So, It's Been A While Since I Last Posted

I "Permitted" Myself to Go on Vacation

Don’t worry, I didn’t quit or give up on writing Permitted with Conditions.

I “permitted” myself to take a little time off and then played catch-up, resulting in my being absent from the Substack Nation for a month. To you the reader, I apologize for the lack of new content, but I’m now ramping things up again and will return to talking about zoning, housing, economic development, etc. In the meantime, if you don’t mind, let me share a little about my time away.

So Where Was I?

As it happens, I took an eighteen day road trip vacation with my family in July (2 counties, 4 provinces, 9 states, and 5238 miles of driving, and 107 hours in the car) to explore and on my return had a number of things to play catch up on. In my 23 year career, that was the longest I’ve been gone and it was the vacation I worked the least during . . . although I found myself a couple times in those quiet moments having a management retreat of one, thinking about strategy for the business in the next year.

The family and I finished 4 audiobooks along the way: The Storyteller by Dave Grohl, Where the Dear and the Antelope Play by Nick Offerman, The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks (it’s 15 hours long!), and The Wisdom of the Bull Frog by Admiral William H. McCraven. And I started a 5th - The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe. Listening to Tom Hanks and other actors/actresses read that story was an experience that I don’t think you can get if you were to just read the book.

Puck Me!
We are a huge football family (Go Seahawks!) and always will be, but hockey (Everett Silvertips) is a very close second sports obsession. On the trip we managed to swing through the cities of other WHL teams, including Kelowna (BC), Calgary (AL), Medicine Hat (AL), Swift Current (SK), Regina (SK), Brandon (MB), Winnipeg (MB), and the Tri-Cities (WA). We even stopped at the Arlington Hotel in Maryfield, SK (population under 400) so my son could get a picture alongside the Tips’ Dexter Whittle’s jersey that hangs on the wall of this eatery near his hometown.

Stoppage Time
World Cup reference aside, we made a lot of stops along the journey to see and experience some museums (traditional), local hangs, etc. As such, the traveler and especially the economic developer in me wants to give a shout out to some of my favorites along the way:

• Revelstoke Train Museum (Revelstoke, BC) - it’s not a big museum, but has lots of really cool historical information, train models, and a simulator.

• Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology (Drumheller, AL) - an inland sea was once in the middle of Canada? Yep. And what an amazing collection this museum has. Credit to me for having Siri queued up to play the theme to Jurassic Park as we drive up.

• Calgary Tower (Calgary, AL) - the view of the Stampede from the Tower was amazing, as was the dinner.

• SixOneSix Entertainment (Medicine Hat, AL) - where we had a family axe throwing competition.

• Stone Hall Castle Night Tour (Regina, SK) - There is a castle in Canada and it’s amazing. The owner has done an incredible job of acquiring old paintings and furniture to really give you a sense of history. You can even rent a room for the night!

• RCMP Heritage Centre (Regina, SK) - If you’re into history and/or the history of police agencies, this is the stop you have to make. My youngest also liked the police car simulator that is built into an actual retired police car.

• The Forks Market (Winnipeg, MB) - This is a cool little market area with shops and restaurants. A sort of version of Seattle’s Pike Place Market but with more the feel of NewBo City Market in Cedar Rapids, IA.

• The Roger Maris Museum (Fargo, ND) - Roger didn’t really want a museum (so the story goes) but agreed to it on a few conditions. That it be free and open to all. Thus, it’s probably the only sports museum in a mall (in the West Acres Mall between a pet store and Best Buy).

• The Historic Sioux Falls Courthouse (Sioux Falls, SD) - For a small, local museum this had a lot of great exhibits highlighting the Siouxland and Midwest in general. And, it’s free.

• Nebraska’s Firefighter Museum (Kearny, NE) - This is a really cool little museum featuring amazing minature models of fire trucks and ambulances, but it also has several exhibits of full size historical fire trucks and ambulances. My youngest really enjoyed trying on a firefighter’s jacket and helmet, and turning one of the old sirens by hand crank. There are also a lot of great exhibits about the history of fire fighting, about fire fighters in Nebraksa, and fire safety in the home.

• The Pony Express Station (Gothenburg, NE) - We’ve stopped at a lot of museums over the years of road trips. And I have to say that the staff at this museum was one of the best at walking through all the exhibits and telling the story about the Pony Express and its riders. It’s a small stop, but worth it!

• Grandstaff Canyon (Moab, UT) - Got there as the sun was starting to go down. If you think sunsets on the beach are amazing, try a sunset in a canyon on the Colorado River with the backdrop of red rocks.

• Arches National Park (Moab, UT) - It’s was 105 degrees out, but we still went hiking to explore the famous arches. Want an experience.

• Craters of the Moon National Monument (Arco, ID) - In the middle of nowhere, but definitely a unique stop. Where else can you climb up the cone of an ancient volcano and then climb down into a bat cave made from lava tubes and fissures. I’ve gotten a lot of permits in my time as land use consultant, but that was my first ever cave permit!

Bon Appetit

And speaking of shout outs, the traveler, foodie and economic developer in me really wants to call out these establishments for being among the best places we stopped for food, drinks and sweet treats!

• Big Bend Cafe (Revelstoke, BC) - Backstory for this. My oldest son has a dairy allergy and when he was younger he always felt like he was missing out. So, I got him interested in trying hot sauces with me to create something that was kind of his thing he did but the others didn’t. Long way of saying that they have amazing food at the Cafe and they have a bookshelf of hot sauces one can try.

• Farm & Fire (Banff, AL) - they have some great “mocktails” for the kids and amazing food with equisite presentation. I recommend the cornbread for starters and don’t forget to order the Thyme infused mashed potatoes as your side!

• Original Pancake House (Forks Market, Winnipeg, MB) - My wife had the “Elvis” waffle featuring bananas and peanut butter. I had an apple pancake that was like eating apple pie. Wow, just wow!

• Coffea Roasterie (Sioux Falls, SD) - Besides making great coffee drinks, they had some unusual concoctions the kids loved, including a spicy lemonade featuring hopps and ginger. It was a refreshing stop on our walk through downtown exploring the SculptureWalk.

• Skeeter Barnes (Kearny, NE) - the sweet tea here is incredible. Honestly, it could be its own meal. Thankfully the prime ribs, steaks and ribs are amazing too!

• Sweet Cravings Bakery + Bistro (Moab, UT) - great sandwiches, awesome baked goods and a lot of friendly people. It was a nice respite from the 100 degree plus heat and a day spent hiking around Arches National Park. They had a play on a Monte Cristo sandwhich that was very tasty.

• The Copper Onion (Salt Lake City, UT) - great food, feauring things like bone marrow, watermelon gazpacho, and waygu beef stroganoff.

• Jeri’s Jumbo Cafe (Pocatello, ID) - this is that small diner breakfast you’ve been craving but on steroids. I couldn’t finish my breakfast and was reminded by our waitress that its why they call it “Jumbo’s” and not “Tiny’s.”

• Bacon (Boise, ID) - if you’ve not done a flight of bacon (they call it “Bacon Shots”) then you’ve not lived.

• The Red Pickle (Ellensburg, WA) - if you like wasabi, chimicuri and kung pao, you’ll love how these are used on burgers, fries, and tacos.