About

Who is Kristin Cole?

In the simplest terms: a single, child-free, 40-something, nature-loving, minimalist, entrepreneur, and traveling photographer who currently calls the northwest of Wisconsin home.

What is this blog about?

It’s a space dedicated to sharing my adventures both in life and nature through my writing and photography. In my writing, you’ll find a lot about the things I do and places I go. I also like to share a little bit about what I think and feel from time to time too. In my photography, you’ll find landscapes and hidden beauty from all parts of the United States (and hopefully someday beyond as well). It is an honor to have you here as I suspect we both have a passion for travel and the natural world. If you also value a slower, more simple pace to life, rich in experiences, then I think you’re in the right place.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in a small community in southeastern Wisconsin and spent much of my childhood outside riding bikes, swimming in lakes, searching for frogs, walking through forests, and watching the stars shine from the rooftop of my parent’s house. With all of that, in addition to many family trips to northern Wisconsin to stay in my grandfathers cabin, it should come as no surprise that as an adult my love of nature continued to grow.

How did you get here? 

As an adult, I discovered a passion for hiking, photography, and travel and it was only a matter of time that exploring the state parks and hiking trails of Wisconsin was not enough to satisfy my wanderlust. I soon found myself moving across the country to pursue more adventures from the Pacific Northwest. While living in Oregon, I took the opportunity to explore much of the region and was enamored with the beauty and serenity to be found within the desert, mountain and coastal landscapes. It was the Oregon coast though that fed my soul in ways no other place has done before. During my five plus years as an Oregonian, through my journey guided by minimalism, I gave a lot of thought and struggled with how I wanted to show up in this world. Ultimately, I decided to make some big changes to my path forward and concluded that I wanted to build an authentic life centered around the values I hold most dear. That brings us to where I am now, currently living the nomadic lifestyle of a traveling entrepreneur.

How do you support yourself?

A true multipotentialite at heart, I took my plethora of twenty plus years of experience working in the business worlds of non-profit and private sector industries to support myself through a variety of ways as an entrepreneur. I took my love of and experience working with animals and used it to start pet and house sitting all over the country. I harnessed my creativity and love of photography to sell the photographs I take from my travels on my website and Etsy shop. I also occasionally do portrait, product and event photography. I especially enjoy supporting other female creatives so I use my accounting and tech skills to do bookkeeping, build websites/e-commerce shops, as well as a variety of other support services for small businesses throughout the country.

Why should I follow your blog?

Leading a compassionate, independent, and authentic life while continually exploring, learning, and growing along the way are my simple goals for this complex world. If any of my values, goals or experiences resonate with you then we have much to learn from each other and it is a firm belief of mine that some of the best things in life are those that we share together.