Last year Kaitlin announced out of the blue, “I want to go to South Dakota.” We still don’t know where it came from, although we have a suspicion that an episode of the Wonder Pets or Little Einsteins might have had something to do with it.

A few months ago, an Op-Ed in the New York Times proclaimed Goodbye to the Great American Road Trip. Hogwash. I think too many Americans are loosing touch with our country. And keeping touch with our country and our history sure becomes much more possible and intimate if you just get out there and drive through it instead of fly above it.

So this year, we decided to plan our own Great American Road Trip with our fall vacation to South Dakota, and then swing through the Promised Land (Yellowstone/Tetons) on the tail end of it.

By the numbers: 2201.5 Miles. 47 Hours driving. 122 gallons of gas. 5 National Parks/Monuments/Memorials. 4 National Forests. 1 National Grassland. 6 Scenic Byways. 5 Continental Divide Crossings. 9 nights in 5 different hotels.

We also covered endless miles of BLM land. Saw a Grizzly Bear in Yellowstone. Saw two Bull Elk fighting. Saw more Pronghorn Antelope than you can shake a stick at (I think in Wyoming they look at Pronghorns like rabbits in most other places). Saw vistas and views I only thought existed on postcards.

Here are the highlights:

Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Badlands National Park
Devils Tower National Monument
Yellowstone National Park
Grand Teton National Park

Black Hills National Forest
Bighorn National Forest
Shoshone National Forest
Bridger-Teton National Forest

Buffalo Gap National Grassland

Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway
Badlands Loop Scenic Byway
Wildlife Loop Scenic Byway
Bighorn Scenic Byway
Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway
Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway

It was a really fun trip. I know my kids won’t remember any specific details of this trip at all. But generally, I believe this lays the foundation for a strong family and for an appreciation of the wonderful country we live in.

And as far as a tie to entrepreneurship, I have read a lot about entrepreneurship over the years. I’ve seen a lot of entrepreneurs profiled and interviewed. And countless times I’ve seen entrepreneurs express this sentiment: “I don’t remember the last time I had a vacation.” “I don’t have time to take any time off.” “I hope I make a boatload of money someday so I can ‘make up’ all the time my family has sacrificed.” To all of that, I say: BS. Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to mean the elimination of any other priorities in your life. I used to think that way. But now I make sure I take time for the things in my life that matter (family, community, personal time). I track my PTO days every year in a spreadsheet. I get an allocation of PTO based on the same benefit plan as the rest of my employees. And I use every last one of those days every year. There isn’t ever truly a time when everything is balanced in my life, it’s always a process of the pendulum swinging from one to another and back. This last week, I swung it towards my family. So my advice: If you’re an entrepreneur, for Pete’s Sake, take some time off!

PS - I know a lot of folks might say, you know, you wasted a bunch of fossil fuels on this trip. (right around 6.25 barrels of crude oil to be exact) And that it wasn’t that environmentally conscious to haul your family and Ford Explorer over 2,000 miles. To that I say this: It’s every American’s God given right to burn as much fossil fuels for as often and long as we want.

 

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Category: Entrepreneurship, Personal, Work/Life Balance