Contributors

Kirsten Ross

2018-01-14T00:00:00-07:00

Kirsten comes from a family of 5 brothers and 3 sisters and was born on her grandfather's cattle and thoroughbred horse ranch situated on the Monterey Peninsula in Northern California.

She majored in creative writing while attending the University of Arizona and has had a lifelong affinity for poetry, prose and all things written word. Her background includes TV, radio and print advertising sales and marketing, co-founder/creator of a unique nonprofit fundraising event that paired celebrity chefs with renowned contemporary artists and being a proud mom to son Casey daughter Katharine.

Kirsten is the Director of Marketing for kikooworld.com.

More About Kirsten

My most memorable trip: An eight-day whitewater rafting trip down the Colorado River with the Goldwater family. It was Barry Goldwater's last trip down the river. He was 84 years old and still had camera in-hand the whole way down. His vast exploration of and deep love affair with the Grand Canyon and the river itself, was awe-inspiring and provided a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The trip was called "Delightful Journey", named after his book based on his 47-day adventure in 1940 down the Green and Colorado Rivers.

While traveling I always: Bring with me a sense of wide-eyed-wonder, and my 8th-grade, paper-back copy of Emerson's Essays.

What's on my travel bucket list: Taking my 88 year-old mom back to see her beloved ranch and walk on Carmel Beach. Iceland to see the Northern Lights. African Safari with my kids. And...

Sally Black

2017-12-28T00:00:00-07:00

It took Sally Black a while to figure out exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up. In the meantime, she's been a single mom to three kids, a Pediatric Nurse who delivered babies, an internet pioneer and all while circling the globe while knitting. After all this hard work she finally settled on the idea that vacations are something she does best.

When she's not on the road, she lives and works in Pennsylvania with her husband Brian. She recently added the prestigious title of "Grandma" to her resume. As the founder of Vacationkids and the author of "Fearless Family Vacations", Sally is kikooworld.com’s go-to vacation planning expert. You can take advantage of her boundless energy and impeccable travel planning services here.

Christopher Elliott

2017-12-27T00:00:00-07:00

Christopher Elliott is an author, journalist and consumer advocate.

You can read more about him on his personal website or check out Away is Home, where he chronicles his family’s open-ended, around-the-world adventure.

Contact him at chris@elliott.org.

Lynn O'Rourke Hayes

2017-10-09T00:00:00-07:00

Lynn O'Rourke Hayes is a writer, photographer, and a passionate traveler. She is the Editor and owner of kikooworld.com.

Each week, she writes a syndicated travel column that appears in the likes of the Dallas Morning News, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Newsday and many more. She also contributes to other print, online and broadcast outlets. She believes travel has the power to change lives and to serve as a pathway for personal growth and self understanding. She has spent more than 30 years writing and speaking about travel and family issues.

More about Lynn

She has worked for two hotel companies and consulted to numerous other organizations within the travel industry. Lynn and a partner organized and accompanied a 24-day, around the world golf trip on the Concorde. A member of the Author’s Guild, she has written a book about balancing work and family ( Macmillan and Ballantine ) and contributed to several others. Her articles and comments have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA TODAY, The Huffington Post and The Arizona Republic. She's appeared before the U.S. Congress, on CNN, NBC’s The Today Show and numerous other television and radio programs, as well as before groups large and small. She is also a founding board member of the Family Travel Association.

Her travels have taken her to more than 100 countries on six continents, across deserts, down rivers, over mountains, under the sea, through jungles and to 48 of our 50 states. A graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, she resides in Scottsdale, AZ and Whitefish, Montana.

Her proudest accomplishment: raising three incredible sons. Her great joy: five grandchildren.

Looking for help planning your next adventure?

Teddy Hayes

2012-05-09T00:00:00-07:00

Teddy was born in Washington DC but grew up in a travel loving family in Arizona. He has rafted the white waters of the Colorado River, hiked to Machu Picchu, explored the Amazon, sampled sushi in Japan and traveled to London and Paris. His world further expanded when he spent five months living in Cuenca, Ecuador learning Spanish and salsa dancing while teaching English. He studied Economics in Montana and graduated from Portland State University in Portland, OR. He and his wife, Kalli, currently plan adventures from their home in Billings, MT.

More about Teddy

Favorite trip:

Spending a month in the backcountry of the Wind River Wilderness with NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) taught me a lot about just how little “things” really matter. A sleeping bag, tent, a fishing pole, and some beautiful mountains will do just fine.

Can’t wait to do:

One of my adventure goals is to stand at 20,000 ft. I stood at 19,000 when I climbed Cotapaxi last year, but I need to make it the extra grand. I am eyeing Chimborazo in Ecuador. In addition to being over 20,000 ft., it is also the point on Earth that is closest to the sun.

While traveling I always:

Try to make friends. Whether I am swapping stories, finding my next adventure, or simply trying to find a bathroom, the people I’ve met while on the road have shaped my trip in many ways. Whether you find a travel partner or a place to stay, making friends along the way adds dimension and spontaneity – two aspects that make traveling so much fun.

Lisa Tucker

2012-03-31T00:00:00-07:00

Lisa Tucker is a law professor at the Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law. She is also the author of eleven children’s books, most of them up-close and personal looks at fascinating Americans. Lisa contributes regularly to outlets like the New York Times’ Motherlode and Parenting magazine, as well as many print, web, and broadcast outlets.

She and her books have appeared on the Today Show, CNN, the Satellite Sisters, NBC Nightly News, NPR, and many other radio and television programs; they have been featured in People, Time, Parents, and other newspapers and magazines across the country. Her essay for NPR’s This I Believe was published in an anthology about parenthood.

Lisa is the parent of two wonderful daughters, whose adventures and observations inspire her writing. She and her dog-loving family live in the Philadelphia suburbs.

More About Lisa

My most memorable trip: For my birthday one year, I took a luxury white water rafting trip down the Futaleufu River in Patagonia, Chile. As if the Class V rapids weren’t adventure enough, we got stuck in the biggest earthquake in fifty years. We were fine, but getting home was quite a challenge.

Favorite trip with my kids: For another birthday (OK, my 40th), the whole family hit Puerto Vallarta for a week. The kids loved the pools and the beach; we all appreciated the great small restaurants and the art culture.

Can’t wait to get to: The Great Barrier Reef. After recent trips to Palau and Belize, I’m now certified and can't wait to dive down under!

What I love about family travel: The family unwinds and hangs out together. There’s usually no cell phone service. We eat a lot of crazy stuff (ice cream for breakfast, squid for dinner, anyone?). No one blow dries her hair. We explore together to find folk art to bring home – all the better to remember our trip.

What I least like about family travel: Our two dachshunds and one standard poodle usually have to stay home.

Chase Guttman

2011-04-12T00:00:00-07:00

Chase Guttman is a passionate and talented photographer, political junkie, intrepid explorer, and world traveler. Chase visited more than 35 countries, 45 U.S. states, and 8 Canadian provinces by the time he was 12.

He's crossed Saharan dunes by camel in Morocco, dogsledded with an Iditerod legend in Wyoming, taken wagon trains across the Dakotas,

heli-hiked through the Canadian Rockies, snowmobiled Iceland's vast glaciers, sailed wooden ice yachts on the Hudson, rafted tidal bores on the Bay of Fundy, and rode both Olympic bobsleds and Stanley Steamers.

He has harvested cranberries in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, worked with an eel trapper in the middle of the Delaware River, rescued baby puffins beneath the cliffs of the Westmann Islands, tracked jaguars in Belize and competed with national champion log burlers in Pennsylvania. During his travels, he has slept in lighthouses, treehouses, teepees, swamp platforms, stalactite-covered caves and ice hotels.

Chase has met with three American presidents and climbed over several more when he stood atop George Washington's granite wig at Mount Rushmore.

He has been in the New York Times, CNN's iReport and was the featured subject of an award-winning article in the Dallas Morning News. Chase Guttman is also the winner of the 2010 Young Travel Photographer of the Year, an international competition judged by magazine editors and museum curators. His photographic work will be on exhibition at London's prestigious Royal Geographic Society in the spring of 2011.

Chase also runs a popular photography tips and guide blog, with weekly insights into photography for everyone from amateurs to professionals. His website is www.chaseguttman.com.

More about Chase:

My Most Memorable Trip- My most memorable trip was to Morocco where I enjoyed roaming through the narrow alleyways of Marrakesh, guided by the stench of the tanneries and the colorful spices of the markets. I loved my Saharan journey through an ocean of sand dunes in a caravan of camels arriving at a distant desert oasis late at night.

Oddest Travel Moment- Perhaps my oddest travel moment occurred in a Yukon saloon famous for offering their exclusive "Sourtoe Cocktail". The drink actually includes a severed and unappetizing human toe that has been preserved in salt and is placed in a shot of Yukon Jack. Lines run out the doors of the Downtown Hotel, where you sit down with the toe master and have the drink. To receive his certificate, the rules state "you can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips have got to touch the toe". Bottoms up.

Most Interesting Person I Met While Traveling: The most interesting person I met while traveling was a colorfully self-reliant, off-the-grid, bearded eel trapper living the pioneer life. It was fascinating to hang out with him at night in the middle of a raging Delaware River on top of his handmade stone and wooden device and listen to the slimy eels periodically dropping into the trap. The yearly eel migration signaled my new friend that it was time to fire up the smoke house to prepare his delicacy.

Peter Potterfield

2011-04-12T00:00:00-07:00

Adventure journalist Peter Potterfield, author of Classic Hikes of the World, spends more time outdoors than in. He has hiked on seven continents, traveling from Mount Everest to Antarctica, New Zealand to Arctic Sweden, the Grand Canyon to the Scottish Highlands, Alaska to Africa.

"I'm trying to see and write about as many of the most beautiful places on the planet as possible," said Potterfield. "The problem is, there are more good places to go than there is time to get there. My goal is to help people prioritize."

Potterfield writes about backcountry travel for magazines, books and online publishing. He is the author of a dozen books on the subject, including the critically acclaimed In the Zone, and High Himalaya, winner of the Banff Book Festival award.

Potterfield has written for National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Reader's Digest, Backpacker, Conde Nast Traveler and other national publications. He is currently editor of GreatOutdoors.com in Seattle.

More about Peter:

Most memorable trip: At ten years old I read Endurance, the famous account of Ernest Shackleton’s epic adventure to Antarctica, when his ship was beset in the ice and destroyed. Against all odds, Shackleton brought every one of his men back to civilization safely. I was fascinated by the story. A few years ago, a handful of hardy adventurers and I traveled to South Georgia Island to retrace Shackleton’s steps. It was not only the greatest adventure of my life, in the most pristine landscape I ever saw, it was also an emotional journey back to the roots of adventure.

The travel moment that changed the way I view the world: An early hike took me to a windswept ridge in Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Range. From camp, I looked south across September slopes golden with autumn aspen and ridge-tops painted blood red by a setting sun. It was a transforming vision. At that moment I made a promise to myself to see more of these pristine places, to experience as many of the highlights of the natural world as possible--while they remain still and beautiful.

When traveling, I never: Go with preconceptions. They are always wrong. I go with a totally open mind, ready to see what it is when I get there. By being unconstrained by preconceived notions, I am able to enjoy the reality of the place as it is revealed.

Diana Shelton Scherr

2011-04-12T00:00:00-07:00

Diana accepted a job in Dublin, Ireland after college and never looked back. Her wanderlust has taken her to more than 30 countries and through countless adventures in the States. Diana's professional career includes roles in public relations and marketing in a diverse range of industries - all with the common theme of saving up for the next trip. She recently returned from Cuenca, Ecuador where she enjoyed a 2-year family sabbatical with her husband and their two junior explorers, Piper and Duncan, where every day is a new adventure.

More about Diana:

Most memorable trip: Throwing on a backpack at age 24 with a one-way ticket to the other side of the world. Traveling solo in foreign lands taught me more about life and myself than I ever, ever could have imagined.

Can't leave home without: My (20-year-old) sarong. Sleep sheet, beach towel, knapsack, curtain, dress, tablecloth and more - all in a lightweight, compact 5'x3' piece of cotton!

While traveling I always: Remember the words of my mother.... "Be a good ambassador."

Matt Scherr

2011-04-12T00:00:00-07:00

Before bailing out of the workaday world for a two-year sabbatical with his family in Ecuador, Matt was the director of a community-based sustainability organization promoting green building, renewable power, and waste reduction in Vail, Colorado.

He and his wife, Diana, have traveled extensively, so it was inevitable that they would want their children to become global citizens.

Though Matt's most recent writing has addressed the field of sustainability, his past is littered with music reviews, tourism promotion, opinion pieces, and travelogues.

More about Matt:

My most memorable trip: My life truly changed course when I embarked on a trip with my parents to Thailand and then to my sister's Peace Corps site in the Philippines. It was a different world--a radically different culture, a remarkable natural environment, throngs of humans, levels of poverty I'd never imagined. At just 20, this trip challenged everything I knew and presumed.

The travel moment that changed the way I view the world: My sister was assigned to a remote Peace Corps community, on an island in the Philippines. There, I met some of the poorest people I had ever encountered. They were also some of the happiest. It was then I began to understand the mistake often made in equating material wealth with happiness.

Favorite trip with a child: My wife, Diana, and I began our life-changing travels in college. We recently experimented on our two innocent young children with two years living abroad in Ecuador. Of course our hope is that the wonder and wisdom we discovered later in our lives becomes part of their very nature. Though as with all things children, despite our best intentions, they're just as likely to end up rebel commanders in the Resistance. We'll let you know how that goes.