Have Media Will Travel

A blog about outdoor adventure, family travel, national parks, media, technology, marketing, fitness and me.

Travel & Tourism

At Vino Bello Resort, We (Officially) Arrived

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I have been traveling to the San Francisco, CA, region every month for the last five months for life coach training in San Rafael. My final course was last week. And, thanks to my parents, who so graciously offered to watch our three sons, my husband, Jerry was able to fly out and meet me in California. We spent 3 nights there on what could be called a “second honeymoon.”

Jerry and I near Muir Beach -- almost done hiking.

As readers of this blog know, I love to embark on long, epic, hiking adventures.

Jerry’s an avid hiker, too, and I couldn’t wait to show him the area trails I had discovered. So last Monday, we hiked our legs off in the Marin Headlands region. We hiked 22 miles, including 4,000’+ of elevation gain.

We hiked most of the trails in Muir Woods National Monument, plus linked trails to hike the Dipsea and Steep Ravine trails, before linking several more trails to hike to the East Peak of the 2,571-foot-high Mt. Tamalpais, before descending on yet more trails upon our return to Muir Woods. But that wasn’t enough — we wanted to hike a shore-hugging trail, too, so we drove to nearby Muir Beach and hiked the Coastal Trail to Pirate’s Cove before returning and wading bare feet into the Pacific ocean.

In other words, we were not having a lazy time of it. And our sustenance while hiking — energy bars and bottled water — was nothing to boast about.

Boy oh boy, were we ready for some gluttony.

And what better place to be gluttonous than California’s Napa Valley?

So next up: Vino Bello Resort. We entered its address into my Droid’s navigation system, and exited Muir Woods National Monument to head to the land of fine wine.

After driving through rolling green hills and past vineyards and wineries, we approached our destination, the Vino Bello. Pure luxury is what it looked like from the outside as we parked our car. Here, the Droid navigation lady said in her usual nice voice, “You Have Arrived.”

The nicest "condo" I have ever seen or stayed in.

Boy, had we ever!

California wine country’s newest luxury resort, the Vino Bello Resort, with its “World Tuscan” decor, and set amidst vine-covered hills, beckoned.

Wine tasting, part 1. Here we test Trinitas in the Resort's Tasting Room.

Ravenous, and with mud caked on our lower legs and to the bottoms of our shoes, and smelling a little worked-over and stinky, we were greeted by people behind the desk calling us by our first names and ready to respond to our every need. We were being waited on hand and foot. Dare I say, pampered? 🙂

It only went up, up, up from there.

Once in our room we discovered we not only had a big warm shower awaiting us but a shower with not one — but 5! — showerheads.

Not too shabby.

We enjoyed an upscale condominium-type room that included a full kitchen, a full living room complete with fireplace, a full jacuzzi bath, spacious bathroom, and a huge comfy poster bed.

The resort is pure luxury. It includes a state-of-the-art underground, 22,000-square-foot spa, called Spa Terra, where guests enjoy serenity, with natural stone and copper water and a wide variety of spa treatments. Inside the spa we found a relaxation lounge, 10 treatment rooms, including couples rooms that are cocooned in the heart of the earth. Both ladies and gentlemen’s private lounges feature whirlpools, steam grottos and soothing water walls. Like I said, this is quite a place — a destination in itself.

We got cleaned up and then explored the great selection of American wines at the Estate Wine Cave and Meritage Wine Tasting Bar, where we tasted several glasses of Trinitas wine, paired with local gourmet truffles. Are you kidding me? Chocolate, a variety of wines to taste, massages and facial treatments and luxury accommodations. Did I mention we had arrived?

Posing in the 22,000-square-foot underground cave spa.
One of the pools at the Vino Bello Resort.

After a bunch of wine tasting and further exploring of the grounds of the hotel, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and retreated to one of the hot tubs under a starry sky before closing in for the night. We slept in and had a hard time getting ourselves out of the room the next morning. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast from the restaurant before our stay at the Vino Bello came to an end. We had to leave sometime, right? After experiencing all this, I understood why my friend who recommended the Vino Bello to us warned me that we’d never want to leave the resort.

We did, but only because we had a (wine) train to catch.

The Vino Bello Resort was luxury and pampering all the way around for this frontier couple.

Indeed, for at least that one night, we had arrived. And it was epic.

Vino Bello Resort is part of Shell Vacations Hospitality.

Creating Fun in Your Life – Just Do It

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Since selling our business in September 2008, some people think I’m retired, or semi-retired. While I’ve certainly gained more personal time and freedom, I’m not retired and don’t plan on retiring anytime soon — if ever.

Family fun in our backyard, Sinks Canyon.

In fact, in addition to doing my best to be a good mother to our three sons and a good wife, this past week I worked at least 40 hours a week, coaching clients, working on consulting projects and developing my new business.

Like most people — and other parents — it’s easy to come up with excuses for not having enough time for many important things, such as exercising, making time for relationships that are dear to us, and having fun.

Although I’ve always been pretty good at having fun, at times it takes effort even for me to do so. This past Sunday we went to church, and I had loads of laundry to catch up on and some consulting and coaching work to do. We helped our middle son on a big solar system project, bird-dogged homework, and so on. By 3:30 pm on Sunday, Jerry, I and our three sons had each/all had a very busy day. We were tired and feeling pretty lazy. It was tempting, and certainly justified, for us to just settle in, lounge, and call it a day.

At the same time, upon looking outside, I spied a cloudless, blue sky, a bright sun, mild (30-degree) temperatures, and sparkly white snow everywhere. We should go out and do something fun, I thought. But frankly, I wasn’t feeling particularly motivated to do so.

So I forced it. I “notified” the family to get their snow gear on, we were headed to Sinks Canyon for some sledding. Jerry, my wonderful husband, went along with it and helped me rally our sons and puppy for the sudden adventure.

We had a blast.

It would have been easier to not do anything. It’s work to get out the door with kiddos and pets and winter clothing and sleds. But one of the things I want to help my life coaching clients do is to create more fun in their own lives. I need to practice what I preach, right? And I knew from past experience that we’re always better as a result of such adventures.

So, to see what happened next, watch the following video. And to think we almost missed out on this! The moral of the story is to create fun. Don’t think about it, just do it. It can happen in five minutes time and doesn’t have to be an elaborate, or outdoor adventure. It just has to cause smiles and/or laughter, even if for a very brief time.

Of course, the house is a mess. But that’s okay. (Just please don’t stop by unannounced!) I have a feeling I won’t regret that I didn’t keep a super neat and tidy house. I would, however, regret it if I didn’t take time to create fun with my family.

Chasing Moose on Skinny Skis

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Our family just returned from a weekend in the spectacular Jackson Hole region of Wyoming.

Family photo after finishing the Moose Chase 30k ski race. (Photo taken by Carolyn Gilbertson)

Our purpose of the trip was mostly to be on skis — a little work and a lot of play. We started the weekend off at the Moose Chase ski race. I entered the 30-kilometer race and our oldest two sons, Wolf, 10, and Hayden, 8, entered the 5k. My husband, Jerry, and our 3-year-old son, Finis, were our support and cheering team.

This was my second ski race. (Last March I did the Rendezvous 25k in West Yellowstone, MT.) My 30k was the first event and we literally chased two moose that were ahead of us on the trail at the 1k mark. Although I didn’t see any moose after the start, there was evidence of the big animals throughout the course in the form of moose droppings. (I can report that moose droppings are not your skis’ friend. I almost biffed it when one ski tried to glide over a scattering of them, coming to a complete, and very sudden, halt.)

The Johnson ski race participants. Wolf, 10, me, 42, and Hayden, 8.

The course for my 30k involved skiing two 15k laps. The terrain was hilly and rolling and through forest and open meadows and fields. The scenery was awesome. There were some short, incredibly steep uphills (one aptly called “Grunt Hill”), as well as long, seemingly never-ending uphills. The terrain reminded me of Beaver Creek on South Pass, only the trails were longer.

The downhills were awesome — except for one called “Faceplant.” This was the steepest downhill I’ve ever done on skinny, free-heel skis. It was so steep and big that on the first lap, I literally came to a stop at the top, to size it up, before descending. Let’s just say it took gumption for me to go down it. My snowplow had little impact on my speed. I flew down it. Because the 30k required I ski two laps, I would have to fly down it twice. Both times I prayed (out loud) to not fall and to not blow anything out. Whew. It was exhilarating.

Our boys took the podium following the event. 🙂

At the start of the event, I purposefully started near the end of the crowd of skiers. The first lap was faster than the second. The falling snow lightened up a bit and the (surface) conditions seemed pretty fast, but like in most race situations, it was a “cluster” for a while. The second lap was my favorite, despite a pretty good blizzard and the much softer trail conditions. I liked it best, though, because by this time skiers were spread out and I could enjoy solitude and the scenery. I covered the distance in 2 hours and 17 minutes. The first lap took me 1:07 and the second 1:10.

It was a difficult-but-fun-and-beautiful course, and I did about the best I could. I maybe could have pushed it a little more, but felt great during the event so I have not a single complaint. And, very importantly, I was not sore or tired the next day, which worked out well because we had a family day of downhill fun planned at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, where I enjoyed my second attempt at telemark skiing, which is not an effortless activity to do, in my humble opinion.

This event was super special for me, and the reason is two of our sons also participated in it. It was their first-ever race event. We told them to stay together and visit and, mainly, have fun. We also told them not to take off their skis off and stay too long when they got to the aid station with the cookies. 🙂

By far, the highlight for me was seeing Wolf and Hayden out on the course, and skiing with each of them briefly, as they approached the finish line and I approached the end of my first lap. They were having fun, smiling, and moving their legs briskly. It was a sight for this mom to behold! I cheered them and they cheered me. Then, I heard Jerry cheering loudly for us. Our 3-year-old son, Fin, yelled “I love you, Mommy!”

My skiing in the Moose Chase was just a very small part of my experience. Sharing the event with my family was the big/main part. After the event was over we called my parents. Hayden reported to them, happily, “I finished second to last. It was hard, but it was fun.”

Below is a video. (If you watch it to the end, which I hope you will, you’ll hear the best part, which is Fin yelling, enthusiastically, “I love you!” to us as each of us approached the finish line.)

It does not escape me that I am a very lucky girl.

NOTE: Thanks to friend, Norm Cessna, for waxing my skis with some magic.

This Parent’s Children Will Be In The Woods

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“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.” (John Muir)

The book, Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv, tells the story of today’s staggering divide between children and the outdoors. It is not a new book. I think I first read it three years ago. It has since been expanded.

Enjoying northern California's Muir Woods on a trip last week.

The book should be required reading for all parents – and heck, even for all educators.

Louv is a journalist and author of seven books about the connections between family, nature and community. In Last Child in the Woods, Louv links today’s wired, “nature-deficit” generation with rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression. This important book has essentially created a national conversation about the disconnection between children and nature, and its message has inspired “Leave No Child Inside” initiatives throughout the country.

As a very wired person, myself, and someone who adores the outdoors but also loves technology for its connectivity and enabling features, I’m very interested in nature-deficit disorder. Specifically, I’m interested in seeing that it doesn’t penetrate my family and the upbringing of our three young sons.

I am so enriched by my own time spent outdoors and in nature, that I really think people are robbing their lives from being full when they don’t allow for the experience of being outdoors. In my humble opinion, there is no more effective way to “create space for oneself” than to step outside. Sure, I like to go for miles outside, usually on foot. And, I’m lucky that I live on the frontier of Wyoming, where it’s pretty easy to create space. Heck, there is nothing but space here. Big open, empty space.

Our sons and some of their friends playing for hours in an old tree.

But a person needs only to step outside to find the opportunity for creating space and solitude. A bird’s song, the sound of a creek flowing nearby, the smell of pine, or of rain on sagebrush, fresh air or the sun’s warmth against the face. All of these things are effective in creating not only a physical, but emotional and mental space that facilitates a clearing of sorts, as well as rejuvenation, creativity, restoration and other outcomes. (Again, John Muir said it best: “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”)

Some of my most successful business ideas came to me when I was exploring some trail. I most easily solve problems or find answers to big questions during solitude in nature. And, time shared outdoors with my family often feels richer than time shared indoors.

By the way, I am grateful to my parents, who got us out often for weekends in Yellowstone, picnics on the South Pass and in Sinks Canyon and on ski outings. All of this exposure to the outdoors at an early age had a big impact on me.

Articles like Solitude and Leadership, which does a compelling job of linking solitude to leadership, are intriguing. (Thanks to friend Dan Mezick for sharing the article with me).

I am a huge fan and evangelist for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), which is headquartered here in my town of Lander, WY. NOLS teaches leadership to thousands of young and old using nature and the outdoors as a platform. Courses are provided throughout the world.

As parents of three young sons, my husband, Jerry, and I do not take the outdoors and its impact on a person lightly. We want to give it to — and require it for — our sons, Wolf, 10, Hayden, 8, and Fin, 3.

Here are some of the moments that the outdoors have facilitated for our family: