A lot has changed for me over the last year. I relocated to a new state. Business has doubled. I bought a new house. I struggled with what I thought was a severe allergy attack that took me out for several weeks (it was just stress), and I’ve gotten back into creative writing to have more balance and energy when I sit behind my laptop.

With all of this change came a lot of enthusiasm and ecstatic moments as well as high levels of anxiety as I had to stretch personally and in business farther than I’ve ever done when I worked in corporate America. So, with all of that going on, I looked forward to my annual solo trip more than ever. I have a goal to visit all 50 states before the age of 50, and this year, I chose Idaho. Yes, Idaho!

I went for four days and was captivated from the beginning to the end of my stay. I knew it would be beautiful because anywhere that isn’t a dense metropolis usually is, however, I was unprepared for how breathtaking the gem state is. I was so enthralled that didn’t I spend much time relaxing. There was too much to see!

From waterfalls with greater depth than Niagara to thousand-year-old volcano grounds; flatlands as far as the eye can see to canyons and dunes and rivers that snaked from their depths to snow-covered mountain peaks. I had the time of my life (and a mini panic attack when I realized I was at the TOP of one of those snowy mountains by myself – the incline was so subtle that I hadn’t noticed it until I started feeling cold with the windows down). Still, I wished I had another day or two! Surviving that drive was good for me because I’m quite terrified of driving on those kinds of roads, but I did it. I had to. There was only one way back to my hotel.

Idaho was several breaths of fresh air. It gave me time to think without the pressures and routines of daily life—time to ruminate in absolute solitude and be fully present in each moment. The trip also lit a fuse in me for a new creative work, which will either be poetry or fiction, I’m not sure yet. I only have the title (my non-business writing always comes to me in fragments rather than the whole picture, and then it takes on a life of its own).

I wrote this blog entry to encourage and remind those of you who consistently work 50+ hour weeks (either for a corporation or for yourself) to take some time off; time away from your spouse, your kids, your pets, and anyone else who you’re around (if you can). Have a loose itinerary and prepare adequately, but for the most part, just go. Venture somewhere that’s underrated in the States (or in whatever country you reside). Channel the child version of yourself and explore.

Wake up when you want. Skip a part of the trip you’d planned or add one you hadn’t anticipated. Be spontaneous. Be curious. Go alone. If only for a few days, channel who you were before business and family consumed your life. And breathe. Solo time is good for the soul, particularly when it is not goal-oriented as most of our lives are.

Below are a few more pics from my trip (*all but the first three with me wearing all black were taken by me. I found an amazing photographer on YouTube to do a mini shoot at Bruneau Dunes).

The dot at the top of the old volcano cone above is me.

Thank you for reading!