Islands Magazine | Nov 2014
“A Distant Match:” This travel tale features our trip to the remote island of Palmerston in the Cook Islands, and the odd coincidence of finding a (competitive!) volleyball match on the sand. Click here to read it.
Author: Brianna Randall
Just Like Huck Finn
When my dad was 17, he floated 60 miles of the Colorado River on a ping-pong table. Talon, like his grandfather, is an adventurer at heart. But, unlike his grandfather, he required a LOT more gear to get down his first river.
Mahseer by Motorcycle: Dropping Bombs in Thailand
When I was a kid, I made my own fireworks out of cardboard, gunpowder, and a hefty amount of duct tape. So when Bobby Kauktol told me that we’d be tossing cherry bombs at large mahseer on the River Yuam, I was feeling right at home.
Birding, Baby: The New Extreme Sport
I bet you never thought birding was hard-core. I didn’t really, either. But then we added a baby to the mix, and Montana decided to sprinkle in some of its famous fickle weather to make our bird-watching missions more extreme.
I THINK I can, I THINK I can
If the little blue engine can make it over the mountain, so can I–even if free-time and the sea seem like distant memories.
I am not a superhero
I try “organic blogging” about my first professional development opportunity in months, which I grabbed with both hands and a Beco-full of babbling baby.
Live the cliche
You never know when miniature disasters or major catastrophes will change the landscape of your life forever. I’ve been thinking a lot about life landscapes this week, as we got word that a past river adventure buddy passed away unexpectedly and another friend lost his wife. It’s so cliche to say, isn’t […]
Sand in your crack
We had a taste of paradise again: a two-week sneak preview of our former life, and our (hopefully) someday-life-to-be. Using airline miles and a tent, we spent two cheap weeks camping on the island of Kaua’i, introducing our Pacific-conceived baby to the best ocean on earth. He liked it. I could […]
How to be a grown-ass woman
My mujer mojo is missing in action. The title of this post makes it sound like I’m going to tell you how to be a responsible female adult. Instead, I’m trolling for your ideas on the subject. First off, an explanation. I spent a fabulous three estrogen-soaked days with a couple of stellar […]
A Quick Exit
I was just looking for a little more space. And yeah, a quick exit would have been nice, too. “Ma’am, you can’t sit in the emergency exit row with a child,” the flight attendant informed me. With my arms full of wriggling infant, coats and snacks, I headed back toward […]
Neither Bought Nor Bartered
More than presents or promises, the stars and the moon. More than magical unicorn ponies and lawn gnomes in red hats. More than visions of sugarplums, or seascapes swaddled in sunshine. That’s how much we love you, Talon, and all of our friends and family, too. — May the New Year […]
Trimming wee talons (and other tales of time)
Cutting our kid’s nails is kind of like wrestling a small iguana, except iguanas don’t drool. Back when I had a 9-5 job and no kid, I always knew what day of the week it was. I was also way better at watering the plants regularly – once a week like clockwork. And […]
The falls are still scary
“I’ll always take care of you,” I whispered to my sleeping son. And as I tiptoed out of the room, I thought to myself, I just hope you’ll always let me. Talon had just finished a massive crying jag after his first big scare. Our glider rocking chair tumbled over accidentally, […]
Missoula Independent | Nov 2014
“Paddling the limit.” November 6, 2014. Cover story–Extreme kayaker Tyler Bradt left his Montana home to circumnavigate the globe. His first task? Learning how to sail.
A dozen pounds of drool
“This baby is a daily reminder that I can’t control the universe,” said my friend, Hilary, last week as she frantically jiggled the newborn slung around her chest. I nodded. It’s humbling, we agreed, to give up control. To say goodbye to who we were and hello to the new […]
Islands Magazine | Dec 2014
“Sail to Paradise” – Islands Magazine, Dec 2014. Read about manta rays in Bora Bora and where to charter a sailboat.
Living Luxuriously in the Creases
“I had plenty of time when my daughter was a baby,” my friend tells me. “It was just lost in the transitions.” She means the transitions between eating and sleeping between dishes and laundry between what was and what is. Motherhood means dwelling within these transitions. Residing in the […]
Will our baby have the travel bug?
“Awww, so cute!” an acquaintance remarked, stroking Talon’s fuzzy head while we waited in line at a local coffee shop. “Aren’t you glad you got traveling out of your system before the baby was born?” If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me that question lately, I’d […]
Rebirth
All good stories start with water. With a flow, a rush, a release. So did you. You were made on the sea, in nights full of stars and gently rocking boats. You were made when laughter was simple, and music echoed through it all. Here is what I want you […]
The Space Between Contractions
I want to tell you about the calm in the center of a storm. About a timeless place of softly swirling nothing. About drifting weightless across eons that span mere moments. About a galaxy inside of each of us that is filled with peace and trust and so much depth. […]
Belly Love – Photo Montage of the Baby Bump by a Creek
Uncertain abundance. The phrase kept repeating itself in the cobwebs between sleep and wake last night. It captures our summer so aptly: ripe and potent, tenuous and vague. Sands shifting beneath our feet. Waves of love lapping at our toes. Uncertain abundance. This last month of pregnancy is ringed with the […]
Yoga + Pregnancy = Do What Feels Good.
I recently ran into a friend and blog reader in downtown Missoula. She asked if I would write a post on how it feels to practice yoga while pregnant. This one’s for you, Wendy! One of my first questions after learning I was pregnant was whether I could still practice […]
The Universal is the Most Personal
Kick and squirm. Jostle and poke. Nudge. Nudge. Hiccup. Flip. Someone else is sharing my inner space: my breath, my blood, my body. He has his own routine, his own rhythm. He tickles and gulps and listens and sucks. I can’t see any of it with my eyes, but I […]
Beauty Has a Bite – Walking Into Nettles
Sometimes you walk through the wildflowers and straight into stinging nettles. I did it this weekend. I never looked down at the path below, focusing instead on the creek ahead. My inner thighs tingled for hours, pinpricks reminding me that beauty has a bite. Rob tells me that maybe I […]
Can you keep a baby in a drawer?
Drawing the line between what’s important and what’s irrelevant It’s starting to sink in that pregnancy actually ends with a new person in our lives. And that the new little human is gonna need some things. This is a frustrating realization when accumulating things is a source of anxiety for […]