ABOUT ME

I am a native Montanan and have lived here nearly my entire life. For a short while I lived in Wyoming, Colorado and also in Kansas. I grew up in Great Falls and attended college at the University of Montana and majored in Wildlife Biology. The nearest I came to using that knowledge was as a pet store manager in Denver, CO!
I have not traveled outside the US extensively...actually not at all, however have had the opportunity and means to travel inside the US quite a lot...mostly the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Idaho).
My wife and I owned a restaurant until 2006 when we sold it. She went to school and became an educator and I am semi-retired and freelance in photography. Our children, two sons, are grown and live in Wyoming and Idaho.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I first learned about couchsurfing from a French man who was hiking around the world. At the time he had been sleeping in a park and I invited him to my home, fed him breakfast, let him use our bathroom facilities and eventually took him to Glacier Park where he was going to hike into Canada. In our conversations he mentioned CS and I checked it out and now want to help others who may be traveling and need a place to stay. I truly enjoy learning about other people and their lives. I call it 'soul connecting' or 'soul collecting'.

As a photographer I get to travel around our area quite a lot and am in Glacier National Park frequently for shoots so I know that area well and can be an apt guide for any wanting to visit that part of our state.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

We have never taken advantage of the opportunity to surf with others but have hosted many times in the last two years, but our summer schedule (my wife is a teacher and has summers 'off') keeps us in a constant 'maybe' state as we do travel a fair amount when we are able. Hopefully one day we will be able to experience the hospitality of other hosts.

Interests

Photography, Stained Glass, Computers

• pets
• wildlife
• photography
• breakfast
• traveling
• hiking
• biology
• teaching
• freelancing
• tourism
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

Although I grew up an avid reader, I rarely read fiction. Most of my reading is non-fiction these days. A hugely impactful book I have read is "Amusing Ourselves To Death" by Neil Postman. Most of the reading I do nowadays are books on photography: "Visual Poetry" by Chris Orwell, "On Photography" by Susan Sonntag, and I find anything written by Joe McNally highly entertaining and informative.

Music-wise I'm fairly diverse in what I like, but I listen mostly to dance/trance/techno when I am working on images, and like the occasional quiet, thoughtful melodies, like Enya. Not a big fan of rap...like country and pop, but with all that said, I'm not one who NEEDS music a lot. Listening to the quiet is much better than filling the air with sound.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've held my first-born grandson in my arms, walked in snow that squeaks with the cold, experienced Giant Springs at -40F, and married the perfect mate for my life. Have driven across some of the most beautiful lonely places on earth on long photography road trips. Recently I photographed ballerina's in a Montana ghost town. I've gotten and seen much more than I deserve in this life.

Teach, Learn, Share

People of all walks who are aware that we all have something valuable to share in this life.

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