May 18, 2016 – Hungry Horse, Montana

Places I never thought I’d spend a month or more living in:

-a pristine guest cabin (Crosslake, Minnesota)

-a camper/trailer (Finland, Minnesota)

-employee housing at a resort (Lutsen, Minnesota)

-a tool shed (Hungry Horse, Montana)

But here I am.

And currently, I’d rather be nowhere else.

I’m only a couple weeks in, but I think the next few months will be nothing short of amazing. At the farm, we are constructing a greenhouse. This has included leveling the land, building raised beds that will line the inside and outside walls, forming the inside frames from PVC piping, securing the plastic outer lining, and making wood panels for the front and back sides. I am joined by another traveler named Brittany who seems reserved and very nice.

At the kitchen in the resort (where I’m working for Meg as well), I’m learning the finer points of food preparation in a commercial setting. I’ve worked as a line cook before, but this is quite different. I’m also gaining experience in the realm of catering. All I can say at the moment is how impressed I am at the quality and quantity of food that Meg creates here. I’m also working with Tom’s daughter – a down-to-earth, hard working woman.

And then there’s the surrounding area. Exploring in northwestern Montana is… unbelievable. On one hand, I think that when I leave here, I’ll be upset with myself for not seeing as much as I could have. On the other, I know that I’ll appreciate and value every moment I had.

For the present is the only thing of which a man can be deprived, if it is true that this is the only thing which he has, and that a man cannot lose a thing if he has it not.” – Marcus Aurelius