Tom Bol reminded me a bit of myself as I read his piece on paddling Canyonlands. He used to live out of the back of his truck, guided kayakers from Alaska to Baja and lived the vagabond's lifestyle. Then, he got hitched, a house and had kids. I'm not quite that settled down yet, but I sympathized nonetheless with the feelings that the old life was great, and that there might be a way to give the new life some of that old life shimmer.

Bol decides to take the kids paddling in Canyonlands, Utah, one of our finest, most beautiful Natinal Parks. The kids take to the surroundings immediately. The first thing they want to do when they get beneath the gaping sky is scream. Peals of joy. And having been there myself, on an open river, feeling completely away from everything, I know how they feel.

Filed under: Climbing, Hiking, Learning, Paddling, Business, Gear, Blogs, Stories