We’re Bob and Nicole, the Inspired Travelers! I (Nicole) am the writer, and Bob is my ride-or-die life and adventure companion. We created this blog to share our travel adventures along with tips and neat things learned along the way. We love exploring, especially the great outdoors, primarily throughout the Pacific Northwest. While we aren’t the great weekend warriors we were when this all began (get a mortgage and reactive dog and see how that impacts your travels!), we’re still constantly seeking adventure, escaping as often as we can get away. (Read the About page to learn about how and why the blog came to be.)

In addition to outdoor adventures like hiking and camping, we enjoy historical landmarks, ghost towns, quirky roadside attractions, and obviously food, with a great fondness for diners, dive bars and general stores. A little dirt doesn’t bother us, so you’ll often find us camping, but every once in a while, (especially as we get older!) we indulge in a cute cabin, beach house or hotel with soft robes and complimentary breakfasts. When we’re not traveling you can find us thrifting, cooking, barbequing, gardening, doing never-ending yardwork and house projects, running, or eating and imbibing at our favorite local spots. When chilling at home we’re most likely listening to jam bands, drinking vodka, Bob is watching sports, and I’m scrolling on reddit.

Though currently living in Portland, Oregon, we were both raised in the same small town in Western New York. Years after graduating high school and moving on, these cute middle-school sweethearts reconnected on social media. We found ourselves reuniting on the West Coast where we now share a home with three massively spoiled furry children—two cats, Purrito (Pete) and Luigi (Weeg), and a dog, Sebastian.

Bob is a loyal and dedicated Buffalo Bills fan who hates wearing shoes and eating melted cheese. If he could only eat one thing for the rest of his life it would be hamburgers. He gets his stellar red beard from his Norwegian Viking bloodline, but he’s not a redhead. Bob’s favorite thing about camping is building the campfire and cooking meats over it with beer in hand, probably because it reminds him of growing up, making fires with the boys at the fort and getting into typical youth shenanigans. GO BILLS!

Nicole is a crazy cat lady, dog mom, runner, and creator. She loves crafting (ice tie dye is her newest hobby), DIY projects and writing. Raised in the woods of rural America, (i.e., not like a feral child living with wolves or anything, just had a house in the woods) she’s a comfortable and experienced outdoorswoman. After years of practice, she takes great pride in her marshmallow and hot dog roasting skills. One of Nicole’s greatest accomplishments was completing an eight day back-packing trip on Mount Kilimanjaro! There’s no doubt these early life adventures ignited and continue to fuel her wanderlust.