Michael Lanza, Cool Person

I thought I’d spend the rest of the week talking about the amazing people I presented with at the Wind River Outdoor Writers Conference.

Michael Lanza

Michael Lanza lives your dream life. He really does. He spends his time hiking the most beautiful spots in America with his family, and then he writes about it and takes the most gorgeous photos. He’s a dynamo ~ he thinks nothing of hiking 20 or 30 miles. And he’s really got things figured out ~ he’s figured out a way to do all this and make a living at it at the same time. And over and above all that, he’s a really nice guy!

At the conference, he gave this amazing presentation about how you can have this amazing life and be this amazing creative person online.  He's really thought it through.

I love how he helps families get outdoors. His post about helping your kids love the outdoors is one of his most popular (“One Photo, One Story: 10 Tips for Raising Outdoors-Loving Kids”). This is on his fabulous blog The Big Outside.

You should really check out his book, Before They’re Gone: A Family’s Year-Long Quest to Explore America’s Most Endangered National Parks. It won a National Outdoor Book Award for literary merit. Read a lively excerpt here about meeting a bear on the trail.

Here’s his bio:

Michael Lanza is a freelance writer and photographer, award-winning author, public speaker, and for many years was the Northwest Editor of Backpacker Magazine. He created and runs The Big Outside, where he blogs about his outdoor adventures, including many with his family. His book, Before They're Gone—A Family's Year-Long Quest to Explore America's Most Endangered National Parks, winner of a National Outdoor Book Award, chronicles his wilderness adventures with his wife and their young son and daughter in national parks threatened by climate change. He is an engaging storyteller and gives talks and slideshows about his work and travels as an outdoor writer and photographer, the impacts of climate change on nature, and getting children out into the wilderness.

I know I'm gushing, but he's worth it.