​There were two predecessors to MindStretch Travel Adventures. The first was called Open Road Experiences and compared to today’s adventures; we were roughing it. We were gone weeks at a time and spent almost every single night in tents and prepared virtually all our own meals. Today’s MTA programs still enjoy all the great activities during the day, but we’ve learned how nice it is to come back to “base camp” in a real bed in a hotel and eat dinner out in a restaurant. 
 
So the other day I received an email from a camper from the very second year of the Open Road program (1979) saying he had discovered the MTA website and it looked like we had gotten spoiled. He could be right but I’m older and wiser and it’s nice to have the best of both worlds.
 
But I should mention when my wife and I started our residential program (between ORE & MTA) there was nothing at all easy about that first year. All of the rain we’ve had the past couple of years (at least here in Western North Carolina) reminded me of that very first summer at TrailRidge Mountain Camp in 1982. The boys arrived to find out there were no cabins, there were no flush toilets, there were no real hot showers, and there was no dining hall. We hardly had electricity. The idea was that the boys were coming up that first summer to help us “build” the camp. And they did arrive…by the dozens. 
 
We slept in tents and tarps and endured rain. And we endured more rain. And more rain. In fact, that summer was a record setter back then. I imagine that record has been recently broken. We cooked under a dining fly and used solar showers (if we showered at all) and had one of five porta-potties to choose from. 
Then, as expected, the health department discovered we were running this camp and we had as of that moment not been permitted. That’s another story.
 
Well, we had an ultimatum to get those tents off the ground, get the bathhouse open, get the dining hall opened and inspected, and quit drinking water out of the spring. We had a weekend to get it done, but luckily the Fourth of July was around the weekend so we got an extra day or two. We did get it done. The rain didn’t stop. Most of the kids had fun. Some of them came back. And we continued running the camp for the next 14 years or so. 
 
And then I was back to traveling and the camp morphed into MTA. And I’ll tell, it’s the way to go! And no matter which way we travel or camp…we make new memories (almost like these) every single day.

Picture Notes:
​This first photo was from our 1979 Open Road trip. It was seven weeks long - SEVEN WEEKS! We traveled from New Orleans to New England and into Canada. We called ourselves, "The Dirty Dozen."

The second photo is from the very first couple of week or so at TrailRidge. This was an example of someone's shelter. Nothing else about that summer.

Usually my posts have been from our most recent trips, but it is fun looking back at the MTA archives and glancing at photos from some of our past trips. This first photo was from our Alaska-Canada trip in 2010. Some of the boys actually needed to use this porta-potty we found on some road outside of Juneau and the beginning of a new “group photo” tradition was started. We continued this from time to time and most of the boys thought it was a good gag. The second photo is a bit more recent – Virginia Mountains in 2014. 
 
So that you know, most of our boys are more resourceful than waiting in line for a smelly old porta-potty. You can probably imagine some other options.
 
Who knows if we’ll post such a picture in 2019, but it might be time? Check out what we have lined up for this coming summer by clicking this link.

Two years and a couple of months ago we were enjoying a sunny day on top of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. The observatory there has recorded some of the worst weather in North America. Well, not on the day we ventured up...by cog railway. We're thinking about making a return to New England (and possibly include a bit of Canada as well) for a future trip. 
But until then, check out this video of a scientist braving 109 mile-per-hour winds on top of Mt. Washington filmed just a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to good friend and MTA staff member Doug Williams for sharing this with us. Doug was with us on that trip in 2014 and will be back with us this summer for our West Virginia-Tennessee adventure.

Check out the video.

MTA kids and staff congratulate our "friend" Hugh Neff on his victory in this year's Yukon Quest sled dog race. We visited Hugh at his kennel near Whitehorse, Yukon (Canada) back in 2010 during our first Alaska-Canada MTA trip. We spent several hours with Hugh and his pups and learned about the sport of sled dog racing.

Hugh finished this year's Yukon Quest today with a total time of 9 days, 1 hour, and 25 minutes. This amazing race takes teams 1,000 miles from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse.

You can check out more at: www.YukonQuest.com.

Who knows when we'll next be in Alaska & Canada...but for sure I'll always remember that visit.

Five years ago we took our first (and only trip so far) to Alaska. During this trip we also drove north into Canada to spend a few days in Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory. It was here we got to meet real-life musher Hugh Neff.

I'm reminded of this visit every year when the dog mushing season begins. Hugh, a professional musher, has been a frequent finisher in both the Iditarod and Yukon Quest races. Just this month he finished fifth in the Yukon Quest, a 1,000 miles journey from Whitehorse to Fairbanks, Alaska. Congratulations to Hugh and his dawgs (as he calls them) for finishing such an amazing adventure.

We got invited out to visit Hugh at his kennel which was way, way out of Whitehorse. We were welcomed by the barking of at least 25 dogs when we arrived. It was quite a joyous sound. Hugh gave us a tour of his kennel, introduced us to his dogs, explained how the equipment works, took dozens of questions, signed autographs, and invited us to pet and play with the dogs and help with feeding and cleaning chores.

And from that point one I've enjoyed following Hugh and his racing news. No one loves dogs like Hugh does and they are some of the most well cared for dogs you'll ever see.

We invited Hugh to join us for dinner the next night and that's where this photo was taken. That's Hugh in the bottom right of this pix.

You'll never know what kind of memories you'll make on a MTA adventure...but a boy can look forward to something new each and every day. 

No telling when we'll be going back to Alaska & Canada, but you can be sure when we do we'll hope to spend another day with Hugh.


Check out Hugh's Facebook page here.