Jessica Mills, better known in the hiking world, as "Dixie," was born in Florida. She 'grew up' in Opelika, AL, spending the majority of her summers with my grandparents, who were backyard gardeners that grew up on farms. At a young age, she developed a love for the outdoors. She's not a big TV fan, unless it is football season–Go War Eagles! She graduated from Auburn University in 2012 with a degree in Biosystems Engineering and a minor in Agronomy and Soils.

For a year and a half, she was a resident of Colorado and it was an amazing experience! She resigned from her job there and began her thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in March 2015. Although that journey ended in October 2015 when she reach the summit of Mt. Katahdin, it was just the beginning to a new chapter in her life. Since then, she has completed the Triple Crown, the Camino De Santiago, the Florida Trail and several other shorter hikes.

She is an advocate of being outdoors, feeling that we can learn a lot about ourselves and life in general while out in nature. Whether it's taking an evening stroll, catching lightning bugs or gardening, Jessica thinks everyone can benefit from smelling the roses now and then!

Her remarkably successful YouTube channel now has nearly 400,000 subscribers.

Guest Links- https://homemadewanderlust.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQhqmV26773qZhzqJz4VFcw

https://www.facebook.com/homemadewanderlust

https://www.hikingradionetwork.com/show/dixie-live-on-the-continental-divide-trail/

Grandma Gatewood Statue- https://www.gofundme.com/f/grandma-gatewood-tribute-statue

Connect with Anna, aka Mud Butt, at [email protected]

You can find the Trail Dames at: Our website: https://www.traildames.com

The Summit: https://www.traildamessummit.com

The Trail Dames Foundation: https://www.tdcharitablefoundation.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/traildames/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/traildames/

Hiking Radio Network: https://hikingradionetwork.com/

Hiking Radio Network on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hikingradionetwork/

Music provided for this Podcast by The Burns Sisters "Dance Upon This Earth" https://www.theburnssisters.com