Q & A with our founder - Rowan Laing
Q: Why are you deeply passionate about travel?
Rowan - Travel broadens your perspective and provides insights into different places and people you may not otherwise encounter. Travel is fascinating. I have this little book of quotes and one of my favorite quotes in there is: “The world is a book and people who do not travel only see one page.”
I want to see as many pages of the book as I can. Therefore, I like to travel to new and unique destinations to experience diverse cultures, people, scenery and ecosystems, including all the kindness the world has to offer.
My other big passion is photography. I love that when I travel I can take pictures of the places I've been and the people I've met, including interesting archeology or historical sites. It's a wonderful way of broadening one's horizons and opening up.
When you travel frequently, you realize that no matter where you go, people are people, most of them are kind human beings and they just want the same things as everybody else. People want family, to survive, and to live in peace.
Q - If you could go back and talk to your younger self, what would you say?
Rowan - I have to think about that for a minute. I would probably say spend less time drinking and partying. If I could add up all the money I spent on alcohol and going out to bars, I’m sure I could have traveled quite a bit. It would have been better for my health and better for my life experiences. I have a beer now and again, but for the most part, I spend all my money on travel. It’s why I have a travel business, because I love doing it.
My Dad was a college professor, so in the Summer, Dad was constantly doing field research as follow up on his academic studies in botany, as well as writing new papers on ecology. Dune grasses were a specific area of study.
If he wasn't teaching summer school, we had time off to go camping, and visit various national parks. He also got me into photography when I was a kid. He bought me a camera even though they were really expensive back then.
Q - How did you get into traveling; was it as an adult or child?
Rowan - We did a lot of camping and a lot of hiking growing up. My dad was also into photography. We just - traveled - mostly in the upper Midwest to visit family members. Traveling as a kid usually meant going on road trips to different national parks and camping. We did that a lot because my Dad loved camping in different parts of the country, usually where a relative lived.
Q - Where was the first place you ever traveled to?
Rowan - I would have to say the Indiana Dunes because that's where my dad did his doctoral research, on the South Shore of Lake Michigan it is now a national park.
Q - What was the first trip you went on by yourself?
Rowan - We used to travel locally in Ohio where I grew up. I would go with high school friends of mine. A buddy of mine had this nickname for me, it was Tracker.
Oh yeah?
Rowan - Yeah, because I was always bringing it, bringing extra stuff and I was very well prepared. I mean, I was like the Boy Scouts “Be Prepared”. I had a backpack full of extra layers and rain gear. I knew my way around because of all the time I spent with my dad in the outdoors, camping, hiking and other stuff.
Q - You have a wonderful sense of direction. Where does that come from?
Rowan - I have a really good sense of direction, and have working knowledge of getting around natural landscapes while traveling in diverse ecosystems. That comes from a good working knowledge of the land, and years of experience finding yourself after getting lost.
Q - Where did you travel alone for the first time?
Rowan - It would have been out in Yellowstone. That was in the Summer of 1982. The year after I graduated from high school. I graduated in 1981. I went to school at the University of Iowa Northern - studying biology and natural sciences.
When the school year was over, I went to my university job. They have a job center to help students find summer jobs or employment after they graduate. One of the things in there was an application to work for the concessionaires in Yellowstone. So I went out to work and that was probably my first big venture being alone in the wilderness. Going to Yellowstone in 1982 and working there for the summer. I worked in Yellowstone, Jackson Hole Wyoming and Grand Teton Park.
What did you do?
Rowan - I worked in the cafeteria and the Old Faithful Lodge, then I had a couple of jobs down in Jackson for the rest of the summer.
How did you start guiding people?
Rowan - For the last 31 years I've had other jobs, but I've always worked as a guide. I was living in Colorado, and I ended up “kind of accidentally” in a ski town working in the ski industry. When my first season ended, one of the guys I worked with was a raft guide, so I went and trained with a rafting company. I had grown up boating with my dad. He taught me how to paddle, how to row a boat, and how to read water on the river. It was a perfect fit for me because I already had all the basic skills. I have been guiding ever since and that was in 1993.
Q - What's your favorite place to guide?
Rowan - Having spent most of my adult life traveling and moving around to different places, I would probably say the Rocky Mountain West. My lust for travel leaves me wanting to guide in different places, and I've done multiple tours, taking people to places I've never been before, but I have researched the Rocky Mountains extensively.
For 30 years I've been guiding in areas like Colorado, Arizona (the Salt River), Big Bend (down in Texas) and some rivers in Idaho. I have also guided in Glacier National Park and Montana, including Yellowstone in the Grand Tetons, which stretches into Wyoming. I also recently enjoyed a lovely trip along the coast of Big Sur.
Q - Do you have a favorite place to travel to?
Rowan - My favorite place in Yellowstone is probably Mammoth Hot Springs and the Lamar Valley.
Q - Why do you like it there?
Rowan - Mammoth Hot Springs is actually unique, and of the hot springs in Yellowstone, it flows through sedimentary rock, instead of Volcanic rock. It's made of travertine, and calcium carbonate deposits. It changes constantly like it changes from one day to the next. I have been there on a regular basis over the last few years of guiding. I go back every two or three days and It's always a little bit different each time. It is constantly changing, so it's one of the places where you can see how dynamic the geology of Yellowstone really is.
I like the Lamar Valley because if you're there at the right time of the year, you can see Grizzly bears and wolves.The best thing about the Lamar Valley, and one of the best times to go there, is in the winter, when it is cold and it's a little bit challenging to get there. There are far less tourists.
During this time elk and bison hibernate, and they are delicious, so wolves eat them. The wolves are out there all winter long. If you are willing to make the effort, and go in the winter time, it is well worth it.
Over the course of my Ownership of VIP Adventure travel, I've put together some absolutely amazing custom tours of the area.
Q - What can someone expect, if they book a custom tour with you?
Rowan - If it is a multi-day custom trip, a lot of the time, I'll pick them up at the airport and get them into their lodging for the first night. We consider that a travel day and not a part of the “trip days”. For travel days, and the subsequent days following, we create an itinerary. The itineraries are totally individually crafted because sometimes we have to change logistics due to lodging availability. Once we put that together we spend time in the field. I try to ensure I spend as much time as possible doing photography, hiking and interpreting the landscape - including the local visitor centers.
Depending on where we are, we might go to some museums and scenic overlooks, enjoying short walks, wildlife viewing, and scenic photography.