Kim McMahill

“You’ve been so long in the rain, you feel like a dirty dish rag. But despite the misery of your water soaked body, you look around to see verdant leaves dripping with water. The air entering your lungs smells vibrantly clean. To experience adventure, you must be willing to be uncomfortable at times and enjoy the loneliness by being happy with your own singing. A song pops out of your mouth… "It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was fine…”   - Frosty Wooldridge, Golden, Colorado, camped out in Hyder, Alaska near a grizzly bear’s den -

Every hour, 24-hours a day, 365-days a year, visitors can witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Not only did I have the privilege of seeing this elaborate ritual, but it was immediately followed by a somber wreath laying ceremony. More than 400,000 active duty service members, veterans, and their families have been laid to rest in the cemetery. I was honored to have the opportunity to pay my respects to all those who have sacrificed so much in service to our country.

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." - Edward Abbey -

I recently had the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C. for the first time. Despite the oppressive August heat and humidity, it was worth the effort. The city itself was much more user friendly than I thought it would be, and the monuments gracing the National Mall were awe-inspiring and humbling. There was so much to see that I felt we only scratched the surface, so hopefully I can return someday and take in the rest of the historical and cultural sites of the city. 

"We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road / the one less traveled by / offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth." -Rachel Carson-

Despite having a very small space in my backyard in which to garden, I’ve made the most of it. As in years past my tomatoes are loving the southern exposure and going crazy. Once again this year I’ll harvest all the fresh tomatoes we can eat and I’ll be able to freeze enough to last all winter. The cucumbers and zucchini have been doing well, but the heat is starting to take its toll on the zucchini plants. The Big Jim chili peppers are producing repeatedly and we just roasted another batch (nothing smells better than roasting chilies). My climbing green beans look beautiful, but as usual, seem to be a little slow to flower. The big surprises this year are the eggplant and cantaloupe. My neighbor has given me a couple eggplants each year, but this is the first year that not only did both survive, but the plants are so loaded with eggplants I’m at a loss as what to do with them, not being a huge fan. But, the biggest and most pleasant surprise is the cantaloupe, primarily because I d...

"A journey into the wilderness is the freest, cheapest, most nonprivileged of pleasures. Anyone with two legs and the price of a pair of army surplus combat boots may enter." -Edward Abbey-

Marked in Mexico and Shrouded In Secrets are both now available in audio audible from Amazon. If you love adventure and enjoy audio books, just leave a comment below for your chance at a free audio book download from Amazon of Marked In Mexico . I’ll need an email address or twitter handle in order to contact the winner, and to send the instructions and promo code. Comments will be accepted through midnight (Central Time) on August 10, 2015. A winner will be chosen at random from the comments to receive an audio book of Marked In Mexico . All my novels are also available in Kindle, Nook, and trade paperback. Here’s a blurb from Marked In Mexico and Shrouded In Secrets .  I hope you enjoy the adventures! Marked In Mexico When hostages are taken at one of Mexico’s most popular Mayan ruins an idyllic Caribbean vacation turns deadly. The kidnappers believe the abduction will be a simple way to negotiate the release of a colleague from a Texas prison, but matters become co...

I would like to welcome Leslie Ann Sartor to my blog. Leslie Ann writes adventure romance under the name L.A. Sartor. Her adventures are set in exciting locals around the world. Although she has written a number of novels, The Carswell Adventure Series has piqued my interest, and I hope all of those who Embrace Adventure will enjoy learning more about her work. The newest in The Carswell Adventure Series, Viking Gold , was recently released, and the first in the series is Stone of Heaven , which I just downloaded and am anxious to dive into.  So without further ado, let’s get the inside scoop. Leslie, let’s start with twin sisters, Abby and Tori Carswell.  Tell us about each, how are they alike, how are they different, and what makes them tick? **Thank you, Kim, for having me as your guest today. I'm thrilled to be here. It was so interesting to write twins, I enjoyed it. But I had to make them different enough to create interest and conflict. Tori is t...

“There are many paths through the Ring of Life. They are a constant movement toward self-fulfillment through growth of your mind, expansion of your experiences, widening of your senses and growing your spirit. It’s ceaseless and constant throughout one’s life.” - Frosty Wooldridge, Golden, Colorado-