Hannah Elise Schultz

Posts in Travel

Travel With Me: Big Island, Hawai'i (Day One)

Our first day on the Big Island was dedicated solely to snorkeling (with a dash of cultural history thrown in), and our first stop was Nopo’opo’o Beach Park. This spot is located at the southern end of Kealakekua Bay, where Captain James Cook initiated European contact with the Big Island when he landed here in 1779. Across the bay is the Captain Cook monument, which marks where Cook was killed a month later after he and his crew exploited the Hawaiians’ reverence of the Europeans (possibly even believing that Cook was the Hawaiian god Lono) and eventually murdered over 30 Hawaiians. Still remaining here are the ruins of Hiki'au Heiau (an ancient Hawaiian temple site), a temple dedicated to Lono, the god of agriculture and fertility of the land.

TravelHannah SchultzAugust 3, 2021hawaii, big island, day one, travel with me, honeymoon, pahoa, Nopo’opo’o Beach Park, captain cook, shaka tacoz, Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, two steps, snorkel, kaleo's bar and grill Comment

A Winter Hike to Ouzel Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park (Allenspark, Colorado)

In the winter, RMNP (like other national parks that receive heavy snowfall) closes many of its roads, limiting the access points to trailheads. Additionally, it’s important to check the NPS website daily before your trip because Colorado is prone to wildfires, which can further restrict trail availability. Based on the sections of the park closed due to a wildfire, winter access, and our lack of desire to wake up incredibly early for a 10 mile hike, we settled on Ouzel Falls in the southeast part of the park.

Hiking, TravelHannah SchultzApril 14, 2021Rocky Mountain national park, ouzel falls, wild basin, winter hiking, hike, colorado, allenspark, waterfallComment

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia (Day 2): Stony Man Mountain, Mary's Rock, & Lewis Falls

Ryan and I began our second day in the park with a hike up Stony Man. This is the second highest peak in the park, and the most northerly of the Blue Ridge Mountains, at 4,000 feet. This hike was marked by a ton of great vistas along the trail, culminating in a rocky lookout point from which you could get a stunning view of the mountains. The morning mist was clinging to the valleys, but it was clear enough to get a stunning view of the town as well.

Hiking, TravelHannah SchultzSeptember 14, 2020Shenandoah National Park, virginia, stony man mountain, mary's rock, meadow spring, skyline drive, lewis falls, waterfall, honeymoon, COVID-19, COVIDComment

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia (Day 1): Rose River Waterfalls & Hawksbill Peak

Shenandoah National Park is in Virginia, encompassing some of the iconic Blue Ridge Mountain range, and this was our first time visiting. The park is long and skinny, Skyline Drive skirting the ridges of the mountains as it winds upwards, providing beautiful vistas along the drive. The park’s history is marked by struggle between the government of Virginia and those who had built their lives on this land, with forced evictions devastating families. Once the park was established in 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps not only helped restore the land and build the park’s infrastructure, but they also burned cabins of former residents to prevent their return.

Hiking, TravelHannah SchultzSeptember 7, 2020Shenandoah National Park, Hiking, hike, rose river, waterfalls, dark hollow falls, Big Meadow, Big Meadows Lodge, Hawksbill Peak, Hawksbill loopComment

Sea Otters & Moody Pacific Views in Point Lobos State Natural Reserve (Carmel, CA)

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is called the “crown jewel” of the California state park system. It’s famous for the rocks that create headlands and inlets along its coast, as well as its biodiversity. The Carmel submarine canyon lies just north of the reserve, providing cold, nutrient-rich water to support a variety of marine and land life.

Tide-Pooling in the Fog at Natural Bridges State Beach (Santa Cruz, CA)

The park was named for its stunning mudstone arches, which were formed by sediment deposits and carved out of the cliffsides by the Pacific Ocean. When the cliffs eroded away, these standalone arches were left. Three such arches used to be found at this beach, but one fell during the early 1900s and another during a storm in 1980. The only remaining arch is also at risk of collapsing due to natural processes of erosion.

Hiking, TravelHannah SchultzApril 3, 2020santa cruz, california, california state parks, hiking, tide pool, tide-pooling, natural bridges state beach, sea anemones, musselComment

Wildflowers, Seals, & Pacific Cliffs in Wilder Ranch State Park (Santa Cruz, CA)

Wilder Ranch State Park’s history, like much of California, is shaped by the Spanish and their missions. When the nearby Mission Santa Cruz was established in 1791, the state park area became part of the mission pasture lands. Then, when the mission lands were divided into “ranchos,” large land grants, after secularization, Wilder Ranch became part of Rancho Refugio. The land was split into smaller ranches over the years, Wilder Ranch operating until 1969.

Hiking, TravelHannah SchultzMarch 27, 2020wilder ranch state park, california, pacific ocean, santa cruz, california state parks, wildflowers, harbor sealsComment

Surrounded by Ancient Giants in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park (Santa Cruz, CA)

When California was still part of Mexico, ranchos, or large land grants, were created. The park’s lands were purchased by industrialist Henry Cowell from the Rancho Cañada del Rincon en el Rio San Lorenzo in 1865. In the 1930, California’s Lieutenant Governor William Jeter approved efforts for the County of Santa Cruz to purchase and preserve the Redwood lands adjacent to Cowell’s. Finally, in 1954, Samuel Cowell (the last of the Cowell line) donated the rest of the park to the state under the condition that the county relinquish their land to the state as well, and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park was born.

Travel With Me: Spring in San Antonio, Texas

This year, the conference was held in San Antonio, Texas. Unfortunately, this was a few weeks ago, around the time the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was making global headlines, but not much was understood about how necessary social distancing really was to mitigate the threat. The conference was overshadowed by this pandemic, with no handshakes, countless canceled panels and panelists, and lots of hand-sanitizing. However, San Antonio was still a beautiful city, so I wanted to share my experience as a first-time visitor there.

Travel With Me: A Weekend Exploring Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin is the capital of the state and home to University of Wisconsin-Madison. It has a metro-area population of 654,230, making it much smaller than a city like Milwaukee, but with the college and a pretty active food and arts scene, it still has plenty to do. We opted to stay in Sun Prairie, one of the suburbs of Madison, because the hotel was much cheaper and the drive in to the city was still relatively short.

TravelHannah SchultzNovember 10, 2019madison, wisconsin, woodman's, markets, lake monona, olbrich park, bolz conservatory, wisconsin state capitol, henry vilas zoo Comment

Fall is for Apple-Picking: Welsh Heritage Farms & Lake Crystal (Crystal Lake, MN)

Growing up, we would always end up at Boyds Orchard during apple-picking season. Fall was ushered in with apple-cider-cinnamon donuts, fresh apple turnovers, climbing the hay-bale tower, and cartons of apples to take home and make into apple pie. When I went to college, I continued this fall tradition with my roommate, Kayla, and later, Ryan. And I can confirm that in at least two out three of these photos, I am boiling hot because it wasn’t cold in Kentucky yet and I insisted on wearing the most fall outfit I owned.

Travel, LifeHannah SchultzOctober 20, 2019fall, apple picking, welsh heritage farms, lake crystal, minnesota, orchard, donuts, foliageComment

Presque Isle Park & Morgan Falls (Marquette, Michigan)

Presque Isle (French for “almost an island”) is a 323-acre forested headland that juts into Lake Superior, located in the northern tip of the city of Marquette, Michigan. The park supports over 100 species of native plants and diverse habitats, including black rock beaches, bogs, and forest. It is rumored that albino white-tailed deer can be seen at the park, and their presence has made its way into local folklore.

Hiking, TravelHannah SchultzMay 27, 2019presque isle park, hike, hiking, black rocks, beach, cliff jumping, morgan falls, marquette, michigan, upper peninsulaComment

Jan 18, 2026

Life

A Year in Pictures: 2025

Unsurprisingly (at least to those familiar with my daily life), I missed my annual year in review post for 2024. I had my daughter in the fall of 2023, then scraped together my last remaining brain cells to balance teaching and finishing my dissertation in 2024. Fall 2024 was also when we lost Argos, my soul dog whom I’d had since childhood; he survived osteosarcoma against every odd but died unexpectedly in his sleep from a heart condition. In the midst of parenting, dissertating, and grief, a year in review post on my now seldom-used blog was not at the top of my priorities list.

Mar 5, 2025

Our (Mostly) Secondhand, Low-Waste Nursery

One of the things I’ll emphasize throughout this post is how much money you will save by going the more sustainable route (hint: it’s A LOT), but it is by no means the only positive outcome. By being a conscious consumer, you’re creating less waste, making a more stress-free environment for both you and baby, choosing materials and ingredients that are best for baby’s health and development, and more. Babies don’t actually need that much stuff and while we’re by no means minimalists, one of the first sustainable choices we made was to forgo a lot of the extraneous baby things that our consumerist society tells you that you need (even though you really don’t).

Dec 31, 2023

Photography and Video, Life

A Year in Pictures: 2023

It was a year of travel to new and old places, the year I started my dissertation, the year I hiked eight miles and up volcanic sands while pregnant, the year we bought a wagon to take Argos on adventures again, and most importantly, the year that I become a mom.

Adventures in
Serendipity

— Hannah Schultz (biographical name): a Kentuckian, traveler, professor, hiker, environmentalist, and Great Pyrenees enthusiast

Adventures inSerendipity

— Hannah Schultz (biographical name): a Kentuckian, traveler, professor, hiker, environmentalist, and Great Pyrenees enthusiast

Adventures in
Serendipity