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Reflections on Roaming

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Hi, I'm Erin!

I am a photographer passionate about the outdoors, meaningful travel, creativity and intention in all things. I hope to use my platform online to show the beauty and complexity of the world we live in, and to encourage genuine connection to the world and all the magic within it.

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This post is sponsored by Zappos & Blundstone.

What happens when you set out on a trip with the intention of finding yourself? What happens when you don’t have any intention at all?

I never stopped roaming, but the way I did it changed.

I am writing this from my living room in Boulder, Colorado. I’m working in my pajamas, drinking coffee on an overcast day. The wind is gusty outside my window.

I have called this apartment home for two years. It’s the longest I’ve lived anywhere since being in school. I stayed here because I got tired of living out of a backpack, tired of wandering, tired of always having to plan the next thing. Because I felt like when I was planning the next thing, I lost sight of the moment I was in.

So I found somewhere I liked, and I called it home base. But it’s been two years and this is on my mind. Maybe I will move on, but I like having somewhere to come home to.

When you have a home base, you acquire things. Furniture. Kitchen appliances. Art in nice frames. Candles. Plants. Things that didn’t really belong in my backpack.

I have learned just as much living in one place as I have on the road. I explore my backyard, I develop new hobbies, I continue to find community, I invest in friendships without an expiration date. I go out on solo day hikes and long mountain drives.

I think the point here is that I didn’t stop roaming, I just changed the way I did it and what it meant to me. And I know I talk about the way social media portrays things a lot– but it’s important. You don’t need a vintage van or the best gear to roam anywhere, because you define what that means.

How I roam is however I want to. We all define our own exploration.

 


 

Thank you to my friends at Zappos for sponsoring this post! Zappos shipping & return policies and customer service is awesome– I got free next-day shipping on the Blundstone boots in the photos above. I wore Blundstones working in the Australian outback and on farms in New Zealand– now they are just my everyday boot. Here’s a link to the pair I have.

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  1. Will says:

    I hear you, dude. I just got back to Denver after a little more than a year traveling abroad, and the roaming there taught me so much about how to roam day-to-day here. I think traveling helps you realize that adventure is much more about how you experience life than where.

    That said, have a blast in South America!

  2. Lynn says:

    I’ve been thinking about this a lot, too. I loved visiting Colorado last summer, and hope to see Utah next year. It will be a short exploration, no more than two weeks, so I won’t get to see everything. On the other hand, there are 500 miles of trails in Shenandoah, (relatively) near my home, and I’ve only hiked about 100 of them. It will take me years to see all 500 miles, in all seasons. To me, both kinds of exploring are exciting. Seeing new places is great, but so is intimately learning your own backyard.

  3. Emily says:

    Thanks for sharing; I totally agree. I lived in Maui for a few years and I did tons of exploring on that island but not a lot of traveling elsewhere. Mainly because it was a new place with a ton of things to do and see but also because I couldn’t afford to travel afar while living there because it’s more expensive. That experience it made me realize that I probably overlooked many unique experiences where I grew up in Georgia and the Southeast just because they were nearby. Been working on my travel blog about US travel ever since.

    • An awesome lesson to learn! And Maui must have been such a good teacher. I think it’s easy to fall into our routines when we have a home base, and to view it as less-than-exciting. I grew up in CT and am trying to view it now with new eyes as well!

  4. Renee says:

    Great read Erin! I find that travel definitely helps me be more adventurous and ‘in the moment’ during day to day life at home. Love the boots too!

  5. Reelika says:

    I am so in love with your blog, your vlog.. everything that you do and stand for, You have inspired me today so much you have no idea… Thankful to have found such a real and genuine person here in the WIDE world of internet.

  6. Chelsea says:

    Hey Erin, I am in the process of creating my own blog and was wondering if you had a moment whenever your free! No rush, I know your very busy, I would really appreciate just a few small bits of advice.
    1. Did you use WordPress or squarespace ?
    2. When you launched did you have a lot of content already posted ?
    3. What do you believe has been your best form of reaching people/gathering followers in regards to social media, links , Google etc?
    4. How important do you find your logo, brand to be for marketing ? The simpler the better ? Any thoughts..
    5 . Last questions I promise ! Thank you so much. – which type of camera do you use ? And do you find your photos make a huge difference overall, the quality and quantity ?

    Thank you so much for your time Erin, I am such a big fan of your blog. You have inspired me from day 1 of discovering you. You are incredible at what you do, keep spreading your words and life will continue to shine on you with all of its love and gratitude. Your on such journey to true self awareness. You inspire me each day. No rush on getting back to me, I am so appreciative of you and you taking the time to read and answers my questions.

    Have a beautiful day Erin,

    Chelsea Rae Rusing

    • Hey Chelsea! Thanks for the note and for your questions.

      1. WordPress
      2. Nope! I launched it with one post and just went from there.
      3. Instagram is my biggest platform. Facebook has been good as well, but word of mouth has been awesome and the most organic way for people to find me.
      4. I think simpler is often better. Just make sure it feels like you.
      5 . I use a Sony a5100 right now because it’s what I’ve been using for vlogging. I’d love to upgrade but it’s a bit expensive for me to do that right now. I am super passionate about photography, and my photo work stems from that passion. I do some photo work on the side so a lot of what I post is from work projects as well!

      Thanks so much for the love, Chelsea! See you around.

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