And I’m on a two-week hiking and camping vacation in southern Utah right now.
I’ve written about how I often go camping when I need to get a lot of freelance writing done, and I’ve also written about the importance of time alone for boosting creativity.
I’m not doing much writing on this trip; it’s primarily about recharging my batteries and just enjoying the beauty of the Southwest. This time I’m traveling solo and doing a lot of dispersed camping and boondocking, although the last two times I was here I shared the Southwest with my life partner Stephanie.
Short Video from my Hole-in-the-Road Campsite
I shot this just after sunrise from my dispersed campsite on Bureau of Land Management land in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I describe the landscape and I explain why visiting such remote locations is good for freelance writers.
My Sweetie Stephanie and I at Delicate Arch
Your Take
Where do you like to vacation? How do vacations help your freelance writing?
I finally made it to Moab in southeastern Utah after nine days of hiking and camping in the boonies.
Feels good to be back in civilization again! I love this town: good coffee shop, great restaurants, a hot shower…
What a landscape, John!
And beautiful loving photo there. 🙂
Going on vacation always helps— I get more great ideas to add to my notepad, I meet great people I can contact later and I have some time to read and study, too, which gives me better chances to land harder gigs later.
As I always tell my parents— nothing is wasted in life and work.
Enjoy it! 😉
Luanna, I’ve gotten many good ideas, all dictated into my digital voice recorder. There’s something about being alone way out in the wilderness that really clears my mind and lets the creativity flow.
John, great video and pictures. I LOVE that area. We managed that one August (lousy timing!) and we fell in love with it. I think for my money, I thought the state partks were a little more enjoyable than the national parks, but all had something to offer.
Agree with you on the need to take a break. That’s when the junk clears out of my head and I suddenly find ideas flowing.
Enjoy the trip. 🙂
Lori, I’ve been in the Southwest in August: definitely hotter and more crowded.
Early to mid-March can be a great time if the weather cooperates, which it has for me. There’s hardly anyone around and motels are very cheap.
Downside: most restaurants are closed.
Hi John: I’ve been in that area and thank you for sharing its great beauty. In my stressed-out corporate days, the one thing I did right was take vacation in Hawaii. Okay, so the trips started as work-related (rough, I know), but I always took extra days just for me.
As we’ve discussed, John, Hawaii is one of my favorite destinations. I also love going back to my beloved San Diego, and my annual 3-Day, 60-Mile Walk for the Cure combine vacation and participation in a great event. Food for the soul.
Thanks for sharing, John. Good to hear your voice – and I learned I was pronouncing your last name wrong all this time. 😀
I miss Hawaii, especially my beloved island of Kaua’i.
My name is a tough one. Think about an eagle that can “soar” with “ease.”
It’s actually an Americanized pronunciation. It sounds very pretty in Portuguese, but few people can pronounce it well.
John, I’ve done everything from sail in the south pacific to a-turn-off-the-computer two days right where I am, and I love them all… haven’t been to the deserts in Utah, but right near my home in San Diego we packed into Ocotillo Wells were we unknowingly camped under a peregrine falcon’s nest… they didn’t seem to mind and once we spotted them we were so well behaved 😉
Anne, I’ve always wanted to visit the South Pacific, especially after I read The Happy Isles of Oceania by Paul Theroux.
Get to the canyon country of the Southwest if you can. There’s no place else in the world that truly compares to it.
Nice video. Gorgeous scenery. I’m not a camper even though I got hauled out on camping trips every summer while I was a kid. These days my idea of camping is an all inclusive resort on a tropical beach.
I like driving vacations. Oregon, California, Nevada. No particular reason why I haven’t been to Utah but I do want to take a drive through one day, possibly later this year. I like vacationing in Hawaii. Its just my kind of place to hang out and read some books. Last year I did pretty good on vacations – 3 nights in Las Vegas, one week cruise Inside Passage/Alaska, and 16 night cruise to Hawaii. I’m no cruiser either but sometimes I travel as a senior’s companion and they like to cruise. Beats camping!
Camping isn’t for everyone. Camping right now in the Southwest is great: moderate temperatures and no bugs. And no bears either, except in the very high forests I don’t visit.
I also love Hawaii and hope to get back there soon.
Vacations are extremely great for freelance writers and bloggers. Mainly because of two reasons – at least for me –
#1 – Time off my computer and the regular work schedule help energizing myself and helps recharging the batteries.
#2 – I get MORE creative and get more ideas to blog posts, client gigs etc. when I’m on locations. So that’s the time when my mind works smartly as a blogger/freelance writer.
Its killing two birds with one stone – I’m enjoying my time away, at the same time becoming more creative and giving nice input to my work!
Thanks for the wonderful video John!
Higher energy and more creativity — great way to put it Jane.
And I’m glad you liked the video!
Absolutely lovely John!
My vacas are usually short ones not too far. They’re mental breaks or mini-retreats. My favorite places are a small town in CT my family founded in the 1600s (I’m a family history buff, so I go up there to do research and relax by the water), and a B&B about an hour from here. The suite we always stay in has part of the old mansion’s library in it, and I use that library room for writing. For a “real” vaca (a week or more off), I’d do my best to completely unwind from work. But that doesn’t mean I’d succeed. Hubby and I really do need to travel more. Thanks for the reminder.
Jenn, I also tend to take small and frequent vacations, often in the mountains of southern Oregon or northern California, occasionally at the coast.
I save longer vacations for destinations that require substantial travel time and expense, like driving two days to southern Utah.
I usually wind up doing a bit of work on the longer vacations.
The first holiday is the hardest. After that you learn when to go, where to go with good wifi coverage, or whether to arrange someone to cover, or whether it’s ok to take a complete break.
I like to go to Asia because it’s so cheap there. It’s actually cheaper to live there in a hotel than it is back at home. So if I stay for long enough and rent out my apartment in the UK I actually save money by being on holiday!
I’ve found the best time to go on vacation for a freelancer is between December and February. Things naturally slow down a bit then.