Don't take urban travel lightly

The UT editor reflects on this vacation tragedy in OR this week.

I'm sure like many of you, I devoted time over this past two weeks to following the ordeal and tragedy of the Kim family in Oregon. What was supposed to be a combined work and vacation trip turned into a family's worst nightmare. My condolences to the Kim family and their loved ones....

At a dinner with my sister and parents, conversation turned to a discussion of how prepared people were for a variety of emergencies. My sister and her partner do long backpacking trips and they've been all over Oregon and Washington State. All of us had taken lengthy road trips in the past few years in a variety of weather conditions. I think one feeling we all had in common was how shocked we were that so little had to go wrong for such a huge tragedy to occur.

As I get ready for my Hawaii trip, I find myself packing a better-than-usual first aid kit for myself and I've added better gear in case it rains.