Howdy!

Welcome to the personal pages of Amber L. Travsky.

I'm a life-long Wyoming resident. I was born in Gillette, grew up in Casper, and have lived in Laramie since the mid 1970s.

My six brothers and sisters and I grew up hiking on Casper Mountain, kite-flying on the open prairie, inner tubing down the North Platte and fishing and swimming at Alcova Lake.

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I've been married since 1982 to Rich. He's pictured here with one of the fish he caught when we were up in Alaska.

Muggle, my Australian shepherd, is my best pal and is learning the ropes of being a backcountry pooch. .

My hobbies include most anything in the out-of-doors including fishing, hiking, cycling, backpacking, hunting and skiing.

The picture below was taken when I finished my first ever marathon swim event. In the summer of 2007 (and again in 2008) I did the 4.4 mile swim across the Chesapeake Bay. I felt like a million bucks at the finish.


For the past 14 years, I've been Tour Director for the cross-Wyoming bicycle ride, the Tour de Wyoming.

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Physical fitness is an important part of my life.

I have earned a Master's Degrees in Exercise Physiology and Wildlife Biology from the University of Wyoming and I am an adjunct PE instructor for both the University of Wyoming and Laramie County Community College-Albany County Campus.

I have studied the martial arts since 1973 and currently hold the rank of 7th degree black belt. I own and instruct the Laramie Kempo Karate Club.
I am a past member of the Wyoming Governor's Council for Physical Fitness and Sports and, from 1996 to 2002 was appointed by President Clinton to serve on the President's Council for Physical Fitness and Sport.

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I earn a living as a wildlife biologist, an occupation I love. I have earned a Master's Degree in Wildlife Zoology and I own my own environmental consulting company, Real West Natural Resource Consulting. Real West specializes in endangered species surveys and wildlife monitoring, as well as vegetation and wetland analysis.

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I am a freelance writer, specializing in outdoor topics which means I also get paid (indirectly) to go fly-fishing, skiing and hiking. My semi-monthly column Wyoming Wanderings and other outdoor-related articles appear in the Outdoors section of the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle in Cheyenne and the Laramie Boomerang.

My first book Mountain Biking Wyoming was published a couple years ago and Mountain Biking Jackson Hole came out in 2001. Work is underway for two more books, one on skiing and the other on backpacking. If you want to purchase one of my books, they're available through Amazon.com.

Some day I hope to write a book with a plot, but for now I enjoy exploring Wyoming's backcountry to research my guidebooks.