Tour Guide at Dreamland Safari Tours, hiking for a living

Dreaded endings can give way to amazing beginnings. Despite a very warm welcome by the Kanab community, that first Utah winter after we moved from Hawaii felt long, cold and lonely.

My mood improved drastically the day I started my new job as a tour guide at a Kanab tour company called Dreamland Safari Tours.

Driving 4X4 Suburbans out to incredible southern Utah locales and sharing my love of the Arizona desert came quite naturally. I suppose it's because I was practically a tour guide in Hawaii already, I just never got paid for it.

It's richly rewarding to be chosen as a tour guide by a traveler, to have the chance to make their day the highlight of their trip to the American Southwest. Travel is expensive and days off work are valuable. I get to make a truck full of new friends every day, and these guests come from all over the world to experience southern Utah. One couple had traveled to every continent in the world, yet they insisted White Pocket in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument was the most incredible place they had experienced. I always say the terrain at White Pocket is otherworldly.

I've had guests stop dead in their tracks, awestruck by the red sandstone formations at South Coyote Buttes. I've led people to the Wave, helping them fulfill what's practically a lifetime dream. Dozens of kids have somersaulted down the Coral Pink Sand Dunes (OK, I led the way on that), we've chimneyed up the sides of Peekaboo Canyon, the gorgeous red rock slot canyon just north of Kanab and we've blazed our way through the sandy wash at Rosy Canyon in the Suburban seeking out ancient petroglyphs. I've also let people out to the famed Wave in Arizona. Wave permits are hard to get, and for many it's a bucket list item to hike to the Wave and see North Coyote Buttes.

Dreamland Safari Tours even paid me to camp overnight at Toroweap, a Grand Canyon north rim viewpoint that is as remote as it is stunning. Camping at Toroweap has been one of my favorite aspirations for years - the best night sky I've ever seen in my life when when I stayed overnight at Tuweep. I got to share that with others. Two guys on the trip were so excited to watch the sun rise over the Grand Canyon I don't think they slept all night. Hopefully, I'll get to go on more overnight tours. 

Dreamland Safari Tours is right up my alley because it specializes in getting people off the beaten path, to the most incredible, secluded desert destinations they can't get to on their own. These are 4X4 tours and I get to "push the fun button" to put the truck in four-wheel drive on pretty much every tour I lead. Where the pavement ends, the fun begins." That's my company's motto. It could practically be my motto too. 

This photo was taken on my very first tour. I hosted a super fun group of ladies from the Philippines and we took so many silly pictures at White Pocket.

Being a tour guide to the Wave in Arizona is reward because for many people, it's a life-long goal to get there.

Reflecting pools at White Pocket present incredible photography opportunities.

Being a tour guide presents its rewards and challenges. And White Pocket offers opportunity for sill photos too. 

This White Pocket reflecting pool photo is one of my favorites. There are incredible photography opportunities at White Pocket.

Guests climb around in Peekaboo Canyon, a gorgeous red rock slot canyon near Kanab, Utah.

There were mountains of camping gear to set up and haul for our Toroweap overnight tour.