Our trip to Maui this summer was centered around the opportunity to go SCUBA Diving. I got my open water certification just a week before flying to Hawaii. For my first real open ocean diving experience, it exceeded all of my expectations, and I couldn’t have asked for a better dive. We booked two dives with Maui Dive Shop which has a few dive shops around the island. On the day of the dive, we drove down to Maalaea Harbor where we’d meet the crew and hop onboard their charter. We lucked out and only had 3 other divers join …
Category: Adventures
DOG BEACH | Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA
Watching our dog Gregor play with a hundred dogs, all running amuck on the beach, splashing in and out of the ocean, is completely worth the 12+ hour drive from Utah. Which is why we’ve been to the Ocean Beach dog beach twice in the past three years. It has become a tradition, of sorts, for us to make the pilgrimage across the Western states over the Thanksgiving weekend to California. And for the last four years, where we’ve gone has pretty much been based on where our dog could go to a beach. And it has never disappointed. The …
Washington & Oregon Road Trip 2021 | Bend, Yakima, Seattle, Olympic Peninsula
Every year, Courtney, Gregor, and I load up the truck (or a rented Van) to take a weeklong road trip around a state out west. So far, we’ve done a road trip around Montana, Oregon, and Colorado. This year, to knock off the last western state that neither of us had been to, we headed up to Washington State! Admittedly, it was going to be a far haul and lots of driving to get there and back, but with a week off, we knew it would be worth it. And after the countless opportunities to paddle all types of water …
Cabin Life: Living in Tollgate and the First Impressions
We closed on the cabin in the first week of August. Temperatures were regularly in the upper 80s, trees were covered in green leaves, and the dirt road into the mountain community was drier than Death Valley. Yet, whenever we chatted with any of our neighbors or friends who knew the area, they only cared about one thing. “How prepared were we for winter?” I couldn’t believe it. It was summer, why was anyone caring about winter just yet, but it didn’t take long for me to understand why they always asked that. Three simple words: preparation takes time. We …
Learning to SCUBA Dive | SCUBA Utah
My story with SCUBA diving is almost identical to that of how I learned to sail. I literally took both lessons within a week of each other in July 2021. SCUBA is something I never thought I’d do because I I didn’t hang around anyone who SCUBA dove until I met my wife Courtney. So as a wedding present, to myself, I signed up for a Recreational Open Water SCUBA certification course with SCUBA Utah. Like all SCUBA lessons, you spend more time in the classroom than in the water, but fortunately all that “in-class” portion is now online. Throughout …
Learning to Sail with Sail Park City
Learning to sail was something, honestly, that I never thought I’d ever learn to do. I didn’t know a single person who sailed, even though I grew up near the beach in New Jersey. But that all changed, like most things, when you get married. A family friend of ours named Hayden & Radeen sail every spring around the Caribbean and had some of the most incredible stories and experiences that we couldn’t help but be jealous of. So for Courtney’s birthday, I got her a sailing lesson package through Park City Sailing which offers four Adult Lessons in the …
First Time Fly Fishing
With the help of the local guide, Max, from Trout Bum 2 fly shop, located right her in Park City, we finally checked Fly Fishing off our bucket lists. And now Courtney and I are completely hooked on fly fishing! The art and difficulty makes angling a fish in so much more rewarding!
Gear Needed to Get into Mountain Biking
Getting into mountain biking, back in 2016, was one of the best decisions I ever made. Mountain biking has taken me from mountain tops to desert landscapes, with some of the best times with friends I’ve ever had. So, with that being said, mountain biking can be a daunting to get into. The websites like PinkBike and Backcountry will make it seem like you need a $10,000 mountain bike and all the top gear in order to hit your local trail. I’ll let you in on a little secret… that couldn’t be further from the truth. I got started with …
SUUNTO 9 Baro | Ultra-Endurance GPS Watch | REVIEW
Simply put, I was looking for a reliable GPS watch that had a battery life longer than the 8hrs my previous watch lasted for. Additionally, I was looking for a watch that had a Barometer for accurate elevation data for navigating and exercise purposes. Anything beyond that, well that’d just be a bonus. The Suunto 9 Baro has exceeded all my expectations in every category and I cannot begin to recommend it enough. Key Features Battery Argue with me all you’d like, the battery on this watch is by far the best feature. The specs state that this watch can …
Backcountry Skiing Safety | Making A Plan
There are many things we all need in order to travel safely in the backcountry, whether that’s on skis, splitboard, sled, or even snowshoes. In this series of posts, I will go far beyond the beacon, shovel, and probe, and into the detailed nuances that make all the difference between getting away with it, and having everything go according to plan. The Endless Planning Planning your day in the backcountry starts well beyond arriving at the trailhead. In fact, it can start as far back as you’d like to imagine. Your plan, every time you enter the backcountry, should take …