Karl Studer Foundation's 'Trip of a Lifetime' Gives Families a Week Together in Wyoming
The Foundation's first program invited two families facing terminal illness and/or life-altering events to a fully funded stay in Alpine, Wyoming, built around rest, connection and choice.
RUPERT, Idaho, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Karl Studer Foundation concluded its inaugural "Trip of a Lifetime" on July 11, a fully funded weeklong wilderness experience in Alpine, Wyoming, for two families in which a parent or child is facing a terminal illness or other life-altering event. For seven days, there were no hospitals, no appointments, and nowhere to be; just time, together, in the mountains. The Foundation covered every cost of the trip, including lodging, meals, transportation and guided activities, and plans to hold the program annually.
The trip was created by Karl Studer, President of Electric Power at Quanta Services, on the premise that a diagnosis can take away time but not what families do with it. Rather than focus on treatment or illness, the program was designed to give families uninterrupted days away from hospitals, appointments and daily stress, and toward each other.
Jackson Hole Outfitters served as the week's on-site host, providing the tents, cook area, bathrooms and Wi-Fi that supported the camp. Families stayed in glamping accommodations in Alpine's Star Valley along the Greys River, with a week built around choice rather than a fixed schedule. Daytime options included wagon fishing on the Greys River, a guided horseback ride through the backcountry, kayaking at Murphy Lake, a hat bar workshop, and an evening at the Jackson Hole rodeo. Evenings brought the families together around nightly campfires and shared meals, including a live campfire performance by musician Henry Pepin. No activity was mandatory, and organizers built in extended free time so families could rest or spend the day however they chose.
The program was designed around comfort and accessibility rather than rugged camping, with professional outfitters, camp staff and hosts on-site throughout the week. Foundation organizers describe the families as guests, not recipients of charity, and built the week to accommodate any level of outdoor experience.
"We wanted to build this trip around the good in things," said Studer, also the founder of the Karl Studer Foundation. "Instead of dwelling on what's difficult, we wanted these families to spend a week noticing what they still have: each other."
For the families, the week left a lasting mark. "What we experienced in Wyoming was a dream filled with love, fellowship, peace, and spirituality that cannot be measured," one participating family wrote in a thank-you letter to the Foundation. "This truly was the experience of a lifetime."
The Foundation intends to make the Trip of a Lifetime an annual program and plans to expand the number of participating families in future years, so more families get a week like this one. More information about the Foundation's programs is available at karlstuderfoundation.org.
About the Karl Studer Foundation
The Karl Studer Foundation is a family philanthropic initiative based in Rupert, Idaho, guided by the belief that opportunity carries responsibility. Each year, members of the Studer family commit personal time and resources to a cause of their choosing and document their involvement directly. The Trip of a Lifetime, launched in 2026, is the Foundation's first program built specifically for families facing terminal illness and/or life-altering events. More information is available at karlstuderfoundation.org.
Media Contact:
Payton Warner
SOURCE Karl Studer Foundation
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