Off the beaten path

Sometimes families have something else in mind for their reunion: they want to stay in different places, move around, visit different sites — like Holly Burch’s family. Burch of Rome, Georgia, her parents, along with her sister and brother and their spouses and kids, spent their family reunion exploring Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks.

“I imagine we were a challenge,” Burch says. “We had everything from cribs to car seats, and an older person in our group required wheelchair access.”
Burch and her relatives spent some of their time with their own private naturalist guides in Yellowstone. “We weren’t working on our PhD or anything,” Burch says, “but we were full of questions.”

The family also stayed in Jackson, Wyoming, where they went on a wildlife expedition, had a chuckwagon dinner, went whitewater rafting — the youngest and oldest members preferred a scenic float — and the men went fly fishing while the women went on a guided hike.
“The guys got their fishing trips, I got my hiking, Mother got her driving — everyone was happy,” says Burch.

Planning a reunion that makes everyone happy may not be easy, “we take time to understand each group’s needs and get all the details right,” explains Sarah Lundgren of Off the Beaten Path Travel.

Holly Burch’s note to Off the Beaten Path included these two sentences: “Trip still highlight of life experiences. Great memories!”
Contact Off the Beaten Path, 27 E. Main St., Bozeman MT 59715; 800-445-2995; www.offthebeatenpath.com.