Project Retreat Forward

The year was 2013 and I was 38 years old, living alone in my one-bedroom condo, over-stressed, and spending most of my time at my corporate job. I had all the comforts and conveniences of modern American life... and I was miserable. 
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I felt like running away, but I knew that nothing would be different if I was just living the same way in another place. I decided that if I was going to run, it needed to be toward something better, but I was just too tired and stressed to imagine any other lifestyle. 

So I took a vacation, which led me to the Grand Canyon. Standing at the rim of the canyon, looking out into that vast and unfathomable natural beauty, I found my inspiration. I would travel the world to experience more of everything that this amazing planet has to offer. And in filling myself with a whole world’s worth of inspiration,  maybe I could dream up that better life. 

This undertaking felt like a major life event,  so I formalized it with the title: Project Retreat Forward, describing my intention to grow through relaxation.

Retreat Forward:
​Embracing the World

Before I began living my life as one big adventure, I was stuck in a little box. My condo was the box I lived in. My cubicle was the box I worked in. My attachment to the status quo was the box preventing my imagination from escaping.

Making the decision to travel the world, and deciding where to go when the entire planet is an option, was a truly mind expanding experience. The travel itself was also incredible, as I've tried to show you in some of these photos.

Retreat Forward: A.R.T. (American Road Trip)

After returning home from my round-the-world travels, I took some time to find inspiration again. One of my long term goals is to operate a luxury camping retreat, and so I decided to go out in the world and get some experience in the camping industry. Giving myself only six weeks to make the transition, I sold most of my possessions and bought a big motorhome to live and travel in.

My first destination was a campground chain in the mountains of my home state, where I had a job in the ranger station. Dave (aka TwoDog) joined me soon after I arrived, and we enjoyed a couple months of working together before setting off on our next adventure.

Together we began exploring Washington while boondocking (camping without hookups to electricity or water) in beautiful remote locations. We learned how to live comfortably off-grid with our on-board systems.

While wintering in Arizona (because that's just what RV folks do), fortune smiled upon us and we were able to purchase land back home in Washington and moved back north as soon as the mountain passes cleared. We still live in our RVs, but now we're focused on growing roots instead of racking up miles.

Retreat Forward: The Refuge

The Refuge sits on four and a half acres of gorgeous treed land on the Key Peninsula, about 90 minutes from Seattle. Its a place of lush natural abundance, secluded from the outside world. Our dream is to build a self-sustaining homestead, producing as much as we consume. Bees and chickens, gardens and greenhouses, goats and anything else we fall in love with by chance are all part of the vision. Happy healthy animals are important to the natural balance and harmony that we enjoy at The Refuge.