Sand Dunes, Cliff Dwellings and When Remote Work Doesn't Work

In this post, I give an update on our incredible, but slightly insane journey across the country traveling with two young children. I also talk through the challenges I faced trying to work remotely with no cell, or reliable Wi-Fi in both Great Sand Dunes National Park and Mesa Verde National Park.

Family pic in front of the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde NP!

If there was a week that made me question everything that we are doing, this was the one.

This week we left our comfortable, short term rental in Estes Park for 4 nights exploring two more of Colorado’s National Parks. We drove 300 miles down I25, stopping for lunch and a quick drive through tour of Garden of the Gods (really stunning rock formations just outside of Colorado Springs). We then headed up and over the Sangre De Cristo Mountains pass (translates to Blood of Christ - named by an early Spanish explorer) and around to the Great Sand Dunes Lodge, where we would stay for two nights, nestled into the mountainside.

The lodge itself is pretty basic and includes breakfast, but where it really gets convenient (and beautiful) is its proximity to the Dunes. The back “veranda” faces directly at the Great Sand Dunes and their jaw dropping mountain backdrop. In addition, the Park itself is a simple 5 minute drive away. In researching our stay, I found that there really weren’t any other accommodations for MILES.

The view from our veranda of Great Sand Dunes NP

Which leads me to my next issue. Their WIFI is spotty AT BEST. And cell service is nonexistent. For most, this is highly desirable (generally speaking, myself included), but for us digital nomads earning from the road, this is a potential nightmare. I found that I actually couldn’t work from the road at all. I had to drive about 20 minutes south, just pass the looming mountains, in order to scrap together enough cell service to do my contracting work. We pretty much called it quits on our NOE work while we were there because it just wasn’t realistic while taking care of the girls.

The Dunes themselves, on the other hand, were INCREDIBLE! They stand at over 700’ tall and at an elevation over 8,000’. They are truly jaw dropping in the morning and the evening, as the shadows extend and the warm light cascades across the sand - with a snow capped mountain backdrop. It’s a sight to behold. You can also “sand sled” at the park. Unfortunately for us, we were a little early in the season and the 30 degree temps combined with 30-50 MPH winds prevented us from partaking.

Glo and Kailah trying to withstand the sand pelting winds

On to Mesa Verde…

Our 1.5 days in Grand Sand Dunes seemed like plenty of time to explore the park. I wouldn’t recommend staying much longer. For me, I was grateful to have experienced it, but it was stressful not being able to balance “work” and “play”. I figured that Mesa Verde would likely be a different story and I could catch up during the drive and when we got to our next lodge.

Despite the challenges, Mesa Verde quickly became a top 5 National Park for me:

We drove another 220 miles across southern Colorado to Mesa Verde National Park. We stopped halfway, so I could work from a high quality cell service area and the girls could play (they had a cool indoor play area in Pagosa Springs, that the girls thoroughly enjoyed).

The view from the Mesa Top in Mesa Verde NP

The park itself is interesting because when you arrive to the welcome sign, it’s still another 23 miles to the lodge and then another 5ish miles to the main sites. Despite the distance, that drive was one of the most beautiful we’ve been on. It takes you up and around the high desert mesa, where the majority of the historical Puebloan sites are. You can see for MILES, in some of the most interesting scenery I’ve ever seen.

We booked our stay at the Far View Lodge (aptly named for the incredible view from our balcony) in a Kiva Deluxe room. The view itself is worth the stay and it’s PERFECTLY located for visiting the park. There are also a few restaurants within walking distance. We enjoyed grabbing delicious takeout from the Metate Room Restaurant and then relaxing with views as far as the eye could see. The one negative we found with this accommodation was room size. For a family with one very young child (under 2), this room was SMALL and made it challenging to accommodate a crib (let alone get her to sleep). Regret it? Nah.

Our Kiva Deluxe room and view at Far View Lodge (This is one of two queen beds)

Like I mentioned the proximity to the famous cliff palace (dug into the cliff side and made of sandstone, beams and mortar), other cliff dwellings and pit house archeological sites, made the Far View Lodge ideal. Several of the cliff dwelling tours were closed while we were there, so we’ll be back. If you haven’t been, GO to Mesa Verde. It’s beauty and history are almost unmatched.

Native American “Pit House” archeological site

The Cliff Palace dwelling in Mesa Verde taken from the Sun Temple - can you believe people used to live there?!

Despite LOVING Mesa Verde, I couldn’t work…again…

Unfortunately, yet again, the room WIFI wasn’t sufficient to handle the speeds I need to do work (even make, or take a Microsoft Teams call). The main building of the hotel had decent WIFI, but the business center was closed, so I had to sit in one of only four chairs in the lobby to make a good connection and that area was pretty heavily trafficked. I even tried sitting in my truck and hitting the WIFI, but the speeds weren’t enough.

Listen, I know these are first world problems and the partial (if not entire) purpose of these parks is to enjoy/learn from our world and cut off from technology - hell I love our National Parks for these reasons. I just want to give a realistic take on how challenging this is to manage when trying to balance remote work and travel. I want to make the point that there are some destinations that are better suited for this lifestyle than others.

Zoomed out shot of the Cliff Palace

So what did I do?

We ended up driving the 23+ miles to Mancos, Colorado from the lodge and I parked in front of a playground, so that the girls could stay occupied and I could work via cell (from the truck). It wasn’t ideal, but I got the work done. Needless to say, we learned A LOT this week about what will work and what won’t.

A bit of “work from anywhere” reflection:

Obviously this week came with its challenges. Despite them, the experiences alone were absolutely worth the stress. One thing I wanted to be sure to share for those digital nomads out there, especially those working with colleagues in more traditional roles, is this…

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t have a quality connection. Hell, “Susan in accounting” (sorry mom), could easily be dealing with the same issues in her home office, or cubicle. All that matters is that you manage your schedule to make sure the work gets done. And I’ve found that over communicating also seems to lessen the impact of any schedule changes.

The girls are finally asleep and we’re enjoying the sunset from our balcony in Mesa Verde!

As always, thanks for reading and I hope this post inspires you to visit two more of our beautiful American National parks. With that being said, I don’t think I would recommend working remotely from them :).

In the words of Rick Steve’s, “keep on traveling”,

Kyle

Remote Work from an Air Bnb; Estes Park and Rocky Mountain NP

In this post I walk through our stay in Estes Park, discuss why Air Bnbs are ideal “work from anywhere” accommodations and what I look for when choosing an Air Bnb for remote work. I’ll also hit on my remote working gear and a few tips that help make earning from the road a little easier.

Glo and I hiking in RMNP

Week 4 on the road:

This week we “put our feet up” in the little town of Estes Park (CO), which is about 90 minutes northwest of Denver and directly borders Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). We rented an air bnb just outside of town, which ended up being perfect for us, as it had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, making it extremely easy to put the girls to sleep and then relax in the living room. This layout is generally the minimum floorplan that we look for in rentals, so that we have separate areas for sleeping, living and working. Otherwise it ends up being a challenge (as I’m sure you will see in future hotel stays).

Our living room in the short term rental

We feel like we visited RMNP at the perfect time of year. The park itself was largely empty of tourists (like us) and that made exploring really enjoyable because we could hike empty trails and see plenty of wildlife. One afternoon we saw 4 elk and 59 deer just from driving through the park! Two of our favorite family friendly hikes were the Fern Lake Trail and Cub Lake Trail (FYI - we did not hike the entirety of either trail, but only went as far as our littlest legs could take us!)

Cub Lake Trail, RMNP

Family Friendly Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park:

Cub Lake Trail: 6 mile loop with minimal elevation gain until the 1.5 mile mark and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains

Fern Lake Trail: 7.5 mile out and back hike with minimal elevation gain until later in the hike (~1,500 in entirety)

Estes Park town center was also relatively empty and we thoroughly enjoyed walking the main drag, with it’s small town vibe. We specifically liked Estes Park Brewery and Bob and Tony’s Pizza (there is a distillery in the restaurant!) for dining with young children. Estes Park Sugar Shack was also a hit with Selima.

I think that one of the things that amazed me about Estes Park is how remote it is. When you are driving in from Denver, you climb this very windy, steep highway for miles. At some point, you hit peak elevation and the trees and mountains sort of part ways to the beautiful valley that the town of Estes Park sits in. It’s truly a “remote metropolis”, if there even is such a thing. Definitely worth a visit if you haven’t been!

Along the Fern Lake Trail in RMNP

The air bnb office:

We were really looking forward to getting to Estes Park and settling down a bit. It would be the first time we could really setup our workspaces and rely on easily accessible, high speed internet. In my opinion, short term rentals (or “air bnb offices”, as I affectionately call them) provide some of the best setups when traveling with a family and getting work done.

The “air bnb office” is ideal for remote work on-the-go for several reasons:

1. Short term rentals (air bnb, vrbo, homeaway etc), or STRs are located in almost every destination

2. STRs provide an advantage over a typical hotel room because you can get more space (2+ br, office, etc)

3. Generally speaking, there is always high speed internet (but still confirm before booking!)

In addition to these four benefits, I found our Estes Park STR to provide more flexibility in my actual work schedule. Since I was two hours behind the east coast, I could wake up early, get my work done, and still have people available if I needed to hop on the phone. I also loved having the dedicated workspace, so that I could be more flexible if other people needed me. Because lets be real, working while riding is cool and all, but it isn’t as easy as a dedicated space (I know Kailah feels the same).

Estes Park Brewery (2 min from RMNP and 5 min from our STR)

My Work From Anywhere gear:

Besides using a short term rental, I’ve found specific gear that has made my life a whole heck of a lot easier when I’m staying in one. Check out my list below:

1. Lepow Portable Monitor: This ones a no brainer. If you work from your laptop, grab an extra portable monitor like this one and double your screens. The Lepow comes with a cover, which easily folds out into a kickstand - perfect for next to your laptop.

2. Logitech M705 Bluetooth Mouse: A friend introduced me to this mouse and I’ll never look back. Sounds trivial, but trust me, this thing is inexpensive, durable and fits my hand perfectly.

3. Logitech K380 Bluetooth Keyboard: This keyboard is light and super compact (no number pad though) and is really easy to use. I take it everywhere. One thing that’s important to mention is that this keyboard doesn’t require one of those annoying dongles, so you can keep your usb port open.

4. Noise Canceling Bluetooth Headphones: Noise cancelling, ear covering headphones are probably the best investment you can make if you want to work on the go. They knock down all outside noise, provide crystal clear audio (input and output) and are perfect for a plane ride.

5. An inexpensive, mobile desk: If you are traveling by road, this can make a STR office setup really easy. I recommend going with something cheap and light. If it breaks, or you don’t need it anymore, you can give it away, or recycle it. (I use the one in the link).

My usual setup (I guess I need to work on my lighting…)

Speeds and closing: One last thing that I’ve alluded to in the past and I think is worth mentioning when working from short term rentals, is internet speed. At a minimum, I recommend making sure your host has at least 20 MBPS download and 5 MBPS upload speeds. This makes videos calls, data work, content creation etc MUCH less frustrating and MUCH more efficient.

Anyway, I hope this helps any readers who want to work from an air bnb, or other short term rental. Please check back in next week, as I talk through some major struggles relating to bad wifi and sketchy service in Great Sand Dunes NP and Mesa Verde NP.

Cheers!

Kyle

Crossing the US: St. Louis, Hays - KS, and Literally Working from the Road

In this post, I chat through our journey between Tennessee and Colorado, stopping in St. Louis and Hays, Kansas. I touch on working from our beautiful hotel in St. Louis, reflect on conference goers and even show how I work while Kailahs driving.

Glo exploring the lobby at the Chase Park Plaza

The week’s journey: This was a crazy week. We left Gatlinburg, Tennessee on Sunday and arrived in Estes Park, Colorado on Wednesday night. It was an aggressive three days of travel, but we had an awesome stay in St. Louis at the historic Chase Park Plaza hotel. It was the perfect stopover, to see the famous St. Louis Gateway Arch (our second national park of the trip!) and grab a little Missouri BBQ. We were fortunate to get set up with a King suite at the Park Plaza, which had a living room (for the girls) and then a king bedroom for us. This made our stay VERY comfortable and much less stressful. We were also perfectly located next to a park and several restaurants (including a BBQ spot that we thoroughly enjoyed, called Salt and Smoke). Highly recommend!

We visited the Arch on our second day - mostly to cross it off our list - but were pleasantly surprised. Coming from New England (where Spring had yet to “spring”) the sprawling green grass and pink blossomed trees provided a perfect afternoon of lounging around and letting the girls roam. We also learned that you can take a tram up the Arch - we had no idea! Unfortunately the tickets sell out in advance, so we couldn’t go. I think that worked out for the better though because I saw the tram car model in the lobby and I’m pretty sure I didn’t want to cram my 6’ 5” frame into that thing.

The ladies yelling at me in front of the Arch

Following our stay in St. Louis, we headed further west, stopping in Hays, Kansas. We chose Hays, simply as a burn and turn location to break up a very long drive. We stayed at a relatively new Hilton Garden Inn. After going in with low expectations of this leg of our stay, I’ll be honest, I was pleasantly surprised. If for some reason you find yourself needing to cross Kansas, Hays is an easy and comfortable stop.

(If you want to see our exact route, with some extra content, head over to our route map!)

On to business: Since the majority of this 3 day journey was during the “business week”, I obviously had obligations to deliver on as we drove across.

“WWD” (please ignore that finger print ridden screen)

This might surprise some people, but sometimes I work while we are driving down the road. And I don’t mean work “offline” - I mean literally logged into the network on my laptop and/or on the phone, knocking out deliverables - going 70 MPH down the highway. I keep my connection through using my phone as a hotspot (or leverage a secondary hotspot if needed). I think most people would be surprised of the internet speeds I’m able to pull from the road - in many cases, faster than my house (Yes, Comcast, that is a shot over your bow).

Working from the lobby at the Chase Park Plaza

In comparison to “working while driving” (lets call it “WWD” from now on), logging hours at our hotel in St. Louis was much more convenient. Not only did we have the suite (with a desk), the hotel also has an entire conference center, with WIFI for guests. And if that wasn’t enough, St. Louis is a 5G Ultra Wideband city. I was pulling download speeds of 800+ MBPS through my phone, which in less-nerdy terms, is REALLY freaking fast for cellular internet.

A bit of reflection: One unexpected realization that I had while working remotely in St. Louis was related to the conferences going on in our hotel. Having recently left a “full time role” in corporate, I thought seeing all of these people dressed up, networking, eating, drinking etc., might make me miss the old grind a bit. But honestly, it had the opposite effect…

The girls were all waiting for me as I was making one last trip to our room, to get the remainder of our belongings (before hitting the road for Hays). I specifically remember riding the elevator down with a group of conference goers and for some odd reason, we were stopping at every floor. The doors would open and then shut. 9th floor, 8th floor, 7th floor…and so on. None of the floor buttons were lit up, and we just kept stopping. All of us just stood there on autopilot waiting for the damn thing to reach the lobby. Eventually I made a “this must be a really courteous elevator” joke (terrible I know) and reached across for the lobby button. As we zoomed down, I couldn’t help but think about how intentional every single minute of my days are. Am I a little overwhelmed? Sure. Feel stretched a bit thin at times? Yes. But I have a reason to get to the bottom of the elevator shaft…

***For the record, I don’t think all conference-goers are on autopilot and definitely don’t think conferences aren’t valuable. This was just an example that hit me “mid-stride” in our journey and really solidified some of my recent lifestyle design decisions.

Anyway, man…what a week. Travel, work, entrepreneurship, parenting, being a good partner…it’s been a challenging balance.

More to come next week as I talk through setting up an “air bnb office”.

Kyle