No Internet Service for 5 Days

I just got back from a houseboat trip in Tennessee last night and spent 5 days without any Internet service. Talk about being off the grid. I have to say I really enjoyed it. Even if I wanted to check e-mail or find out what is going on the world, I couldn't.

I use T-Mobile as the carrier for my mobile phone and have found that it is pretty much on par with my previous provider, AT&T. My son has his work phone through Verizon, which is a company whose stock I own. I bought it because they have a generous quarterly dividend, not because I think their stock will appreciate. That being said, my son had Internet service on the trip and kept feeling tempted to check e-mail. When his wife would catch him on his phone, she would remind him that he was on vacation. I should have taken the chance to snap a picture of him on the phone like he did of me in Yellowstone a few years ago.

I have another buddy I travel with to the most remote places in the country and he has Verizon for his carrier as well. Most of the time I don't get service, he still does which has me questioning if I should get a cheap Verizon account too. I thought that Verzion just had better coverage in Utah but now I am discovering it is nationwide. I pass this information along not to help my stock investment but to share my anecdotal experience as I often travel to very out-of-the-way places in the country for various outdoor adventures.

Last night I arrived at the airport and decided I would check my e-mail before boarding my non-stop flight back to Salt Lake. I had an insane number of e-mails but not one needed my attention before today. This morning I checked my work e-mail and had the same results. Naturally I had an auto-responder for my work e-mail so everyone knew I took some time off. That gives the added benefit of people asking about my trip.

The only reason I would have needed to be reached on this past trip is because of a once-in-a-hundred-year storm that hit near my house. We received 2.28 inches of rain one evening and it came down so fast it caused significant flooding in the area. My house received no damage that couldn't be cleaned up with a broom (mulch needs to be pushed back into the flower beds is all). Had my basement flooded like some nearby, I would have wanted the person watching my house to give me a call. Unfortunately there wouldn't have been anything I could have done about it in Tennessee but I think that is one of the things you want to prepare for before arriving home at 11pm on a Sunday evening.

I have to say that I am fine being out of Internet service while on vacation. Hopefully you feel that way too. If you find yourself in the other basket and wishing to remain connected, think about Verizon if you are not already using them for your carrier.

Yellowstone History

I spent a bit of last week at Yellowstone National Park. I enjoyed my trip last year so much that I came home and made reservations to go back again this year. I'm glad I did as it was a very relaxing and worthwhile trip. If you have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it.

One thing we were able to do this year was take the Uncle Tom's trail down to the bottom of Lower Yellowstone Falls. Last year it was closed and we were not able to experience it and so we were happy to do it this year. To call it a trail is rather generous; it is more like a really long staircase. It is 328 steps to be exact. Naturally going down is rather easy. The climb back up isn't.

My wife, daughter, and I happily descended the stairs and got some spectacular pictures of the falls before sitting a bit to get up the energy to climb back up. As I was climbing the steel-grated stairs, I wondered about the story as to who first created this trail. I could peer through the steps and see that there were several stairs chiseled out of the rock underneath them. All I could think of was how scary the original trail must have been.

I got back to my hotel room later that night and did a search to see if I could find out more about the history behind the trail. "Uncle Tom" was actually a real person who built the trail and would guide visitors to the bottom after ferrying them across the river, feed them lunch, and then bring them back up. The cost of the trip was just $1 and I imagine he made a pretty good living doing it until a bridge eliminated the need for the ferry.

Uncle Tom's trail is something of a marvel to me. I imagine all of the hard work that went into building the original trail and am amazed. I am further amazed by the new staircase that was built by the National Park Service. The maintenance required to keep the trail open is also astounding and I am glad I was able to use it this year. I am thankful that there are a number of resources I could use on the Internet to find out its history.

Cyberwidows

When the Internet exploded about a decade ago and everyone started putting up Websites, somebody coined the term "Cyberwidow." It referred to wives that were neglected in the evening because husbands were busy playing online games or surfing the Internet. As someone who works in the video game industry, I fear I only help contribute to the problem. Therefore I feel it is appropriate for me to help provide my own personal remedy.

About a month ago I was talking with one of my friends. We were talking about our wives and he mentioned that it is important to get away for a weekend, without the kids, and go do something fun. His recommendation included a quarterly time-frame. I have to say that I agree. My kids are grown and all moved out so it is just me and my wife. Yet we still try to get away once a year. Conincidently we were having the conversation just after I returned from a weekend in San Diego and so I felt like I was doing my part. That was back in September.

Now it is November and a different quarter. This past weekend I took my wife to Moab, Utah. One of my favorite national park is Arches and it is spectacular. I think it ranks right up there with Yellowstone and Yosemite. Arches National Park is located just outside of Moab and has some adventurous hikes with amazing scenery. Moab also happens to be mountain bike capital of the world and at the same time, four-wheel-drive capital of the world. It just so happens that I recently bought my wife a brand new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. We used the trip to do a bit of hiking and break in my wife's new car. It was fun and most importantly, nothing broke.

The whole weekend was very inexpensive. We opted to stay in a hotel where breakfast was included in the price of the room. They had a hot tub and pool that felt rejuvenating even though it was only 45 degrees Fahrenheit outside overnight. Throw in gas for the Jeep, eating at restaurants, and entry into the park for a total cost under $200. Remember that a happy wife equals a happy life. Life is pretty good for me right now.

Pictures of Dad on Vacation

June has been insanely busy for me. The month started out with my youngest son graduating from high school. I gave him a choice to go anywhere in the United States to celebrate and he opted to head to Yellowstone National Park. He likes the outdoors and would rather spend time hiking around in nature as opposed to waiting in line at an overcrowded amusement park. So as soon as graduation was over, we jumped in the car and made the 5 hour drive to our nation's first national park.

If you have not been to Yellowstone National Park, it is huge. Plan on spending some time in your car as you visit the various places in the park. We entered from West Yellowstone and had to get to Grant's Village on the southeast corner of the park. We tried to take the lower loop going counter-clockwise but got stuck in an insane wildlife traffic-jam. There was a bison walking in the road and nobody could go around it. After going a quarter of a mile in a half-hour, we turned around and headed in a clockwise direction around the lower loop. Fortunately we made our 6pm dinner reservations in Grant's Village. I knew I was in trouble when my son pulled out his camera to take a picture of me at the same time I pulled out my Android phone to check e-mail.

We did a lot of hiking and seeing wonderful sites over the next 3 days and my son always had his camera ready. Did he ever bother to take pictures of the beautiful scenery around us? Nope, he waited until I had a quiet and uneventful moment to check e-mail. We came back from vacation and the only pictures my son took were of me on my phone. Fortunately my wife had her camera on the trip and she actually paid attention to the scenery and wildlife.

I love my son and he makes me laugh as he managed to get some pretty funny pictures. He also reminded me that sometimes it is just fine to let go of the office and relax on a vacation.