Ditch the Device & Take an Adventure

I must admit....though I own/operate a wilderness adventure company, like everyone else I am always connected.  My Iphone is never far away and I think the Ipad might be the coolest toy since full suspension mountain bikes.  During the winter I find myself digesting digital media equal to the big business guy plugged into the stock market. Against my better judgments and with Christmas on the horizon, the desire for more digital screens, devices and apps only grows.

I  pride myself on being an active and involved family man.  I strive to rage against the machine, but admittedly family time can still deteriorate into our own screens.  When I think about how much of our lives will be absorbed into our digital devices it makes me sad. In this busy world of productivity, volatile markets, tweets, status updates and breaking news it is only getting harder to pull ourselves away from the screen.  

As parents in the midst of the daily grind it takes a conscious effort to log-off .....and connect with what matters. I cherish the chats on the chairlift with my daughter during a cold, snowy powder day.  Or the uninterrupted, warm & sunny beach walks with my wife.    I look forward to spending a spring weekend surrounded by redrocks and the desert stars.  Though mostly, without question.......I look forward to our annual family river trips.  For my family it happens every year, sometimes twice, but it never loses its magic.    Those five days where I watch fellow parents fully engage with their kids.... their laughter... their anxiety's.... their successes and their failures.  I watch the parent-child relationship evolve through the daily discovery of the unknown.  Those that have experienced the Salmon River know exactly what I am talking about.  

So in an effort to ditch the device I will keep exploring, seeking out moments to disconnect.  In this crazy world of  trends, soundbites, bipartisan politics and digi-devices......more than ever, we to truly and completely need an escape. So if in your journeys you find a better opportunity than the Salmon River and The Frank Church Wilderness to reconnect with the fam, let me know......

Happy Holidays, 

Jared