My 2017 Vacation From Technology

I spent last week high in the mountains while the rest of the country celebrated Independence Day. One benefit of my trip is that I didn't have mobile phone service at all. I thought I would have technology withdrawls but surprisingly did not. I actually enjoyed not having to carry a phone around with me.

I had a number of different activities to choose from last week and didn't know what to do until the last minute. Finally I decided to spend a week with my youngest daughter in the Uinta mountains of Utah. She is the director of rock climbing at a summer camp and I figured it would be fun to spend more time with her. I packed up some clothes along with my guitar and headed to the camp.

One advantage of the holiday during the week is that most of the camp staff went on vacation. While my daughter normally shares her cabin with 4 other young women staff, she had it to herself. That meant that I could join her and didn't have to worry about sleeping in a tent all week. I also took the opportunity to join a session of leadership training known as Wood Badge that is put on by the Boy Scouts of America. I highly recommend the course as it is worth the cost and teaches skills useful in most careers as well as when dealing with young men or boys.

The week provided me with a lot of fun. I didn't even notice the lack of Internet connection. This allowed me to practice my guitar in the evenings and form lasting friendships with those around me. I miss some of those friends now and found it very difficult to go back to work. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and I found myself catching my usual Monday morning flight at 6:25am earlier this week. This was not my first vacation from technology and definitely won't be my last. I kind of enjoy getting away and hopefully you do as well.