Hi, we’re Emily and Aaron!
A Registered Nurse and a teacher by profession, we spend our free time exploring the world. Our style of travel is ethical, sustainable, and preferably off the beaten path!
You’re likely to find us road-tripping, seeking encounters with wildlife, and taking tours with local guides. We’re happiest when sporting dusty faces and giant grins from our latest adventure.
What we believe: The way you travel matters!
The choices you make – what you pack, where you stay, how you spend your money – have a real impact on the future of your destination. You get to decide if you want it to be a positive or a negative one!
We hope to inspire others to travel not only more often, but also in more meaningful ways. We believe that travel done right can broaden our understanding of humanity and make a positive impact on each place we visit. We do our best to travel ethically and sustainably, and we want to help other travelers do the same!
Experience has also taught us that most life-changing adventures happen when you step off the tourist track. The stories you’ll be telling for years to come will be the ones you create for yourself with a place and its people, not the ones you get from an impersonal tour.
Why we’re here: No one’s perfect (us included!)
We’ve learned plenty about traveling ethically during our many years on the road, and we’re still making mistakes and improving. If you ask us, the point is that you’re trying. You’re part of a movement towards ethical, sustainable, responsible travel that will make our world a little better with each adventure. Pretty cool, huh?
Our goal is to help others travel in ways that help, not hurt, the awe-inspiring world that we all share. So we’re sharing our stories and tips – compiled over years of experience – in the hope that others will be inspired and empowered to travel like it matters!
Emily
Writer, Trip Planner, Budget Enthusiast, Registered Nurse
Hi, Emily here! I have a background in journalism and I do all the writing for Two Dusty Travelers. I’ve had insatiable wanderlust ever since my first overseas trip as a baby, when I slept calmly at my parents’ feet throughout the flight. It was while living in Tanzania that I realized I’d never get the travel bug out of my system, and decided to do whatever it takes to make wandering the world a central part of my life.
By day (and sometimes night) I am a Registered Nurse. I have a passion for humanitarian nursing in limited-resource settings and have volunteered in nearly a dozen countries, including working in an Ebola clinic during the outbreak in West Africa. I go on humanitarian medical trips once or twice a year and share those stories here as well.
My favorite things: Secret beaches, feminism, Africa (yes all of it), dogs, chocolate, a really good book
Aaron
Photographer, Website Manager, Tech Expert, Elementary School Teacher
Aaron is my husband, but just as importantly he is also a teacher, photographer, technology genius, Eagle Scout, and generally handy jack-of-all-trades. He’s constantly picking up a new hobby or mastering a new skill (like modifying our Subaru and then our Jeep into overland vehicles), and will say yes to just about anything you ask him to try! Without him, I would be doing all of my writing in a journal instead of on this beautiful blog.
Aaron is just as happy camping in an igloo on a mountainside as he is scuba diving in the Caribbean. The only thing he doesn’t enjoy about travel is leaving Jude, our rescue pup, at home. Aaron manages the website, takes all our photos, wrangles the drone, and generally cooks all our meals.
Aaron’s favorite things: Mountains, Star Trek, dogs, gin, karaoke, the Seattle Sounders, fruit of all kinds
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