leave the city, they secured jobs with Alpacka Raft in Colorado and realized could spend a few months living in their van while focusing on their mutual love for the exploring the outdoors. “We'd both be leaving jobs, selling our house, don't have kids, and had guaranteed employment with a flexible start date,” Sarah told me from a 30 minute grocery run before rolling out in search of a place to camp for the night. “We could actually take a few months off to travel over the summer of 2015!!! Win! Van life became a reality.” Although Thor’s head injury was the catalyst for their adventure and change of pace, the career break was something they always hoped to do. So far they’ve visited Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Montana with plenty of mountain biking, hiking, pack rafting, and fishing along the way, and decided to extend their career break to include winter in New Zealand.
From Alaska to Antarctica (Sabbatical)
Craig Updegrove, a talented graphic artist and the art director for the Mooses / Bear / Broken Tooth companies, has longed to spend time in Antarctica for more than a decade. When a position at McMurdo Station opened up, Craig went for it, and says “I’m lucky enough to work for a company that values me enough to allow me to follow up on this dream.” He’s providing transportation services to scientists for the next six months, and says that the experience is requiring him to retool and repurpose previous skill sets.
Full Time Alaskan Summer (Career Break)
When Katie Abbott realized she would be wrapping up her major projects for the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development during the spring, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was ready for a new challenge...after enjoying an Alaskan summer, that is. She decided to leave her job without knowing her next step and bask in the sun that doesn't last long up here in the North. During her career break she loaded her freezer with fish and berries for the winter; explored the Seward Peninsula around Nome; played on Resurrection Pass; enjoyed spontaneous hiking and camping adventures; and even cooked up a couple entrepreneurial ideas
"We'd both be leaving jobs, selling our house, don't have kids, and had guaranteed employment with a flexible start date"