A Lot About Us!
It wouldn't make sense to start this type of tour company if we
didn't have a broad background in outdoor recreation. We want
you to know where we've been and what we've done over the
years so you can feel assured that you will get the most bang for
your buck when making your decision to take one of our tours.
Rim Country Touring is owned and operated by Mick and Jackie.
We have two sons, Logan and Austin, and a daughter named
Mackenzie. Mick and Jackie were born and raised in Oklahoma.
They met in college in Oklahoma, but somehow over the years,
Jackie was patient enough to allow Mick the opportunities to
continue his education, his outdoor experiences, and his desires
to explore the world around him.
Mick graduated high school in 1994 and immediately moved to
Park City, Utah. After spending two years in Utah, living like a ski
bum, he decided to pursue a career in outdoor recreation.
In 1997, Mick took his first college outdoor course, a Winter
Survival Skills Course in Alberta, Canada with the Boulder Outdoor
Survival School. Upon returning from Canada, Mick then took a
14-day Backcountry Ski Course near Jackson, Wyoming with
NOLS (The National Outdoor Leadership School). Mick returned to
Canada for most of 1997, riding his bicycle 600 miles down the
Canadian and American coasts, while also living and working at
hostels and on organic farms in British Columbia.
That same summer, Mick traveled up to Alaska taking a 30-day
Sea Kayaking Course in Prince William Sound and a 30-day
Backpacking Course east of Denali National Park with NOLS. In
December of 1997, Mick moved to London, England where he
worked in an outdoor store on Oxford Street. That winter he
landed a job as a ski instructor for a wealthy international school
in Switzerland. After the ski season ended in Switzerland, Mick
moved up to northwest Scotland where he spent 6 months
working as a hiking, biking, kayaking, and climbing instructor at a
Scottish outdoor school.
Mick returned from Europe in the fall of 1998 and completed an
EMT course at a small college in Oklahoma. He also took a course
with the Guide Training Center in Crested Butte, Colorado that
winter. In early 1999, Mick hit the road again, this time heading
down to Mexico. After a month crossing Mexico from east to west,
Mick landed in Baja where he completed a 30-day Sea Kayak
Educators course with NOLS. After returning from Mexico, Mick
went to work as a canoe and backpacking instructor for an
Outward Bound School in Maryland. Mick worked at Outward
Bound that summer, completing a Wilderness First Responder
Course, then returned to Oklahoma in the fall of 1999 to play
soccer at a small junior college.
In early winter of 1999, Mick moved to Frisco, Colorado where he
worked in a ski shop at the Copper Mountain Ski Resort. At that
time, Mick started pursuing a degree in Outdoor Recreation with
Colorado Mountain College in Leadville. Between 1999-2000, Mick
took almost every college outdoor course Colorado Mountain
College offered, including a 4 month long expedition called the
Outdoor Semester in the Rockies. Mick also backpacked the
northern 300 miles of the Appalachian Trail through New
Hampshire and Maine between semesters that year.
In 2001, Mick left Colorado and returned to Oklahoma to play
another season of soccer for the same junior college. Mick took
up mountain bike racing while in Oklahoma in 2001. In November
of that year, he left Oklahoma again, this time taking a job in a ski
and bicycle shop at Mount Snow, Vermont. Mick spent a year at
Mount Snow, before returning to Oklahoma in the fall of 2002,
taking another semester of college while continuing mountain
bike racing and working in bicycle shops.
In the spring of 2003, Mick tried his hand at becoming self
employed, by opening a small, boutique'ish style bicycle shop
called GrassRoots Cycling in Oklahoma. Lots of money was spent,
and many lessons were learned in the two years Mick owned
GrassRoots Cycling, but Oklahoma wasn't the place, and Mick
couldn't stay focused long enough to make GrassRoots Cycling
successful. Mick was lucky to sell most of GrassRoots Cycling to
a guy who had started a new shop in Utah, so in early 2005, Mick
and Jackie bought a van and an RV and headed west on what
proved to be a 3-year adventure together.
By April of 2005, Mick and Jackie's travels had taken them all
across the Desert Southwest, where they fell in love with
Arizona's Rim Country. They didn't spend long in Arizona in 2005,
immediately heading north to Alaska, but they knew they'd return
to Arizona in due time. They spent the 2005 summer tourist
season working for a sled dog company in Skagway, Alaska. After
the cruise ship season ended in Skagway, they headed back down
to Arizona. While passing through Utah, they met the director of a
Wilderness Therapy School. They were offered jobs as field
instructors taking 12-18 year old girls on two week backpacking
trips across Utah. They guided in Utah that fall, winter, and spring,
before deciding to head back up to Alaska in April of 2006.
Mick and Jackie spent the 2006 summer tourist season working
for the same sled dog tour company in Skagway, Alaska. Jackie
gave birth to Logan in Anchorage that September, then they
headed back down to Arizona for the winter months. After
spending the 2006-2007 winter exploring Arizona by RV, Mick and
Jackie returned to Alaska in 2007 to work for the same tour
operator in Skagway. Jackie discovered she was pregnant again
that summer, so when they left Skagway, they decided they'd
better start looking for a place to settle down to raise their two
kids.
After picking half a dozen towns in the Desert Southwest they
wanted to move to, they headed south on a two month trip
searching for a town to meet their needs. Payson was one of the
towns on that list, so upon passing through Payson in September
of 2007, they decided to spend a couple of weeks checking the
area out. It was on a whim, but after discovering Payson didn't
have a bicycle shop or outdoor store, they decided Payson had too
much potential to pass up the opportunity to open up shop. They
had Hike, Bike, & Run open two months later and the rest is
history.
To tie this all together, Mick has spent his entire adulthood
studying, working, and exploring in some of the most beautiful
places in North America and in Europe. Mick's worked extensively
in the ski industry, the bicycle industry, the outdoor industry, and
in tourism. Mick has also played extensively in the outdoors.
Today Mick is mostly a mountain biker, backpacker, and trail
runner, but in years past he skied and kayaked a bunch too. Mick
has taken all of his past experiences and tied them together in
hopes of creating a tour company that offers fun and exciting, high
quality tours at an affordable price.
Rim Country Touring will establish itself as a hometown, down to
earth, outdoor adventure tour company offering YOU an easier
way to explore the beauty of Payson's Rim Country and beyond.
It wouldn't make sense to start this type of tour company if we
didn't have a broad background in outdoor recreation. We want
you to know where we've been and what we've done over the
years so you can feel assured that you will get the most bang for
your buck when making your decision to take one of our tours.
Rim Country Touring is owned and operated by Mick and Jackie.
We have two sons, Logan and Austin, and a daughter named
Mackenzie. Mick and Jackie were born and raised in Oklahoma.
They met in college in Oklahoma, but somehow over the years,
Jackie was patient enough to allow Mick the opportunities to
continue his education, his outdoor experiences, and his desires
to explore the world around him.
Mick graduated high school in 1994 and immediately moved to
Park City, Utah. After spending two years in Utah, living like a ski
bum, he decided to pursue a career in outdoor recreation.
In 1997, Mick took his first college outdoor course, a Winter
Survival Skills Course in Alberta, Canada with the Boulder Outdoor
Survival School. Upon returning from Canada, Mick then took a
14-day Backcountry Ski Course near Jackson, Wyoming with
NOLS (The National Outdoor Leadership School). Mick returned to
Canada for most of 1997, riding his bicycle 600 miles down the
Canadian and American coasts, while also living and working at
hostels and on organic farms in British Columbia.
That same summer, Mick traveled up to Alaska taking a 30-day
Sea Kayaking Course in Prince William Sound and a 30-day
Backpacking Course east of Denali National Park with NOLS. In
December of 1997, Mick moved to London, England where he
worked in an outdoor store on Oxford Street. That winter he
landed a job as a ski instructor for a wealthy international school
in Switzerland. After the ski season ended in Switzerland, Mick
moved up to northwest Scotland where he spent 6 months
working as a hiking, biking, kayaking, and climbing instructor at a
Scottish outdoor school.
Mick returned from Europe in the fall of 1998 and completed an
EMT course at a small college in Oklahoma. He also took a course
with the Guide Training Center in Crested Butte, Colorado that
winter. In early 1999, Mick hit the road again, this time heading
down to Mexico. After a month crossing Mexico from east to west,
Mick landed in Baja where he completed a 30-day Sea Kayak
Educators course with NOLS. After returning from Mexico, Mick
went to work as a canoe and backpacking instructor for an
Outward Bound School in Maryland. Mick worked at Outward
Bound that summer, completing a Wilderness First Responder
Course, then returned to Oklahoma in the fall of 1999 to play
soccer at a small junior college.
In early winter of 1999, Mick moved to Frisco, Colorado where he
worked in a ski shop at the Copper Mountain Ski Resort. At that
time, Mick started pursuing a degree in Outdoor Recreation with
Colorado Mountain College in Leadville. Between 1999-2000, Mick
took almost every college outdoor course Colorado Mountain
College offered, including a 4 month long expedition called the
Outdoor Semester in the Rockies. Mick also backpacked the
northern 300 miles of the Appalachian Trail through New
Hampshire and Maine between semesters that year.
In 2001, Mick left Colorado and returned to Oklahoma to play
another season of soccer for the same junior college. Mick took
up mountain bike racing while in Oklahoma in 2001. In November
of that year, he left Oklahoma again, this time taking a job in a ski
and bicycle shop at Mount Snow, Vermont. Mick spent a year at
Mount Snow, before returning to Oklahoma in the fall of 2002,
taking another semester of college while continuing mountain
bike racing and working in bicycle shops.
In the spring of 2003, Mick tried his hand at becoming self
employed, by opening a small, boutique'ish style bicycle shop
called GrassRoots Cycling in Oklahoma. Lots of money was spent,
and many lessons were learned in the two years Mick owned
GrassRoots Cycling, but Oklahoma wasn't the place, and Mick
couldn't stay focused long enough to make GrassRoots Cycling
successful. Mick was lucky to sell most of GrassRoots Cycling to
a guy who had started a new shop in Utah, so in early 2005, Mick
and Jackie bought a van and an RV and headed west on what
proved to be a 3-year adventure together.
By April of 2005, Mick and Jackie's travels had taken them all
across the Desert Southwest, where they fell in love with
Arizona's Rim Country. They didn't spend long in Arizona in 2005,
immediately heading north to Alaska, but they knew they'd return
to Arizona in due time. They spent the 2005 summer tourist
season working for a sled dog company in Skagway, Alaska. After
the cruise ship season ended in Skagway, they headed back down
to Arizona. While passing through Utah, they met the director of a
Wilderness Therapy School. They were offered jobs as field
instructors taking 12-18 year old girls on two week backpacking
trips across Utah. They guided in Utah that fall, winter, and spring,
before deciding to head back up to Alaska in April of 2006.
Mick and Jackie spent the 2006 summer tourist season working
for the same sled dog tour company in Skagway, Alaska. Jackie
gave birth to Logan in Anchorage that September, then they
headed back down to Arizona for the winter months. After
spending the 2006-2007 winter exploring Arizona by RV, Mick and
Jackie returned to Alaska in 2007 to work for the same tour
operator in Skagway. Jackie discovered she was pregnant again
that summer, so when they left Skagway, they decided they'd
better start looking for a place to settle down to raise their two
kids.
After picking half a dozen towns in the Desert Southwest they
wanted to move to, they headed south on a two month trip
searching for a town to meet their needs. Payson was one of the
towns on that list, so upon passing through Payson in September
of 2007, they decided to spend a couple of weeks checking the
area out. It was on a whim, but after discovering Payson didn't
have a bicycle shop or outdoor store, they decided Payson had too
much potential to pass up the opportunity to open up shop. They
had Hike, Bike, & Run open two months later and the rest is
history.
To tie this all together, Mick has spent his entire adulthood
studying, working, and exploring in some of the most beautiful
places in North America and in Europe. Mick's worked extensively
in the ski industry, the bicycle industry, the outdoor industry, and
in tourism. Mick has also played extensively in the outdoors.
Today Mick is mostly a mountain biker, backpacker, and trail
runner, but in years past he skied and kayaked a bunch too. Mick
has taken all of his past experiences and tied them together in
hopes of creating a tour company that offers fun and exciting, high
quality tours at an affordable price.
Rim Country Touring will establish itself as a hometown, down to
earth, outdoor adventure tour company offering YOU an easier
way to explore the beauty of Payson's Rim Country and beyond.
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