The first week of our family gap year is complete.  I will give you a glimpse behind the scenes on week 1 which include several everyday adventures such as winter camping frozen waterfalls, and skiing on Tuesday. This information will not be public going forward.  You can subscribe to my email list to receive the weekly updates of our Family Gap Year as we make our way across the country as a family of 5 (and a dog) in an RV.   Show Notes for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/108 ...

WeI’ll round out the series interviewing my kids about their thoughts on the gap year and their version of adventure.  This week the guest is my 12 YO son and how his love for fly fishing has developed into so many others skills and a new business.    Show Notes for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/106 To place an order for flies for Fly Fishing here is the order form (Link).  You can send specific questions to [email protected] or join CD Fly Fishing Email List at...

I heard from a few of you that you enjoyed hearing from my 7 YO last week.  I’ll continue this week with my 10 YO daughter.  As you may or may not know, my daughter had a severe bike accident in 2022 and spent the first part of the year with two full arm casts.  In addition to learning about her version of adventure, she will also walk us through her accident, recovery and the many ways she continues to be brave. Show Notes for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/106 Subscribe to the...

"How do your kids feel about the gap year?" Let's have them tell you how they feel with a series of interviews with my kids.  While the family behind Ordinary Sherpa is taking a gap year, Ordinary Sherpa is still focused on the human element of living a life adventure and all the ordinrary things we did to get here. Our gap year will also be filled with ordinary everyday adventures accessible to everyone.  I hope this series exemplifies you don't need to take a gap year to experience...

I am coming off a weekend at Camp FI which is like summer camp with people who are interested in doing things differently with their life and I must say, I have come to think money is the least interesting thing to talk about and perhaps because I am not motivated by money.  Through my own money story and working with and alongside high-net worth individuals I have come to learn that money does not equal happiness.  The sooner we can detach our worth and purpose from money I think the higher...

Website for this Episode:  Resources mentioned in this Episode:  Harvest Hosts is offering a 30% off sale until January 6th if you use my link:https://harvesthosts.com/join-friends/ you must use my link and Code FRIEND30 at checkout.  Harvest Hosts membership offers over 4,000 spots to park your RV or enclosed camper at breweries, wineries, farms, even museums across North America.  They also include Boondockers Welcome which are Hosts who offer a free place to park your RV on private...

As we shift from the holidays to the new year there is often the most reflective time of year for reflection and intention setting for the upcoming year.  I am not talking about new year's resolutions.  I am talking about understanding your why, who will help you get there and what is it you need to do today to advance toward your ideal life.  As this is publishing I am in the final days of w2 work, and merely weeks from our departure in the RV for our family gap year.  Working towards a gap...

If you are new here, Welcome to Ordinary Sherpa. A brand designed to support families connecting through adventure based on the pillars of simplicity, authenticity, and connection. If you have been here for the last 100 episodes, thank you! The 101 episode is going to take us back to the basic of this brand and practice different ways we can support family connection through simple and authentic adventure experiences.   My intention is to create content to support leading a lifestyle of...

We have a bit of a RV theme to this episode and before we get to our guest I thought I’d share a Facebook post from a Book Reader: Diane recently retired and is traveling the country in a travel trailer with her husband.  I am reading an excellent book by a local Wisconsin  author, Heidi Dusek, called Beyond Normal. It's about designing experiences in life that bring you joy. Before we headed on the road, we already knew that we didn't need to see and experience all the normal sights in any...

For the full show notes head to: https://ordinarysherpa.com/099  To follow our Family Gap Year Adventure on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ordinarysherpa/  To learn more about Metrics of Thriving or "the Life Pie" referenced in this episode you can read my book: Beyond Normal: A field guide to embrace adventure, explore the wilderness and design an extraordinary life with kids. 

Website for this episode: ordinarysherpa.com/098 Register for the FREE Travel Rewards for Families Live Q & A: Ordinarysherpa.com/LIVE At one time, our guest worked in healthcare, but was (not so secretly) addicted to travel. He’s been to over 100 countries and seven continents. What sets him apart from many of the travelers I know is his approach; his uncanny way to make you laugh and be completely envious of him experiencing incredible locations with his kids.  While many parents like...

Today you are going to a little bit of real talk with Heidi. Maybe because I am on night 3 of a hotel to MYSELF while I’m at a conference or maybe I shouldn’t have had that second cup of coffee (by the way if you like Real Talk with Heidi version, feel free to support this buying me a coffee) Either way, I wanted to give families a valuable way to use travel rewards to supplement their travel budget, traveling longer, farther - let’s just say it’s one of my favorite optimization strategies...

096 | Dual-Citizen Family Explores all State Parks in Wisconsin   Tracy Philippi is a 4-seasons adventure enthusiast raising her 3 young, dual-citizens between Madison, Wisconsin and Canada. During COVID, Tracy and her family completed their goal of camping, hiking & swimming in all 48 Wisconsin State Parks. Tracy is a professional fundraiser, leading the charge to build a library in her community (the only place in Dane County without a library!) as a passionate volunteer. Currently on...

As nature prepares for winter, the leaves fall, the damp chill has us grabbing for blankets or cozy clothes, the drive to adventure can sometimes dissipate.  The darkness lingers longer in the morning and comes sooner at night.  While I am not an expert in moon cycles, I have even learned that we are in a low energy cycle currently.  I think it’s perfectly okay to listen to rest and embrace the low energy season, we might feel the undertows and external current of productivity suggesting...

A fun win of the week is that Ordinary Sherpa crossed 100 written reviews.  This is a huge benchmark for the Podcast.  If your name is NOT one of the 100 Written reviews, there is still time - we will continue to need those as we reach more people and brands with our work.  Apple DOES not make it easy so feel free to check out this tutorial to walk you through the process.   Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/ Website for this episode:...

My Adventure Win of the Week (btw a weekly feature in the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group) is that I am coming off my first Ordinary Sherpa meet up locally and a mini book launch party.  After publishing my book in May I needed a break from it.  We spent the summer adventuring and enjoying life. I am ready to get back into a routine.  Entrepre.  - what am I going to focus on?  One of the options was to release the audiobook format of my book.  People are sharing their feedback and how the book...

When you learn tricks to optimize your time, money, and travel it sometimes feels like you are winning at life.   While I love a good optimization strategy, I have found that there is nothing to optimize relationships and being human.  My hope is that this episode today helps you optimize the stuff in your life getting in the way of you connecting with other humans (or even with yourself).   Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/092 Join the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group to...

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/091 Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/ Join the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group to interact with other listeners.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ordinarysherpa Key Takeaways Look for opportunities that inspire you.  Listening to the RVE podcast (link to episode) for sometime I was genuinely curious and decided to ask to be a guest on the podcast.  This led to a great conversation...

Jessica is a full-time human being and a part-time lifestyle design coach and writer at the award-winning blog, The Fioneers. Jessica’s goal is to build a life she doesn’t want to retire from and help others do the same through her writing, courses, and group coaching programs. Jessica has been featured in MarketWatch, Business Insider, The Motley Fool, and Forbes. When not writing and coaching, you can find her perfecting her sourdough pizza recipe, road-tripping in her campervan with her...

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/089 Freebie: 50+ Simple Family Adventure Ideas: https://ordinarysherpa.com/free Return to school we are rounding out our summer by visiting the kids summer adventure lists to see what remains.  We have tried to find something each day that seems new, different and yet simple and attainable.  Thanks to my daughter’s list she made a weaving art with pipe cleaners.  My little monster organized a water balloon stomp on the trampoline, and we...

Field Trips are often an immersion, a hands on learning experience.  In this episode Heidi interviews Erin Austen Abbott to cultivate backyard family adventures sharing planning tips for family field trips.  She also peel back the layers of untourism by describing what makes a place like Mississippi so unique and filled with hidden gems, yet rarely on our travel list.   Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/088 Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:...

Something big happened last week (actually a few weeks ago now)  Before I get into all of the thoughts and attempt to address FAQ about this decision I just wanted to remind you that if this sounds intriguing there are a few ways you can dive much deeper into the content Subscribe to the podcast and email list http://ordinarysherpa.com/subscribe  Read my book: Beyond Normal, a field guide to embrace adventure, explore the wilderness, and design an extraordinary life with kids. Come meet up...

If you are curious about RV life or even Remote Lifestyle I strongly encourage you to consider attending the RV Entrepreneur Roundtable.  It’s September 7-11 in Montrose CO. They just changed it from a summit to a roundtable and dropped the price.  What I am SO excited about is that you get access to creators from various backgrounds in both the RV and Entrepreneur space.  I will be there speaking on using my podcast to build community, so if you want to meet me or other brands and...

Welcome back to another episode of Ordinary Sherpa, I am your host Heidi Dusek.  This summer has been a fascinating journey in continuing to live out and test our adventurous lifestyle with kids.  We spent over 30 days living in an RV in The Canadian Rockies near Banff, Jasper and then made our way down into Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming before some time in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Our purpose for this experiment was to consider this a test in slowing down.  Treat it less like a...

This episode, Ed takes adventure to the next level with ways to experience adventure near and far.   Ed is a husband and father originally from Singapore now in Washington.  Prior to Covid he was a sophisticated travel hacker, but now more of an aspiring polyglot.  Others might also say he’s a tax optimizer, a geo-arbitrage schemer, homeschooler, entrepreneur, and just adding a budding asian cuisine chef...Right?  Let’s just say Ed Tee has become one of my adventure Super Heros.  This episode...