Raised in the suburbs of Southern California, Kurt Winans spent his childhood and teenage years listening to vivid stories about the traveling adventures of his parents and older brothers. Throughout that time Kurt was also lucky enough to enjoy his summer and winter vacations at what would become his future home of Lake Tahoe Nevada. He became enamored with the great outdoors, as he and the rest of the family would explore the various surrounding mountains and lakes during the summer, while taking to the ski slopes in the winter. As a result of those early indoctrinations, Kurt has loved the pastime of discovering new places and listening to good story telling ever since.

 

Within the course of his high school years, Kurt wrote articles for the school newspaper before embarking on his university experience while majoring in journalism. After eighteen months along that path, Kurt spent a semester backpacking through Europe on a few dollars a day just as many in his age group had done. The multiple cultures, history, art, and languages throughout the continent made a lasting impression on him, which fueled his desire to explore even more of what was out there. Kurt subsequently left university life behind him and began a few different careers that enabled him to live in and discover what various regions of the United States had to offer. Unable to escape the allure of his writing or storytelling, Kurt quickly began to develop journals of his adventures. Those scribblings provided him with an excellent foundation for future reference, and once he began writing them, he never stopped.