Oh, How Far We’ve Come 🥾

You are one of our valued guests at Dreamland Safari Tours. Thanks for being along for the adventure.

A year has passed since we, Paul and Sunny, took over Dreamland Safari Tours — and just a little less than a year since the very first time that we emailed you, telling you about Dreamland’s new ownership and asking for your help in making it through the COVID shutdown as brand-new small business owners. Wow. What a rollercoaster it has been!

Thanks to all of you, who are friends and supporters of Dreamland, we didn’t just make it through the pandemic; we emerged stronger than we were before. Here are just a few highlights:

With your help in our crowdfunding campaign, we were able to support all of our guides through the lockdown and create COVID-safe project work for those who weren’t eligible for federal benefits
We gradually restarted tours in late May and were able to safely welcome many of you for fresh-air adventures in our wide open spaces here in the Utah desert
Conservation! Dreamland became an official member of 1% For the Planet and Leave No Trace; we volunteered with the BLM to monitor and mitigate increasing cases of vandalism, and changed our internal water delivery method in order to move away from having to rely on single-use plastics
We added three new 4x4 vehicles to our fleet, and partnered with a range of premium outdoor brands to be able to bring you not just awesome experiences but also awesome gear for our overnights and hiking-intensive daytours
We invested in enhancing our guide training program, promoted long-time Dreamland guide Brent Kinley to Director of Guide Training, and hosted two Wilderness First Responder Courses in Kanab in order to increase the level of backcountry medical training among our guides
We introduced new tours to Dreamland’s programming that range the gamut from the infinitely customizable Guide’s Choice Tour to new full-day hiking adventures (most notably, the Amazing Sandstone Teepees), multi-day overnight backpacks, and exclusive photo clinics with Cody York

What else? Seems like that’s plenty to start with, what in the midst of a pandemic! This year, we are excited to celebrate not just getting through COVID, but also the 20th anniversary of Dreamland Safari Tours. Mark your calendars and start making travel plans: we’ll be having an open-air Dreamland birthday bash in Kanab over the 4th of July.

Dreamland’s 20th anniversary celebration is yet another reason to come visit our little Western town over the 4th of July weekend, enjoy the best small-town Americana fireworks within a thousand+ mile radius, and join us as we usher in Dreamland’s third decade of hosting our guests - you! - on epic desert experiences in Southwest Utah and Northern Arizona.

We hope to see you in Kanab this year - be it for our 20th anniversary celebration, or for an adventure on your own time. In the meantime... stay safe & healthy, and keep reading for a few more items of note.

Sunny and Paul

Learn how to capture the Milky Way at one of Utah’s hidden gems, the Great Chamber.

With our regularly scheduled overnight trips filling up fast, we have added several new dates as well as two more extraordinary overnight experiences: a second overnight (but hotel-based) astro photography workshop with Cody York, as well as a healing & coaching retreat at White Pocket led by Christiane Turner of Quantum NLP.

If you are looking for an overnight adventure in the desert that will give you (even) more than an amazing camping trip without any of the work that comes with doing it on your own, check out these specialty departures.

Upcoming Dates:

May 25-26
Total Lunar Eclipse Overnight at Toroweap - only 4 spots remaining!
Learn More >>

June 8-9 *NEW*
Cody York Milky Way Workshop at the Great Chamber, with Hotel Overnight
Learn More >>

June 10-12 (48 hrs)
Exclusive Cody York Milky Way workshop at White Pocket - sold out
Learn More >>

June 18-20 (48 hrs) *NEW*
Coaching retreat at White Pocket with Christiane Turner
Learn More >>

August 11-12
Perseid Meteor Shower Stargazing at White Pocket - available
Learn More >>

There are also still a number of spots available on our "regular" overnights at White Pocket and Toroweap. If you're looking to create unforgettable, open-air memories this summer - let us take you on an adventure!

Take Me To White Pocket

Take Me To Toroweap

As guides, we here at Dreamland deal with challenging terrain on a daily basis. And since we want to make sure that you have the most rewarding experience during your outdoor adventures with us, we'll start sharing more information and tips about hiking hacks, safety, and gear. In our Gear Corner column, our guides share insights that you can only get from professionals in the field. There will be hiking tips, gear reviews, “what's in your pack” shakedowns, and answers to your questions about backcountry safety and gear choices.

Dreamland co-owner Sunny Stroeer getting ready for a long day on the trails of the Colorado Plateau near Kanab - with trekking poles of course!

Guide's Gear Corner #1: Do It Like the Bighorn Sheep
Why 4 Legs Are Better Than Two - A Case For Trekking Poles

What's the most underrated piece of hiking equipment? Having talked to many of you about what gear you do and don't use, we have an answer: trekking poles. There seems to be a common misconception that trekking poles are the equivalent of crutches in the outdoors - yet that could not be farther from the truth. Using poles in the backcountry isn't a sign of weakness or inability. On the contrary: it's the professional adventurer's secret weapon, and what experienced adventurers and pro athletes rely on in order to increase the efficiency of their progress, and their longevity in their pursuits.

What makes trekking poles so awesome? It's all about weight transfer from your knees and legs to your upper body. Used properly, trekking poles will noticeably decrease the strain that long hikes through uneven terrain put on your legs. They add stability, and absorb a lot of the work that would typically be on your calf stabilizer muscles when walking through sand or on uneven surfaces - both of which we find plenty of in Dreamland's backyard!

Trekking poles have other uses, too: they are exceptionally useful in testing the depth of water (which is why they are mandatory gear for our guided backpacking trips through Buckskin Gulch and the Paria River), and are fantastic emergency equipment if you ever find yourself needing to create a splint or brace.

Of course we have to be mindful where and how we use poles in our delicate landscapes -- metal spikes will mar soft sandstone like the Wave or White Pocket, which is why rubber tips are required. If you decide to bring your own trekking poles on one of our tours, we'll have rubber tips for you. You are also welcome to use a pair of our LEKI demo poles, which all have rubber tips.

Parting shot.

Thanks for being part of our community. We hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy wherever you are. We're sharing more frequent updates on Facebook and Instagram than via the newsletter, so if you are still reading and enjoy hearing from us please follow along.

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