Hiking in the Time of Corona: 3 Spots You Haven’t Tried

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 12, 2020December 12, 2021 hiking, northwest arkansas buffalo river, colt, coronavirus, jeff, quarantine, round top mountain trail, sweden creek falls, tea kettle falls, waterfall 1 Comment

We’ve been navigating this thing by spending every possible minute outside. Our gym is closed and baseball is suspended so we’ve been taking walks and bike rides — and dialing way up on our hiking….

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument: Slot Canyons and Blue Skies

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 10, 2018November 4, 2018 active lifestyle, hiking, motherhood, travel with kids colt, junior ranger, kasha-katuwe, national park, new mexico, spring break, spring break 2018, tent rocks 2 Comments

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2018 Spring Break road trip across New Mexico. Click here for all posts. Early in the trip planning, Susan texted me a photo she…

Bandelier National Monument: An Unexpected Gem

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 8, 2018November 4, 2018 active lifestyle, hiking, motherhood, travel with kids bandelier national monument, colt, junior ranger, national park, new mexico, spring break, spring break 2018 1 Comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2018 Spring Break road trip across New Mexico. Click here for all posts. My friend Jackie once told me about a study she read…

8 Lessons I’ve Learned (The Hard Way) About Hiking Shoes

By Sarah Martin HoodJanuary 9, 2017July 18, 2020 adventure travel, canoeing & kayaking, hiking backpacking, footwear, hiking, hiking boots, hiking shoes, keens, mountain climbing 3 Comments

When it comes to hiking and backpacking, shoes are a thing. Similar to most any sport or activity, having the right gear is a step in the direction of comfort, convenience, and – ultimately –…

The Goat Trail to Big Bluff

By Sarah Martin HoodOctober 23, 2016November 4, 2018 hiking, northwest arkansas big bluff, buffalo river, centerpoint trail, goat trail, hiking, ozark national forest 1 Comment

Even after years of hiking around Northwest Arkansas, we are still finding new trails. We’ve had our eye on The Goat Trail to Big Bluff for a while, but wanted to be sure Colt could…

Common Ground

By Sarah Martin HoodNovember 1, 2015November 4, 2018 hiking, motherhood, northwest arkansas colt, devil's den state park, hiking, jeff 2 Comments

After a weekend of Halloween festivities capped off with an up-all-night, sugar-fueled sleepover with friends, he was probably ready to crawl onto the couch and spend the balance of his Sunday staring at NFL RedZone…

Take a Hike

By Sarah Martin HoodJuly 30, 2014September 17, 2016 hiking Leave a comment

Tomorrow is August Eve, and I refuse to let July slip by without so much as a check-in. With a quick, confirming glance at the archives, I have blogged at least once in every single…

Take a Hike

By Sarah Martin HoodOctober 22, 2013September 18, 2016 gold star family, hiking, northwest arkansas 1LT Tom Martin Memorial Foundation, arkansas, becky, buffalo river, colt, crazy aunt laura, hawksbill crag, Keeping TIME, tom, whitaker point Leave a comment

“Let’s do the hike out to that pretty rock,” she said. So we did. As soon as my sister Laura confirmed she could come to Fayetteville for a weekend in October — we made plans….

Ghosts of Adventures Past

By Sarah Martin HoodJuly 19, 2013September 18, 2016 adventure travel, canoeing & kayaking, hiking backpacking, hiking, life list Leave a comment

Well, it’s that time again. Time for Jeff and me to leave our social media and our indoor plumbing and our DVR behind for a few days for our annual trek into the wilderness. It’ll…

Yosemite – 2011

By Sarah Martin HoodJuly 24, 2011December 12, 2021 adventure travel, hiking, travel backpacking, jeff, waterfall, yosemite Leave a comment

Yosemite: July 2011 – Trip Report Monday, 11 July 2011 Gotta love flying west. Jeff and I left XNA around 1pm, flew to Sacramento via Denver and arrived around 5pm that afternoon. Just in time…