Gigi Ragland

A Natural Born Traveler

My mom always said I was born under a wandering star. I attribute that declaration to my great-grandparents who journeyed across the Midwest in a covered wagon to stake their claim during the country’s first Land Run of 1889 in Indian Territory. Later in 1907, the territory became the state of Oklahoma where I was born and raised.

Curiosity took hold at an early age. I pursued the wonders of my neighborhood. First on foot to nearby prairie meadows and creek trails, then later by bicycle where I pedaled as far as my little legs would allow, fueled by an explorer’s desire to see what was around the next bend.

Driven to Experience Landscapes and Life

Instead of a covered wagon, I ventured by car to California after graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Journalism. I never staked a land claim but I’ve lived in a few great places. First, Los Angeles where I worked for a catering company. My knowledge of cuisine increased dramatically, far beyond my chicken-fried steak days. From there I moved to Northern California and landed a catering job in Sonoma. That’s where I learned how to pair food to wine, a necessary skill when many of your clients are wineries. From there I moved to San Francisco because I wanted a more active social scene. What can I say? There was more night life. I switched gears from catering and worked in hotel hospitality for many years. The San Francisco hotel industry was like being part of an extended family. It was always exciting. After I met a guy mountain-biking on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, we got married and moved to Mill Valley to be near all the amazing hiking and mountain-biking trails.

The Emergence of a Writer

So when did I start my career as a writer? Feeling the need to express myself in a creative way, I signed up for a class at the local community college. The course was called “The Artist’s Way,” based off of the book by Julia Cameron. The daily rituals and exercises opened up channels of the creative thinking process, tapping into my writing roots. Serendipity struck. I met the editor of the local Marin newspaper in class. She encouraged me to write and eventually offered newspaper assignments.

I’ve always lived in beautiful places with stunning landscapes near buzzing cultural hubs. The choice was deliberate. Destination reigned first, then came the job hunting. We left California and roadtripped to Colorado where my husband and I landed in Boulder without jobs. We found jobs, bought a house in Longmont, Colorado and I wrote destination pieces for a travel consortia company.

Travel is My Beat

Then, serendipity struck again. The wife of a friend was an editor for a Colorado outdoor adventure magazine and needed to assign a winter travel story on cross-country skiing at a luxury guest ranch to a writer. She offered, I accepted and that was the start of my freelance travel writing career.

It’s fitting that someone born under a wandering star ends up as a travel writer. I moved and lived in places where I could see and experience more and more things. The desire to travel is a natural offshoot of who I am. “Not all who wander are lost,” said the character Bilbo in Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” series.