Archive for the ‘Adventure’ Category

A New Way to Fund & Follow Creativity

posted by Jason

Have you ever had an idea and just thought, “I wish the economy wasn’t so bad so that I could get this idea moving and maybe make me some money.” Well, you are in LUCK!!! There is this website that has started and it making dreams come true for those with ideas that they wanted to get out there.

Kickstarter.com is the new way that people are starting to get their ideas out to the public and ALSO get people to help support them in what they want to do.

What this website does is it helps get your ideas out to the public and help you raise money for those ideas:

  1. It’s less risk for everyone. If you need $5,000, it’s tough having $2,000 and a bunch of people expecting you to complete a $5,000 project.
  2. It allows people to test concepts (or conditionally sell stuff) without risk. If you don’t receive the support you want, you’re not compelled to follow through. This is huge!
  3. It motivates. If people want to see a project come to life, they’re going to spread the word.

The funny thing is, a local band actually did this and is trying to get money to go out on tour. “For a pledge of $250, for example, the donor will receive a Denny’s waffle dinner with the band. For a pledge of $750, the band will write a song for the donor that will be performed on tour, recorded and filmed.” (sltrib.com)

So anyone can do this and anyone can contribute. What ideas do you have that you would want to get out to the rest of the world to see if they support you in your efforts? What do you think about this site and trying to get people out of their slump of not having any work for their dreams? Let us know.

Summer Fun, Had Me a Blast

posted by Jason

Those months are upon us where we sitting around the house thiutahwelcomenking that we should be doing something, but school is out, work is scarce, and it’s not always easy to find things to do that are cheap, free, or just plain old FUN!

Utah just installed 35 new “Welcome” signs at interstates, highways, and visitors centers across Utah.  the signs are built around the “Life Elevated” motto.  And I think we do elevate life here in Utah and we need to take advantage of it ourselves.

So here are some ideas I found on Utah.com that sound fun and really cost little to no money.

What other ideas can you add to this list?  Where would you take your friends and family that are visiting Utah?

To Vacation or Not to Vacation?

posted by Lacey

86511200My husband and I recently needed to do a double take on our vacation plans. The vacation we had originally planned was going to be a two week trip across country. This sounded like a great idea and we have been saving money for this trip since last year. Our concern came when we saw the gas prices rise (again)! So, we needed to recalculate our spending. Did we really want to spend $1000.00 on gas just to take a trip?  We decided this was not what we wanted to do. We looked into trips we could take in a closer proximity to where we live. We decided on taking a trip to Yellowstone.

The point is, a little sensible cost saving doesn’t ruin a vacation.  In my view, the two biggest pleasures of vacationing are getting a break from work and hanging out with my family. Those work just fine being closer to home.

What about you, have you had to rethink your spending habits in order to achieve a similiar affect?

Voluntourism!

posted by Rebecka

If your dream vacation is one where you lay on the beach getting sunburnt while your spending an arm and a leg just to stay in then nicest hotel…than maybe this isn’t for you! But if you want to use up your vacation time doing something life changing, maybe consider doing Voluntourism!

Voluntourism is exactly what is sounds like! A vacation which includes volunteering for a chartiable cause.

VolunTourism Defined:

The conscious, seamlessly integrated combination of voluntary service to a destination and the best, traditional elements of travel — arts, culture, geography, history and recreation — in that destination.

So what do you think? Would you Volunteer for your next vacation?

Open Slopes

posted by YNF
These opening dates just released by Ski Utah aren’t set in stone and should the weather gods feel to unleash a massive dump on the mountains, we could be skiing earlier rather than later.

Alta: Nov. 20, 2009

Beaver: TBA

Brian Head: Nov. 21, 2009

Brighton: Nov. 16, 2009

The Canyons: Nov. 27, 2009

Deer Valley: Dec. 5, 2009

Park City Mountain Resort: Nov. 21, 2009

Powder Mountain: Nov. 28, 2009

Snowbasin: Nov. 26, 2009

Snowbird: Nov. 21, 2009

Solitude: Nov. 13, 2009

Sundance: Dec. 11, 2009

Wolf Creek Utah: TBA

(super powers) i wish i could….

posted by Tricy

Have you ever had that dream where you are flying? You are hundreds of feet above your house and school, zooming past cars and birds, and it just feels normal. I’ve had that dream since I was a kid and I’ve always wished I could really fly.

I also wanted to be a mermaid. I was pretty certain I could breathe underwater and I would practice holding my breath in the bath tub for hours.(I was little for this too)

Then when I was in middle school Harry Potter got his first invisibility cloak and I realized being invisible would be way cooler than being a flying mermaid.

Don’t worry, I have realized by now that I don’t have gills or wings and people can see me even if I try my hardest to disappear.

Now I just wish I could freeze time for an extra 15 minutes of sleep every morning.

What powers have you always wanted?

How Has the Recession Affected You?

posted by Chris

Has life for you been different since the beginning of this recession? Are you eating out less? Living closer to home? Lost your Job??

Aaron Heideman lost his job at a paint store at the beginning of the recession. Since then, he packed all of his belongings into his van. With just $325 to start, he is now traveling around the country collecting stories of how the recession has affected individual people. You can check out his story and read about others on his website. themaninavanproject.com.

Post your comments here about how the recession has affected you.

Preparing For A Financial Storm

posted by Blake

As a boy scout I was always told the motto, “Be Prepared.”  After years of embedding that into my mind, you would think that I would follow the advice.  This past weekend I went backpacking in the Uintas and took just the bare necessities.  The forecast said it would be sunny so I didn’t bring much extra clothing.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature had different plans and it snowed several inches on us.  My long sleeve shirt and shorts were no match  for the freezing temperature.  I was unprepared.  While I was packing up our camp I thought of how unprepared I was and what I would do differently next time. 

This sort of situation happens to millions of people every day financially.  We aren’t expecting any hardships to come upon us but it is inevitable.  Even though our “finanial forecast” may show sunny skies ahead, we can never know when life will throw us a curveball.  So I started of thinking of ways I can be prepared if something does come up.   The first two things that popped into my mind were overdraft protection and a Visa card for such circumstances.  What are your methods of preparing for a financial storm?

Think Snow!

posted by YNF

bryan-snowbird.jpg

THINK SNOW!  Being a Utah local has it’s benefits, especially when it comes to our fabulous ski resorts.  The ability to ski a wide variety of resorts within a

short drive or bus ride is pretty amazing and something we should take advantage of.  Many skiers/snowboarders choose to buy a season pass, but for those of us who need more of a variety, buying coupon books, pre-season discoun

t tickets, and resort frequent skier cards is the way to go.

Check out this website for details.

And get ready to hit the slopes!  The snows a comin’.

100 goals in 100 weeks…

posted by Rebecka

Just over a year ago, Ian Usher started a new adventure in his life. With nothing but his wallet and passport, he set out to do 100 things he has always wanted to do in 100 weeks. Some of his goals include; Learning to fly a plane, Skydive in a wind tunnel, Sleep in a Japaneese Capsole Hotel, Ride an Ostrich, Learn to speak Spanish, Juggle with fire clubs and sell his life on Ebay(which he didon July 29th 2008. )

This really got me thinking about my goals in life. I realized, most of the goals I have set for myself are the big things I want to happen like… get married, graduate college, and buy a home. Although these goals I have set for myself are extrememly important, I sometimes forget that life is defined by how you live it. If I had 100 weeks I could do anything, see anything, meet anyone…what would I do? I would probably go backpacking in Europe, go spelunking in the worlds biggest cave, volunteer at Best Friends, help build schools in 3rd world countries, and be in a hot dog eating contest!

What would be on your list of 100 goals you would do in 100 weeks?

For more information about Ian Ushers adventures, check out http://www.100goals100weeks.com/index.php


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