As NY1 continues its week-long look at Women's History, the station profiles an intrepid 79-year-old Queens explorer who is believed to be the only African-American woman to stand on the North and South Poles. Borough reporter Ruschell Boone filed the following report.

Barbara Hillary is a woman on the move. After trekking to both ends of the earth, the 79-year-old explorer and resident of Rockaway, Queens. Hillary is shaping up for her next adventure and has no plans to slow down.

"I refuse to grow old, older, being boring to myself and others," she says.

"Adventurous" would be the appropriate word to describe this former nursing instructor, who wanted her journey to the South Pole in January and the North Pole four years ago to be a trailblazing example for others.

"Women, older people, race, nationality -- to be the first African-American woman on record to have stood on both poles," says Hillary.

That accomplishment did not come easy for this lung and breast cancer survivor. It took perseverance and a lot of fundraising to get to the North Pole.

"It's about three hours from Norway North, and from that point you take a plane to a base camp," she says. "From there, you go north again by helicopter and then you're deposited and you begin to ski to the North Pole."

For Hillary, skiing was a challenge.

"When I grew up in Harlem, skiing wasn't fashionable," she jokes.

Learning how to dog sled wasn't easy either.

"My second time out on a dog sled, the sled hit a rock and I went flying," says Hillary.

The trip to the South Pole also had its challenges, including raising nearly $50,000 for the trip, equipment failure and exhaustion.

"Did I ever feel like giving up? It did cross my mind," she says.

Since returning home, Hillary has been on the public speaking circuit. But she is actively looking for the next adventure.

I suggested she should trek through the Sahara Desert, and she has received many other suggestions from the public.

"One is to travel the entire length of the Amazon River," says Hillary. "Go into outer space."

To send her your own idea, visit her Web site at BarbaraHillary.com.