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TRAVEL BLOG | RECENT POSTS

How to Pack for Backpacking: Best Tips for First-Time Backpackers

By Shalee Wanders | Jun 22, 2021

How to Pack For a Backpacking Trip: Best Tips for First-Time Backpackers June 22, 2021  My mom was a 5th-grade teacher and at the end of every school year, she’d bring her students on a weekend-long backpacking trip along the shores of Lake Michigan. Every year I begged to join and when I was 8,…

How to Travel Cheap: A Complete Guide to Saving Money While Traveling

By Shalee Wanders | Apr 26, 2021

How to Travel Cheap: A Complete Guide to Budget Travel in 2024 Updated: February 15th, 2024 If I hadn’t learned how to travel cheaply, my travel resume would be nonexistent. I never would’ve started this blog. I never would have this career. There is a fine line between not being able to afford to travel…

Everything I Wish People Would’ve Told Me About How to Live The Van Life

By Shalee Wanders | Apr 14, 2021

Everything I Wish People Would’ve Told Me About How to Live The Van Life April 14, 2021 There are a lot of things we did right when it came to living in a van. However, there was also a lot we did wrong. The truth is, when it comes to van life, mistakes rarely happen…

Top Things to Do in Michigan in 2021: Michigan Bucket List

By Shalee Wanders | Apr 6, 2021

Top Things to Do in Michigan in 2021: Michigan Bucket List April 6, 2021 Well, since 2020 was a major bust, we all have some extra adventuring to make up for the last 365+ days. If you’re like me, you’re not planning to let time go. Instead, you’re stocking up your summer with twice as…

7 Things to Do Near Jaco, Costa Rica

By Shalee Wanders | Mar 10, 2021

7 Things to Do Near Jaco, Costa Rica March 10, 2021 I was 6 or 7 years old when I got a postcard from my aunt in the mail from Costa Rica. She always sent me postcards on her exotic travels. I would run the quarter-mile up the dusty dirt road to the mailbox every…

The Best Winter Getaway in Montana

By Shalee Wanders | Feb 8, 2021

The Best Winter Getaway in Montana February 8th, 2021 There’s a lot I take into account when traveling. I love to remember the feeling a place gives me. When you leave somewhere new, you’ll feel a particular type of way. That’s how you know how much it meant to you. On certain days, long after…

Four Unique Things to Do in Wyoming

By Shalee Wanders | Jan 14, 2021

Four Unique Things to Do in Wyoming January 14, 2021 I first visited Wyoming when I was eight on a family road trip out west. It’s a familiar story for those from the Midwest, especially in the late 90s and early 2000s. Where I was from, it was considered the trip. Pack your bags, drive westward for…

The Best Gear For Hiking and Traveling With Cats

By Shalee Wanders | Dec 6, 2020

The Best Gear For Hiking & Traveling With Cats Published: December 6, 2020 Updated: May 1, 2022 We’ve been traveling with our two cats for nearly three years and have learned some pretty important lessons along the way. Recently we visited South Dakota, their 20th state. One of the biggest questions I receive about traveling/hiking…

Granite Peak: Everything to Know About Climbing Montana’s Tallest Mountain

By Shalee Wanders | Nov 23, 2020

Granite Peak: Everything to Know About Climbing Montana’s Tallest Mountain November 23, 2020 Distance: 28 Miles Elevation: 12,808 Feet / 4,500ft Elevation Gain Route: Southwest Ramp/Couloir The pinkish-orange sunrise lit the valley and lakes below as we hobbled over steep rockfall toward the summit of Granite Peak. The clear skies and warm sun hid the…

PARNTERS 

ADVENTURE TRAVEL BLOG

August 8th, 2024

It’s taken years of long trips, short trips, overnight trips, and day trips to perfect my packing. And trust me, I’ve made almost every mistake along the way.

January 14, 2024

Acatengango is 13,045ft tall located about an hour's drive from Antigua. There are numerous trails to the summit, the most popular being 8.5 miles round trip and requiring 5,269 feet of elevation gain.

May 25th, 2024

Granite Peak is situated in the remote wilderness of the Beartooth Mountain Range. At 12,808, it towers above the majority of other peaks in Montana.

May 8th, 2024

The Disappointment Cleaver (or ‘DC’) route is the easiest route to the summit of Mount Rainier. It is the standard route used by all three mountaineering guides to the summit.

An Adventure Travel Blog & Female Travel Blog

MEET 

SHALEE |

Somehow, being completely lost, unapologetically stubborn, and barely resourceful has landed me in this weird twilight zone of becoming a female travel blogger.

My story starts on the shores of Lake Michigan, where I'd spend my days sleeping in my car and eating ice cream for meals. I'm from a rough small town in Michigan, where travel is a foreign concept. When I started traveling, most of the people I knew had never left the state of Michigan. Eventually, my Facebook friends started asking how I could afford to travel, and I started a travel blog to write guides & hacks for traveling on a budget.

Eleven years later, I'm in awe of this little website and all the big things it's done for me. All I wanted was to help one person travel, and now I get to live a dream every day, seeing the world as my full-time job.

Thank you for being here.

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TRAVELING WITH CATS

December 2, 2021

Whether you need to move with your cat cross country or are looking to train your furry sidekick as an adventure companion, there are some important steps to take to get them acquainted for the road.

December 6, 2020

Whether you need to travel cross country with your cat or are aiming to train your new kitten as a hiking companion, here’s everything you’ll need to get them ready for the open road.

female travel blog

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female travel blogger

Shalee Wanders is a female travel blog focusing on adventure travel. Midwest born and raised, she began exploring by camping in Michigan as a young adult. In 2014, she met her love and travel partner, Josh. Since their first "date" jumping off cliffs in Canada, they have lived the vanlife in America, toured Europe on $20 a day, and explored over thirty countries.

Shalee is considered an expert in the travel industry for outdoor & adventure travel destinations. Her writing and photography have been featured in numerous notable publications and online outlets, such as Forbes, USA Today, and The Huffington Post.