For being born & raised in Utah, it actually took me until my mid twenties to discover how amazing Zion National Park is. Zion has become a place that I visit very frequently, it helps my mind and soul escape from the troubles of the world. There's nothing like seeing Zion for the first time, but I feel like every time I enter the park through the west entrance and get to the bridge before the canyon I get the same chills as I did the first time I visited the park.
Zion is about a 3 hour drive from where I live so it makes it really easy to escape there. I was able to make it to Zion 7 times last year, and I have visited 3 times already in 2017. The best kept secret about Zion National Park is that the absolute best time to visit the park is in the winter. There are no crowds. You can drive and park in the canyon instead of being forced to ride the Zion Bus in the summer. The December-February days usually stay around a perfect 45-60 degree of hiking weather.
Every time I visit Zion I stay at the same place - Zion Mountain Ranch 'ZMR' was shown to me by my best good friend who had started a tradition of staying there every December with his wife, a few years back they invited my wife and I on their annual trip and we've been going on it ever since. ZMR is about 30 minutes up the mountain from Zion Canyon but every inch of the drive is crazy pretty.
The hikes in Zion are sought after by people all over the world. The ever popular but a bit of a challenge Angels Landing hike will ask a little more from you than your average hike, but it's something I believe every human should do in their lifetime. A few other 'challenging' hikes that Zion has to offer for the go getters out there are - The Narrows, The Subway, and Observation Point. There's also great 'low-key' hikes for the whole family like Canyon Overlook, and Emerald Pools.
The best place to grab food at is called Oscars. The best pizza joint in town is Zion Pizza & Noodle . A great place to get a freshly made sub to take on a hike with you is the deli at Sol Foods. It is also a great grocery shop and has good ZNP shirts/stickers and all the goods.
The wildlife is pretty great in Zion. I've ran into coyotes, wolves, lizards, mountain goats, countless deer, the extremely endangered California condor birds, golden and bald eagles, but the wildlife I love the most there is the wild buffalo herd up at Zion Mountain Ranch. There's actually a cow named Spot who was abandoned by his family as a calf and was raised by the buffalo herd so Spot walks around all day thinking he's a buffalo and has no idea he's very different than the rest of his family.
I started Indy Brand in 2013 while working as a sales rep for a screen print company. I would always design wall art for our house for my wife so when I started at the printing company she kept bugging me to design and print her shirts, which turned into her friends wanting them too, and eventually led to me making Indy Brand and a partnership with the print shop owner and it turns out we bring the different unique skills that are needed to create a successful company. The designs and lifestyle of Indy Brand has always been about the outdoors and this amazing world. What I aim for is outdoorsy retro vibe items that people love to wear when they travel and explore.
My wife and I both have the 'Nickel' 27" board. My board is the ever sexy burgundy with black wheels and my wife's is the flirty penny pastel lilac. I love the size of the 22" but coming from riding the same longboard since 2005 I felt the extra 5" of confidence would make it so I wouldn't hold back on getting the best out of the board. This is the first skateboard of any kind for my wife and she loves it. She asks to go ride all the time (and I didn't think she could get any hotter) and since we travel so much we are going to start hash tagging #pennywentto - and add where we go with our Penny's.
Since I got my first Penny this winter I haven't been able to fulfill my ultimate #PennyAdventures fantasy yet, which will be riding it down the road of Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. Can't wait for the sun!
Hopefully you have found some inspiration to get out-n-about from reading this, or in the pictures. My name is Ben Campbell, I followed my heart and married my most favorite wild child Courtney, I followed my dreams and I employee myself to do what I love.
Work Hard. Dream Big.