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Monday, May 23, 2016

Share the Road: Tips for Cyclists

Post 2 in a 3-part series on road safety.

Drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians all need to share the responsibility of road safety, so we'll be sharing tips for each group in a post if its own. We all need to work together to share the road, so we can all arrive at our destinations safely.

A couple weeks ago, we shared some tips for drivers, and today we'd like to share some tips for cyclists.

Share the Road: Tips for Cyclists

Friday, May 13, 2016

Recycled Run Recap

On April 30th, I ran a half marathon with my friend, Janel. It was her first one, and I was so excited to be able to share the experience with her!

Recycled Run Race Recap

Monday, May 9, 2016

Share the Road: Tips for Drivers

Post 1 in a 3-part series on road safety.

Drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians all need to share the responsibility of road safety, so we'll be sharing tips for each group in a post if its own. We all need to work together to share the road, so we can all arrive at our destinations safely.

Share the Road: Tips for Drivers

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Sign Me Up Sunday: An Alaskan Bike Adventure

Since it's Bike Month, we thought it would be fun to dream about a bike tour adventure.

A quick google search of "best biking vacations in the world" landed us on the Frommer's - 10 Best Biking Tours in the world - and found a definite addition to our bucket list.

An Alaskan Bike Adventure!


Sign Me Up Sunday: Bike Tour in Alaska | www.turtlevida.net

Monday, May 2, 2016

National Bike Month

Yesterday kicked off National Bike Month - every May since 1956.

May is Bike Month With so many reasons to ride, what's yours? | I ride for cleaner air. | I ride to enjoy a lifelong sport. | I ride to save money on gas. | I bike to the bus to get places faster. | I ride for less traffic. | I ride to feel the wind on my face. #BikeMonth bikeleague.org/bikemonth

We're not what you would call avid bicyclists, but we do enjoy hopping on our bikes and feeling the wind in our faces.

Friday, April 29, 2016

The United Relay + Aftershokz

Something historical happened on Wednesday.

3 routes (Red, White, Blue) across America for the United Relay

The United Relay began. 


This epic relay kicked off in the Seattle area with the Red Route. The White Route starts next week in San Francisco and the Blue on May 8th in LA.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Camping in the Caribbean

Since this past Friday was Earth Day, we thought we'd tell you a little about our trip to the Virgin Islands Campground in Jan 2010. The campground is located on Water Island, just off the coast of St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.

You might think that going to a campground in the Caribbean is weird, but it was actually quite wonderful. It's eco-friendly with many of the comforts of a more standard resort.

Plus, sunsets like this can't be beat!

Sunset at the Virgin Islands Campground

Friday, April 22, 2016

Happy Earth Day 2016

From all of our hiking and time spent outdoors, we hope it's pretty obvious that we love the Earth! We even chose an eco-friendly campground/resort when visiting the USVI back in 2005.

Of course, there is a lot more we can do, but we're always trying to find new ways to live just a little more sustainable. A little more green.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” - Chinese Proverb

Friday, April 15, 2016

How We Ended Up in Las Vegas

As we mentioned on our Who We Are page, we ended up living in Las Vegas by total accident.

Here's the story.


Back in the Spring of 2012, Clarinda was finishing her Master's of Arts in Teaching, and Jeff was in his final semester of undergrad. It was time to ask the big question of What's Next?

Our answer was to go for a long-ass road trip covering much of the country, circling the Gulf of Mexico, and finally ending up in Belize. We were going to travel through the U.S. & Central America - volunteering on random local projects; working with organic farms; dumpster-diving; and interacting with local communities. We were going to document the whole experience via written journals, photography, and videography.


Here's what the planned route looked like.


Road trip from Minnesota to Belize with stops in the Pacific Northwest; Las Vegas; the Grand Canyon; The Mammoth Cave National Park; Alabama; Weeki Wachee, FL; Teothuacan, Mexico; and Cancun.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

6 Ways Runners Can Help Save the Earth

With Earth Day coming up next week, and in our reflection of the Earth's beauty, we thought it would be a great time to take a moment to share some very simple ways that runners can do their small part to help save the Earth.

6 Ways Runners Can Help Save the Earth
Image courtesy of watiporn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Remember when we got lost in Wyoming by following our GPS? Well, the first stop of the road trip was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The first stop of our road trip from Minnesota to Washington was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Clarinda is a sucker for waterfalls, so when planning the big road trip of 2009, we simply had to make a stop at Falls Park in Sioux Falls.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

#ZionHalf Recap

Way back in April of last year, I saw a post pop up on my Facebook feed from Vacation Races announcing that registration would be opening soon for the Zion Half Marathon in March 2016. They were giving away a free entry just by commenting, liking, sharing their post. I'd been wanting to run this race for a couple years, so I didn't even hesitate to enter. :-D

Imagine my surprise, when I was selected as the winner!

You'd think with nearly a year to prepare, I would have been totally ready for this race. But I wasn't.

You'd think with nearly a year to prepare, I would have been totally ready for this race. But I wasn't. | #ZionHalf

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Let's talk about some weather

When you tell people you're going to certain locations, you'll generally get a stereotypical warning about the weather.

If you're heading to Seattle, most likely you'll hear something like: "Don't forget an umbrella. It's always raining in Seattle."

Heading to Minnesota? "You'll need a parka. It gets super cold there."

Vegas? "Pack shorts and sandals. It gets extremely hot in the desert."


What about New York City? 



When you mention a trip to the Big Apple, no one ever warns you about the weather.
photo credit: 'Humidly Hot', United States, New York, New York City, Flat Iron Building
via photopin (license)

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Sign Me Up Sunday: Mammoth Cave

Jeff loves scuba diving and watched a movie called The Cave, which is about giant caves where they got to do a ton of scuba diving, so that peaked Jeff's interest. When doing a search for large caves, he came across the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

The Mammoth Cave in KY is the world's longest cave system. | turtlevida.net
Credit: NPS Photo

Even though there's no scuba diving, ever since then, we've been dreaming about making a road trip out to this National Park.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

4 Tips to Get Over a Cold Quickly

Spring officially sprung this past weekend, and there is nothing worse than a Springtime cold. Unfortunately, the drastic changes in weather can sometimes bring one on.

So, we thought we'd share a few tips on how we get over our colds quickly.

4 Tips to Get Over a Cold Quickly

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Getting Lost *with* GPS

In the summer of 2009, we embarked upon our first big road trip that was not part of a cross country move.

Forestry service road in Wyoming

One of our stops was at a friend's house in Casper, WY. The morning we continued our journey, our friend took out an atlas to help us plan our route.

Oh, no. That's okay. We've got built-in GPS.
Famous last words.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Sign Me Up Sunday: Antelope Canyon

Several years ago, I was scrolling through Pinterest and came across some breathtaking canyons in Arizona. I'd never heard of Antelope Canyon before that, but I immediately knew I needed to add it to my bucket list.

Antelope Canyon near Page, AZ
Photo courtesy of our friend, George.

Back when we were planning our epic road trip of 2012, I really wanted to find a way to make it a pit stop along our travels. But, as you may know, we cut the road trip short and have been in Vegas ever since. (see 2nd question on our Who We Are page)

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

5 Tips to De-Stressing Your Life

Let's face it. We all have stress in our lives.  Work, school, finances, kids are just a few of the common things that may spike our stress levels.

Since we can't really avoid it, here are a few tips for de-stressing just a bit.

5 Tips for De-Stressing Your Life

Friday, March 4, 2016

Trail Running in Cottonwood

One of my favorite places to run is Cottonwood Valley, about 20 miles outside of Vegas.

Just 20 miles away from Las Vegas is a beautiful series of trails - challenging, but not super technical - perfect for those new to trail running

It's so beautiful and peaceful out there! And the trails are challenging, but not super technical - so perfect for someone new to trail running.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

5 Ways to Staying Fit When Traveling

Welcome to Travel Talk Tuesday, where we share travel stories, tips, or anything else related to travel!

5 Ways to Staying Fit When Traveling | www.turtlevida.net

Today, we're sharing tips for staying fit when traveling.

1. Go for a Walk. Whether traveling for business or pleasure, try exploring the area by foot. Instead of hailing a cab or renting a car, walk to the museum or beach, shopping or business meeting. Wherever you go, walking allows you to see and explore the area better. You might even stumble upon something unexpected.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Sign Me Up Sunday: Gozo

It's possible many of you have heard of the Maltese Falcon, but how many of you knew the Maltese islands were not only an actual place, but also quite a desirable destination and in a wonderful location?

Sign Me Up Sunday: Gozo
photo credit: Gozo via photopin (license)

The Maltese islands are located very near the center of the Mediterranean Sea. The Maltese archipelago is comprised of three islands - Malta, Comino, and Gozo. I first became aware that Gozo existed when searching for dive sites in the Mediterranean. The first couple sites that mentioned it were vacation rental sites offering week long stays in luxuriously refurbished historic farmhouses.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Fun Fact Friday: Turtles, Tortoises, & Terrapins

It's time for Fun Fact Friday, where we share random fun facts. :-)

Fun Fact Friday: Turtles, Tortoises, & Terrapins


Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins


Do you know the difference?

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

We Make Our Own Soda

And we're not talking about a SodaStream.

A few months ago, Jeff did some research on high fructose corn syrup and decided we should cut back on the amount of soda that we drink.

No More Soda Pop
Image courtesy of Iamnee at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Not as much of a problem for Clarinda, since she mostly drinks water and only the occasional soda. Jeff, on the other hand, got most of his water intake from Coke.

In an effort to cut back, we started stocking more fruit juices as an alternative to straight soda.

But we continued to stock Coke as well. Sometimes, Jeff would mix the Coke with juice and water to help cut down his soda intake, but often, he would still reach for the full can of Coke.

Friday, February 19, 2016

A Fun Surprise: Jeff's POV

Before you read this post, you should read this one first.

Jeff and Clarinda picnicking at Springs Preserve

So, I wanted to try and surprise Clarinda with a day out of hiking and a picnic–which, if you know anything about the closeness of our relationship, is damn difficult to do. We spend most of our free time together, share most everything, and are regularly thinking the same thing–to a spooky degree at times &#9786

The surprise was not so much going to be the day out hiking–after all, we do that often enough. No, the surprise was going to be whether or not I could actually surprise her; of course, I threw in the picnic to add a bit of romanticism to, what I hoped would be, a job well done.

The Plan


  • Pick a location to which we’d never been
  • Come up with a feasible deception to get us there–or at least in the ballpark
  • Figure out how to put together the food and accoutrements for a secret picnic
  • Squirrel all the gear away the night before in Roxie’s hatchback area
  • And, do it all. without. Clarinda. knowing.

Though the stars aligned and most things came together fairly simply, Clarinda did her best to thwart my efforts at several junctures.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

A Fun Surprise: Clarinda's POV

A couple weeks ago, Jeff surprised me. Big time!

Thursday and Friday, he mentioned how he really wanted to go running at Desert Breeze park on Saturday. Now, I'm a runner, but I just wasn't really feeling it. Plus, we'd never run at this park before, and I wasn't sure what it would be like.

You could say I was hesitant about this idea.
Me: Why do you want to run so badly on Saturday?
Jeff: Because we haven't been getting in our runs together, and I really want to do some running with you.
How could I say no to that?!

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Peanut Butter is a Liquid

Welcome to Travel Talk Tuesday, where we share travel stories, tips, or anything else related to travel!

Today, we'll be going back in time to January 2010. We planned a lovely trip to the US Virgin Islands to celebrate our 5 year anniversary, which was in Dec 2009.

We hadn't flown in several years, and this proved to be a bit problematic when we got to the airport.

Travel Talk Tuesday - Airport Security
"Seguridad" by Daniel Lobo is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Because we were staying at an environmental campground, to save a little money we decided to bring as much food as we could with us to limit the money spent in grocery stores once there - island prices and all.

What didn't fit in our checked bags, we put in our carry-ons. We had ramen packets, canned soup, peanut butter, crackers, chips. We also had a couple water bottles.

What we didn't have was knowledge of the {new-to-us} 3-1-1 rule.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Sign Me Up Sunday: Italy

Ever since I was a young girl, I've wanted to go to Italy. I'm not sure what the exact draw was. Perhaps it was as simple as my love of pizza and pasta. :)

Grand Canal in Venice, Italy
Image courtesy of cescassawin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There wasn't ever a particular place or thing I wanted to see, but it was more of a feeling that I knew I needed to go someday.

I've never really thought of making it a reality, but since today is Valentine's Day, and Italy is known for being romantic, it seemed like a fitting place for our first Sign Me Up Sunday post.

I think I'd start a trip to Italy with a visit to Venice. We'd spend a few days exploring San Marco (the basilica, the art, the music), eating gelato, and, of course, taking a trip down the Grand Canal.

If you've read our Who We Are page, you know how much Jeff and I love road trips! So, after leaving Venice, we'd take a road trip through the country.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

A Healthy Heart

Since February is American Heart month, we thought heart health would be a perfect topic for our first Wellness Wednesday post.



Obviously, this video is ridiculous in its absurdity. Processed food stapled to trees still isn't a healthy option. :)


While processed foods might seem easier, in reality, healthy eating can be just as easy.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Welcome to Turtle Vida

We are Jeff and Clarinda. And, our little pup, Sallie.

Clarinda, Sallie, Jeff

We're super excited to have you join us! And, we can't wait to start sharing our adventures, dreams, and stories with you.
Turtle Vida is all about slowing down the pace, discovering more pleasures, and living an enriched life.
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