If you followed the Dirt in Your Skirt Instagram or other social media feed over the last month you would notice that the photos were definitely not Utah but instead a secluded place in the Adirondacks of New York. Our family packed our bags, got friends and neighbors to look after our chickens and eat our veggies and we took off across the country, why? To disconnect.

Wait, Wait! I hear the peanut gallery saying. How did you disconnect if you were still online? 

Well, the truth is due to work, there wasn’t really an option to fully disconnect so we did the next best thing, headed to an area with little to no cell service, and had limited access to a satellite internet each day. To say, we needed this time, would be an understatement. With Dirt in Your Skirt and my work at Mud Run Guide and the rest of the obstacle racing industry, this was the first family vacation we have taken in over 4 years. The last one was to Mexico when I was finishing my book.

What I learned from a month in the woods…

1. Do we really talk to our significant others daily? I mean really talk?
   1. Being in the woods, mostly just the two of us with no tv, limited internet, and just a record player allowed for a lot of one on one talking. You know the real life deep conversations. It wasn’t until getting into the woods we realized how rare these conversations can be.
2. When was the last time you lived without pollution? 
   1. There aren’t many places in the world devoid of modern day pollution whether it be light, noise, air, water, or electronic pollution. Spending a month away from all of these things allows the brain to really calm down and destress.
3. Sleep
   1. Without TV and all the other distractions, we found ourselves sleeping a lot. Going to bed early, waking up early with the sun. Sleep ended up being one of the favorite things from our trip.
4. Enjoy the Complexity and Simplicity of Nature
   1. With so much time in a secluded place we were able to really watch nature. Watch the ebb and flow, the simple joy of a loon call. The complex nature of the root system of the trees. The sunrises and sunsets that never got old. Nature.
5. We got to be our authentic us, with no filter
   1. Being in a place of seclusion let both of us really be our authentic selves in a self-environment. One of my personal goals this year is to be more me and this was one of the best places to work on that skill.

That’s the short list of what I learned from my month in the woods. As we drove back west we both agreed that this should become a yearly trip not a once every couple of years thing. For we all need a chance to really rest, rest all of us and recharge for what life has in store next.