a while since I’ve posted anything new on this page. I couldn’t be more excited to dive back into the world of blogging and more importantly, story telling, as I start to dust off the cobwebs and navigate through where I left off.

_{^{Jumping into a Glacial Lake one Day 1 of the Bomber Traverse.}}

Alaska. The last adventure that was shared within the construct of this blog, some 5+ years ago now. The first thing I have to say is simply that, the adventure did not stop there.

^{One of the Craziest Northern Lights shows that I had the pleasure of watching – just outside of Whitehorse, Canada.}

After a whirlwind of a season in what many may call ‘The Last Frontier’, I learned more about myself, the past I carried with me, and how I wanted to play out my future ahead. Although, as we all grow from year to year, we can understand and empathize how things don’t always go to plan, and how we continue to learn and develop from the variety of things thrown our way.

^{Life view point : Living in the back of Ravioli – Summer 2017}

After Alaska, I moved to the PNW following my heart to be with a boy, who was the first person I ever said ‘I love you’ to, and whom I fell very deeply for. We started to create a life together, as we navigated through purchasing and building out a van for travel, then spending the better part of the following year living out of that van, working on the road, and growing a partnership together. Long story short, that didn’t quite work out, and I left the relationship and the van in Colorado and set out for a new sense of adventure.

^{Working on Myrtle with my best friend Carol parked next door, outside of Joshua Tree National Park for New Years 2018 – Custom build where I designed the framework, worked with a welder to construct a custom steel frame, then sourced aluminum siding and riveted it on. Proudest accomplishment, creating the back door to resemble a barn door, and coolest window above the bed.}

Alaska took me away from California, and opened up my sight for life on the road. Originally converting my RAV4 (RAVioli) into my mobile home, then the Econoline E350 (Myrtle) with my previous partner, then about 3 months living out of a suitcase traveling from San Diego, to Potrero Chico, to living outside of Chattanooga, then back to the west coast where I moved back into the RAV4. The next leg of my journey starting Spring 2019 took me back to the PNW for work as I grew into a professional Climbing Guide working with She Moves Mountains for my second season. To say my life is all over the place is an understatement, and to quote one of my favorite quotes from my time studying abroad : “A ship in a harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for”.

^{Veronica, myself, Eric and Maggie celebrating my last adventure in the Red River Gorge – Fall 2019}

There have been more adventures than I can fit in this post from living in my trusty ‘ol RAVioli traveling coast to coast, to COVID shutdown leading to starting my own Handywoman Business – Jess of all Trades and also stepping into the Lead Guide role and Program Coordinator for two guiding services; Golden State Guiding and Fifth Class Climbing School.

^Me

Needless to say, while this blog page has been somewhat quite, you can catch up with some of my adventures by following me on Instagram @jessielyse and stay tuned for more to come 🙂

And always, thanks for being here.