“Aren’t you scared to travel by yourself?” That’s the question I get asked over and over again.

My response is always, “well, the worse thing that could happen is I could die.”

People always look at me like I’m crazy. I continue by saying “well think of it like this… if I had to tell a story around a campfire in heaven of how I got there, I’d want it to be Epic! Who knows how I may die, but I’d rather take my chances and have a cool story to tell than to play it safe and miss out on adventures!”

People then kind of laugh and say they get it, but something inside me tells me most don’t. Let me explain. Adventure is not an option for me, it’s a must. I don’t want to live the same day for the next 60 years. I want to see the world, meet new people, smell new smells, taste new foods, and even scare myself a little from time to time where I have to remind myself to breathe. It’s a driving force inside my being, a lifestyle, not a trip. Adventure doesn’t always have to equal a crazy trip in far off lands, but it does have to equal fun. Adventure is what you do, not where you go!

This past week I traveled to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons. I’ve been there several times before, it’s one of my favorite places to travel. On this trip, I was able to do a few things I had never got to do before. I snowmobiled in Yellowstone (all but 53 miles of the park is closed). It was neat to be in a life-size snow-globe almost by myself (with a guide of course). I travel to a few different parts of the area, and it was beautiful as expected. I photographed wildlife, skied in Jackson Hole, stayed in some historic inns, and ate great food.

The one thing I did more than anything was talked to God. I talked to Him as I watched the Bison graze in Yellowstone in a snowstorm. I talked to Him as I sat on the edge of the cliff at Artisan Point in Yellowstone. I talked to Him as I watched the sunset over the Tetons as the moose laid in the sagebrush. Yes, I got some amazing images for my portfolio, but my favorite part of any trip is always the conversations I have with HIM! Conversations that I never feel are one-sided!

If I could pick one word to describe this trip, it would be peace. In a world full of chaos, He is my peace.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

-John 14:27