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Tag: MotherhoodOutdoors

Mapping Migraciones: Querétaro to Fresno

por Ruby J. Rodríguez

Guadalupe Pérez González, my maternal great-great-grandmother, was born in Querétaro, Mexico. Orphaned at a young age by the loss of her parents during the Mexican Revolution, she endured many hardships in life. 

Guadalupe Pérez González in Fresno, California

Sometime around 1930, Guadalupe and her two children (Phillip and Mary) journeyed north to a border town called Mexicali, where they would remain for about twenty years. She labored hard over a stone stove top to produce tamales for sale and eventually purchased a humble home for herself and children. 

Grandma Eleanor and siblings during a rest stop while travelling for work.

Mary married Leon Torres Ruiz, and gave birth to my grandma Eleanor in 1940. About 10 years later, my great-grandpa Leon moved the entire family to El Centro, California. They became migrant workers and labored at farms across California’s San Joaquin Valley, eventually making Fresno their permanent home. 

My family came to the US in pursuit of a better life. From their journey, I have learned that the meaning of “a better life” is often incomplete unless it includes the process of (un)learning, healing, and growing.

Ruby prepares a meal with her Latino Outdoors team

So much of my cultural heritage was lost to assimilation. While this disconnection is a painful experience for me, nature supports me with feeling connected to myself, my history, and everything around me. Being involved with Latino Outdoors (LO) helps me reconnect to my culture and embrace my experience as a third-generation Mexican American. Through LO, I am learning about the many facets and richness of the Latinx identity.

Ruby with her three children in Humboldt County

I was twenty-seven years old when I left Fresno and made my own journey nearly five hundred miles north to Humboldt County. For six years, my three children and I lived there while I finished my undergraduate studies and tapped into the woman and mother that I wanted to be. Close to the end of my time in Humboldt, I shared with my grandma my experience of living away from home in the most beautiful landscape I’d ever seen. On that day, I learned that I was living her dream. 

Ruby with her grandma Eleanor, mom, and daughters in Downtown Fresno

While in Humboldt, I slowly connected with barn swallows, Canadian geese, and snowy egrets as I observed them from my apartment window. Returning to Fresno was an adjustment; however, I do see snowy egrets passing over my home. They serve as a reminder that nature knows no bounds. 

What’s Your Migration Path?

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The 52 Hike Challenge

por Karla Amador

Take yourself back to your childhood and recall a moment you spent in nature with your family.

I remember when I was young, during spring break, my mom would take my sisters and me on walks at the “Enchanted” Fern Dell Nature Trail a.k.a “Ferndell Nature Museum” at Griffith Park in Hollywood, California.

The trail was beautiful with towering trees, a natural spring that fed the waterfalls, lush green tropical ferns, and lots of flora popping out at you. We would look for magical creatures: turtles, koi fish and dragonflies. My sisters, Sarah, Sybil and I, would run around, laughing, playing hide and seek. I remember imagining fairies lived there. We even found our family dog, Sasha, while walking up the trail to the Observatory.

It’s actually one of the main things I remember doing with my mom.

This was one of few activities I looked forward to as a kid. With three little kids, my parents did not have a ton of money to spend on expensive activities, so walking it was. It’s actually one of the main things I remember doing with my mom.

I didn’t realize it then, but spending time outside with my family was one of the most powerful ways for us to connect to each other and make memories.

Now I know the incredible benefits of getting outside regularly, and with family. The great outdoors can bring you an overwhelming sense of peace and well-being. It increases creativity and overall joy. The best part of all? It’s FREE!

When you bring your family with you, you will all benefit.

Benefits of Getting Outside With Loved Ones

You will:

  • Find time and space to communicate with each other
  • Enjoy the little things and spend quality time together
  • Unplug from technology and your daily life
  • Live a healthier and happier life

As you can see, getting out in nature can have tremendously positive effects on your overall well-being and strengthen bonds with your loved ones.

When you get outside regularly, you increase your physical strength and stamina, reduce stress, improve your mood, and so much more.

So why not make it a goal for you and your family in the New Year?

The Goal: 52 Hikes In A Year

In 2014, I was looking for a worthwhile goal for myself. After falling in love with hiking, I decided to commit to a hike a week for the entire year.

Every week I looked forward to my next hike. I enjoyed packing a lunch and eating outside. I enjoyed enlisting my son and friends to join me. I enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment when I reached a summit.

It was life-changing, and I decided to share my 52 Hike Challenge idea with others. The idea took off and spread like wildfire. I now run this movement to help as many people gain the physical mental, spiritual and emotional benefits derived through nature and hiking. We’ve now had more than 41,000 people take the challenge.

With the New Year and a pandemic upon us, one of the best things we can do is commit to finding healthy ways to destress, find joy, and keep our families united. Hiking is a great way to do so, safely of course.

Challenge Yourself in 2021 – Commit to 52 Hikes

I want to challenge you to commit to getting out into nature once a week for a year. That’s 52 hikes in 52 weeks. Are you up to the challenge?

Commit to something that will help you enhance your physical and mental health, build stronger family bonds, and so much more.

Curious about getting started? Here’s what helped me stay committed to my goal:

5 Ways to Stay Committed to Your Outdoor Goal

  1. Set your intention (what do you want to achieve?)
  2. Share your goal with a loved one and your immediate family
  3. Keep track of your progress (log your hikes and take pictures)
  4. Join a community (engage with people who share the same goal)
  5. Reward yourself (and your family) for your hard work!

Are you ready to experience the life changing benefits of 52 hikes?

You simply never know where this year-long adventure will take you, but one thing is for sure: you’ll make tons of amazing memories with your family.

Sign Up for the 52 Hike Challenge Now

So, what do you have to lose? Commit to making the outdoors a priority in your life. Sign up for the 52 Hike Challenge now!

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Karla Amador is the co-founder of the 52 Hike Challenge, a global movement that has inspired hundreds of thousands of people around the world to get outdoors and take advantage of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual benefits gained through hiking once a week for a year. Together, with the community she has created a culture of support, which can be seen in over 430,000 images shared under the #52HikeChallenge hashtags on Instagram alone.