Adventurous Women 5 - Tori McClure

 This is one of my all-time favorite adventure books about a woman. I'm not entirely sure why because I'm usually more captivated by land adventures than watery ones, but it's a combination of a very strong and tough woman who meets a totally unforgiving ocean. The book is A Pearl in the Storm. Tori sets out to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.



The boat Tori builds just doesn't look very seaworthy. It's clunky and made of plywood. However, the plan is that the design will keep it afloat and self-righting with a water-tight cabin.

She tries to catch the Gulf Stream currents, but isn't sure she's ever actually succeeded.

The accounts of the storms she endures and survives will convince you never to try this at home! It's amazing.

As the book progresses, you learn more about Tori the person and what gave her such a competitive spirit.

After surviving the hurricane on the Atlantic in a wooden boat, she had to abandon this first quest. But this isn't the end of the story.

In 1999, she became the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

My back is much better. I was totally functional for more than half the day, but did spend some time on the heating pad, and I'm headed there again. No headache. I really think that was connected to the back pain. I edited, cleaned the kitchen, took a little walk (moving is better for the back).

See Robyn Davidson

Adventurous Women 4 - Robyn Davidson

 This adventure has always seemed more outrageous and foreign to me than most of the others I've read about, including skiing to the North Pole. That, I can imagine. Riding a camel across Australia just boggles my mind. The name of the book is Tracks. It was also made into a movie, but I haven't seen that. Edited: I have now seen the movie. It's free on YouTube with ads. It's very good.


In 1977, Robyn Davidson decided to cross the Australian Outback by camel. She managed to convince National Geographic to sponsor the event in return for a story. The trek was photographed by NatGeo.

Of course, camels are not indiginous to Australia. She thought they would be perfectly suited to the climate and the task, so she finally procured four of them that had been brought to Australia by other explorers who had also thought the same. A dog also accompanied her expedition. Except for the occasional appearances of the photographer, she trekked 1700 miles with only the camels and a dog.

A great deal of the tale is the preparations. There is a fair amount of Australian cultural tension. She dealt with Aborigines at Alice Springs where she staged the expedition, and learned quite a lot about the treatment of those native peoples.

The trip was hot, lonely, at times desperate. To be honest, I don't know if I could have done something like this. The heat doesn't appeal. The bleakness of the landscape doesn't call me. OK... ice is bleak too. Must just be me.

Taking care of four camels and trying to make miles sounds more like a job than an adventure. But I loved the book.

It's mind-blowing that Robyn is only a couple of years younger than I am. She has also written a recent memoir called Unfinished Woman. I might want to read this.

In other news: I managed to edit a fair amount. We got out of the driveway without too much trouble. I got a (rare for me) migraine after lunch and had to lie down for a while. All better now.

See Ordinary Women

Adventurous Women 3 - Sue Carter, Frida Waara

 This is a book that is special to me. Actually, if I had known about this expedition ahead of time, I might have applied to participate. Yes, seriously. This quest was completed on my birthday in 2001!

I met Sue in maybe 2003 when she came to Ludington to speak about their adventure, and Frida in maybe 2005. Frida and I more or less stay in touch.



Sue was the leader of the expedition. Her book is Ordinary Women. Their adventure is that they were the first group of women to ski to the North Pole from the Russian side of the world. These were not professional explorers, but a group of adventurous women who planned and trained and made it happen.

Persistence and endurance were the qualities that led to their success. Of course, they had done a lot of advance work to know what they needed to do. Each member of the team had an important role.

Adventurous Woman 2 - Alice Ramsey

The next adventurous woman on my list is Alice Huyler Ramsey. You may never have heard of her, but I love her story. She was the first woman to drive an automobile across the United States. The car was a Maxwell, and the year was 1909. She was 22 years old.

Alice had plenty of experience driving and had even won some competitions prior to her trip, despite the fact that women were not encouraged to get behind the wheel of a motorcar. She was accompanied by two sisters-in-law, and a 19-year-old friend named Hermine. None of the others knew how to drive.

This particular book reprints Alice's original work, Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron, but adds additional material by Gregory M. Franzwa. The extra material adds some background and clarity, but the original work is the gem.

Only 152 miles of the 3800-mile trek were paved. The infant AAA provided maps, but more often the ladies followed telephone poles in hopes that they would lead to some sort of town. Getting fuel was an ongoing problem.

Marie and I alternately roared with laughter and gasped at their predicaments as we read this book for one of our selections on a hike.

Alice was the first woman voted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. She continued to enjoy driving her entire life.

In other news: I did some editing, wrote my column for LDN, and Om and I watched Addams Family Values. I've loved Addams Family since childhood- the cartoons, then the TV series, and the first movie. I was a little skeptical since sequels are sometimes lacking. But this was hilarious. If you have any sacred cows, don't watch it, because it has all the glorious upside-down values of the Addams Family. Wednesday and Uncle Fester are the stars, but baby Pubert definitely comes to the rescue.

See Libby Riddles

Adventurous Women 1 - Libby Riddles

 I have a few series of posts going that I add to from time to time, because, honestly, some days just don't have anything very exciting to write about.

There is a feature on Amazon called Listmania. You can still find it if you dig deep although it used to be given better exposure. The list I created was called "Adventurous Women." I love adventure books, and particularly stories that feature the girls who are out to push their physical limits and find that thrill of sport.

I'm going to add this feature to my blog possibilities, and review one book on that list from time to time.

First (for no particular reason), I'll tell you about the book Race Across Alaska, by and about Libby Riddles. She was the first woman to win the Iditerod sled race, in 1985, at age 28. The book was written in 1988.

The narrative jumps right into the race, with a day-by-day account of the action. You don't need to know anything about racing sled dogs, because you'll learn it all as you go. It's an exotic enough sport for most of us to hold the attention. Small maps accompany each entry. Background is woven into the narrative.

There are also sidebars explaining some of the background information needed to understand terminology or sledding philosophy.

Riddles' fame has been somewhat eclipsed by Susan Butcher, who went on to win the Iditarod four times. But Libby Riddles was the first woman to have what it takes to win. And the name of Mary Shields has been completely forgotten. She was the first woman to complete the race. Her time wasn't good, but in 1974, most people didn't even think women could do something like that.

I actually liked this book so much I read it onto tapes for my mother when she was still alive. Maybe that's why I'm sharing it first. It was one of the first books I read about an adventurous woman (although I had read a bio of Amelia Ehrhart before that for sure, and probably others)

In other news: all the usual- I edited, I worked on projects. I wrote chapter 39 in Vacation from DMS, 604 words.

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