Dear Friend,

It’s never a good thing to wish you were somebody else. I tell my kids that all the time. Yet some folks wish they were this celebrity (Paris Hilton, really?) or that musician (Pete Townshend, now you’re talkin’) or some famous magnate (Bill Gates, ok that works).

To lots of folks, my life appears to be exceptionally exciting. And in many ways it is, so I am complaining about my deal. My days are especially fun compared to my poor buddies (and my brother) in New Jersey and New York (where I was raised) who sit in an office all day selling financial packages or arguing legal points while wearing suits. Nothing wrong with that at all, but I’ll take adventure travel any day.

No, my complaint is not about what I do for work. My complaint is how I get to work.

Specifically I wish I had the hutzpah Kevin Taylor has. Kevin is one of our grizzled and veteran Expedition Leaders who also works in operations in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. He, too, works in an office a lot, just like me. But, it’s how he gets there that makes him unique: He skis. That is, of course, in the wintertime. In the warmer weather he bikes or hikes.

In fact, Kevin used self-propelled transportation so often this past year that he won our Patagonia Points contest for the staff member who travels the farthest in a year for work solely by alternative transportation. Every morning, rain or shine, there he goes, braving the elements and being what he says he is: an environmentalist. Me? I biked to work a bit for sure. I even walked the ten miles to the office one sunny day. But more often than not I hide from the elements inside the warmth – and wussiness – of my car (well, in my defense, it is a hybrid safari truck!) and drive to work sipping my latte with my seat heater on.

You can see Kevin here, in this photo. He looks the part, doesn’t he? All Jeremiah Johnson-like with his dangling beard. He probably gathers wild berries to make jam; dug his own well; built his house out of dead trees and buckskin, didn’t he? Ah, Kevin. I betchya’ a buck the car he does own doesn’t even have a seat heater. Shocking. And on top of that he’s the nicest guy in the world.

There really are times I wish I was Kevin Taylor.

I hope to see you out there!

Ben
Founder & Director
Natural Habitat Adventures