Meg and daughter, Cary, on Khopra Ridge, Annapurna region, Dec 2018. The mountain in the background is Dhaulagiri, the 7th highest mountain in the world. (CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE)

This website is about JOY. The joy of discovery; the joy of experiencing a new place, a new person, a new way of life; the joy of walking into the unknown, stripping off the detritus of old habits and thoughts, and risking failure to find abundance and success.

I find my joy in travel, in writing, and in being immersed in nature. My blog is an unpublished picture book of my travels and of experiences not uncommon to many of you…life experiences that do not depend on physical prowess, youth, or going anywhere but into your own imagination and dreams.

I welcome you to take a pilgrimage with me to far away places….to discover yourself as you expand your world and your understanding of the myriad cultures available to all of us, and to embrace the possibilities that are unlocked every time you try something new.

Trekking in the Helambu/Yolmo area of Nepal, 2014

For a chronicle of my travels in 1987-88, read my book!
Madam, Have You Ever Really Been Happy? An Intimate Journey through Africa and Asia

“The book, in a lively voice, speaks to anyone who, like Ms. Peterson, has ever daydreamed over the inviting pages of National Geographic…”
The New York Times

“Explore Africa and Asia’s exotic and humble locales with Meg Peterson as she sets out to circle the globe carrying nothing more than a backpack. Unfettered by deadlines and armed with an open ticket and a camera, she takes off, making plans as she goes.

She rides on dilapidated buses through Egypt and Zimbabwe and squeezes into hot, crowded trains in India. She views a sunrise from the summit of Mt. Moses in the Sinai and a private cremation on the banks of the Ganges.

In Kenya Meg encounters roadblocks and Masai warriors, and in Nepal she finds romance with an Austrian scientist. Abandoned at 14,000 ft. by their drunken guide, the two climb to Everest Base Camp through the snow, traversing the Khumbu Glacier and struggling up Kala Pattar (18,500 ft.) to gaze on Everest, Nuptse, and Lhotse.

Full of rich and unusual details, Meg Peterson’s book takes you into the heart of her journey, an adventure that changed her understanding of herself and the world.”