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Author Archive

I have had interest from geocachers who wanted to purchase the last of my Arizona Centennial Trackable Geocoins. These were made specifically for the Centennial and only 48 trackable coins were minted.

(Okay, FIFTY were minted but two are going onto a plaque as part of the project. Someday.)

Of the 48, I have eight SIX left.

I’m selling them at $25.00 each which includes priority mail shipping anywhere in the USA. (Out of country folks, sorry, I just can’t handle it!)

I made a button at PayPal that “should” keep track of the inventory. Each PayPal account can buy one coin. When the six are sold, they’re sold! And I’m only taking PayPal to make my life easier.

Now, all this being said, if the inventory button doesn’t work, then the first six buyers get the coin. Anybody else will get a refund.

 

 

 

The PayPal account will like to TheOutdoorPrincess.com. Make sure I get your correct shipping address and email address!

I always forget how much I love day-long adventures until I have one. So far in 2013, I’ve had TWO: fishing on New Years Day and hiking this past Saturday. Saturday was one of those “adventures” that is only loosely planned.

Ben had noticed a seep marked on the wicked-cool Arizona Recreation Atlas I had given him for Christmas. It’s not that far from his house so we decided to hike up to it and have a poke around. We also grabbed the metal detectors to see if we could find anything fun.

There are some enormous mesas just north of Chino Valley. Since OCTOBER we’d been trying to successfully get to the top of one. Trust me, none of the photos do the size and steepness justice!

I knew that the day was going to be fantastic when it started out by coming around a bend in the road and finding an entire herd of antelope!

From there, we parked and began climbing the hill. I was testing out a couple of new products: Merino wool base layer (thermal underwear), an amazing new hiking stick, and a new mini-backpack from REI. I’ll get the reviews up in the coming weeks.

I don’t have a lot of pictures of the day simply because MOST of our adventure was spent hiking to the top of the mesa. And while my camera takes AMAZING photos, it’s not pocket sized!

The seep was really neat. I’ve never seen cattails growing basically out of the side of a mountain. There was about 8 inches of water in the bottom of the tunnel so there was no exploring; the high was maybe about fifty degrees!

We then scaled the entire mesa to the very top. Along the way, I saw a 6-foot long snake skin, prickly pear cacti with pads at least twelve inches across, a galvanized steel pipe sticking straight up out of a rock outcropping, climbed some nasty cliffs, found pottery shards from the 1970’s, and enjoyed the most amazing views of the valley spread out below us.

I’d love to go back and do some more exploring; maybe with a pocket-friendly camera! But, based on the size of that snake skin, I’ll ONLY be doing it during the cold months!

Oh, and the metal detecting? I found a 30-30 rifle cartridge, a bit of wire, and an old Coke can. Hauled it all off the mountain too!

Chino High grad is now author

By Matt Santos. Published 12/19/12 in the Chino Valley Review.

From spooky campfire stories to cookbooks and travel guides, local author Kimberly Eldredge does it all.

The 1999 Chino Valley High school graduate spent this past Saturday at Kathi’s Books in Chino Valley, signing copies of her paperbacks “Scary & Silly Campfire Stories,” a three-part series based on part fiction and real life adventures.

“Not everybody is interested in the traditional scary campfire stories, so my books are about half scary and half silly,” said Eldredge. “The scary ones have that urban legend feel to them, but some of the silly ones are definitely based on real experiences that I’ve had.”

Eldredge has been writing for as long as she can remember, but really got serious about telling stories when she realized she could make a career out of it.

“I’ve been writing all of my life, but then I realized you could get a degree in writing and how cool is that,” said the University of Arizona graduate.

In addition to her trilogy in paperback, she currently has eight e-books available on Kindle, Nook, and Kobo, through her web site TheOutdoorPrincess.com and through Amazon.

Her e-book titles include “Easy Camping Recipes From The Outdoor Princess,” “33 Great Camping Recipes,” “Must Know Trout Fishing Tricks, Tips, & Techniques,” and her most recent work published this past week, the sixth edition of “The Flagstaff Snow Guide,” a guide to all things outdoors in the Flagstaff area.

Eldredge recommends her campfire stories series to readers of all ages, but says she gears the writing style to fourth- and fifth-graders. Her advice to young writers?

“Don’t be afraid of it. You can do this,” said Eldredge. “Two, get a good editor, start with your local grammar Nazi or your English teacher. Three, your title and cover are key. You have to have a good title and cover or you won’t sell.”

Eldredge also teaches online e-book publishing classes to help new writers. Information on her classes is available at OnTheBeachPublishing.com/KillerTitles.

Kathi’s Books, located at 318 W Perkinsville Rd., Suite 10, hosts similar book signings and also a readers’ tea party every Tuesday afternoon.

Information on all of Kathi’s Books events is available by calling 928-636-2450 or online at kathisbooks.com or on Facebook.

Kim got her degree in what discipline?

A. Taxes

B. Creative Writing

C. Drawing

D. Spanish

Northern Arizona got our first snow storm of the season.  And that means that it’s time once again to promote my annual Flagstaff Snow Guide. In the past, I’ve offered this as an eGuide on EatStayPlay.com. The only problem with that, is that as much traffic as the website gets, I know that it’s only a fraction of the people who may be heading to Flagstaff to play in the snow.

So, (drum roll please)

I’ve decided to offer this year’s snow guide as an Amazon eBook! You can read it on the Kindle or any variety of free reading applications for PC, Mac or even your smart phone!

The 2012-2013 Flagstaff Snow Guide is available for $2.99!

 

I’ve been writing and self-publishing books for a while now. I publish eBooks for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. I’ve also been publishing the campfire stories, the “Scary & Silly” series, with a Print-On-Demand publisher.

(Print-on-demand means that when a book is ordered, ONE book is printed at the publishers and is sent directly to the purchaser. No cases of books in my garage!)

Anyway, through the course of this journey, I’ve been approached by a ton of people who want to learn just what it is that I do and how I do it. Most are frustrated or intimidated by the technical aspects of self-publishing or just don’t know where to begin.

And the savvy business owner that I am, I recognized a need that I could help fill. I’ve been teaching classes about how to self-publish for Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. To keep the aspects of my life separate (for newsletters and IRS issues) I’ve started a new company:

On The Beach Publishing, LLC

You can find my new website at OnTheBeachPublishing.com

To jump-start anyone into the self-publishing world, I’m offering a free webinar on 12/18/12 that covers everything you need to know about writing the title of your book. The title is THE most important piece. It’s the first thing people see and how they make their initial buying decision.

You can learn more about the free webinar, and register at OnTheBeachPublishing.com/KillerTitles

The goal of On The Beach Publishing is to teach authors of all types how to easily self-publish and keep more money in their pockets. I’ve spent countless hours, made a ton of mistakes, and spent over $4,000 to learn what I know. And now I want to teach others how to do this too!

I don’t talk about it much on TheOutdoorPrincess.com, but I actually have a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. I spent years NOT writing since I just didn’t want to deal with traditional publishing. I finally realized that I wasn’t happy if I wasn’t writing something — hence my multitudes of blogs, newsletters, and eBooks!

I am still planning on writing here and the other outdoor recreation blogs. And, of course, keep publishing eBooks about outdoor recreation. (Working on the Flagstaff Snow Guide 2012-2013 eBook right now!)

And the best part: check out how EatStayPlay.com lives on in the logos:

Product Review: ExOfficio Give-N-Go Underwear

I really love it when a product lives up to its reputation 110%. Not every product that I test does, unfortunately.

When I was at the Overland Expo in May, I was given a pair of Women’s Give-N-Go Bikini Briefs to test and review. I know what you’re thinking:

“Kim, seriously, you’re going to review UNDERWEAR on your blog?!” Yeah, I was thinking that too.

But then a lady came up to the booth and was exclaiming that she wears nothing but the ExOfficio undies and they’re great and she wears them every day and they last and on and on and ON she went. So I figured I’d swallow my, ahem, trepidation about reviewing panties and give it a go.

Now Give-No-Go Briefs are explained as:

17 countries. 6 weeks. One pair of award-winning underwear. (Ok, maybe two.)

Join the thousands of people who have discovered the ExOfficio travel underwear revolution. Just toss your Give-N-Go’s in the laundry or wash them in a sink. Within hours you will have a fresh, dry pair of underwear. Breathable, lightweight, and long-wearing, you will toss them into your carry-on for every trip. Soon they will replace every other pair in your underwear drawer.

Which all sounds wonderful, right? But I was interested in how well they held up on the trail. And how well they preformed at different times of the month. Because, let’s face it ladies, it’s just a different story when “it’s that time of the month”.

Test One:

• Short hike (1.5 miles)
• Hot, humid weather
• “That time of the month”

I was pleased that they didn’t bunch, ride up or give me a wedgie. It was hot, humid, and just way to muggy to enjoy being on the trail. But I was pleased that the panties seemed to wick moisture away from my skin. As for the additional discomfort of also wearing a sanitary napkin, well, I’m not sure that anything really makes that more comfortable.

Test Two:

• Short hike (1.5 miles)
• Even hotter, more humid weather

It was actually the same hike. Just a week and a half later in the summer. Which meant that it was hotter, more humid, and I was hitting the trail about an hour later in the day. Again, there was nary a sign of a wedgie: the panties stayed exactly where I wanted them to be with no chafing or discomfort at all. In the additional humidity, they didn’t seem to wick moisture away from my skin quite as well as I would have liked but I did notice that while the rest of me was a bit, um, ripe, the odor resistant properties were in full effect.

Test Three:

• Long hike (6 miles)
• Hot, dry weather
• Carrying a huge backpack

And it was on the weekend’s backpacking trip that I decided that these panties are worth their weight in gold! It’s one thing to say they dry out quickly it’s completely different to experience it first hand. While there was no sink for wash, rinse and wring, even wearing them as soon as I stopped sweating, they dried quickly and completely. Odor resistant was working perfectly and I felt my skin was breathing.

The real kicker though was that I never felt as if I was wearing too many clothes. You know that feeling when you’re hot, sweaty, and covered in trail dust and suddenly your trail clothes aren’t cutting it? They’re sticking to you, making you even hotter, and you just feel gross?

Well, the ExOfficio Give-N-Go briefs just don’t do that. The next day when I switched back to my regular cotton briefs for the short hike out proved that the Give-N-Go’s were living up to everything that was promised. The cotton briefs, while comfy, didn’t stay put, felt much hotter and just were not as all-around comfortable.

So, go figure! I fully intended to try the panties but not actually publish a review about them. It’s just a little out there for me. But after experiencing them in action, I felt I really needed to share.

The only thing I’m not sold on is that they only come in black, white, nude, and brown. The lacy bikini comes in pretty colors but I’m not really a lace type of girl.

So that’s my complaint: ExOfficio, please make your amazing, fantastic, Give-N-Go Bikini Briefs in pretty colors. Or polka dots!

The next test I want to try is kayaking in them. But based off the results from hiking, I’m sold! So use any of the above links (affiliate) and get a pair (or three!) of your own!

And, to sweeten the deal, ExOfficio offers Free Standard Shipping On All Orders Over $75

Now, I just wonder if the bras are amazing as the panties…
PS: No, that’s NOT me in the photo! I stole it from the ExOfficio website.

Do you ever have one of those perfect weekends? The one where you spend more time outside than in, have great adventures, see amazing scenery, are close to wildlife, and have great company doing it?

Well I just had one of those weekends!

I decided that it was finally time to do a real backpacking trip. I’ve been accumulating backpacking gear for a while but hadn’t ever done a trip. I’m not experienced and I was waiting to meet somebody who knew what they were doing. The last thing I needed was to hike three miles into the forest with somebody inexperienced. I’ll live without the blind-leading-the-blind, thank you very much!

For my adventure, my friend Ben & I decided to hike into a mine that had a seep coming out of it. And if there just happened to be a geocache there, well, yay for us!

We basically hiked about five miles round trip. And the scenery was stunning and the weather perfect!

At the mine I realized that we really hadn’t read the cache description all that well. (To be honest, I hadn’t read it at all!) And I hadn’t printed out the cache pages. I always print the cache description page because geocaching can take you well out of cell service!

We weren’t sure if the cache was in the cave or not (still not sure since we never did find it) but I did find something cool in the cave:

Bats!

Lots of little brown and grey bats. Say what you want about bats, they are off-the-chart cool. The cave twists back into the hillside at least 100′. In the last thirty feet there were bats everywhere. Stuck to the ceiling like fuzzy light fixtures, squeezing out of holes about three inches across, and just dangling one at a time.

And no, I didn’t touch one! Nor did they come anywhere close to getting in my hair. But I did turn off the lights and kneel a moment in the black and listen to them squeak at each other. And felt the wind of one’s passing as it flew overhead. I really didn’t have the right camera equipment to get any good photos. And I couldn’t really sit on the mine’s floor since the seep was at the very back and the entire floor of the mine had at least two inches of water covering it.

I got one photo with Ben shining the light on a hole and, yes, I did take one photo with flash. I just couldn’t help myself. I left right after that since I’d woken them all up and I didn’t want to agitate them any more. I’m planning a trip back with better camera gear to get some photos!

 

Let me just say this, walking out the last time (took a total of three trips into the mine looking for the cache) I was treated to a view of Ben’s silhouette in the entrance and four bats flying between him & I. They didn’t want to pass either of us. But I crouched low so they could go over my head and got to watch the sunlight stream through their wings.

So cool!

The original goal was to hike up to the ridgeline above the mine and along the mesa until we could see the valley below and then camp. But the ridge was, well, not exactly hiking friendly. Very steep, rugged terrain. We did try it but gave it up as a bad job.

So, on to plan B: return to the truck and then drive to the other side of Chino Valley and hike into the Verde River.

After about five miles round trip (hauling a 30+ pound backpack!) that’s what we did!

The access to the river was in a remote spot that required 4-wheel drive so we had the whole area to ourselves. And it wasn’t that far of a hike from truck to river. Thank goodness because I’m not sure how much farther I wanted to hike. My super cool pack was a super good buy. And it doesn’t fit me as well as I’d like!

After a great night under a full moon, it was a hike back out in the morning!

I will say this: I think I may well be addicted to backpacking now. I love the ability to hike away from other campers and enjoy the wilderness. And I loved knowing that an ATV or 4-wheel drive wasn’t going to come screeching down the road and get dust all over my tent because we were miles from any road!

 

Happy Labor Day, America!