Boise, ID: Hospitality and Big City Comforts

As my final stop on this leg of my journey, Boise is an ideal location in which to conclude and from which to reflect on my trip.

I have quit the $50/night motel circuit in order to stay in the gorgeous ranch home of the parents of one of my business school friends.  Their home is nestled in the foothills that surround the city and comes complete with welcoming hosts, amazing views, and a rambunctious (and adorable) Labrador.

Dave’s entire family – including his parents, sister and her husband, and brother – left their homes in Seattle and California to stage a mass migration to Boise.  Dave’s parents moved to Boise first – for quality of life reasons – and they’ve been busy luring their children here ever since.

The entire family is unwaveringly enthusiastic in their love for the city, and it’s easy to understand why.  Boise boasts more miles of bike paths and mountain biking trails than perhaps any other city in the States.  High mountain peaks are not visible from town, but they lie within a two-hour drive of the city; in winter, the nearest ski slope is just a half hour away.

Although the city is located in a high desert climate zone, the presence of the Boise River makes for a lush and tree-filled valley; one account of how the city earned its name involves French-Canadian fur trappers delightedly exclaiming “Les Bois!” (“the woods!”) upon first beholding the city’s future site.  The river now is lined by the Greenbelt, a series of parks and paths that stretch for over 25 miles through and beyond the city.  Boise not only has invested in parks and paths, but also in its vibrant downtown area.  Real estate is abundant and affordable, as Boise continues to creep westward, northward, and southward, expanding prolifically across the valley.

Because Boise is significantly larger than nearly every town I have visited (with the exception of Spokane, which is around the same size), it serves as an important counterpoint to smaller town life.  I spent my first day in the city reveling in the many amenities here.  Coffee shops!  Parks!  Micro-breweries!  Food options that are not solely centered on beef!  The city is infinitely livable.

Job possibilities here also are more diverse than in many of the smaller towns I visited, although they still pale in comparison to those available in a larger city.  Healthcare, state government, and Boise State University provide a solid employment base; these institutions are especially helpful in a time when the real estate market has collapsed, and several larger Boise-based companies have cut their staffs significantly.

All in all, the city is both fantastic and practical.  It would be a great place in which to live.

So why am I still dreaming of Montana’s big sky?

Southeastern Idaho: Kindred Spirits and Craters of the Moon

My day started with a glorious breakfast conversation with a woman who told me that she long had wanted to be a cowgirl, and so at the age of 50, she retired to this lifestyle, high in the mountains near Island Park, Idaho.  Carroll keeps horses at a ranch home where in winter snow piles to the first-floor window; leaving home at this time of year requires a very dedicated snow-mobile ride into town.

The spirit of independence and conscious choice that Carroll exercised in moving to Island Park is characteristic of many whom I have met on my trip.  The upper Mountain West is largely unpopulated; as a result, those who move here often make a concerted effort to do so, rather than being pulled to the area by a job or kept here by inertia.  As a child and into my college years, I recall being thrilled by historical and fictional accounts of the settling of the rugged western states.  The West, with its larger-than life vistas, history, and wide-open spaces continues to inspire pioneers today.

Island Park, like many scenically important places in the Greater Yellowstone Area, faces development pressure: Carroll recollected plans hatched several years ago to place 20 permanent RV pads on the pristine hillside leading down to the lake in front of her home.  In response, Carroll and others in the community launched IPARD (Island Park Advocates for Responsible Development) in order to curb ecologically-unfriendly development in the area.  From the look of the largely wild landscape surrounding Henry’s Lake, they’ve done well at this task – although Carroll says it’s a constant battle.

Beyond the Greater Yellowstone Area, southeastern Idaho is a largely agricultural region, producing primarily potatoes, wheat, hay, and cattle.  Many towns in southern Idaho are predominantly Mormon, and the state as a whole votes conservatively.  As I drove west, the farms faded behind me and the climate became progressively arid; much of south-central and southwest Idaho is high desert.

On my drive, I stopped to explore Craters of the Moon National Monument, a volcanic area once fueled by the same hot spot that now creates Yellowstone’s dramatic geothermal features.  Craters of the Moon is centered over the Great Rift, a fracture in the earth’s surface that extends northward for over 50 miles in southeast Idaho.  This great fissure periodically has been the site of volcanic activity, which last occurred in the area around 2000 years ago.

Dark basalt rock and twisted ropes of hardened lava define the landscape at Craters of the Moon.  Cinder cones stand starkly against the blue sky and surrounding green-brown hills.  I found myself most drawn to the fragile flowers that cling to these seemingly uninhabitable hillsides.  Life does prevail.

Jackson, WY: Playground for the Rich and Famous

Jackson should be the setting for a reality TV show, or at least a daytime soap opera.  What do the beautiful, idle rich do when tossed together in one of the most magnificent settings in the United States?

They play.

Nestled in a valley at the southern edge of the Grand Tetons, Jackson has a reputation for powder, plush amenities, and wealth.  Wyoming feels like the Wild West, with its vast unpopulated spaces, tracts of oil and gas development, and lack of state income taxes.  Jackson, however, is its own entity: multi-million dollar homes hug the buttes surrounding town, stars claim the town as their own, and residents and tourists alike seem bent on achieving maximum amounts of play.  The town’s proximity to several ski resorts, the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone creates an ideal base for outdoor adventure.

Because a number of Jackson residents no longer must work to support themselves, play becomes the currency of conversations.  During the winter, the pertinent topic is the powder – how deep, how dry, how many runs off the technical backside of a nearby peak.  During the summer months, there’s a bit more diversity to the conversation: kayaking, hiking, climbing, and rafting are all fair game.

But doesn’t all this play get old after awhile?  As one long-time Jackson resident noted to me, “Conversations quickly can become stale when you ski during the day and then talk about skiing at night.”  What is the underlying theme that governs these lives, regardless of powder depth?

Since my youth, I have believed that my work is that which defines me and will become my legacy once I am gone.  I have been willing to dedicate a majority of my time and mind share to my job.  Frequently, in the intensity of the moment, I  let work consume other important parts of my day, like reading, running, and remaining in touch with good friends.

Over the past several years, however, I have realized that all of this “doing” on the job is just work – not identity, not legacy – unless it is connects with a deeper meaning for me.  Work is not intrinsically more noble or worthwhile than play.  It requires discipline and attention to values to either find work that connects with purpose or keep work in its place, and not allow it to bleed over into all facets of life.

****

The following day, I drove west to Driggs, a small Idaho town located at the base of the quieter face of the Tetons.  The joke around town is that when the billionaires moved into Jackson, they pushed out the millionaires to neighboring Driggs and Victor, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Although plenty of newly constructed ranch homes dotted the landscape facing the mountains, I found the towns on this side of the mountains to be refreshingly modest.  Many of the service and hospitality personnel working in Jackson have their homes here.  For the time being, they are still close enough to the mountains to work in Jackson and enjoy the view.

A Tale of Two Companies

When I was searching for a job near the end of my time at business school, Matt and I whimsically discussed moving to Montana.  We had a topographical map that we had used on a backcountry hiking trip, and the company that had produced the map just happened to be located in Billings, Montana.  So I sent them an email to introduce myself, and – as you might expect, given the disposition of most Montanans whom I have met on this trip – they replied!

At the time, I chose not to travel to Billings to get to know the organization better, since Matt and I had decided we wanted to live in the Bay Area for a few more years, and I recently had received an offer from a great firm in the area.

This time around, however, I visited MyTopo, a small company with technology that enables customers to center a map over multiple USGS grids and combine the grids into one or more printed maps.  MyTopo’s core customers include backcountry hunters and hikers, as well as emergency and fire personnel who use the company’s software for remote navigation.

MyTopo has around 10 employees, including two owners who do anything and everything required to run the business.  Over the ten years since their inception, they have grown slowly and sustainably, taking limited outside funding only during several merger and acquisition events.  In explaining MyTopo’s business strategy, owner Kevin Toohill explained that he prefers a conservative approach: “we don’t like to chase rabbits.”  The organization focuses on quality and customer service; their goals are to improve services for and expand their base of repeat customers.

Elements of MyTopo’s approach echo that of my first employer, McMaster-Carr, a privately held multi-billion dollar industrial supply distributor.  Do what you do very well, and focus on growing your core in smart, sustainable ways.  McMaster was notorious for rejecting over 50% of all catalog requests made by individuals or companies not in their target market; the firm’s leaders attempted to cap growth at a certain percentage each year in order to maintain quality.  The goal was never to achieve explosive growth, but rather to build an enduring organization.

Later in the day, I traveled to Cody, Wyoming, to visit a company that employs Wyoming-based teachers to provide web-enabled ESL training to students and instructors in Korea, China, and Japan.  I love this business concept.  The organization uses technology to lower geographical barriers to both learning and employment.  The relationships that develop between teachers and their students can improve the image of the United States abroad and foster international understanding and peace!  Needless to say, I was excited about the meeting.

But when I walked in the door, it was all numbers and dollar signs.  The company has taken venture capital funding and is driving hard towards growth and an IPO within the next three years.  They are dipping fingers into numerous areas in the online education space, seeking the tremendous bite of a thousand-pound trout.  During our meeting, I learned relatively little about the company’s customers, but a lot about revenue projections, valuations, and equity.

Venture capital funding has helped to build some of the world’s highest-impact and most successful companies, and the presence of VC firms in Silicon Valley creates an environment that is risk-tolerant and encouraging of entrepreneurship.  But I see hitching one’s wagon to these rocket-fueled horses as a dicey proposition, especially when the horses have their eyes on a golden carrot.  For prospective employees, the pitch goes something like this: we are going to ask you to work very long hours, since we cannot possibly hire quickly enough to support our planned growth rate of 400% per year.  We will pay you below-market because we are investing all of our funds back into the growth of the business.  But in return, you will have a chance to win the lottery.  That is why we all are here, after all – the opportunity to walk away with pockets lined in gold.

Forgive me if I’m skeptical.  I don’t frequently play the lottery, especially with all of my time, energy, and skills laid like chips on the table.  I enjoy working and do not aspire to retire as a multi-millionaire within the next several years.  I don’t buy into the idea that we should work our tails off now to get rich quick, and then spend our remaining 50 years focusing on what we really want to do.

In our society, money is viewed as the pinnacle of all achievement, which is why so many of us find ourselves chasing an increasingly higher salary and title, turning up the dial on the treadmill just a bit higher, time and time again.  In reality, the elusive golden carrot is always one step ahead, playing on our very human tendency towards dissatisfaction with our lot.

Redefining one’s own definition of success within this environment can be a tricky course to navigate.  But for now, I will take my map and continue on my way.

Bozeman, MT: Country vs. City

Likely as a result of my rural upbringing, I’ve never envisioned myself living in a city for an extended portion of my life.  As I look back on the 12 years since I left home for college, however, rarely have I lived beyond a city’s reach.  With the exception of a year of international wandering, I have been a legitimate urban dweller: first in Cambridge, MA, then in Atlanta, and now in Silicon Valley.

Given such a lengthy period of pining, it is no wonder that I am drawn to a small city like Bozeman, Montana – and even more intrigued by the towns that dot the great valleys surrounding the city.

Bozeman is an appealing mix of small town charm and bigger city amenities.  With fewer than 40,000 people living within the city limits and 90,000 in the greater metro region, the city is not large, but its residents and visitors support a vibrant restaurant and bar scene, local art galleries, good public schools, miles of in-city hiking and biking trails, and a growing professional workforce.  Bozeman has been “discovered” over the past ten years by professionals and the wealthy elite, who are drawn to its mountain-framed center largely for lifestyle reasons.  Though this growth has facilitated positive development, it also has resulted in rapidly increasing home prices, the outbound migration of many of the original populace, and unattractive sprawl on the fringes of the city.

Matt and I were thrilled, however, to learn that several of Bozeman’s newcomers appear to have moved to the city for the same reasons that we find compelling: a small town feel, strong opportunities for community involvement, a growing entrepreneurial and professional environment, and incredible beauty and outdoor access.  In just a few short days in the city, we were invited to drinks and dinner (twice), treated to coffee, and warmly encouraged to return to Bozeman.

In a small town or city, the pace of life tends to slow.  Conversations extend longer than a thirty-minute calendar block.  And because everyone in the community is intimately impacted by the actions of their neighbors, people frequently are involved and invested in each other’s and the community’s well-being.

Don’t get me wrong – living in an urban center comes with many advantages, which is why I have city-hopped for much of my adult life.  I love the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity present in many of the cities in which I have lived.  I love the availability of music and art.  I love good food prepared in sundry ways and in various traditions.  After two weeks on the road in this region, tonight I yearned for a fresh salad, or a cut of sushi, or anything that wasn’t beef, or bison, or elk.

The other huge benefit of living in a city is the spectrum of professional work that can be found and the competitive salary and benefits packages that accompany this work.  From what Matt and I have been able to gather, finding professional work in Bozeman is neither quick (budget six months minimum) nor lucrative, when compared to San Francisco standards.  More concerning than the pay cut, however, is the worry that interesting work will be difficult or impossible to find – even the opportunity to live in Bozeman is not worth an extended period spent working for the local lumber mill.

With that said, Matt and I left our weekend in Bozeman feeling optimistic about the potential for finding personal and professional fulfillment there.  As several entrepreneurs shared with us, achieving professional satisfaction in Bozeman just requires a bit more creativity than in larger cities.  Living in Bozeman seems to inspire creativity, as well – as is evidenced by the growing number of talented, driven young entrepreneurs who now claim the city as their home.

Yellowstone: Pondering Hot Spots and National Parks

Matt and I first became interested in Yellowstone when we learned of its infamy as a raging supervolcano.  The last time the volcano blew, it blasted a caldera 40 miles in diameter and 2.2 million acres in area; this caldera is now the site of Yellowstone National Park.  Yellowstone’s hundreds of geysers, hot springs, steam vents and mud pots occur because a vast pool of magma beneath the park’s relatively thin layer of crust heats water to beyond the point of boiling; this superheated water rushes to the earth’s surface, creating all matter of boiling and roiling curiosities.

Yellowstone’s previous three cataclysmic eruptions have occurred approximately every 600,000 years.  The last eruption, 640,000 years ago, deposited 8,000 times the amount of ash and lava that were produced by the eruption of Mt. St. Helen’s in 1980.  If Yellowstone were to experience another major eruption, scientists believe that the event not only could destroy the region and take the lives of thousands of people, but also could usher in an ice age caused by the release of such significant amounts of ash.*

Matt and I enjoyed a day touring the park’s hot spots and snapping photos of roaming bison, elk, antelopes, and even a moose.  We were two of many tourists with the same agenda, as you might imagine.  Although we did not experience the parking-lot style traffic we had dreaded within the park, we sat for two hours as we attempted to leave; the unfortunate collision of an SUV and an RV shut down the park’s west exit road.

Left with considerable time on our hands, Matt and I began to discuss the National Park system.  As frequent visitors to the Sierras and adorers of John Muir and his namesake trail, we often have been grateful that such areas are protected from private ownership and are available to us.  The idea behind the National Parks is a gloriously democratic one: areas of vast beauty are protected and made accessible to the larger public, rather than being parceled out to the highest bidders.

Of course, in some cases, one wishes that the parks were perhaps a bit less accessible to the masses – which is what we lamented while at a dead-stop in traffic atop the world’s largest supervolcano.

* Thanks to Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything for providing several of the facts and figures above.

Greater Montana: Preserving Land and a Way of Life

In exploring Montana, I have observed similarities in rural challenges that exist here, where the primary agricultural work is in ranching, and in my home state of Illinois, where farmers grow grain – primarily corn and soybeans.  In both ranching and farming, agricultural production has increasingly become consolidated among larger owner-operators or companies due to the financial challenges of small-scale agriculture in a global economy.  Children of aging ranchers and farmers often choose a different career, and the land is split up and sold as parents enter retirement.  As ranchers or farmers discontinue their work and leave rural communities, the need for community services declines; over time, these communities become aging shells of the centers that they once were.  The way in which to stop this rural decline (and even the wisdom of stopping it) is unclear, but a deficit of business opportunity is the driver for this loss.

In Montana, land is perhaps the state’s greatest resource.  Vast valleys are peppered with grazing cattle, while lines of mountains create an aesthetic that draws outdoor enthusiasts and tourists.  Hunters come for the big game, and fly fishers snag trout in swiftly flowing rivers.  Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks and many national forests and wilderness areas place swathes of land under public ownership, but a majority of the state’s land is privately held.

The diverse ways in which the land can be used and appreciated can lead to tensions between ranchers, environmentalists, developers, and newcomers to the state.  Ranchers struggle to make a living and hold on to family lands while rising land prices tempt them to cash out.  Montana beef typically is sold on the commodities market and does not command a premium, despite the open grasslands and soaring vistas that cattle enjoy.  As a result, some ranchers have attempted to diversify their land holdings by building tourist accommodations (dude ranches), permitting alternative energy development, engaging in the carbon market, logging, or committing land to conservation easements (which provide a tax credit in exchange for a promise not to develop the land).  In Bozeman, I met with GSB alum Josh Spitzer, who works with ranchers and entrepreneurs to build businesses around land conservation.  He believes that for many ranches, strategic diversification is necessary in order to remain financially viable, but that a “hidebound” mentality and a strong bent towards self-reliance sometimes prevent ranchers from expanding beyond what they know.

Simultaneously, increased development has been facilitated by inbound migration to the state over the past twenty years.  Lane Adamson, of the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group, described to me the dramatic increase in land prices that has occurred as wealthy individuals have moved to the area for its aesthetic and outdoor recreation appeal.  While many ranchers purchased their land for $50 per acre, prices are now at over $1500 per acre in many valleys; in appealing areas proximate to larger towns, an acre can go for upwards of $5000 to $10,000.  Ranchers tend to be cash poor and land rich, so you can imagine that incentives are high to cash out on the equity value of land.  In many ways, this influx of new money helps communities to grow and become vibrant once again, but the cost of development comes in the form of rising home prices and cookie cutter sub-divisions on once pristine pastureland.

Communities facing these challenges must balance the need to promote economic and real estate development with the necessity of preserving the natural resources, culture, and population base that are the source of their unique appeal.

Missoula, MT: Smiles, Jobs and the Great Outdoors

People in Montana are ridiculously nice.

One exchange I had today went something like this:

Woman holding binoculars: “It’s a summer tanager!  Want to have a look?”

Me: “Sure!”  I experience a close up view of two bright yellow birds that I never would have noticed on my own.

Woman: “This has just made my day!  I hope you are able to see more on your walk!”

At a wine tasting I attended tonight, a group asked me to join their table when they saw I was sitting alone.  The server and I struck up a conversation, and she offered to introduce me to the entire town of Ennis (where I will be traveling tomorrow), including her mom.

People smile at me as I walk down the street.

My Midwestern heart is singing!

There’s something about living in a larger city that makes people less inclined to exhibit friendliness towards random strangers.  I recall that when I left home to go to college, I quickly realized that offering up smiles to folks I met on the street was not the most effective way to make friends.  Today, I was the one who needed to quickly drum up my own smiles as I met the warm, friendly eyes of strangers.

Additionally, Missoula is gorgeous.  Nestled in a valley on the edge of the Bitterroot National Forest, the city is verdant and forested; it serves as a great access point for countless outdoor activities.  The Clark Fork and Rattlesnake rivers tumble through town, lined by hiking and biking paths.  Statues of roaring grizzly bears are prevalent.  The music and arts scene is happening.  And the University of Montana brings diversity and many able-minded students to town.

So why don’t more people move to Missoula?

The answer, as you might expect, is jobs – or the lack thereof.  The recession hit Missoula later than it did many parts of the States, and the city is still reeling from the early 2010 closure of multiple lumber mills and a downtown historic Macy’s store.  While the university and several healthcare institutions offer a stable foundation for the economy, new businesses do not appear to be springing up quickly enough to employ many younger job seekers who would like to remain in the city.  As my wine server friend lamented, “I looked eight months for a job!  And now I’m still not doing what I want… but at least this is fun.”

To be clear, however, people have moved to Missoula, as is visible in the development that sprawls across the valley.  A majority of this population growth, however, can be attributed to individuals aged 60 and over, many of whom presumably have chosen Missoula as their retirement home.  Perhaps due to the inbound migration of many wealthy, older individuals, a healthy selection of non-profits have sprung up in Missoula, while the business sector remains relatively stagnant.

As I had anticipated, one critical element in making a move to this portion of the States will be the ability to find a good job – or to create one of our own making.

Spokane, WA and Coeur d’Alene, ID: Casinos and Community

Spokane arises as a bit of an eyesore from the bucolic fields and forested hills of central-eastern Washington.  As a regional hub and the largest city in the state outside of Seattle, Spokane sees its share of sprawl.  In the city center, the Spokane River roars through an expansive and artsy (if kitschy) park.  Aged brownstones cluster like barnacles, reminiscent of Portland’s architecture.  Economically, the city is a regional healthcare center and is home to several universities, including Gonzaga.  Agriculture, timber, and mining are prevalent just beyond the city limits, while nearby Coeur D’Alene Lake and multiple ski resorts draw seasonal tourists to the city.

I met in a downtown Starbucks with David LaSarte-Meeks, CEO of Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort, a tribe-governed enterprise that employs nearly 1500 individuals.  Because the casino is owned and governed by the tribe, its operating structure is unique; profits are paid in dividends to tribe members and allocated to community needs, rather than being rolled back into the business.  Business managers, including David, do not determine how profits are spent.  This task is left to the tribal council, the elected governing body of the tribe.

I wished to connect with Dave both because of his home location and because his organization’s goals seemed to epitomize (in the most extreme sense) the type of business model to which I aspire – one organized to provide employment and profit to the community.  In our conversation, Dave agreed that the casino is vital to his tribe; however, he also recognized the challenges of operating a business where his budget for capital improvements competes with community programs funded from the same pool.  As an operator who must confer with his tribal council before investing in growth, he sometimes is slowed by the inefficiencies inherent in the model.  His tribal council is analogous to a Board of Directors who has a clear stake in the community; tribe members are shareholders.

As the casino’s CEO, Dave is both motivated by and obligated to run the most efficient and profitable business that he can organize.  Reflecting on our conversation, however, I find myself thinking that perhaps every organization needs a community council to weigh the benefits of growth against other community needs and challenges.  Business, after all, is simply a collection of individuals organized to complete tasks that are difficult (if not impossible) for one individual to complete alone.  The collective creativity and efforts of those individuals result in innovations that both advance us as a society and produce wealth.  Shouldn’t the goal of business be to maximize outcomes for all stakeholders, employees and the community included?  While a CEO’s mission should be to maximize shareholder value and retain employees, perhaps businesses and society as a whole could benefit from the community-focused voice of a tribal council.

***

After speaking with Dave, I walked around downtown Spokane before continuing on to Coeur d’Alene for the night.  The city on the lake is a beautiful tourist and university town – just take a look at that sunset.

Day 1: Rationalizing

I recently began a road trip that will take me through the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West.  I hope that the trip will be an outlet for my adventurous spirit, a means of exploring a portion of the country in which my boyfriend Matt and I are interested, and a way to learn about businesses and organizations that are both viable and important in the smaller cities in which they are located.  I seek to learn about businesses that succeed in smaller, more remote cities, and cities that succeed despite being smaller and remote.

My trip will take me north from the San Francisco Bay Area and in a loop encompassing Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada.  While I plan to visit several promising cities in Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming, I will spend a majority of my time and efforts exploring Montana and Idaho.

In addition to conducting the typical tourist activities on my trip, I will speak with business owners and operators, investors, academics, and individuals involved in ranching, agriculture, land management, conservation, and community development.  My goals in these conversations are both to understand regional business opportunities and challenges and to meet or reconnect with a number of interesting folks.  In my blog, I will record images and impressions of the places that I visit, as well as nuggets from the conversations that I have along the way.

My business interests range widely, but I am most inspired by the social benefits that economic development can bring, particularly in areas where jobs and education may be difficult to attain.  As I interview individuals, I will focus on the benefits or liabilities that economic development (or the lack thereof) inspires.

Also, please forgive the dry style – I promise to loosen up as I go along!