A Woman, A Broad, Coyote Broad:
Practical Resources & Inspiration
For Women Who Travel
(or Want to!)

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My posts on these channels are mostly about travel and motorcycle riding, but in some places, I also talk about my professional stuff which, sadly, is not about travel and motorcycle riding.

You don't have to go far - you will be surprised how many adventures & sights worth seeing are within 50 miles of wherever you are.

You don't need to have an Instagram channel or some other way to present all your beautiful perfect travel moments to the world - you can travel JUST for you.

You also don't need a huge budget to travel.

You just need to be able to dream, plan, listen, explore, see and think -- and, ultimately, to enjoy, to learn, to be present.
(and, also, you need the privilege that allows you to travel - which so many people, especially women, do NOT have, for economic, cultural and political reasons).

I don't believe there is just one "correct" way to travel. I don't think someone who stays in a boutique hotel instead of a chain hotel, or someone who stays in a backpacker hotel, or someone who camps, is somehow more "authentic" than other travelers. I don't think having luggage on rollers instead of a backpack somehow makes you a "tourist" instead of a "traveler." I don't think someone traveling alone is somehow having a more "genuine" experience than someone in a group. And I don't think travel has to always be about trying to capture beautiful, perfect moments on social media.

If you enjoy traveling somewhere, then it's a worthwhile place to travel. If you liked a place you stayed, it was a good place to stay. If you enjoyed a particular tour, then it was a good thing to do. You do you. Don't let anyone try to tell you that a good experience you had wasn't authentic or worthwhile - only you can decide that. My advice is presented with the reality in mind that different people have different interests and different limitations and that we all make our own journey. I don't believe in "more authentic than thou" competitions when it comes to traveling. Or life. I don't believe in trying to be cool for cool’s sake, or seeking out obscurity as a bragging right for later. And I also believe in respecting your surroundings and local people - don't treat people as props for your photo.

I believe more women need to travel. I'd love to see more women from the USA travel - I meet so many women from Germany, Spain, China, Ecuador, Canada (of course), you name it - by themselves, touring the US national parks, or backpacking across Europe, whatever. I'd love to see more women from the USA out there experiencing the wonders of the world - or even just their own country.

NOTE: because of the global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (2 SARS-CoV-2) and threat of COVID19, I do NOT recommend you travel recreationally unless YOU are fully vaccinated, both for your protection and for those in the area you will visit. And don't travel to an area that is over-taxed with people with COVID19 or some other highly contagious disease, even if you are fully vaccinated and don't think you will get it. To travel to areas where emergency rooms are overflowing with people, where local clinics don't have the oxygen for the patients there, because you want photos at the beach, is the height of arrogance and selfishness. This isn't just about YOU not getting sick - it's also about you not spreading the virus. More about how to safely, respectfully travel amid pandemics. Also see Lessons learned from travelers stranded because of COVID19.

Why I created these pages about travel, why traveling is not only wonderful, but important to your life.
And why excuses for so many women as to why they avoid traveling are really just words (and how to get past all your fears and TRAVEL - if you do, indeed, have the cultural and political freedom to travel). I know there are a lot of other web sites promoting traveling for women and supporting women travelers, but I think I offer some advice and perspective they don't. I try to be respectful of limitations regarding budget, family and culture as well.

Need inspiration? Have a look at my travel essays.
Stravaig, which is pronounced straw vague, is an Irish and Scottish word meaning to wander about aimlessly. One goes stravaiging about the roads. Stravaig is probably from an even older and obsolete word extravage, meaning to digress or ramble. I am all about stravaig, both on my motorcycle and in conversations, and if that bothers you, keep it to yourself. My travelogues are about my road trips in the U.S, living in Germany and traveling throughout Europe and beyond. These aren't to brag about what an awesome person I am (I'm not) or "hey, look at me!!" pieces. These travelogues are meant to inspire YOU to travel too (and to help my memory in my old age). I also put what doesn't work out on my trips here - the challenges are a part of the trip, and get left out of most people's "hey, look at me!" accounts.

General information and advice to help get novice women travelers from the USA planning and traveling ASAP.
With advice on how to choose where to go, your options regarding group travel or DIY, and your options regarding transportation and accommodations. The advice is applicable to women in other countries as well, but I fully acknowledge that women from other countries and cultures will need and want to approach travel in different ways - what I feel is appropriate won't be for everyone, what I feel isn't that much of a concern will be a big concern to someone else, etc. Plus, I know that I have a passport that gives me a great deal of privilege.

Conditions and qualities for women to consider regarding accommodations choices when traveling, including advice on on safety.
If you have no idea where to start in choosing a hotel, a motel, a B & B, camping, or what is going to be right for you, specifically, this resource will help (I hope). This isn't advice based on just what I like - it's based on assessing your own needs regarding amenities, safety, access to scenic areas and transportation, etc. Some of us like luxury, some of us like adventure - I try to address all of those ideas and thing in between.

A review of transportation options for women travelers.
This isn't just about how to get to a place you want to visit from the place you live, or getting from city to city or country to country - it's also about getting to and from sites from where you are going to stay overnight. It includes advice on preventing motion sickness (something I suffer from - but don't let it prevent you from traveling!) and how to address safety issues.  

I have packing tips that are especially for novice women travelers
What to bring that may not be available to buy where you are going, balancing comfort with looking great, and how to pack light without depriving yourself of the things you want with you on a trip. I also have Packing Advice For First-Time Humanitarians & Aid Workers - what you should pack before you head out on your first mission trip. I also have my pack list for what I take on motorcycle camping trips. I love learning what others pack, and what you can pack for dual purposes.

Health & safety considerations, especially for novice women travelers.
This is the advice that, for me, often gets glossed over or never referred to at all in most travel books and on most travel web sites. Health challenges WILL happen when you travel, and the challenges for women often aren't the same as those for men. This is advice I wish I'd known when I started traveling especially when I started traveling abroad. .

transire benefaciendo: "to travel along while doing good."
This is extensive advice for those wanting to make their travel much more than only sight-seeing of the most famous places and shopping, whether in your own country or abroad, and how to make your sight-seeing an activity that educates you and benefits local people and not harm local environments. I was the first person on the Internet to use this term, transire benefaciendo, in association with traveling and doing good (or, at least, not doing bad / being harmful). This page strongly discourages vanity volunteering / voluntourism.

My page of advice for camping with your dogs in the USA.
So that you, your dogs, and people that will be camping near you will have a great time camping, this page has advice on the preparations you should make before you travel and things to keep in mind during your adventure together. This used to be the most popular page on my web site! I first published it back in the late 1990s and I update it regularly (but not frequently, I admit).

My advice for women who want to travel by motorcycle.
This is my favorite way to travel, and I would LOVE to see more women all over the world traveling this way. Traveling by motorcycle is affordable, it's oh-so-much fun, and it gives you a unique perspective on everything you are seeing and experiencing. 

Advice for Traveling for Free Really Low Cost - in the USA or abroad (for those who want to work and travel).
Do people take a year or two or more off and travel around very cheaply? Yes. But here's how they work while doing it - how they finance it - and keep costs very low. Also, for all you many people who think there's a magical, easy way to travel around the USA or around the world for free, or to be paid to do it, this is your reality check. But if you are just looking for ways to camp cheaply or for free across the USA  - if you are a back packer or motorcycle traveler or you bought a cheap used car and want to travel around the USA and spend as little money as possible on places to stay, see this resource instead (I created it after talking to a German motorcycle traveler who didn't realize that campgrounds in the USA weren't open year-round and had such massive price differences).

Saving money for travel (or to pay off your debt, for that matter).
Whether you want to take an entire year off and go around the world or you just want to get away for a nice weekend, this resource can help you think about how to budget for such, so that travel doesn't put you into debt - or further into debt. Note: you do NOT have to be entirely debt free to travel. And remember that travel costs can be far less than mental health treatment!

Accessing essential information while traveling
Advice on things you should do before you leave on a trip, to ensure you can access information via any computer or your feature phone (basic cell phone) or smart phone that you might need while traveling. There's also information here on how to keep your online information safe while traveling (and afterwards).

Using the Internet to Share Your Adventure During Your Adventure
Advice on blogging, photo-sharing, tweeting, etc. It's a wonderful thing to share information about your adventure, but you don't want to spend so much time sharing info about your trip that you aren't actually enjoying your trip! This is my advice for balancing sharing things in real-time, documenting your adventure and enjoying the moments of travel without always thinking about social media.

Planning your first not-so-"Western" travel destinations.
Feeling ambitious? Want an adventure that is unique and will help you understand different people and cultures? If you are already an experienced traveler, you might want to think about some not-so-"Western" destinations. Some of the most astounding travel destinations are in developing countries, places where the infrastructure isn't at the same standard as what you might be used to in your day-to-day life.

This is a page of my favorite travel resources written by other people.
Some, but not all, are specifically focused on helping women travelers. Many of these resources are ones I use myself when planning a trip. And, yes, I try to always plan, at least a bit, so that once I arrive, I can immediately immerse myself in the experience - not scramble to figure out where I am and what there is to do and see.

My favorite resources regarding tourism for community & economic development
Tourism is an amazing avenue to both economic development for local people and to create inter-cultural understanding. But tourism development needs to be balanced with cultural and environmental protections. I'm intensely interested in this subject, and have curated this list for anyone else who might be interested.

Advice for Hotels, Hostels & Campgrounds in Transitional & Developing Countries: The Qualities of Great, Cheap Accommodations
As I noted earlier, tourism is an amazing avenue to both economic development for local people and to create inter-cultural understanding.
I like staying in budget hotels, boutique hotels, hostels, B & Bs and campgrounds, and I know what makes one great. If you run such a site,
this is my advice so that you remain fully booked, with a fantastic online reputation.

DESTINATION-SPECIFIC ADVICE

Advice for Traveling Around the USA Camping & Hiking
There are plenty of books and online guides on where to hike and camp in the USA. But there isn't much about how to find these places, how to choose which to go to (not just the ones you've heard of), if you should book in advance or just show up, how to prepare budget-wise, etc. This is my effort to fill in those gaps with essential information.

 
Saving Money with Park Passes in the USA
There's a certain formula to follow if you want park passes to save money over the year that they are valid. In addition, this advice includes a caution for motorcycle riders regarding state parks (so that you don't end up paying far more than you should).

Where did this artwork & domain name come from?

I am quite partial to canines, and I think the coyote is unique among all canines worldwide, with qualities I greatly admire. Coyotes are unique to North America, my birthplace and a place that I want others to visit and enjoy. Coyotes are amazingly adaptable to ever-changing surroundings - efforts to control or exterminate the coyote, coupled with the massive garbage-production of modern humans, have produced an animal that is even more alert, opportunistic and able to survive, even flourish, than before Europeans arrives in North America. They are incredibly misunderstood animals, much smaller than most people think, and often blamed for destruction not of their making. When I do a road trip in the USA, seeing a coyote always sends a thrill through me.

Other artwork on my site is inspired by rock art I've seen all over the world. Whether you are in Ireland, Sweden, Macedonia, Egypt, California or so many other places in the world, you will see rock art created hundreds, even thousands, of years ago, meant to communicate something important from the artist to other humans - just like the original intent of the Internet. The petroglyph-style artwork I create and adapt to use on this site and in my presentations is inspired by this artwork that I've seen all over the world, that I think represents a thread that connects us all to our human families of the past. None of it is actually from an archeological site - just inspired by such. There are no drawn representations of ACTUAL rock art imagery on my site.

how to support my work & this web site

Maps of where I've been. 

Coyotebroad Motorcycle Travel Adventures. My travelogues. Photos are great - but thoughts are what really bring me back into a place I've been before, when I want to visit again but can't afford it.

Some of my favorite photos from my travels. Very hard to pick favorites. I'm no Instagram Influencer: these aren't glossy photos through color-popping filters. Just a girl, often covered in dust, happy to be... somewhere.

My motorcycle travel plans. Each year, my husband and I plan for a two-week or more motorcycle trip. This is what we're dreaming of. I share this in the hope that those who have done similar trips will drop me a line and let me know if they have advice. We love advice!

Latest trips:

Fall Two-Week Motorcycle Tour: the Pacific Northwest Outback of Eastern Oregon, Northern Nevada & South Western Idaho. 2531 miles (4050 km). September-October 2024.

10 day motorcycle tour of Guatemala, January 2024.

Follow me online! 
My posts on these channels are mostly about travel and motorcycle riding, but in some places, I also talk about my professional stuff which, sadly, is not about travel and motorcycle riding.

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