Aaron McHugh, Author at Aaron McHugh

The Value of Breaking Even

There is tremendous value in breaking even when you are experimenting. I used to think that breaking even was the same as saying, it failed or a zero-sum game. I’ve changed my mind. I now realize that this term should never be used when describing a prototype, a maiden voyage, an experiment or your first version.

Alex and JD @ Reboot maiden voyage May ’17

My wife and I launched our first Reboot live experience in May. We invested the same amount of money into the event that we collected in revenue. Using the term break even to describe the gain or loss of value would be, I’m reminding myself, a gross underestimation of value.

A more accurate assessment is

We pioneered the first ever Reboot live two-day event.
35 brave people risked their time, attention and money.
We experimented with ideas and concepts in front of a live audience.
We helped reshape and improve Rebooter’s future lives.
We gained confidence and strength for our next event.
We now know what to improve and do better next time.

Ten more events down the road, I think we can revisit the idea of breaking even. While we are birthing something new and experimenting I think we should itemize every successful advancement and learn as valuable.

We are hosting Reboot 2.0 in October-wanna come?

Learning Which Fences to Hop

I’ve always hopped fences. I guess my curiosity and spirit of adventure are stronger than my fear of getting caught on the wrong side of the fence. In college inspired by the movie Stand By Me, I convinced my roommates to go on an overnight adventure walking the nearby train tracks. Starting from our front yard, we mounted our gypsy packs and meandered the tracks east of the Brazos River.

Along the train tracked shoulders of the Brazos, there are miles of private fence lines. In Central Texas, ranch owners are the lords and barons of wild spaces. At dusk, our hobo curiosities were satisfied, we left the tracks to setup our tent. I faintly recall someone reading Jack London’s Yukon writings aloud in the tent glowing from the dull flamed candle lantern.

Before dawn, we woke to the blind sounds of a screeching truck and cussing. Lord Baron Mr. Brazos wasn’t impressed with our explorer’s spirit. He wanted to know what they hell possessed us to trespass in his field? P I S S E D.

Turns out we ransacked the home of a 1,000 lb. bull with Texas size horns. Mr. Brazos’s fence was there to protect everyone from his beast. After a lecture he let us go with a promise of never being so stupid again.

My neighborhood, The Farm, is a dwindling outpost of a wilder Colorado amidst suburbia. In the 1940’s the original cowboy family ran horses and cattle and named the five ponds after each child. There are a lot of fences. Barbed wire fences around grazing cattle and split rail fences neatly framing newly sodded lawns.

Upon our move-in, there were only a handful of new homes occupied. In my estimation, the fences appeared more like story props than protection from the petting zoo “Farm” cows. I didn’t understand why my new neighbors stayed on the people-side of the fence? Beyond the wild side of the fence line, I’ve romped, run, explored, fished, camped overnight and toasted fading sunsets on double dates.

Last week, everything changed. The fence came down. The bulldozer is on a warpath to clear more earth so I can have more neighbors. Now everyone is exploring the wild side. What was once untamed and the un-manicured is becoming civilized.

I’m waiting for the new signs to go up like “No running, no fishing, no camping, and no drinking”.

Some fences are just an overstated suggestion. Some fences are remnant borders enforcing a dormant authority. Sometimes there is a 1,000 lb. bull on the other side of the fence. Other times, there is a wild world waiting to be explored. You won’t know for certain which kind of fence you are staring at until you hop the fence and find out.

How do you determine which fences you ignore?

What fences do you need to hop and risk exploring the wild side?

Building a Map For Your Life

Two years ago, we started building a map for our life. As I write this, we’re back in the same 500 square foot apartment at 9,000 feet below Mt Princeton where we began our life reboot. My memory is crystal clear now. I remember the fear of uncertainty, the exhilaration of adventure and the grief of telling our old life goodbye.

Looking back I can see how brave we were. We sold everything, packed up the remaining archives into a one-car garage and headed back to the vestige of safety-Young Life’s Frontier Ranch. We were banged up. I was taking a pocket full of anxiety medication every four hours, my resting pulse was ninety-two beats per minute, our marriage was connected by a thread and our daughter was pissed we took her away from her friends.

Sheeesshh.

Yet we knew that if we stayed in the life we knew, it was a guarantee of our demise. Beginning here, we started with a map on the wall illustrating the possibilities of our new life. I remember writing, “1200 sq. ft. and $1,600.00. We want pet chickens. A garden. Work Less. Live More.”

I think my wife and daughter were too traumatized to write much on the dream board then. But we started with a blank sketch pad and hung it on the door near the bathroom as a faint flag of freedom in our fluid story.

Rob Bell writes about the blinking cursor of our life-pulsing-asking us to write something, something new, something worth living. As the cursor blinks at me now, I feel empowered to brave the frontier of the next forward step.

The Problem With Working Vacations

I received an email that read “I’m in leadership, working crazy hours, working through my vacation last week instead of resting and the story goes on.” Me too brother.

I wonder what it will take for the world to appreciate the value of rest?
The gravitation pull from the corporate machine is always to be connected, always available, and always responding- even on vacation.

I had a conversation with a co-worker where he shared his realization that “the beast” is never full and will always eat as much as you feed it. He was referring to his discovery of personal boundaries. Instead of working on vacation, which the beast will happily accept, simply don’t.

Formerly my co-worker fed the beast with an expectation that eventually the beast would be grateful and satisfied. He believed that once the deadlines were met, fires put out and emergencies abated then tranquil peace were the rewards. It didn’t work.

His failed strategy left him exhausted, frustrated, under-appreciated and bordered on resentful. Instead of departing to find a new field to till, he revised his strategy with an evil plan-limit the beast’s consumption. No longer would he feed the beast every time it groaned and grumbled. He began budgeting the beast’s meals by only offering what he could honestly afford to provide.

For your next vacation, graciously withhold food from the beast starting with your out of office auto-responder.

“I will be out of the office on vacation with my family beginning Monday, July 3rd returning July 17th. I and my devices will be resting, replenishing the nutrients in my soil. I look forward to reconnecting upon my return.”

The beast is a lot more ferocious in our minds than in reality. Empower yourself to rest. Be kind. Be gracious. State the facts. Appeal to the human heart. Everyone loves someone. You’ll be surprised how well most everyone responds.

Gratitude For How Long It Took To Get Here

I spoke today at a church in Spokane, Branches. I noticed how at ease I felt. I remembered when I was twenty-five I worked at a radio station selling sixty-second commercials. I believed that I deserved the corner office. I knew I was gifted at crafting words and giving speeches. I remember telling my boss, I could totally run this place. He was gracious in his silent smiling response.

Instead of being ushered in as the new general manager, I worked live broadcasts on Saturdays at car dealerships. I had a couple of important duties. I helped the DJ setup the 10 x 10 tent, hung the MAGIC FM vinyl banners and gave away free slices of pizza to radio station listeners. I actually liked running the prize wheel “10 free CD’s”.

Deep down, I hoped it was just a matter of time before they called me out of the bullpen and put me in the role I was made for-Professional speech giver. You laugh, but I genuinely believed I was destined for the fast track to the top.

Twenty years later, I am so grateful that the bullpen phone never rang for me. Instead, like you, I’ve earned my stripes the long arduous way. What I underestimated then was the amount of time it takes to become the kind of person who has something meaningful to say.

Now when I speak in front of people, I’m always grateful that it took this long to get here.

Living Life vs. Managing Life

Being away from my real life, I realize how difficult it is to intentionally live my life vs. managing my life. We’re on a two-week vacation making dedicated efforts to power down phones and stay disconnect from Wi-Fi. However, I realize that text messaging is a more devious guest to refuse. I’m sure there is a setting that I can turn off to mute the new inbound messages.

I notice that I am concentrating on living my life each day vs. managing it. In my non-vacation life, the lawn needs mowing, food needs prepared, phone calls need to be returned and chores need to be completed. At times, I can feel more like an estate or asset manager than an active participant in this beautiful thing called life.

My favorite part of vacation is that my incessant mode of efficiency can retire. On vacation, I see how my normal pace of life creates a lot of unnecessary anxiety in my life.

I say yes when I should say no.

I go out when I should stay home.

I do more when less is the better choice.

I choose to check out instead of connecting with people.

Maybe a vacation is part of a long lost art of giving yourself a break. When everything inside stops spinning so fast, it is a lot easier to choose what I love most.

Life can be very simple

Yesterday I spotted this little pull-behind travel trailer close to the border of Canada and the US. Take a close look at their custom hand stenciled graphical stories about the road trips they’ve experienced. It reminds me of how simple like can be if we choose to make it simple. Route 66, California US 101, B.C. 3, Utah, Oregon, Nevada, Alaska Highway, Trans Canada 1 each tattooed on her caboose.

Can you imagine the stories they must have?

I wonder what first compelled them to jettison their normal life to find a simple life in their ten foot mini-camper? I wonder if they listen to audio books or podcasts when they drive? Maybe they are retired? Maybe they are high-school history teachers and this is how they spend the summers?

I love that I don’t know their story. Instead, I’m reminded that I too could experience a simple life if I choose it.

Stay curious-

Aaron

Trip Report: 1,000 Mile Desert Southwest Road Trip in Our 1974 VW Joy Bus

I’m grateful for that unseat-belted, late 1970s family journey across the Mojave Desert for getting me hooked. Ever since, the drone of late-shift driving, the redolence of possibility and the lullaby of boredom beckon me to the open road.

Last winter, my daughter and I dry-docked our 1974 VW Joy Bus to refurbish her interior. As we scraped and buffed the barnacled rust, dust and accumulated miles, we penciled future road trip stories on a sketch pad as visions for our renewed adventure mobile.

The 100 hours in our unheated garage were warmed by the voice of actor Joe Barrett narrating William Least Heat-Moon’s soliloquy Blue Highways: A Journey into America. His back-road sauntering convinced me that authentic road trips are best discovered along America’s two-lanes, the routes traced in blue on old-school Rand McNally road maps.

“Unforgettable experiences are born from the unexpected,” we read in the Wildsam Field Guides Desert Southwest. “And road trips, most especially, beg the traveler to write plans in pencil and trace routes on the fly.”

We complied, hitting the road with no real plans or reservations, just a general orientation west, and south. One thousand miles later, we returned with this bouquet of postcard highlights from Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. Consider it your guide to similar adventure—just keep it traced in pencil.

Salida 1974 VW Westfalia and our Joy Bus met outside the True Value Hardware down from Amica’s

Salida Big Brown Ale

Stop in Salida for a Big S Brown Ale and Roma wood-fired pizza at Amicas Pizza and micro brewery. Then walk two blocks to dip your feet in the rolling Arkansas at Riverside Park.

Pulling into the family dude ranch after a long day of road tripping

Soak Away Your Stiff Back

Family owned and operated as a rural dude ranch since 1962, Wuanita Hot Springs Ranch now welcomes day visitors. Old West cliffs create the perfect backdrop for the no-frills hot springs pool, and you’ll find authentic cowboy wear in the quasi-gift shop. Day soak pass for two: $25.

Colorado’s deepest hole Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Go Deep

“No other canyon in North America combines the depth, narrowness, sheerness and somber countenance,” says geologist Wallace Hansen of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. It’s rumored that the deepest parts of the canyon receive only 30 minutes of sunlight each day.

Drive 12 miles into the park on South Rim Road to the dead end at High Point, and walk out to Warner Point. Plan two to three hours to explore the vertiginous overlooks. Stay overnight in the 88-spot South Rim Campground for $16 to $22 a night.

We drove through Ouray this spring in our 1974 VW Joy Bus. This photo was taken just a few miles above the Ouray Hot Springs near the box canyon. (Photo: Averi McHugh)

Worth the Hike: Ouray Box Canyon Waterfall

Discover the culprit responsible for carving this dramatic box canyon by hiking up ramps and trails to this 285-foot waterfall. Take County Road 361 south of Ouray to the trailhead.

Driving Red Mountain Pass above Ouray CO our Joy Bus rocked it.

Be a Hero

The spectacular Million Dollar Highway from Ridgeway to Durango is the most avalanche prone road in the Lower 48, and no section is more treacherous than 11,018-foot Red Mountain Pass. Check the road report first; Red is prone to closure from rockfall, slides, and avalanches. We turned heads toward the top. Nobody expected our Joy Bus on top of this high alpine route.

Shangri-La Soaking

Access Inaccessible Wilderness

Hop a train for a perfect break from being behind the wheel. Ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge rails—operating since 1882—to unlock wilderness grandeur inaccessible by car. Plan on a full day, starting at $89 per person roundtrip.

Siesta Motel Durango witty, reasonable price, right in the middle of it all.

Retro Rest

Durango’s Siesta Motel offers a funky, throwback, mom and pop motor lodge-style stay. Look for the neon cactus.

Mesa Verde, CO with Averi as she drove our bus on the national park roads-learners permit drive time.

Explore Ancient History

We romped to views of the cliff dwelling clusters of Cliff Palace, Balcony House and Spruce Tree House at Mesa Verde National Park. From May through September, you must purchase tickets for ranger-guided access to climbing long ladders and scooch through short tunnels in the popular cliff dwellings.

Four Corners Colorado reminded me a lot of Clark Griswold’s vacation road trip on their way to Wally World. Worth the stop-but mostly the novelty of the idea of standing in four states at one time.

Four in One

Earn your honorary Clark Griswold Vacation badge at Four Corners Monument. Stand on the only point in the U.S. where four state lines intersect: Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Land Ho!

Once the throat of a volcano, Shiprock rises 1,583 feet above the high-desert plain. The magnificent and sacred Navajo Nation summit has been featured in movies from Easy Rider to Transformers. We followed unmarked dirt roads off Route 13 to the base to pause in the solitude.

Soak It All In

Like a treasure at the end of the road trip rainbow, Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs delivers a high-end Santa Fe spa feel with Manitou Springs prices. De-stress soaking pools are notched into a sandstone cliffside safe enough for desert bandits like Billy the Kid. One hour from Santa Fe, 50 minutes from Taos, the collection of nine mineral pools are world famous. Day soaking from $20 to $32 per person.

Joy Bus Soundtrack

Strange Trails, Lord Huron
The Legend of Johnny Cash
Bringing on the Weather, Jackopierce

Road Trip Mantra

“To see America, be a traveler, not a tourist.” —Inspired by a New York Times interview with William Least Heat-Moon

Roadside Ramen

Cheap eats on the go. Add slices of fresh avocado and hard-boiled egg to a 29-cent ramen noodle packet, heated over a camp stove. Throw in a handful of spinach. Roadside goodness.

Explorers’ Sleep Cheap Tip

National forests and forest service roads are plentiful in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. An old-school paper atlas comes in handy. Follow your nose; sniff out a free campsite.

This Field Report first appeared in Springs Magazine.

Averi driving the bus on gravel roads to reach the base of Shiprock

Knocking out some hours behind the wheel

A retrace of our route after we got home with a few clips from maps we collected along the penciled route.

We woke to 2″ of fresh snow @The Black Canyon. I used the snow to melt for my morning French Press coffee.

We found a few free no-thrills camp spots along our desert route. This one was outside of Taos, NM on an old Forest RD.

We packed our snowboards and boarded at Purgatory near Durango and Taos, NM. Made for some great exercise between long amounts of driving.

Destination: Five Best Mountain Hot Springs in Colorado and New Mexico

After a full day of snowboarding, a long peak hike or a roadside rest, I’ve enjoyed the five best mountain hot springs peppered throughout southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. I always enjoy my outdoor excursions more when we take the time to stop in for a hot springs soak.

The old west view looking into the Collegiate Range above Mt. Princeton Hot Springs

Soak creek side Mount Princeton Hot Springs Nathrop, CO

This historic bathhouse started in 1867, located underneath the headwalls of Mt. Princeton and Mt. Antero. Mount Princeton Hot Springs offers a rare creek soaking experience. The geothermal engine heats the seeping spring feeding into the riverside river rock pools along Chalk Creek. Skip the big pool above and tuck into a native vibe creekside. Creek side pools close when Chalk Creek swells from snowmelt. Located 15 minutes from Buena Vista and 25 minutes from Salida. Day soak pass $15 to $25. Open late until 11 pm.

Soak Away Your Stiff Back Waunita Hot Springs Ranch Gunnison, CO

Scenery like Switzerland Ouray Hot Springs Ouray, CO

Big snowcapped peaks, enormous vista views nestled into the San Juan Mountains. Ouray Hot Springs newly renovated and expanded, this is the largest hot spring and has more of a big resort feel. Ouray is a sister town to her more popular taught after sister, Telluride. When Oprah Winfrey and Robert Redford escape the tabloid photographers of Telluride, I’m sure they come here to settle into this quiet escape. Day rate $12-$18.

Shangri-La_Soaking Pools in Silverton, Colorado (Photo: Shangri-La Pools)

Quiet indoor Shangri-La Soaking Pools Silverton, CO

The three indoor Shangri-La Soaking Pools are proof that the gold miner entrepreneurial spirit is still alive. Water is not from a natural hot spring, but the pools are quiet, simple and clean for $12 to $18 a person. The reason I included this one was how unique it was. Picture an old west downtown main street, walk inside the creaky floored entry and sneak behind the spindle staircase-soaking pools.

Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa Taos NM (Photo:OJC Spa)

Soak It All In Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Ojo Caliente, NM

Dispatch: Colorado’s Deepest Hole In the Ground: Black Canyon of the Gunnison

In March 2017, my daughter and I road tripped to visit Colorado’s deepest hole in the ground, The Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Now a National Park, this rugged steep-walled river carved gorge is visited by less than 240,000 people each year, which is 95% fewer people than Grand Canyon National Park. You are guaranteed a peaceful, beautiful and uncrowded wilderness experience.

Go Deep

Next time

I want to hike the Inner Canyon and descent the gnarly routes down to the river bottom. I keep hearing dreamy stories of fly fishing the annual salmon fly hatch. I’m going back.