Diving in the Florida Keys
I have been blessed with the opportunity to dive Looe Key Reef in the Florida Keys two separate years. The biodiversity is incredible and the shallow reef depth makes for incredibly easy dives, while being accessible to snorkelers or free divers as well. Coral reef ecosystems are one of the most threatened systems in the world and require protection and conservation now more than ever.
Costa Rica
As part of an honors travel course at the University of Tampa, we travelled to Costa Rica for two weeks to study tropical biology and conservation. Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, despite being relatively small in terms of area. Constantly on the move, we navigated many regions of the country visiting cloud forests, lowland tropical rain forests, volcanoes, beaches and estuarine ecosystems. As a group we conducted unique research experiments, as well as contributed to an ongoing research project in forest conservation.
National Parks backpacking
Within three days of graduating from the University of Tampa, I was on a flight headed out west for a backpacking trip with two close friends. We started at Yosemite National Park in California, and ended at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. We visited 7 national parks in 12 days and hiked about 45 miles with our gear along the way. Despite having a detailed plan of trails and backcountry camping permits, some of the best experiences were abandoning script and letting the road guide the way.
Alaska
For the majority of my life, I had only heard of Alaska's untouched landscapes and amazing wildlife and fisheries. In 2017, I flew into Anchorage to visit the Kenai Peninsula, Homer, Seward, Whittier, and Girdwood, and I even got to check off two more national parks from my list. Fishing is the forefront of most of my trips and I was lucky to check off Halibut, Sockeye Salmon, and Dolly Varden, as well as photograph Moose, Brown Bears, and Bald Eagles. Alaska was the most amazing state I have been to and is a true display of what nature's natural beauty looks like.
