Face to Face Interactions
I find it somewhat ironic that I’m writing this from Denver Airport after copping a cancelled flight, with the next flight not for another 9 hours. I’m just past the halfway mark of my trip and to be honest, the body has been feeling it. Maybe it's a message being sent?
I’m so grateful for this opportunity to adventure the world and learn from the best, but the 12+ hour days, meeting with incredible people and mixing in hikes, bike rides, horse rides, paddles and everything else... while I wouldn’t change a thing, it’s certainly crept up and started to take a toll.
My leg muscles are stiff, my feet have blisters, hydration is a constant need and my head is packed with advice, stories, insights and observations.
I’m absolutely loving this adventure, and while you might expect it’s because of the travel I’m taking, the places I’m visiting or the countries I’m exploring... what’s actually making this so good is the face to face interactions I’m having - with passionate, experienced, dedicated and inspiring people.
I’ve found in recent times that we too quickly disregard the value of face to face interactions. Our digital world allows us to refer interactions to an email, an online call or a quick phone message. Understandable... they take less time and effort, often cost less and can be much easier to organise.
Face to face interactions allow us to connect at a deeper level and to practically experience what we’re discussing. It allows us to better understand each other (our slang, history, culture, unique circumstances) and the topics being discussed. We can show greater respect and understanding for each other through our body language. Most importantly, we can create shared experiences together that are easier, but more importantly, meaningful.
Still being in my 20’s, one thing I personally appreciate at this point in my life is the chance to develop my experience through the experiences of others. I love surrounding myself with people who have ‘been there, done that’ but are also prepared to relate and share that with me. I’ve recognised that the best way to understand experience, is that you need to experience it.
This adventure is full of numerous days where I’ve just had the opportunity to ‘shadow’ people. Wednesday was one of those special days. I spent it with a great fella, by the name of Tony Boone.
Tony is a trail-builder by title, but to me he’s much more than that. Over the course of the day, I witnessed him wear over seven different hats - trail builder, trail designer, community builder, trail user, land manager, conservationist, project manager to name a few. Most importantly, what I saw and got to know was a super-passionate outdoors guy, who knows his trail stuff, is committed to the best outcome for the community and is humble enough to recognise that together, is the best way we’ll find actionable solutions. Watching him go about doing his thing was a tremendous learning opportunity for me and I hate to say it, but I’m kinda gutted I’m not a trail-builder. He made it look cool.
What I’ve also come to appreciate about face to face time with others is that it allows us the chance to explore the ‘why’. We so often can get consumed by the who, what, when, where and how... they’re the easy bits and often consume little time. But the ‘why’ is the deal breaker. It’s where we can take something, and make it substantial. The ‘why’ gives ideas, plans, principles, strategies... a lot more meaning, substance and purpose. Communicating a ‘why’ is not easily done though, it requires emotion and connection, supported by explanation and often stories. All of which is much easier, I’ve come to appreciate, when you’re face to face with someone.
There was so much about my adventure that I was worried about before I began. I couldn’t stop thinking about perfecting every interaction I was going to have - ensuring I made the most of the time for both the other person and myself. I over-thought the questions I’m planning to ask, constantly considered how I could offer value in return, I'd compile too many components into a conversation, I’m uncertain how to transition for informality to formality and I’m a huge sucker for tangents.
I’m so grateful that this adventure has allowed me to firstly meet so many incredible people, secondly learn and appreciate so many things and thirdly, equip me with knowledge and experiences for making my local (and hopefully national and international) outdoor community better. The experience to this point has allowed me to come to realise that my worries while they need consideration, aren’t as bad as I assume them to be. I’m certain that none of this would have happened if it weren’t for the ability to connect with people face to face, the best position we can be in where our natural interest and respect for each other as humans just takes over.
By now, you’re probably wondering what all this has to do with the outdoors, trails and/or recreation? To me, it has everything to do with it. Because the outdoors, for me, is the best place to connect with people face to face.
As a side project, still with a connection to my overall Churchill Fellowship adventure, I’ve also been chasing ‘another’ one of my passions... Reinforcing the value of connectivity to youth and seeking out opportunities for them to build the community around them. While in so many ways I knew and appreciated this already, the experiences I’ve had to learn and interact with young people in outdoor settings now outside of Australia creates far greater self and shared growth in young people, than in any classroom, board room or otherwise. Why? Because the outdoors remains the best place to allow us all to disengage from ‘everyday’ distractions and refocus on what’s actually so important - face to face interactions.
I’m so hopeful for a local, national and international community that recognises the value of a modern skills, globalising opportunities and digital advancements. But more critically, I hope that we can continue to create meaningful experiences where we can connect with others, face to face, so that we can learn from each other, understand each other’s stories, share our knowledge and experience and most of all, positively benefit from the interaction in growing our relationships with each other.
With the adventure now just ticking over the half way point, I’ve started to really think about what this all might, can and/or should mean and what the future looks like for me?
As I mentioned in my last (video) blog, the concept of shared-use has been expanded far beyond my initial understanding. Shared-use is much more than just a practical demonstration, it’s also about sharing in community, sharing around responsibility, sharing mutual respect, sharing the ownership, sharing our knowledge and skills and most importantly, sharing the experience.
In a weird and unexpected way, I feel like the outdoors, trails, spaces, recreation and the experiences... it all means so much more to me now than it ever has.
I’ve seriously loved every minute of the adventure. Obviously the things I’ve learning, the experiences I’ve shared, the knowledge I’ve gained and the people I’ve built relationships with have been the most valuable parts. But I’ve also loved the chaos of international travel, I’ve thrived on the long days, I’m loving the unknown that plans can often bring and I’m really enjoying the day to day challenges that being away from home can throw up.
The second half of my adventure will certainly be about consolidating the experiences I’ve had the pleasure of sharing in.
I’m also super focused on remaining open to what I’ll continue to experience (and learn) as I finish my time in the USA before heading to the UK and Switzerland.
And I’ll be certainly putting some thought to what this can (and will) all mean once I return home in mid-August! I’m certainly up for the challenges, opportunities and experiences that this adventure has and will hopefully continue to bring.
What’s next?
By the time we get on our flight to New York City, it'll be 7.15pm 🤞 here in Denver. We'll then land around 1.10am at Newark Airport before then jumping on a 3am day-trip bus to Niagara Falls.
We'll have a few days in New York City to just rest and switch off for a bit, before then training down to Washington DC where I'm planning to meet with a range of national staff from the National Parks Service and many community organisations.
In just over a weeks time, I'll be saying goodbye to my wife, Maddie as she makes the long journey back across the Pacific home, while I'll be continuing on to the United Kingdom to drive through England, Wales and finishing up in Scotland!
Thank you
Without people, this adventure wouldn't be the same. To those below, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy lives to spend it with me this past week. I am super grateful and really do look forward to staying in touch with you all.
Zach Almaguer, Marketing Manager, Zion National Park Forever Project
Tony Boone, Director, Tony Boone Trails
Greg Seabloom, Capital Improvement Projects Coordinator, City of Boulder Open Spaces and Mountain Parks
Alison Ecklund, Community Relations Coordinator, City of Boulder Open Spaces and Mountain Parks
Brian Anacker, Science Officer, City of Boulder Open Spaces and Mountain Parks
Susy Alkaitis, Deputy Director, Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics
Asa Firestone, CEO, Boulder Adventure Lodge
Wendy Sweet, Operations Manager, Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance
Thanks also to the staff at the below retail stores for having a casual chat with me:
Specialized Experience Centre - Boulder
University Cycles - Boulder
REI - Las Vegas
REI - Boulder
The North Face - Las Vegas
Patagonia - Boulder
Follow Along
If you're not already, I'd love for you to also follow along with me on social media. I'm posting daily updates with photos between these extended blog posts.
The Winston Churchill Trust
This opportunity to travel around the world, learn from international experts and share in once-in-a-lifetime experiences wouldn't be possible without the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
I'm especially grateful to the Trust, as well as those from the Churchill Fellows Association in South Australia and those who supported the establishment of the Terry Lavender Scholarship. To receive such a Fellowship, let alone this scholarship is a really humbling privilege and it is a real honour to be able to recognise Terry Lavender in this way.