Have Media Will Travel

A blog about outdoor adventure, family travel, national parks, media, technology, marketing, fitness and me.

Frontier Life

“Surprise Adventure” Was a Splash

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Last Sunday morning, I roused my husband, Jerry, and our three sons, out of bed. I told them to “rise and shine” and get their clothes on because we were going on a surprise adventure.

We started their surprise adventure off right by stopping at the local bakery to get ’em a box of donuts. Next, we pointed the adventure wagon north and headed out of our town of Lander, WY, on Highway 789 and then Highway 20 through the scenic Wind River Canyon.

The boys were excited, but curious. They pounded us with questions in an effort to get clues. They asked if we were going hiking? No. To the cabin? No. Sledding? No. Camping? No. Skiing? No. Biking? No.

Wolf, our oldest, and almost-11-year-old son, admitted he was excited, yet anxious. When I asked what it was like to not know, he said, “Well you say it’s an adventure, and I remember you once telling us that what makes an adventure an adventure is to have some hard work involved and some unknown challenges that come along. Also, the backpack you take on your ‘epic adventures,’ is in the back of our car, and, well, that makes me kind of nervous.” Smart kid. 🙂

Hayden, our middle and 9-year-old son, said he was, “Curious. Just really curious.” To which, Fin, our youngest, and almost-4-year-old son, said, “like Curious George!”

Just creating an adventure that was a surprise for our boys was an adventure for Jerry and I. We enjoyed the heck out of it. For quite a while, it was great to have this surprise to hold over our three young, eager sons. It was a 90-minute road-trip that had a backseat full of anticipation. It was a riot, and I highly recommend other parents do the same if you’re looking to shake things up and create some new fun for the family one of these weekend days.

Our surprise adventure was swimming at the Star Plunge, located in Hot Springs State Park.

Located at the edge of the town of Thermopolis, WY, Hot Springs State Park was built around the world’s largest mineral hot spring. Big Spring pours forth millions of gallons of mineral water every day at a constant temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit. According to Wyoming Tourism‘s website, “The perpetual fountain forms a seething caldron from which some of the water is channeled into pools to be cooled and then piped into bathhouses for public use. From another stream, the water flows over enchanting Rainbow Terrace and then spills down into the Big Horn River.”

Star Plunge has two large pools, one indoor and one outdoor hot tub with jets, two outdoor slides and one tube side, steam room and sauna. The indoor pool temperature ranges from 94 to 98 degrees F, and the sides and bottom of the pool are lined with a porcelain-smooth layer of pale pink mineral deposit, the result of decades of contact with the thermal water. The pools and steam room at Star Plunge are supplied with hot water from nearby Big Spring.

The boys loved the slides and the jumping board. They even triple-dog-dared me to jump off the jumping board. It was scary but I did it. Just one time. I especially liked the “Vapor Cave,” and Jerry liked the “Lobster Pot” extra-hot hot tub.

My guys.
Hayden enjoying one of the slides.
Wolf, pulling the rope to signal to his brother the slide was clear for takeoff.
Fin, having a 'Fintastic' time.
My boys, just soaking.
More like, 'Caution: Mommy is Flying.' (I did this on a triple dog dare from my boys).

The Day Pink Power Ranger Skied 50 Miles

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I recently returned from West Yellowstone, Montana, where some girlfriends and I dressed up in super girl costumes and skied. For a very long time.

This is me, the Pink Power Ranger.

The occasion? The Equinox Ski Challenge. This annual event, which is named for the time the sun crosses the plane of the earth’s equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth, is awesome.

It’s basically a supported ski-a-thon on some of West Yellowstone’s world-famous (read: awesome) ski trails. Categories include: 24-minute kids’ race, 3-hour, 6-hour, 12-hour and 24-hour. Skiers can enter solo or as a team. A small team can have 2-4 members, or a big team has 5-8 members. We each entered “solo,” in the 12-hour, figuring that would give us all day to ski and take it easy in our base camp. We had set up chairs and a cooler and bags full of sustenance that included mountains of energy bars and waters, plus some more tasty items, as well as a bunch of Hotties, and additional layers of clothes.

Logging laps in falling (wet) snow.

The weather forecast for the day of the event was not favorable. It was to be warm — as in 44 degrees warm — with a good chance for snow, which could very likely be rain. (Yuck.) However, we were pleasantly surprised by a partly sunny sky when we arrived at the event.

Each lap measured 8.7 kilometers. However, for some reason (I always round up?) I got it in my mind that each lap was 9k. I had a personal goal to ski 50 miles — or, about 9 laps.

As readers of this blog know, I like to be outside working hard for a long period of time. Plus, I am in training for an epic (54+ mile) “day” hike from north to south of Zion National Park in May. So I figured 50 miles on skis would be great training.

So I skied, and skied, and skied. All of us did. Around and around and around.

The first two laps included great trail conditions and some sunshine. It was looking to be a great day. It was taking me about 39-40 minutes to ski a lap and I was having fun. My skis were gliding and everything. Yeehaw! So far, so good.

Stocking up at the aid station and getting ready to start yet another lap.

Originally my plan was to ski three laps, then take off my skis, go to the restroom and “lounge around” in my comfy little chair, and eat some food and drink some water, then repeat, several times over the course of 12 hours. But like often is the case during an adventure, things didn’t go as planned.

As my third lap started, and so did the falling snow, and the wind. Conditions were rough for the rest of the day, at least for the rest of the 12-hour window. I don’t have the greatest technique, or very much experience, so it was more work than skiing. Sort of like hiking or snowshoeing but with skinny skis on my feet and thankfully, poles in my hands. It was a wet snow, so I was not only getting worked over, I was pretty soaked. Somehow, I still very much enjoyed the experience.

I did change my plans. As the weather and conditions took a turn for the worse, I knew if I stopped, it would be harder to get going again. So, despite the worsening conditions, I kept at it, pretty relentlessly. I resorted to listening to my iPod midway through my fourth lap, and thanks in large part to the Heartless Bastards and the Dirty Heads, it was still a pretty good day and I was able to keep skiing around and around.

The scenery was beautiful and I was able to enjoy a lot of solitude, which was from time to time supported by friendly, cheering people and an aid station stocked full of beverages and yummy, energetic treats. (I love Tram bars.)

There was no shortage of camaraderie, and it seemed the worse conditions got, the more supportive everyone was. We were all in it together, kindred spirits. You could feel this and it really made the event a special one for me. It did not feel like a race, although there were many kick-ass skiers out there logging laps at a high rate of speed.

I can’t help but mention two awesome women skiers who were set up next to our “station:” Becky Wheeler, of Casper, and Jen Ziegler, of Jackson. These two women were entered as a team in the 24-hour category. Their goal was to ski 300k, and looking at the results, I see they did 314k. Now that’s some skiing. With numbers that big I needed a calculator to compute that they skied almost 195 miles! Both women were really supportive and enthusiastic, even as they made the skiing look effortless.

I stopped skiing just past eight hours, after what I figured to be 81 kilometers, which meant I had met (surpassed) by goal of 50 miles.

Wind River Super Girls.

But wait! Upon my return, I was on Facebook and the Equinox folks posted the results on their fan page. I learned that I did 78.3k, which is — gasp — just short of 50 miles. On the upside, I got second place. Yeehaw. But really, this was not a race, but a super fun challenge to ski far with support. And that it was. Plus, I figured my short ski trips to the bathroom and back may have put me just at 50 miles. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. 🙂

Some people call the Equinox a “race,” and to a few people it may be that. But for most, it’s not a race, buta personal challenge. The event’s mission, which is stated on its website and influenced me to sign up, is: To hold a nordic ski event that brings benefit to our communities, encourages compassion and camaraderie amongst participants, and provides an exceptional opportunity for personal challenge.

A portion of the money raised from the race is donated to the West Yellowstone Ski Education Foundation, which race creator Sam Newbury believes promotes support and health for youth in the community. Funds are also donated to the Livingston-based Manaia Youth Programs.

I love to skate ski. I love being out in nature. I love being around other people who love the outdoors and skiing. I love camaraderie. The Equinox delivered all of these things. I love the Equinox Ski Challenge. Oh, and did I mention we got to dress up in costumes for the event? I was the Pink Power Ranger, and my cohorts dressed up as Padme and Elasta-Girl. I am sure that everyone felt protected and safer as a result of our presence.

Kathy, me and Holly, or, Wind River Super Girls for the weekend.

Finally, the Equinox Ski Challenge provided an excuse to take a trip with some of my closest girlfriends, Holly Copeland and Kathy Browning. Which meant we sang really loud, ate too much chocolate and drank some wine. In addition to the skiing… 🙂

Thanks so my mom for lending me her Pink Power Ranger costume, and to friend Shannon Kaminsky’s daughter for loaning me the mask!

Living and Working on the Frontier, Part 2

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In 1994, we founded a business in Wyoming called Yellowstone Journal Corporation. For 15 years we innovated and expanded. It was hard work. It was never easy. Yet it was extremely fulfilling — similar to climbing a mountain. It’s almost all work, but the rewards at the top are worth it. We sold the business to Active Interest Media, the publisher of Backpacker Magazine, Yoga Journal, Climbing, American Cowboy, and other niche magazines, in September 2008.

Now, I’m starting up a new mountain, developing a new business. Here’s that part of the story (Part 2, published in Wyoming Entrepreneur.)

(And, if interested, here is Part 1).

At Vino Bello Resort, We (Officially) Arrived

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I have been traveling to the San Francisco, CA, region every month for the last five months for life coach training in San Rafael. My final course was last week. And, thanks to my parents, who so graciously offered to watch our three sons, my husband, Jerry was able to fly out and meet me in California. We spent 3 nights there on what could be called a “second honeymoon.”

Jerry and I near Muir Beach -- almost done hiking.

As readers of this blog know, I love to embark on long, epic, hiking adventures.

Jerry’s an avid hiker, too, and I couldn’t wait to show him the area trails I had discovered. So last Monday, we hiked our legs off in the Marin Headlands region. We hiked 22 miles, including 4,000’+ of elevation gain.

We hiked most of the trails in Muir Woods National Monument, plus linked trails to hike the Dipsea and Steep Ravine trails, before linking several more trails to hike to the East Peak of the 2,571-foot-high Mt. Tamalpais, before descending on yet more trails upon our return to Muir Woods. But that wasn’t enough — we wanted to hike a shore-hugging trail, too, so we drove to nearby Muir Beach and hiked the Coastal Trail to Pirate’s Cove before returning and wading bare feet into the Pacific ocean.

In other words, we were not having a lazy time of it. And our sustenance while hiking — energy bars and bottled water — was nothing to boast about.

Boy oh boy, were we ready for some gluttony.

And what better place to be gluttonous than California’s Napa Valley?

So next up: Vino Bello Resort. We entered its address into my Droid’s navigation system, and exited Muir Woods National Monument to head to the land of fine wine.

After driving through rolling green hills and past vineyards and wineries, we approached our destination, the Vino Bello. Pure luxury is what it looked like from the outside as we parked our car. Here, the Droid navigation lady said in her usual nice voice, “You Have Arrived.”

The nicest "condo" I have ever seen or stayed in.

Boy, had we ever!

California wine country’s newest luxury resort, the Vino Bello Resort, with its “World Tuscan” decor, and set amidst vine-covered hills, beckoned.

Wine tasting, part 1. Here we test Trinitas in the Resort's Tasting Room.

Ravenous, and with mud caked on our lower legs and to the bottoms of our shoes, and smelling a little worked-over and stinky, we were greeted by people behind the desk calling us by our first names and ready to respond to our every need. We were being waited on hand and foot. Dare I say, pampered? 🙂

It only went up, up, up from there.

Once in our room we discovered we not only had a big warm shower awaiting us but a shower with not one — but 5! — showerheads.

Not too shabby.

We enjoyed an upscale condominium-type room that included a full kitchen, a full living room complete with fireplace, a full jacuzzi bath, spacious bathroom, and a huge comfy poster bed.

The resort is pure luxury. It includes a state-of-the-art underground, 22,000-square-foot spa, called Spa Terra, where guests enjoy serenity, with natural stone and copper water and a wide variety of spa treatments. Inside the spa we found a relaxation lounge, 10 treatment rooms, including couples rooms that are cocooned in the heart of the earth. Both ladies and gentlemen’s private lounges feature whirlpools, steam grottos and soothing water walls. Like I said, this is quite a place — a destination in itself.

We got cleaned up and then explored the great selection of American wines at the Estate Wine Cave and Meritage Wine Tasting Bar, where we tasted several glasses of Trinitas wine, paired with local gourmet truffles. Are you kidding me? Chocolate, a variety of wines to taste, massages and facial treatments and luxury accommodations. Did I mention we had arrived?

Posing in the 22,000-square-foot underground cave spa.
One of the pools at the Vino Bello Resort.

After a bunch of wine tasting and further exploring of the grounds of the hotel, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and retreated to one of the hot tubs under a starry sky before closing in for the night. We slept in and had a hard time getting ourselves out of the room the next morning. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast from the restaurant before our stay at the Vino Bello came to an end. We had to leave sometime, right? After experiencing all this, I understood why my friend who recommended the Vino Bello to us warned me that we’d never want to leave the resort.

We did, but only because we had a (wine) train to catch.

The Vino Bello Resort was luxury and pampering all the way around for this frontier couple.

Indeed, for at least that one night, we had arrived. And it was epic.

Vino Bello Resort is part of Shell Vacations Hospitality.

Living and Working on the Frontier

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I started and operated a business on the frontier of Wyoming for 15 years. It was hard work – similar to exploring the frontier. It was a journey of discovery and promise that at times was harsh and full of hazards. It was epic.

Click here: Part One, published in Wyoming Entrepreneur.