Ryan Grabowski

How did you get involved in travel?

"It started with family trips but when I got into college at Colorado State University I decided to take my travel career to a new level with a tourism degree. Once I started down that path my trips became more international and I was hooked!"

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"Africa has been a top destination on my list since I was watching travel shows as a kid. The culture and wildlife have always interested me. When I was in college I had an opportunity to take a trip to Ghana, Africa. Obviously, I jumped all over it and about 3 months later I was headed to Ghana.

After a 9 hour bus ride we arrived at Mole National Park, exhausted. When we got out of the bus a ranger asked if anyone wanted to go on the last walking tour of the day. Of course I was the first to volunteer. We headed out into the wilderness with a ranger leading the way.

Suddenly out of nowhere he froze, the bushes 30 feet in front of us started shaking. Out walks the biggest bull elephant I had ever seen with nothing standing between us but a few twigs. The ranger told us to stay calm and we just stood there for about 10 minutes as he checked us out and moved on. It was one of the most magical experiences of my life to stare into the eyes of a wild elephant in his natural habitat. "