Less is More/ Life at Top Knot

​It’s been a busy, high mileage, fabulous few weeks. I’ve been to Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Columbia Falls, Kalispell, Canada (Fernie, British Columbia is gorgeous), Seeley Lake, and all points in between. Did training in Helena that’s never been offered in Montana before and can 100% help save lives. Next week I’m off to Missoula to do more training. Loving the opportunity to do leadership trainings with people.  I am an educator at heart and helping people get their learning on makes me happy.  No tiktok. No Facebook. Dropped them at New Years. It worked for me. You do you. But I actually detoxed a couple weeks. Had to get past the jonesing about what was going on in the worlds of the world. I’ve had some people reach out to me through text or email or….believe it or not…they actually called and we spoke to each other. I seem to recall that direct communication used to be a thing.  I have way more “me time” to get things done I used to say I didn’t have time to do...

Road trip weekend. Throw 1,000 miles on your rig and you’ll be ama​zed at all you might see. It started by seeing a big rock hit the windshield barely 10 miles into the trip. Safelite and I are besties! But then, smack in the middle of February, traveling into Canada on roads that should be covered in ice and snow, Mother Nature said, “Hey! Thanks for coming out! Look at all I can do!” Lemme tell ya…she can do SO much! Bighorns…(note the Ram logo on my currently being repaired windshield matching up!) mountain goats, elk, bald and golden eagles that were quicker than the camera, “The World’s Largest Truck”, and incredible scenery in all directions. Rivers and creeks that should be frozen were flowing. Yummy nummins were had. 80’s tunes cranked.  The batteries feeling fully recharged after a big work week last week and more on the way.  I’m incredibly fortunate. I know it. I don’t take it for granted. It’s a great big beautiful world and I intend to see as much of it as o can b...

​ Driving to and from Top Knot yesterday. One of my biggest frustraters and annoyances. I don’t care if you want to drive 3 mph on the interstate. There’s a lane to do it.  One of my top two “dadisms” for my children has always been, “You don’t have the right to negatively impact somebody else’s experience.” When my son was a month old, we went out to eat dinner at Chili’s. Right after we ordered our food, he started a crying fit. I scooped him up and walked him around in the parking lot until he calmed  down and then went back in. His mom asked me why I walked out. I told her he was screaming during other’s meal. She told me they didn’t mind. I told her, “Look…he’s a month old, so crying is kind of his thing. So he’s not wrong for that, but, I feel fairly certain, nobody else in this Chili’s was home an hour ago and said, ‘Let’s go to Chili’s tonight….and if we’re really lucky…a one month old will come in and lose his shit in the middle of our meal.’ He’s not wrong for doing ...

 The journey up at Top Knot has been a lifetime goal. (As I started typing this, oddly enough, the iTunes song that started playing was "My Way"- Frank Sinatra...fitting) I remember the first time I took my son up to see the very early stages of progress, he said, "Holy shit, Dad! You're really doing it." Not sure he realizes what that meant to me. Forever, even long before we moved to Montana, I talked about moving to Montana, buying a bunch of land with lodgepole pines, and building my "Jeremiah Johnson" cabin. Most of the time it was meant with, "Okay....sure dude...whatever." As far back as I can remember, I have dreamed of living in Montana. And now, luckily, I am living that dream. It's MY dream. Nobody else's. When I was younger, I struggled with seeing what the Joneses had...I THOUGHT I wanted the big house, the expensive cars (I can't fit in most of them anyhow), the big parties and all that jazz. The older I get, the mor...

Mother Nature was exceptionally kind this weekend. Must have sensed the low battery levels and let me come recharge at Top Knot. Been an oddly mild winter in Montana….so far. February 1st and the snowpacks seem concerningly low. Less snowpack can equal more fire season. That’s not the least is more I hope for. But this weekend was a gift. Got to drive clear up to the cabin. Have the new solar power bank rockin. It’s going to be perfect.  Saw the full moon set on the ridge to the west. Wish I had a better camera for that or, at least, better camera operational skills. It was truly special. Watched Planet Earth-Africa. This big blue marble has some pretty gorgeous places to see. Learned a little bit.  Going to cut some firewood today and enjoy this gift I have given myself. Less worry more enjoyment! ​