Flying with EO in the Grand Tetons

Days 7–11

There is something about Grand Teton National Park that is just incredible. Rising up from the flat valley are the most intruding mountains that are unbelievable. My memories of this area were really formed when we came out here in 1988. This was our families favorite part of our trip growing up.

This area has every outdoor activity you can imagine at the most rugged level. Add in the fact that Jackson Hole is such and outstanding town and so much of it is public land, it has not surprisingly a place for anyone with the means to come to (and have a house). I actually looked at real estate here in the early 2000’s… That sure would have been a great investment!

This is the view just driving down the road!

We arrived at Jackson Lake Lodge after a long drive through the north loop of Yellowstone where we saw bears and lots of other animals. This hotel is owned by the National Parks and has just an incredible view of the mountains.

EO Talks!

I am in a group called Entrepreneurs Organization or “EO” for short. It’s a self run nonprofit organization of business owners who support each other, learn together, and strive to be better together. There are 15,000 members worldwide and one of the things I like about it is that it’s not strictly business. We share experiences to get better in our businesses but also in our families and communities. Hearing others different approaches to parenting and life is a big reason that we realized that this trip was even possible. There is a leadership ‘law’ taught by John C Maxwell that is ‘removing the lid’. It essentially challenges us to remove the limiting thoughts that we have. What a gift that is.

This week a group of amazing EO’rs led by Don Lamont & Don Williams put together an event that was just incredible. It was called EO Talks and included families. They flew in Warren Rustand and Brian Brault to talk about leadership in our lives and families. There were also talks by guests who shared stories about the challenges they’ve overcome. It was incredibly powerful. Sharing their stories was such a gift for us.

Warren (in the selfie above) has a pretty crazy resume, (played in the NBA, chief of staff at the White House, CEO of 10+ billion dollar companies, and more) but it’s not his resume that draws thousands of people to Warren. It’s his incredible ability to live a purposeful and intentional life. And it’s not in just career/business but more so in family and life. I learned about creating family values, daddy daughter days, and more from him. He has been a true friend and mentor for me. If you haven’t read his book, The Leader within Us, I highly recommend it.

Of course we made the most of the area we were in with all the fun.

Riding Horses in the Tetons!

Just finished our Horseback ride and we all have our family logo shirts on!

Rafting the Snake River!

We had to dip our head in the cool water…

I think this picture of Lauren sums up our trip so far!

We took an incredible sunset cruise on Jenny Lake directly under the Tetons.

The EO organizers also brought in Anna Birch and Brian Randall to lead the kids. They are the best in the country at this and it showed. They took these kids and taught them all sorts of lessons in just a few short hours. They had so so so much fun.

This was after just a few hours…

And, I have to admit I was super proud of Lauren and Shannon. They were 2 of the youngest and I kept getting amazing feedback about their leadership and communication in the group. It was basically a mini ‘camp’ atmosphere for them and the other kids and they were so proud of themselves and just LOVED it. All of these kids are stars. I felt grateful to be around them, learn from them, and have Lauren and Shannon apart of this.

Here are the kids in action… what an outstanding experience!

The final night we had an incredible dinner at a place with a “horse whisperer”. We watched them train a horse… it was truly thought provoking. The approach that they took to training horses had a lot of wisdom behind it.

Also, it turned out that Josh Allen was there a few days before us! There were 11 Buffalo Bills fans that were there happy to know he’s learning to train his horses in advance of this years Super Bowl run!

Such a great few days with an amazing and inspiring group of new friends.

After the event was over the girls and I drove over to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for a day of adrenaline. (and waffles!)

We took the tram to the top, ate the famous waffles at Corbets Cabin, and hiked to the very top of the mountain.

Before we left Jackson Hole Mountain Resort we had to go mountain biking. We took our bikes up the lift, and flew down some insane trails down. This was the first ‘legit’ mountain bike experience the girls had done, and after some (necessary) coaching, they were rocking it. And no injuries!

Another incredible day.

Last morning coffee in the Tetons… Till next time!