Q: Hi Wynn! Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started with Southwest Adventure Tours.
A: I've been with Southwest Adventure Tours for the past five seasons but I've been training to be a guide my whole life but that wasn't my first vocation. I've been a financial advisor for the past 35 years. I'm semi-retired from that now and decided I would do tour guiding. I got started when Jason asked me to come help out with shuttles into Zion National Park. Zion has been one of my favorite national parks and I've been going there since I was just a little boy. That evolved into taking tours into all of the national parks and I've certainly enjoyed that.
Q: What do you think sets Southwest Adventure Tours apart from other tour companies?
A: The thing that appeals to me and hopefully the guests that we take out is that it's very hands on. We have a lot of adventures. We get up close and personal with all of the parks that we go into and that's very enjoyable. I do this for the guest to see their awe and wonder as they see the parks. But also, it's very much fun for me! When it's not fun anymore I don't think that I'll continue to go.
Q: What would you say makes you special as a guide?
A: What sets me apart is probably my passion for the outdoors and the national parks. If I didn't say a world to people these national parks speak for themselves. Every morning when I get up, my office window is the great outdoors and the great creations that God created for all of us.
Q: So which is your favorite national park to visit?
A: Grand Teton and Yellowstone stands out but unlike some folks, probably Grand Teton is the one that I like better. When you take the boat to Jenny Lake and you go across and hike up to Hidden Falls and then Inspiration Point - absolutely beautiful! You see a lot of wildlife. As far as actual hiking - Zion! It's my home court - you hike the Narrows, you can do the Subway, a lot of different things. All of the national parks! It's really hard to single out one just because they're all unique in their own way.
Q: What would you say to someone who is thinking of booking with Southwest Adventure Tours?
A: As a guide having been out there many times, we can not only point you in the right direction, but experience it with you and answer a lot of the questions you might have and take you to the places where you wouldn't be able to go on your own.
Q: Any last thoughts about guiding or Southwest Adventure Tours?
A: As far as guiding, it's not a job. If you like what you're doing, you never go to work a day in your life. That's certainly how I feel about being a guide for Southwest Adventure Tours and it's great to be able to share all of the wonders that we have not only here in Utah, but in Wyoming, up into Montana, and all of the different tours that we do. When I can share with other folks, that gives me great fulfilment.