Relaxing in the Mountains at Collective Vail

Relaxing in the Mountains at Collective Vail

Whilst I am accustomed to being awoken in the middle of the night by roaring lions, howling coyotes was new. Had it not been for the coyotes, I doubt I would have stirred because the bed at Collective Vail was that comfortable. Collective Vail is located on a working ranch outside of Wolcott Colorado, a mere 30 minutes from Vail and perfectly positioned with magnificent views of the Sawatch mountain range in the Colorado Rockies.

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Ashbourne Country Escape, Hazyview

Ashbourne Country Escape, Hazyview

Growing up in the Midwest, vacations entailed visiting far-flung relatives, or perhaps a weekend at a family friends’ lake house, but in my child-like mind vacation meant staying in a hotel (with a swimming pool, of course) and eating all of our meals at restaurants. No making your bed, no picking up after yourself, no chores, and no cooking. And then there were the restaurants, usually chain restaurants where the food was less than stellar, but that hardly mattered. I could choose whatever I wanted to eat. It was all so glamorous.

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The Benefits of Going off the Grid

The Benefits of Going off the Grid

With careers that demand that emails are attended to quickly and digital addictions that require us to check multiple social media platforms numerous times a day, a digital detox is a necessary respite from the information overload that has overtaken our lives. Lately, social media platforms feel less like a place to connect with far flung friends and more like a divisive social commons where stress inducing breaking news stories are interspersed with targeted advertisements. This constant bombardment of unnecessary information in no way enriches my life, but going off the grid is harder than it sounds. Perhaps that is why I increasingly seek out holidays to remote corners of the world where cell phone towers and WiFi have yet to reach. There I can enjoy the benefits of going off the grid. I had planned an eight day trip to Botswana and Zimbabwe with my Love fully knowing that we would inaccessible for nearly the entire vacation; never imagining that the real reason why we carry devices with us – so that we can be reachable at all times – would affect me.

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