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Which is Better? Living In the Mountains or a View of the Mountains?

Some of us dream of living with that million dollar view of the mountains from our front porch. Others dream of the solitude of living in the deep in the mountains. Either way, the mountains provide something different to each one of us. Getting the opportunity to live anywhere near a mountain would be a dream come true. In the almost 6 years I’ve been in Utah, I’ve lived in the Salt Lake city with a view of the jagged Wasatch Front, lived in Park City with views of the lush WasatchBack, and currently live on top of a mountain. …

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Scuba Diving with Sharks & Turtles on the Island of Moorea in Tahiti (VIDEO)

Getting to dive with Black Tip Reef Sharks was a dream come true, and not just one, but a handful that surrounded us throughout our dives! This island is a true paradise that hasn’t been corrupted by tourism or resource extraction. Tahiti and Moorea was pure beauty both above and below the water! I cannot recommend this dive enough. Enjoy watching the video, as it’s the closest I can try to share the experience with you! Even watching it over again, has transported me back below the water and surrounded by those beautiful sharks again! The two dive shops that …

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Race Report: Cirque Series Brighton Trail Race

What an absolutely incredible race course for the Brighton Cirque Series! The Cirque Series is a group of mountain running aces around the West that primarily climb up ski resorts in the summer, highlighted by the steep vertical climbing required in a short distance. And of the three ski resorts that host a Cirque Series race in the summer, I think the Brighton resort has, by far, the most incredible race course & trail of them all. The stats for this race were 3,000 ft of climbing in 6.7miles. It had everything, from ridgeline boulder scrambling, 5 mountain peaks, technical …

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Rafting & Camping the Moab Daily at 20,000CFS with our Dog

The Moab Daily is the iconic section of whitewater, just outside the town of Moab, on the Colorado River. It’s popularity doesn’t come from having massive rapids, but as the name suggests, it’s a very easy section of river to do in a day, or just an afternoon. The river section is only about 13 miles long if you put in at Hittle Bottom Campground, and snakes its way through the desert landscape, down 6 sets of rapids that range from Class I to Class III. The rapids are fun, the ease of shuttling to and from the takeout is …

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Thailand SCUBA Liveaboard Experience: Days 2 & 3

Wake up, dive #1, eat breakfast, dive #2, eat lunch dive #3, snack, dive #4, dinner and beers, go to sleep, and repeat. This pretty much sums up the average day on a liveaboard dive boat. As you can imagine, the purpose of liveaboard is to dive as much as possible from sun-up to sun-down, and even sometimes at night! We chose to go through Similan 7 Seas Diving Shop (No Troubles Just Bubbles), aboard the MV Lapat, which offered a 3 day 2 night liveaboard trip that would take us from Lamu Pier, near Khaolak, to the Similan Islands …

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Thailand SCUBA Liveaboard Experience: Day #1

Wake up, dive #1, eat breakfast, dive #2, eat lunch dive #3, snack, dive #4, dinner and beers, go to sleep, and repeat. This pretty much sums up the average day on a liveaboard dive boat. As you can imagine, the purpose of liveaboard is to dive as much as possible from sun-up to sun-down, and even sometimes at night! And even though my wife, Courtney, has been diving for 20 years, this was both of our first experiences on a liveaboard dive boat, and to add to this, it was going to be off the coast of Phuket, Thailand …

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First Overnight Rafting Trip Through Ruby Horsethief Canyon on the Colorado River

The Ruby Horsethief section of the Colorado river runs from the desert town of Fruita, Colorado, putting in at the Loma Boat Ramp, travels 25 miles down river through the stunning desert canyons, into Utah, and eventually to the take out at the Westwater boat ramp. This was our first overnight trip on a river, requiring more planning, more gear, more beer, and honestly a bit more stress. Yet, it only a few miles on the river to realize this trip was going to be one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had in the desert. Logistics to Run …

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Trip to the Island of Tahiti Trip (Part 2)

If you’re just reading this post, you’ll want to know a few things.  My wife and I chose Tahiti for our big trip this year, not for the over-the-water bungalows (because we can’t afford them), but because of it’s tropical beauty that we’d seen in so many photos. And, the flight to this middle-of-nowhere island was going to be as expensive and long as flying to the Caribbean for us flying out of Utah. Easiest decision ever! The plan for this trip was to spend a few days on the island of Tahiti, then spend the remaining week of our …

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Trip to the Island of Tahiti (Part 1)

When you close your eyes (after you’re done reading this description, of course),  and you picture a tropics paradise in the middle of the ocean, with palm trees dipping their roots into the the ocean. An ocean that is so clear and blue, that you can see hundreds of fish swimming around pristine, vibrant coral reefs. And on that island, are thousand-foot mountain peaks covered with a dense green, jungle with waterfalls spilling over the edge. Can you picture it? Now, could you imagine a place like that existing, or is it just a figment of your imagination? Well, lucky …

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Essay: My Fascination with Flying

Flying, in my opinion, is truly one of the most fascinating experiences. There hasn’t been a single flight, dating back to my first trip on an airplane when I was in the 4th grade, to my countless work trips, that I didn’t get a childish excitement at takeoff. Despite spending my entire career in the aerospace industry, making components that currently fly in commercial and military planes, the physical act of flying still amazes me. But why? Why, after all these years, has this joy not faded? Commercial flight is the closest that humans will ever get to teleportation. What …

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