Going fast vs. Going slow

We hear many of our clients talk about how they need to be very active during their vacations. Does this sound like something you've thought of or said:

• "My kids want to do everything - hike, bike, fish, climb, swim..."
• "We are very athletic and we want to do at least two activities every day."
• "We love driving. We can drive 500 miles a day."

Not that there isn't anything wrong with doing a ton of stuff on your vacation and we don't doubt that you could drive 500 miles a day. The question is, "Would you really want to if you don't have to?". We find that listening to you makes a big difference when it comes to understanding what you expect from your trip. Most of our clients have never been to the great expanse called the West and have a variety of expectations about what can realistically be done in a 1-week or 2-week self-guided, driving vacation.

We take a philosophy that slower is better. With many of the National and state parks our clients are visiting, we like to plan at least 2 days (and sometimes 3 days) in each major destination. Also, with the idea of going slower, we feel that driving less is also better. Typically most days would include an average of 100 miles of driving (or less), with time to sightsee, stop for lunch, take in an activity and get to the campground for the evening. And those evenings include getting dinner ready, setting up a campfire, listening to a ranger talk or just staring at the stars. We are firm believers that this is your vacation - a time to relax as well as a time to enjoy what the outdoors have to offer.

So, we would vote for going slower when it comes to planning vacations. That said, we have planned very active vacations for our clients. Most times though, we get feedback that they wished they had gone a little slower or felt they missed some key sight that was on their "must-see" list. We know that most everyone has a very busy "real life" and we hope that your vacation will be a break from those hectic days - with time to reconnect with each other and with the beautiful destinations you'll be visiting. Let us know how Tracks & Trails can help.