Today we’d like to introduce you to Keshia And Erik Joot.
Hi Keshia and Erik, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
We have our “origin story” in our guide book. This is probably more than you’ll ever want, but here it is:
Glamping Canyonlands – Our Story
We are Erik and Keshia, husband and wife, adventure buddies and proud builders and owners of Glamping Canyonlands. The two questions we face the most are, “how did you come up with this idea?” and “how did it all start?” The answer to these questions isn’t exactly linear and straight forward. Glamping Canyonlands evolved in a meandering path to arrive where she is today. And that story starts nearly 20 years ago.
Our Background
Erik was born in Toronto, Canada. Keshia was born in Atlanta, Georgia. We met working together at a private school in Clearwater, Florida. Keshia worked as a Preschool Teacher. Erik worked in Athletics and Activities.
It was chaperoning a student trip to Europe in 2006 that was the icebreaker and created our friendship. Soon after returning from that Europe trip, we started dating and our meandering journey and adventure through life officially began.
From the very beginning, outdoor adventure and travel was a pivotal part of our lives and would, over time, be a significant catalyst inspiring and evolving into Glamping Canyonlands.
In 2009 we moved to Las Vegas to take advantage of the rock climbing, hiking and canyon-mountain sporting opportunities that city so magnificently provided. In 2012, we got married and bought our first home together. On our honeymoon, we did a grand road trip, backpacking and camping our way though some of America’s most iconic National Parks. It was on that adventure that we spent three days backpacking in the Needles District of Canyonlands and unequivocally fell in love!
As the years passed, we frequently talked and dreamed of living in or around Canyonlands National Park or Moab to take advantage of rugged beauty and adventures the region offered. In 2016 we made a five-year plan to buy land in Utah, find a way to sustainably live off it, like farming or running a bed and breakfast or both.
In 2019, property value appreciation in Las Vegas coupled with aggressive mortgage payments gave us a window to sell our house, pay all our creditors, and walk away with roughly $172,000 dollars. Was our five-year plan achievable two years ahead of schedule? Possibly. Could we use the other two years to continue to pay down our mortgage? Absolutely! Regardless, we decided to pull the trigger and take our chances. Honestly, we didn’t even have a solid and mapped out plan. Our plan was, “Let’s find a way to make it happen.”
From Vegas to Utah
We sold our house in three days and decided to do some travel before our search for land in Southeast Utah began. We went to New Zealand, The Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and India over three months. And we were supposed to keep traveling and exploring for an additional three months. But Covid happened and eventually forced us Stateside.
We returned to a foreign and unrecognizable land, as I’m sure everyone well remembers. Covid had closed the country down and spiritually fractured and divided the nation. To spice things up, we were being told to stay home and quarantine. Small problem: how does one quarantine in your home when you’re homeless?
Fortunately, a good friend from Florida offered us the use of his family’s off-grid home in Dove Creek, Colorado while we looked for a home of our own. As a side note, living sustainably off-grid would give us our first taste of the life we’d soon embrace. Dove Creek, Colorado was also roughly an hour away from Canyonlands National Park and Moab, Ut, the target destination for our new home.
Over the years while living in Vegas, we had talked most of subsistence farming and running a bed and breakfast, neither of which we had ever done before. Also, we weren’t completely naive; we knew we probably couldn’t afford that dream with cutting our five-year plan short, but the dream was still there. And we planned on investigating all options.
Knowing general real estate markets for Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona, we initially hoped to land on 50 to 200 acres, as close to Moab as possible. Turns out Utah’s real estate market is vastly different from her neighboring desert States. Not only was subsistence farming and a bed and breakfast looking out of the question, just finding land was proving to be nearly impossible. We were finding properties that were $500,000 to $1,000,000 over budget, or too far away from Canyonlands National Park and/or Moab, or the properties had commercial restrictions or short-term rental bans, etc. In all honesty, the search for our new home quickly became demoralizing. At this point, we came up the Glamping idea, as subsistence farming and running a B&B in Southeast Utah weren’t looking like viable options.
One day, while driving to one of our favorite places on the planet, the Needles District of Canyonland National Park, a small for-sale-by-owner sign popped into our peripheral vision. We called the number on the sign, but the owner wanted $160,000 for 22 acres. We only had $150,000 left in the bank. Even if we were able to buy it, it would leave us with nothing to develop a campground or glampground, which had become the newest and likeliest business idea, so the call ended abruptly. The subsequent weeks turned into months, and we remained landless, homeless and as time passed, we became more and more discouraged.
Towards the end of our search, we met with a local real estate agent in Moab and she told us to abandon the dream as it “will never happen.” Funny thing, we told her, probably out of defiance and stubbornness, “we can and will do it.”
Despite protesting the real estate agent’s viewpoint, we had to concede things weren’t looking good. At this point, we started to look for land in New Mexico and Arizona. And we did find properties we could afford. We found land, small farms and houses that could facilitate any of our goals. But they weren’t in southeastern Utah. Still, the conversation about land in New Mexico and Arizona got more serious as we could see viable opportunities.
Then, out of the blue, spurred by what we still have no idea, we decided to revisit that 22-acre property leading into The Needles. Did we have enough money to buy it? No. If we could negotiate a better price, would we have any money left to develop it? No. Would we try to buy it anyway and find a way to make it work? Let’s throw caution to the wind and go for it!
And the rest is history.
We closed on the property on June 9, 2020. Then we lined up some construction work in Las Vegas that would earn us $20,000 over three months. And that in turn would build the first phase of Glamping Canyonlands.
Glamping Canyonlands
In the property’s history, it had only ever been used for grazing cattle. So, the first step to starting the business was to meet with the Utah Department of Transportation seeking permission to build road access to our property. UDOT was a pleasure to work with and quickly and easily granted us legal road access to our property providing we installed a culvert for water drainage where the road would be built.
In the beginning, we had sought to use composting toilets. They are affordable and would provide nutrients to a soil known for nutrient deficiency and alkalinity. But the Utah Health Department banned them years ago, so we were forced to spend $5,000 of our $20,000 installing a septic system. In hindsight, this was a blessing that would make future bathrooms, kitchens and plumbing possible. But with our shoestring budget, it was a hard investment to swallow at the time.
When we opened on October 9, 2020, we had one bathroom and three tents. Our shower had corrugated metal walls and the finishing touches were cheap, but everything worked! We did not have a parking lot; we did not have a kitchen; we did not have an office; we did not have a sauna; we did not have a storage shed; we did not have Wi-Fi or cell phone service; we did not have walking paths; we did not have fencing to keep free range cattle off the property; we did not (and still do not) have a personal house. The glampground was simple and minimalistic. And we used every penny getting the “doors” of our business open.
Over the years we have improved and added a lot. And we will continue to do so in the years ahead. Eventually, we’ll build a general store and café, we’ll build a small farm and greenhouse, we’ll build bigger and better accommodations, we’ll build a huge kitchen and communal guest space, we’ll build an event and conference center, we’ll even build a house for us one day. Always, what we do will be inspired by our own travels and adventures. This business has enabled us to share our passion for this rugged outdoor region while also delivering a sustainable, safe, clean and comfortable space to enjoy it from.
So, there it is: our origin story. Thanks for traveling along with us!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Besides the obvious roller coaster ride of starting a business from scratch, our biggest obstacle and challenge was the flood of August, 2022.
We are not in a flood zone or even a wash. Water can only accumulate for a few miles. Regardless, a freak storm decided to move over us and just sit there. The result was a devastating flood that carved a canyon through our property at its largest, 25 feet deep and 60 feet wide. Highway 211 got washed away and closed for months. Where the canyon carving didn’t occur, we had an average of two-acre feet of sand deposited over the sage and grass on our property. Both our parking lots got washed away, our cistern got destroyed, the damage was extensive. But for all the pain and loss, the local community came together and helped us stay in business. A local construction company came down after the first day and replaced our cistern and rebuilt our parking lot, locals organized 33 volunteers to dig our decks and campground out of the sand. Even Camp Chef, a local Utah company brought us new barbecue equipment. As for the canyon, we didn’t have to fill that in or contend with it as Highway 211 couldn’t be rebuilt with it there, for three weeks, approximately 10,000 UDOT dump trucks loads filled in our canyon and the highway was eventually rebuilt and reopened. As a side note, UDOT brought out an engineer, a hydrologist and archeologist to investigate the flood damage and their conclusion was we got hit with a 1–500-year storm that would decimate any area in its path.
We’ve been impressed with Glamping Canyonlands, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our business plan doubled as a life plan: To live a sustainable life in a region of the country we love and make a living doing it.
Glamping Canyonlands facilitates all of these parameters. Additi9onally, we get to introduce to travelers to our favorite recreational playground: Southeast Utah!
One of the things that sets us apart from others in the Glamping industry, is we are husband and wife built, owned and operated. We care about our guest experiences and maintain a small operation where care and quality come before greed and quantity.
Another thing that differentiates us from the competition is the spacing of our units. Most glamping outfits squeeze people on top of each other, We’re campers first, and we always look for the most remote and private campsites. We do our best to bring this philosophy to our glampground, with the average space between units being 40-50 yards apart.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Our inspiration came largely from each other, the husband-and-wife team. We moved to SE Utah not knowing anyone. So, we relied upon each other for moral support, inspiration and brainstorming.
Otherwise, our parents would be our mentors, who never believed in chasing a career for money. They always said, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” They weren’t exactly right, as we both work extraordinarily hard. But without that vocational guidance, we might never have landed upon our current path.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.glampingcanyonlands.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glampingcanyonlands/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlampingCanyonlands
