I lived in 11 states before moving to my beloved Missoula, Montana in 1983.  I received degrees in Physical Therapy and Anatomy from University of Colorado and Colorado State University.  After 42 years in the Orthopedic PT profession, I retired in 2018.

I married my wonderful wife, Edie, in 1985.  I sometimes refer to her as “Sugar Edie,” but the truth is, she wasn’t just my business partner for 30 years, she is my life partner, my grounding force and my reason for living.  We have been fortunate to have raised 2 daughters, Allie and Kenzie, who are now grown and starting their own families.  Edie and the girls are the best thing that ever happened to me.

Personally, for over 50 years, I have been a back-country trail and off trail peak bagger, year round.  There is something in those hills that soothes my soul, and beckons me to go vertical.  Along the way, I found myself becoming more of an alpinist, and a spirit greater than myself drew me to high points.  I became comfortable on the lip of a goat trail, or a vertical section of rock.  Physically, it was challenging. The granite of the Grand Teton, glaciers on Mount Rainier, the 10,000 foot peaks and technical peaks of Glacier National Park, but the great spirits of nature called me to find routes that were seldom explored.  Usually with a partner, but sometimes alone, I loved the challenge of going where few boots had been on the ground. 

As a wayfarer, the path is not always obvious.  I was often looking for cairns, beacons, and totems, to find the “way” to my destination.  I’m sure all adventurers look for markers of previous explorers, or sometimes leave a sign that they were there, for their followers to find. 

Without going deeper into my own spirit journey, suffice it to say, I know we all seek truth, self realization, and fulfillment, whether it’s from the medicine of art or music, meditation, mountain climbing, or dreaming.

We are all on a path to find our own bliss.