Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Dr. Sarah: Okay. Hello and welcome to the Dr. Random podcast. I'm Dr. Sarah and today I'm so. Just excited because I have Jason Burning and we.
He's an outdoor enthusiast. He has an amazing career, just an amazing lifestyle with his wife. Both outdoor enthusiasts and their athleticism and all their adventures are amazing that we're going to dive into today.
And he just has some really rich history that we're going to talk about surrounding kind of the Jackson Hole, Wyoming area and you know, he in Colorado, all that. So Jason, I'm just gonna. And just a little background for everybody to know. Jason and I are actually.
We're cousins.
Like. Yeah, this is like third cousins, I think is what we call ourselves.
And so. Yeah. Jason, do you want to go ahead and just kind of introduce yourself to the audience?
[00:01:03] Jason: Sure, yeah. Thanks, Dr. Sarah, for having me. Yeah. Jason Berning and we, my wife and I reside in Victor, Idaho. We're just over. I call over the potato curtain from Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Teton Valley is a big potato producing area in the state and in the world. So that's a joke about the potato curtain. But yeah, that's. Do you want me to explain more about my background or.
[00:01:29] Dr. Sarah: Yeah, let's. I mean, let's kind of go into, you know, history of where you kind of were born and grew up and where you reside now. Maybe talk about that first.
[00:01:39] Jason: Great. Yeah.
I don't know how deep I want to go here, but I will. I'll try and share some context. So, yeah, I grew up in the Front Range, Colorado and Denver. Um, when I went out of high school, I was interested in engineering and I really wanted to be close to the mountains and the access and all through high school and college we would set up our schedules so we could, you know, have our classes in the morning and could go ski in the afternoon. So it was very much get your work done, play hard as well.
And was very fortunate. I graduated with a civil engineering degree from CU Boulder. So skied a ton of in my dream. And it's so funny because at the time I was reading a book called the Power of Feelings and it was really talking about thinking about what you want and not what you don't want and that there's energies out there in the world that you transmit. And even though you don't have that path, you continue to think about what you want. Things will come. And I continue to just think it's funny how it all transpired that I wanted to get a real job using my college degree that was paid for by me. And my parents to really use that degree and go live in a mountain town. And so I could have picked the path either construction management with a civil engineering degree or going more into the design route of engineering. And I figured I'd start in the construction side to just learn more in the field before I went to go apply it on the design side. So I interviewed with a number of construction management companies and fortunately one of them did a lot of mountain resort construction in Colorado and elsewhere and got offered a job to first job out of college to come up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and work on a project there. And so it was the dream job. And I just, it's funny, I was like, thing is like I kind of, you know, I think I learned about manifesting later in life, but I'm like, I think I kind of manifested that my 22 year old brain.
So yeah, no, it was very fortunate. And then I was very new to construction management. I spent, was a big golfer in high school and spent most of my time caddy. And unfortunately the guys that hired me are like, well that's client services. We can hire you and teach you construction management. So yeah, so started, you know, working in Jackson and then we're just really fortunate. At the time there were other builders that were working on big projects and they just were over, you know, classic over budget, behind schedule. And the company I worked for was really an a player in delivery projects in very challenging mountain environments like Jackson. It not only is there the weather this time of year, all of a sudden the job site you're like, where are the guys? Oh, it's hunting season, you know, so it comes with all those challenges.
But we were delivering projects on time and on budget and we just continued to get more work and was really fortunate to work on a lot of unique project types. So right out of the get go it was an urgent emergency department, intensive care unit, remodel, addition onto a hospital while keeping the ER and the ICU fully open while we were doing this remodel. So very strategic strike everything. You know, you had patients on the other side of walls that were in the intensive care unit. So learned a ton. And then it blossomed from there. Worked on a performing arts theater in Jackson, the Center for the Arts. So another kind of non profit, the very interesting building type. And then at the time the Rockefellers were donating their last piece of land at the southern end of the the Grand Teton national park. That was the JY Ranch and that was turned into the LSR Preserve, which is kind of an interpretive center. I wouldn't call it a visitor center, but Lawrence Rockefeller was very Buddhist and he came there to meditate. And so it had a. They really wanted to build an interpretive center that was completely off the grid. It was LEED platinum.
It hit a lot of boxes. So you got to right out of the get go work on really unique projects in a unique environment.
And then covered throughout my career, you know, schools built, you know, big pro shop, clubhouse, party barn for a brand new clubhouse at the base of Jackson Hole.
Start bus transportation, police stations. Did a lot of work for school districts. So most of them were civic, you know, kind of community projects. And I really. Even though these projects took a ton of hours and working nights and weekends, there was a lot. It wasn't just delivering a project and making money and getting a paycheck. It was this is going back the community. And that really resonated with me. So I kind of came back.
You know, I spent four. After I left that company after 13 years, I spent four years with a developer. I realized didn't really want to work for the money guys anymore. You know, that was really kind of.
The projects are just driven a different way than delivering a school. Right.
So what I basically broke loose and started my own consulting firm doing owner's rep project management and helping owners steward their projects. From infancy of we just bought a lot. We want to build a new museum.
We need a guy that's going to help, you know us hire an architect, design it, get it entitled with the town and the county. Go hire a builder, go build it, complete it, commission it.
So that's kind of my long snippet of history here and kind of what I'm doing now in project management and consulting.
[00:07:10] Dr. Sarah: That's. That's amazing.
And I love that because you're putting your stamp to like what you're doing is. I mean we hope it's permanent with buildings. I know sometimes but like that's just. That's awesome that you have that gift and you were able, like you said, to kind of manifest to intertwining your love for the outdoors and be where you know you love and want to thrive.
So you've. And thriving.
I feel like, you know, and do you want to. Do you want to share the name? I don't know if you already did with your business to the audience. Sure.
[00:07:48] Jason: Yeah, it's. It's burning. Project management.
[00:07:51] Dr. Sarah: Okay. Yeah. And yeah. So if you guys check that out, it's amazing.
And I just, I've always been fascinated to Be honest with you. The Jackson Hole, Wyoming area. I kind of have a funny story. You'll. I think I like that you'll like this.
In high school, I saw a little ad in like the, the high school newspaper and it said, we need people. It was called Ski Masters. We want people to join our team. And I was like, okay. And so I was in high school and then it said free season pass. And of course I was like, ooh, season pass. So what I did is I remember I met with a group of people at Round Table Pizza. You're gonna laugh. It was after school and I remember I felt like it was like, come up some, some of the like popular guys in school. And I was like the only girl there. And I was like, okay.
Well, I ended up actually selling more trips than all of them. And I actually sold. I got eight people to go to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I was able to get.
[00:08:52] Jason: Wow, eight in high school.
[00:08:53] Dr. Sarah: From high school. Yeah, to sign up to go on this trip. And they were like helicopter flighted in and everything. And it was a very niche trip like for high schoolers in my opinion. I mean I'm talking like top of the line going to Jackson Hole. And I sold eight of them. So I got a free season pass and I did it my junior and senior year and continue to help out with that company with some office work. So I had a season pass for free like three or four seasons in a row to like, you know, Kirkwood and Sierra. They were all like California based mountains. But.
And I could have gone on the trips if I wanted to, but I don't know. My mom, they were pretty protective of me. They didn't want me taking off, you know, on a trip from high school.
I kind of wish I would have though now, but I'll experience it at some point, especially with you guys being there now hopefully.
[00:09:46] Jason: Yeah, that's fantastic. You're gonna have to come visit. Yeah, yeah.
[00:09:51] Dr. Sarah: And you know, and I remember that kind of growing up hearing about you guys, about your passion and love for skiing and the outdoors. And I know we were kind of talking about this before, but so everybody knows we feel like it runs in our blood because my dad was a super avid outdoorsman and we actually have an ancestor between Jason and I were. They were the first Winchester rifle rep, which is interesting.
And supposedly they used to hold a coin or something over their head and he would shoot it.
Like he was that good at shooting. So yeah, interesting stuff. But.
But yeah, it's kind of fun. So his.
[00:10:36] Jason: You're gonna have to share the contact of that. You're gonna have to share the contact of that rep because there's a gun. The National Gun Museum is up in Cody, Wyoming, on my list to go to. But I wouldn't be surprised if that storyline. There's some history there with that. With a Winchester rep.
[00:10:53] Dr. Sarah: Yes. Yeah.
Yeah. I guess it's our great grandfather. Great great grandfather or something like that. And even traveled at one point for a little bit with Buffalo Bill or Wild Buffalo Bill they used to call him.
But yeah, but yeah. So we, our family, super fishing, hunting outdoors. And Jason has, you know, his business is just amazing. And so I know I'm kind of going all over the place right now. I'm going to veer back in the outdoor stuff. But I have a quick question about what you do with your career and business.
Say, what would an ideal client be for you, if that's okay to talk about? Like maybe somebody listening to this podcast and they're like, oh my gosh, maybe I'm interested in something with the geography in the area where you are.
Do you ever expand outside the area or you kind of stick to your local spot? I'm just curious if there's an ideal client or somebody that maybe you would encourage to reach out to.
There's something interested in working with you on. I don't know.
[00:12:00] Jason: Yeah, I mean, that's a very interesting question. And it kind of tangents right to what resonated with me working in this environment. Not only the outdoors here, but I would say the construction market here. And anything construction and design is very relationship based.
I don't really market myself. I have a website.
But a lot of my projects come from references from past clients or people that are like, you need some help with your project? Well, here's Jason. This is what he does. And so I think the ideal client is the one that is, you know, I'll use the Jackson History Museum.
That's kind of an ideal project, is where they acquired a piece of land in downtown Jackson. It was actually a piece of land that was saved. There was a Save the Block campaign. There was a developer that was going to buy all this lot, which is seen as kind of a historic lot with old cottonwood trees.
And there was, this is classic Jackson story. There's enough money that there was money raised to buy that land and save it. And. And they took a portion of it and deeded it over to the museum that needed to raise the money to build the museum.
But they were a very smart client that was on you know, step one was, hey, we've got a board of really smart people that can oversee this project, but we're not construction experts and we don't do that kind of work. And they've got a small museum staff that has to run a museum. Right.
And in a lot of cases, projects get built and that staff has to oversee the project on top of the job that they have to do every day. And so the client that realizes like one, I can't just hire an architect and a builder and all of a sudden in a year or two, this project's going to happen and then piece of cake, right? Yeah. I think more and more clients are realizing that I don't have the oversight. Yeah, I built a house or I've got some construction experience. But hiring someone like me that's been living and breathing in that world for the last 25 years, has the relationships, has the time to dedicate, knows the right questions to ask of those project partners and others that they see that value. And so it's funny because I did, I had, you know, I had a couple, we all had our challenges of people we've worked with or people that we don't work well with. And I think I've learned, especially when I kind of crested that 40 mark, I feel like we're getting older and wiser and going, you know, our time is limited and you really want to pick and choose who you want to work with. And so when I get interviewed, you know, from clients, I'm very much interviewing them. And it's, you don't always get everything off first impressions, but you typically can. You're like, hey, this is what they're asking for and client, you know, needs and project demands and this is what I deliver. And so that, that kind of, they mesh. And there's others where can't call you back, they can't respond to an email, we can't meet once a week. You're like, that's not going to work. Right. If we're going to work together, we got to be able to hop on a 30 minute call once a week to check in on what I'm working on, what you're working on, keeping tabs of, making sure, you know, the trains are running on time. And so there's usually you can, you know. And I think I always gave the benefit of the doubt early in my career of everybody was raised like us, everybody shows up on time, everybody does what they say they're going to do. And I've gotten calloused. It's like, no, that's not the case. And everybody has good intentions, but I think it's. I want to surround myself, and I think part of working on these civic community projects is they bring the best of the best. So I like to work with the A teams, you know, I like to work with. So the museum was a classic one where it's like, hey, you're building a new museum. So they hired me on day one and day two was you need a museum program specialist to go do a workshop with you to figure out the program that you need. I'm. I'm not a museum expert, but I can find a person. So we worked together to get someone to help them kind of come up with the vision and the program.
And then. But then eventually we had to hire a design team. Like, you're building a history museum in Jackson, Wyoming. You should be able to go out to the best architects in the US in the world, you know, and we did. We found a great architect out of Minneapolis that this is what they do. They live and breathe in designing museums and religious centers, you know, and so, yeah, so I've been fortunate that these projects, they're the projects that design and construction teams want to work on. And so you typically can work with the best. And if you're working with the A teams, I'm not having to micromanage, right. I'm just kind of checking in and making sure, you know, making sure everybody's doing their job, but not having to micromanage because they're so good at doing what they do. So it's. I love that collaborative environment of bringing the whole team. And the museum is a good example where usually it's just architect and builder, and in that case, it's exhibit design, exhibit fabrication, graphics, story writing, the whole AV components to these integrative exhibits. There's so much to coordinate from all these different contracts, but that's basically my role as the museum. I kind of steward all of those individual contracts, but make sure they're coordinated within all of the other services to make sure they're all kind of in sync.
[00:17:14] Dr. Sarah: Wow.
[00:17:15] Jason: So I kind of tangented off on a number of ways that give me a little context of the type of work I do and the clients that I want to work with.
[00:17:24] Dr. Sarah: No. Yes. That's. I love that. Actually, that kind of falls into my study, my doctoral state a little bit, because I concentrated on digital artifacts, which is the preservation of artifacts and relics and different religious arts. But it can totally dive into what you're talking about. Like with certain geographical areas and working with the museums and you know, I'm kind of looking in your background too. It looks like you have the land maps and stuff like that, which is really key too. So I know you're probably very knowledgeable and all that with what you, how you navigate the outdoors.
You probably don't realize how talented or gifted you are probably in that realm even compared to the vast population. But, but just navigating your way around where you go. I'm always like so impressed by all your pictures on your Instagram and Facebook. I'm always like, whoa. Like, I look at your pictures and I'm just like, wow.
But, yeah, so awesome. So Jason found him burning project management. So you guys, he just discussed that, which is amazing. And all he does with it sounds like, you know, historical societies and museums and there's so much to that that's like amazing.
And then with, you know, just your mountain lifestyle, outdoor lifestyle, I mean, you're an avid skier. Do you kind of want to talk a little bit about, you know, Grand Tetons, like all your adventures?
Do you want to talk about that right now? Like he's.
[00:18:59] Jason: Yeah, yeah.
[00:19:00] Dr. Sarah: Fisherman, all of it. Let's get it.
[00:19:02] Jason: Yeah, definitely. I mean, I, I think that's just part of my passion, you know, growing up. And like Sarah, you came from a similar upbringing of just those times in the outdoors and you know, just fortunate that my dad would take me camping and hunting and fishing and had those experiences that a lot of others don't and. But it, especially skiing, resonated with me and I was very lucky. Growing up south of Denver, there was, at the time there was this Eskimo ski club and they would do lessons up at the ski resort and then you could ski on your own. And I went up, I think as early as 12, 13 years old. We just got dropped off at the local mall on a bus without my parents and would go up and go find an instructor, go do my half day lesson and then we got to ski on our own. And that sense of freedom at a very young age and say, wow, they're actually trusting us and that we're going to get back to the bus in time by four to go back to Denver and to get picked up. So that really resonated with me and just that freedom.
And so like I said, all through high school and college, I just. Skiing was my passion. Doing as much as I possibly could weekends and the days that I could break loose after school, and I just wanted that. And then I had a Couple of people that I looked up to that lived in Winter Park.
He was a marine merchant captain. And, you know, he would go to work for a few months, you know, at sea, but then he was at home and lived the mountain lifestyle. And I just really looked up to him. His name was Gary. And I was just like, I want that lifestyle. I want to live in the mountains, and I want to use the degree. And so with that, skiing was. Was a big component. And I think backcountry skiing was new to me when I came up here. I always kind of knew of it, but I skied, you know, mostly at the ski resort and off of chairlifts.
And when I first came to Jackson, was looking for a place to rent, and we went to a place called the Heidelberg that was just at the base of Teton Pass.
And I saw skiers taking off their skis at the front door. And I was like, did you guys just ski to here? Like, oh, yeah. And it was like a powder day, and they were all happy. And I just looked over to the real estate agent. I'm like, I don't need to go in and look at it. I'm like, I'll take it if we can ski to the front door.
So that was all new to me when I moved here, is that, you know, there's this backcountry skiing on Teton Passing, and Jacksonville Ski Resort has a lot of backcountry skiing off, you know, out of bounds to the sidelines. And then also you've got Grand Teton national park.
So kind of jumped all in the first few years and getting smart with, you know, had had the fitness and the athletic drive to do it, to, you know, go uphill, hike uphill, skin uphill to go ski. But all the safety precautions, the avalanche safety classes and certifications, you know, went through a lot of that. And.
And yeah, and since it's been kind of my outlet. And so it's kind of funny, I was thinking about it before talking to you that, you know, part of my role is managing risk for owners and their projects and significant dollar projects. Right.
So there's a lot of risk there. And I think that's. That kind of translates into skiing. And some of my outdoor endeavors is, you know, similar to avalanches, it's managing risks. And it's also the tenac.
Being uncomfortable. Right. Like, you know, my wife and I have been on motorcycle trips where we have a breakdown or we ride. We were in Ecuador and ran into landslide after landslide and got stuck after dark. And. But it's one of these that you're like, we're gonna be okay. You know, some people would completely lose it. And I actually did. I was early in my motorcycle days, but now I've realized that, you know, things happen and you're gonna get through it. You're not gonna die and just be properly trained and have the proper supplies and to get through things. So I kind of bounced around a little bit there. But, yeah, no, skiing has been my passion. I think what I love about skiing more than anything is, you know, with motorcycling or mountain biking or even fishing and hunting, we're following a trail and we're going to a specific location. Surfers, right? They go to a certain takeoff of a wave.
When you look at skiing, it's like you have the entire range and you've got all these peaks and mountains and you can ski wherever you want. I mean, obviously you want to ski certain aspects and areas to avoid tracks and avalanche conditions. But I love that part of it, that freedom. And so I. You know, early on in construction management, I was, you know, the guys I was working with, they're. They're workers. Like, they. A lot of the guys in the construction management where they work, you know, 70, 80 hours a week, they don't really have hobbies. It's like work is their job and that's what they live for. And to me, it was like, I'm going to work hard, but I'm also going to have an outlet. And the stress of projects and the challenges and the unknowns, I like. I've always liked that. But having an outlet to go for a quick tour or hike, Hike Glory on Teton Pass and do a lap in the morning, that feeling of being alive and that recreation.
I end up coming to work and end up being so much more productive because I've had that release. And so it does complement, you know, managing the risks in the backcountry and outdoors to managing risks on projects.
[00:24:20] Dr. Sarah: Yeah. And I just.
And do you kind of want to talk about, since you kind of mentioned it, like you kind of shared with me before, you want to talk about the motorcycle riding with your wife? Kind of that history.
[00:24:34] Jason: Yeah.
[00:24:35] Dr. Sarah: And then go into the history I'd like to talk about, too. Like the history of your dad. You mentioned an interesting history of him and then your wife's father, too. Let's maybe talk about that after you discuss the motorcycle stuff.
[00:24:51] Jason: Well, I think, as I mentioned, I was like this to motorcycles my whole life. I just always thought it was a death Sentence waiting to happen and super dangerous. And you know, my, my family didn't ride motorcycles so I didn't have any context of it when I met my wife here in the Tetons local, you know, she's a big skier and biker and we recreate together. She had a motorcycle and it just wasn't on my list.
But she kept doing some of these international trips. It was actually during COVID right before COVID hit she was down and did a motorcycle trip through Chile, Argentina and Peru with a girlfriend. And I think when she came back from that I was like that really cool. And it seems like a really great way to go see mountain environments. I mean my dad, I always remember as a kid that we would just take dirt roads in the mountains and just, I love that, just exploring where does this road go and mountain passes and motorcycle is very much that outlet. But at the same time because they're gas powered, you know, I might be a little faster riding bikes than my wife and so we're not necessarily at the same pace or motorcycle. We can very much be together.
So I kind of and I jumped in and bought, you know, a pretty affordable Honda that was probably half what my carbon fiber mountain bike cost. And I'm kind of a frugal German. So I was like, oh, this is a cheap, cheap inroad to get in and have kind of fallen in love with it. We've been, my wife and I have just had some amazing experiences in the last five years, you know, doing and mostly off road. You know, our bikes are, you know, with big, big knobby tires. They're designed to go on road and off road. But we like to say, we like to tootle the dirt roads. We're not getting super gnarly but we, we don't like to be in big traffic situations.
We like to be kind of off road and toodling the dirt road. So we've done, you know, a lot, you know, just around from, you know, Jackson, Teton Valley. You draw a 300 mile, 500 mile radius. There's so much to explore. You can see that here behind me.
Yeah, just you can explore. And then, and then both internationally we've done some trips where we like to travel and see other places and it's been kind of the go to like, oh, we're going to go to this place, let's go ride motorcycles and get to see all the landscape from. Not behind a windshield, but then you're very open. Like we've traveled in New Zealand, Ecuador. We did a two week trip in Nepal just a couple years ago.
And it's been a great way not only to see the landscape, but be exposed to the culture. And we see that even here locally and that we live in this world that everybody's very much kind of closed in and not as open.
It's amazing how much different it is with us just pulling on motorcycles into a gas station and people that are interested. We also have an icebreaker, and then we have a cute little chihuahua shepherd mix dog that rides on the back of one of our motorcycles when we do this trip. So people always are coming up like, no way you have a dog with you. And so people are always curious. And we end up talking to a lot of people and getting. Having that human interaction that I feel like is missing a lot.
As we all are seeing kind of siloed and kind of moving forward, it seems like, yeah, it's been a great exposure. So, yeah, that's a little bit of the motorcycle background. We just two weeks ago we went into central Idaho and there's a 500 mile route there with like 50 natural hot springs along the route.
And so we've done that trip. We always do that in the fall and we just toodle around and do about 100, 150 miles a day. But we always land somewhere where we can camp near a hot spring and hot spring in the evening, motorcycle the next day to the next hot spring. So just some of the examples of the project or the adventures we get to do. But it's in the other component too that I think both all of these outdoor adventures are, particularly the motorcycle. You can't look at your phone, you can't check your inbox. And in most places in central Idaho, there's no service even when you get to the gas station. So they are truly set up for breaks. When I do, I mean, I work hard on projects, I'm engaged, I don't have employees, I'm very much involved in projects. But when I do take those breaks, it's a real way to step away from the project stresses.
[00:29:19] Dr. Sarah: Yeah, that's. That's awesome.
And I love that you guys are adventurous together. I like love it. And she was kind of like an adventure. Sounds like badass on her own. And then you two together.
[00:29:33] Jason: That's true.
[00:29:33] Dr. Sarah: Yeah.
Yeah.
[00:29:38] Jason: But yeah, our jackets and can. And can. Well, I mean, she does a lot of like welding and I always kind of joke. I'm like, how did I get some such a tough, badass wife? But she, she.
Yeah, it's. It's been awesome. And I, and I do share that story a lot. I was like, if it wasn't for Evan, I probably wouldn't have done all these motorcycle experiences. So you always take a step back in life and like, wow, I had that one moment or like that interview that I had with the builder that sent me to Jackson. You're like, wow, that was this one point in time where the stars align and I went on this path that wouldn't never have met her, never, you know, all those things. So I always am grateful and reflect on that.
[00:30:16] Dr. Sarah: Yeah, that's cool. And you know, being obviously in the Jackson Hole, you know, Colorado area that, you know, and it's just so historic with being a ski town and snowboarding, all that. And it sounds like there's some pretty cool history you were kind of mentioning with her father. Do you kind of want to talk about that if you're okay with it?
[00:30:38] Jason: Oh, sure. Yeah. I mean there's, there's a long history with her.
[00:30:43] Dr. Sarah: Yeah.
[00:30:43] Jason: My father in law, her dad was John Simms and he's.
I'll give it. There's a. There's a lot there because he just covered so much ground. And I got to learn a lot more this summer as he, you know, passed away earlier in the summer.
Celebrated a really great 89 years that he. He lived.
But yeah, short synopsis is he was similar story. He grew up out east and was on a path that he wanted to go west.
Came to Colorado and was a really good skier and got picked up. Somebody saw his ski skills and like we can teach you to be a ski patroller. And he became a ski patroller, worked his way up. I think was even head of ski patrol at Arapaho Basin and vail in the 60s.
And that's right about when Jackson Hole was getting developed. I think their first season was 65 or 66.
[00:31:36] Dr. Sarah: Okay.
[00:31:37] Jason: And they had heard word that this, you know, big, big ski resort with amazing terrains about to open. So he moved up to Jackson Hole to be on the ski patrol.
So many years on ski patrol, there's a famous run named after him called SNS Couloir. You've probably. Everybody knows about Corbett's Coolar, which is the big couloir at the top, that it's kind of the famous extreme line that everybody knows about because the tram goes right over it. But just to the right of that is this the chute that is. It's probably a 30 to 40 foot air off the top before you land in this really steep, narrow chute. And then you got to rock it out of it. And him and another ski patroller skied it back in the 60s and hopped in. And it's.
His last name is Sims. And the gentleman he was with, his last name was Sans. So Sands and Sims. But there's a lore, there's a story on it that nobody, nobody to this day even they said, we'll carry this to the grave. Which John did. No one ever said who went first.
So there was a good story there with the mountain resort, but he, he moved on after many years with ski patrol and was like, I'm gonna start making sculptures with metal. And so he delved jumped into a completely different branch or no, I'm actually getting ahead of myself. He was very much involved in fishing, guiding and guiding some of the early. Got some of the early permits in the park to guide some of the Snake river sections and became kind of an infamous fly fishing guide. And then he, you know, his mind was very inventive. He was not very much in it for making money. It was more of what are the products that we've not thought about. So he was, you know, saw surfers using neoprene for, for wetsuits. And at the time there were no waiters for people to actually go wade in water to go fishing. So he created the first Sims fly fishing waiters out of neoprene. And then that business obviously built up into a big business.
He also was helped start LifeLink, which was the first, like us made avalanche equipment company that made shovels and probes and ski poles.
He, he helped create like the gravel guards that, that go over your boots when you're fishing so you don't get gravel that goes up and into your boots. Some of these like basic things that you're like, back in the day they didn't have them and everybody just like, why don't we just deal with it? And he's like, no, we're not going to deal with it. We're going to come up with new inventive ways. So he was a very inventive guy, involved in a lot of kind of local like mountain businesses. And then the last chapter of his career as he started making metal work and large metal sculptures using Euclidean geometry.
And if you look him up, you can see a lot of his beautiful artwork. So yeah, he's got a lot of stories and a lot of history here.
[00:34:32] Dr. Sarah: Yeah, yeah.
[00:34:34] Jason: But also what I took more from him than anything.
Super humble. He was very, you know, he's lived in Jackson for a long time. You Know, he's always humble with how, you know, he shared stories and the experiences that they were. And then I also.
I also appreciated that he.
He never became the jaded local that so much happens in these mountain towns that people were like, well, I got here before everybody else, and it's changing. It's not what it used to be. And you're like, it's still beautiful. It's still amazing. And so I've always taken that to heart that, like, let's never become the jaded local. We're. We're so blessed to live in this country, to live in this particular area of the country.
And so, yeah, things change. People, you know, come and go, and things are obviously getting more expensive and not as attainable, but we always try to be, you know, we like to be positive and not negative locals. Right?
[00:35:32] Dr. Sarah: Yeah. Oh, yeah. I love that. No, that's so important. It's so key.
Yeah, I'm always chiming in with people.
Be positive. You should be celebrating. I can think of a bunch of different things, but I love that you sound like an amazing person. So that's a great tribute memory we just discussed. And the thing with the fly fishing, that is so cool.
I really love just hearing and listening to you and how, you know, like I said, in our ancestry or blood, it's like it runs through us. I mean, I remember times where my dad would take us fishing and camping and all that stuff in the Sierras, but he knew these places that I swear we went by foot. Sometimes we would hike, and all of a sudden we're in the middle of this. This pond somewhere like the Sierras and like a valley, and we're fly fishing. And I look back at that and I'm like, that was amazing. And I could never find that now. Like, I don't even know where we were or where he took us, but it was beautiful. And I just think, like, you know, it's so important and, you know, like, I haven't visited Jackson Hole yet or that, but I really want to, so I'll be like, yeah, so I need to come check it out and just explore. And I would love to take my photography of the area, too, and do, like, a tribute maybe to, like, do a photography series on Jackson Hole. I would love that.
Winter or summer or fall or, you know, different seasons.
Absolutely.
Yeah. It's like these people who make footprints and make a difference in life. And like, you're saying with your leadership and that first book you read that you mentioned, when you manifested everything you've Done. What was the name of that book again? Do you mind sharing it?
[00:37:16] Jason: The Power of Feelings.
[00:37:18] Dr. Sarah: The Power of Feelings.
I'm gonna check that book out.
And I just think that, you know, that's kind of is what life is about, you know? And as. As, you know, you know, life is short, and my dad passed suddenly, and I know that.
And when, you know, your wife's father passed and it's like. But it's so cool. Like, life is short. Like, be a positive impact around the people around you, you know, it sounds like he did that and he.
And just his inventions and different things. That's so cool. So it's like kind of on another podcast. A guy who's super invented. It's like, just do it. Like, yeah, if you have ideas, get out there and try it. What do you have to lose? We're here now. We're in this life world. Like, let's live, enjoy it, be adventurous.
And so, yeah, I think I love that about what you and your wife do. You guys are just so adventurous and you're out there. And you had a really cool thing, too, you guys did. Which, if you kind of want to talk about that, he also is a golfer, and you did a cool thing with the golf simulator. Do you kind of want to share that?
[00:38:25] Jason: Oh, sure. Yeah. We.
My wife and I built a metal building here in Victor, like a light industrial building. And we were only going to just rent it out because the space is needed and kind of an investment property for us.
But I, you know, I was going to quit golf a few years ago, and you probably know, my parents are big golfers, and we played a lot of golf growing up, and there's other things to do. And so I always play, you know, five, ten times a summer. But my game really went downhill. And I was like, you know, this is getting frustrating. It costs money. It takes time.
What am I doing here?
But like, anything, it's like, if you're going to. If you're going to ride your bike, how do you get better at riding your bike? You got to ride your bike, and you can't just not swing the club all winter and expect to show up in the summer. So I invested in a golf simulator in our basement and just was whacking balls all winter and really kind of helped out. And then that market I think we've all kind of seen, there's a tgl, the Tiger Golf League, and these golf simulators are becoming more popular. So we took one of the spaces in the industrial space, and we've got kind of a two, two bay, two golf bay hitting area, but it's an unmanned, called an unmanned facility. So there's nobody there. There's no employees. It's pretty easy for us to manage. We check in on it.
[00:39:35] Dr. Sarah: Okay.
[00:39:35] Jason: People basically book the time all online. They get a code that allows them in.
But it's been, it's another one kind of like these community projects that I work on. It's not so much the income, it's more of like what it does for the community.
And to hear, to go in there and to see like the high school golf team, you know, they're playing. They're like, we got a tournament tomorrow at this course in Rexburg. And we're actually playing the course on the simulator to prepare for it. And they're like, this is so awesome. Thank you for, you know, having the space that people can use. We have long cold winters and there's. Unless you're into playing in the snow, there's not a lot to do here in the winters. And so to have something like that and to bring it to the community that people can use and work on their game can have fun, you know, it's. It's been, it's been. Been rewarding. So, yeah, we just opened in February. We just added our second day and kind of things are slower in the summer, but this winter we're looking to be busy and yeah, we're excited about it. So that's just another kind of.
We'll call it a side project on top of all the other projects that I'm managing too.
[00:40:41] Dr. Sarah: Yeah. And what's it called again, your golf thing?
[00:40:43] Jason: Big Hole Golf. And the website is Big Big Hole indoor golf dot com.
[00:40:49] Dr. Sarah: Nice. Okay. Yeah. I actually joined Assimilator for a little bit here in Charleston.
[00:40:54] Jason: Oh, you did?
[00:40:55] Dr. Sarah: Yeah. Yeah, I golf too, so.
Yeah.
[00:40:59] Jason: So what do you think of the golf simulator world comparative to playing a real course?
[00:41:04] Dr. Sarah: I of course prefer the real course. But like I would go on my lunch break to the simulator. Yeah, Like, I'd grab lunch or have something with me and just go, spend about half an hour, 45 minutes and just swing the ball. And I think that it's kind of nice because it breaks up doing something active because here in Charleston in the summer it's so hot because I used to go to a driving range in Northern California and golf on my lunch break and hit like a bucket of balls on my lunch break.
And then here it's just too hot to do that. I can't go back to the office and be all gross and sweaty.
So the, the simulators are good for that because on my lunch break I can just go to the simulator, you know, and then go back to work. I'm not, you know, all gross and drenched and sweaty.
But yeah, the. I mean, I, I think it's great. It's kind of fun.
And, you know, I still think it's.
I don't know, to this day. It's funny. I still feel like golf was kind of. I mean, there are a lot of women golfers. Yes, there's women golfing. People don't get mad at me for saying this, but I still feel like it's kind of male dominated the golf, you know, I just, it just, to me, I just feel like it is. Has that vibe.
[00:42:14] Jason: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that's. I, I share the same testament. It's like you can't replace the real thing. That's fun to be out there and play. But it makes it. What I found people is it makes it more approachable. You know, I think golf has the stigma that people are intimidated, right? If, especially as an amateur golfer, if you don't have the best game to like show up and go tee off with. Some people, they don't know it's a lot more approachable in a simulator space because you can miss, hit the ball. You're not going to, you know, look for your ball in the weeds. It's, you know, go to your next shot, go play. So I found it, you know, more approachable, but it's just, it's a supplement. You know, it's just like riding an indoor bike, you know, inside a trainer is not the same thing as being out, you know, on the road. But it does supplement.
[00:43:02] Dr. Sarah: So
[00:43:04] Jason: I would not, I should probably, you know, mentioning my wife's dad, John. But I also wanted to go back and also highlight. I think part of the path that I'm on. I think you want to drill down on this a little bit is that I think it's interesting how some families, there's the like one adventure kid that goes off. The rest of the kids kind of stay close to home and they do the traditional.
And in this case, my dad was that one out of nine that grew up in Oregon and ended up out of Oregon in Colorado. And then I seem to have, you know, he was in the military, flew in the Air Force, had a draft number four, so he didn't really have a choice. So he flew in Vietnam and flew f words in the Air Force, which I always thought was cool. But then he transitioned into, you know, flying planes for Continental and United in Frontier.
But I definitely, I feel like that transmitted to me and that I was like, I'm not just gonna stay at home and stay close to home and be comfortable. I want to get out there and see other things. So, yeah, I think that was part of this, this path of getting, landing this job that set me up here and then realizing that this, this is, this is really home and has a special place. So I thought I'd just mention that to throw my dad's kind of inspiration.
[00:44:20] Dr. Sarah: Yeah, I, I love that, that he, he was a vet. Like that. And that's interesting history. I love that. I've actually had three different podcasts surrounding around veterans, so he, he might want to check those out. But yeah, I. And the.
I guess something that I found so interesting too is like, it's not just the motorcycle riding. You also do mountain biking. Just so you guys know, you do the mountain biking and all that stuff and kind of.
And I think that with like you're saying it's so awesome because I think, I think sometimes. I think you mentioned something earlier. It's like how you said you think everybody shows up to work the way you do.
And I think sometimes I've had to learn as I've grown up. Not everybody thinks like I do. Yeah, like, and I always think like, oh, yeah, everybody just is optimistic like me, and everybody just has genuine and like, good intentions like me. But that's not, not true. And I've had to learn that with life as I've gotten older, you know, like, not everybody thinks like you.
And I think that's one of the things that, you know, we have to take with us. And I think what I'm getting into that, like with your father and your wife's father and my dad and our families, I think we think everybody has been so blessed as we have to been exposed to the outdoors, but that's just not the case. Like, I remember sometimes I would run into people. Nothing against these people. That's not what I'm saying on the podcast here. That's not the point. And I hope that you do get opportunities to get in the outdoors, if you haven't yet. But I remember I was almost like shock sometimes when somebody would tell me they'd never been skipped skiing or been to the snow or they grew up in California but never went and saw Yosemite.
And I was like, what? I was like, what do you mean? I was just like. Or you've never been.
Been Fishing or you've never been in the Sierras. Hiking and camping and off roading in Jeeps and like, I don't know, I just, I'm. The older I got, I realized like how cool it was to have a dad like that, you know, and be exposed to just being in the outdoors and doing this kind of fun, adventurous stuff, especially as girls, you know, he didn't have boys, so he did it with his three daughters, you know, and so.
But it was just, you know, it was. He was a fun dad and like just, you know, the jeep and all that and like how you're saying with your father, he sounds so cool. They both kind of had the military outdoor thing, which is interesting and.
Yeah, so that's cool that it like, you know, and hopefully you and I and all of us will pass that down through generations and I don't have kids. You don't have kids. We have our dogs, but I have nephews and nieces so I'm always going to try to encourage them, you know.
But yeah, so that's awesome.
And I guess kind of going into. I'm just kind of wondering, do you see any concerns or trends with the outdoors being in the area you're in? If you don't mind talking about, like, are there any concerns with keeping up that lifestyle and preserving thing? I'm just curious if you notice anything just really living in it, like living in how you border that area.
I don't know.
[00:47:51] Jason: Yeah, that's a. That's a great question.
You know, obviously the area is growing with more, you know, people moving to Jackson and the Teton Valley.
I think obviously we all know during the COVID During COVID really was a big change to all of a sudden the outdoors became cool. I mean, that's part. Part of it. It seems like it, but I think it's great. It's like the more like E bikes, the more people, the better. It's like now people that weren't comfortable riding on a bike can now ride an E bike and that gets them out there and they can experience some of that release and exercise and breath of fresh air. What that does for your health and wellness, the more the merrier. But it comes with its challenges as well. And I think we've been pretty fortunate because we're pretty.
We're a long ways away from most places. But I'd say what I've seen happened from when I moved here till now is just the number of flights coming into Jackson. Like back when I first moved up here, there was a flight or two a day to Denver and the Salt Lake and that's it. And so, yeah, now there's flights coming from West Coast, East Coast, Chicago, you name it. So it's made it. It's part of why I think more people, the uber wealthy has moved to Jackson for their second home or whatever, can live there and can travel and can make that residency. So we've seen that.
But I think more so in the outdoors. I like to joke because people like, oh, it's getting so busy. And I'm like, just go a mile from the trailhead. Same thing. Like you go around Yellowstone. Everybody does the drives around Yellowstone and like, oh, I saw Yellowstone and I went and did these, you know, certain things that you can see along the road. But how many people actually go for a hike for a mile past the trailhead and actually get out into the outdoors of Yellowstone? Not very many.
And I think that's the case here, even locally, is that, you know, yeah, it's getting busier on the trails and as a mountain biker, you know, there's trails that are getting more use, but it doesn't, you know, it's. I don't think it's as busy as, like, what I've seen in Colorado or even California, but it's changing and I think it's important that it's managed to regulate and make sure things aren't being overused. And, you know, I think we've seen some challenges of, you know, people what bugs me more than anything are people that come and camp on, you know, public lands and then just leave a bunch of trash or, you know, not put their fires out. I think that that's becoming more problematic. And it's. A lot of that is just, I think education of educating people the right way and leave no trace and how long we probably been saying leave no trace for 50 years. But we still got to teach people like, you don't dump your trash in the outdoors. You take it with you. So, I mean, those are, I think a lot of those kind of go without saying, but yeah, and I think, you know, with more people, you have more wildlife conflicts. So, you know, there's the challenges of, you know, the wolves that have been introduced here many years ago. And now we've got challenges, you know, more people and interactions with wolves and cattle. And now they're allowing hunting, you know, 180 there. And it'll be interesting to see how that, you know, gets managed long term. We're pretty fortunate, particularly the Jackson side of the tetons, that only 2% of the land is private property. The rest of it is national forest or national park. And it'll never change. So that's what makes it so special. Being part of the Yellowstone ecosystem is there's no, it's not like Denver, Colorado where it's like, oh, you can just go build up, you know, down valley and up valley and can expand. There's no room for sprawl, but there isn't Teton Valley. And it's concerning being on our side is things are changing and more people are moving here. But I think what we're seeing,
[00:51:36] Dr. Sarah: you
[00:51:37] Jason: know, the people that are moving here now at the price point, it's not working class families moving to buy a house, to live here and raise a family.
It tends to be more of like you're retired or people that have wealth that can buy a house, they can live here or have a winter house here to go, you know, ski. But they're not necessarily providing for the community. They're not working at the hospital or the school. And so I call it kind of the COVID ripple, you know, of what happened here a few years ago with COVID and the ripping of real estate prices.
It's making it harder. And I think this goes nationwide of every desirable place. Housing is just not affordable. And so I think that's one of the bigger challenges we have here locally is the long term of getting the qualified labor forces and being able to house them, you know, affordably more times. I've had so many friends that have moved in and still even years ago was able to buy a one bedroom condo in Jackson. But now they got a family of four and that one bedroom condo is not working for them and they can't go, you know, that's two million dollar property in Jackson. So they've moved out of here because they just are priced out.
So I kind of segued into affordability. Affordability, affordability.
But it also kind of tangents to know our outdoors and you know, the busyness of those.
[00:52:56] Dr. Sarah: Okay, yeah, that's, that's food for thought for sure. Like that's a very interesting issue to think about. And yeah, that's, that's key. Like you're saying like community involvement, giving back to the community and caring about where they're residing and you know, all of that.
And yeah, that's so cute and something.
Yeah, I think I saw something recently where it showed like all the hikers on Mount Everest leaving stuff behind which look really bad when you think about, like when you're talking about Trash. And Tahoe too. Like Tahoe. I saw something, but yeah, it's important.
[00:53:37] Jason: That's a classic example, Sarah, of that I found is what's interesting is how I think it's just like social media component. Right. The popularity. So there's a popular.
Everybody's probably seen the Delta Lake photos. Delta Lake is a really popular. And what's interesting is it's not even a real trail, but it has been kind of the tag on Instagram. If you come to the Tetons, you climb up to Delta Lake, which is like kind of halfway up the Tetons, but you're looking up at the Grand. It's a beautiful backdrop. The lake is, you know, blue and. But it's one of those that's been kind of tagged on Instagram. And what's so funny is there's so many amazing hikes near that. So you could probably go out for a hike and you could do those other hikes and you bump into maybe one or two other groups. But you do that one hike because it's so popular on Instagram or on social media.
[00:54:27] Dr. Sarah: Yeah.
[00:54:28] Jason: You'll bump into 50 groups and you're like, this is crazy. Like there's other places to hike. But some of these like go to places are being kind of saturated online and they're the ruining experience because everybody's just like, oh, got to go to that one place.
Lake's another one. You know that the Aleutian cutthroat. So catch those big cutthroats outside of Reno, Nevada, that's got blown up by social media now it's, you know, fishermen, they get there at like one in the morning to like stake their place where they're going to fish for the day because it's become so popular.
[00:55:01] Dr. Sarah: Wow. Yeah.
Yeah. And I know, I think about that too, just how popular those spots have grown in popularity and all that due to social media. Little secret travel spots too.
[00:55:13] Jason: Yeah. No secrets.
Yeah.
[00:55:18] Dr. Sarah: I'm just curious, what would you say out of all your adventures is kind of what has been the most like, I don't know if you have any crazy stories you want to share from your travels, but what's kind of been something that stands out to you is like maybe your favorite outdoor day or multi day trip that still feels fresh no matter how many times you go over it or think about it or do it. Is there anything that you kind of want to share that kind of stands out for you? Just curious.
[00:55:45] Jason: Oh wow.
There's so many adventures.
And it's funny because the Ones that, the ones that stand out are the ones that you really were challenged. Right. And I would say that like with my mountain bike racing, the one, the, the races that I felt the most accomplished and that I like, feel like I dug deeper than any are not the ones where I actually had good, you know, a good result. It's where I had really hard struggles. But I stuck in there and I finished the race. I didn't tap out and say, oh, you know, my stomach's awful, I'm not feeling good. It's like I dug deep and still finished it. And the ones where I finished, you know, top of the podium or on the podium, things were clicking. So yeah, it went really well. So you feel like that that was actually an easier race, even though you had a better position than the one that's harder. So I use that as an example. But I mean there's, there's one of them. I think that's a good story because this is a good testament to the grit of my wife.
We were in Ecuador and we were doing a week long kind of self guided trip. We rented motorcycles from an operation. They gave us a map, they booked our accommodations.
What's typical with our motorcycle trips is we usually have our camping gear on us.
So I always say like worst case scenario, the bike stopped working. We're in the middle of nowhere, we have everything we need. We've got water, we've got food, we've got our camping gear, shelter, we've got emergency kits, we have all of that. Well, on this trip we had lodging booked the whole way so we didn't have our camp set up with us.
And this was, I think it was like day five, but we were near the Colombian border. It was one of the bigger days.
We did this awesome mountain pass up and over 14,000ft. And then we were down on this border town near Columbia. And that was the position where the operator said, you know, if you're not on this, called the old road to Columbia, if you're not on this road by 2 in the afternoon, just take the Pan Am highway.
Well, we were pretty close to that and we said, what the hell, let's go for it.
So Evan and I, we rode, you know, on this dirt road and we passed some pretty significant like big like water bogs that we got through and then a couple big landslides. There were some heavy rains the days before and there were a couple landslides that had come across the road and there was like one track that had gone in front of us. So we were okay, getting over them. But we started getting further and further, and we kept bumping into these landslides, and they were, I mean, like, huge dirt, you know, where I. We'd have to get the huge dirt piles that would come down, and we would have to basically unload our bikes because we had all of our weight and gear on our bikes. And I would, you know, throttle and kind of just like, launch the motorcycle over the. The landslides and then do the same thing with my wife's bike and get them all loaded, and then we'd go around the corner another couple hundred yards, and, oh, shoot, there's another landslide. So we just, you know, and we got to a point where it's like, well, we've already crossed all these other landslides. We're not going back to go back over those. But, you know, hindsight, we probably should have. But we kept going further and further, and we crossed almost 17 landslides. And we got, you know, it was getting dark. We're at, like, 13,000ft and not. Not, like, freezing. You're in Ecuador, but it would have been a night. We didn't have any of our camp gear. So that's a.
And that was pretty early in my motorcycle career that I've, you know, learned. Our tactic is the AAA's. Right when things are going to always happen out there, the AAA is something happens. You got to accept it. You got to say, this is the situation we're in. Like, can't get mad. Can't. You know, we are aware. Just accept it. And then assess the situation, how best you're going to get yourself out of that, what are the major decisions you need to make, and then act on that. So it's a process, because a lot of times when things go awry, in adventurous situations, we tend to panic and go right to, oh, we gotta fix the problem. Go straight to that. And it's like, nope, take a breath. And so that was one where I was definitely getting.
We're out here in the middle of nowhere, and here's my bride, Evan, who's like, well, fine, just keep. Keep going. And what are you gonna do? Like, I mean, I was, like, ready to cry, and she's like, what are we gonna do? We gotta just keep going. And sure enough, we popped through, like, right as the last little bit of light was coming out.
Saw these beautiful owls, these fireflies, like, and then we descended, like, 5,000ft down to the Pan Am highway, and we're covered in mud. We're a mess.
And then we had to ride the Panama Highway. You know, this is like 8 o' clock at night. And then we, then we take a dirt road to this. It's basically. It's an old farm that was built in the 1600s and it's where we're staying for the night. And we get there and we're just covered in mud. And the, the trip we were on was called the Dirt Deluxe Tour. So the deluxe was the accommodations. They were really nice. Like, we stayed in these awesome backcountry lodges. And we get there and they. And the gentleman is like, well, we've been waiting for you. He's like, we have elk medallions tonight and we make really good gen and tonics. And I was like, yes, it was. We persevered. And yeah, it wasn't like, you know, obviously it was not super extreme. Like you hear on other kind of rescue type stories, but one of those where you just had to kind of have some grit and just, you know, accept the situation that you're in and that you're in a beautiful place and going to get out of it. And it's kind of similar to, like, you see people panic in airports and you're like, okay, so your flight got canceled. You're going to be a day late. You're going to be okay, you know, kind of deal.
[01:01:42] Dr. Sarah: Yeah.
So tell the. Go over the AAA again. So accept,
[01:01:48] Jason: assess and then act.
[01:01:51] Dr. Sarah: Okay. Love that. That's awesome. That's amazing to go by, especially if you're an adventurous outdoor enthusiast. I love that. And I love the fact that, like, you come back, I just picture you through this crazy, massive experience, and then you come to this really nice place and they're like, sir, like, we've been waiting. We have elf medallions and gin and Tom. I don't know, I just feel like that's amazing.
It kind of makes me think of, have you watched the series yet? 1883 or 1923?
[01:02:18] Jason: Yes.
[01:02:20] Dr. Sarah: I don't know. I love that. It kind of makes me think of the guy in 1923 who's the biggest, you know, hunter, and then he goes into these kind of lavish places at the end of his crazy adventures, you know, sort of what I picture.
[01:02:35] Jason: Totally.
[01:02:36] Dr. Sarah: But, yeah, that's so awesome.
I love that. I love that. And yeah, kind of just. Yeah, that's so cool. And I think, like, I know I keep going back to this, but it's so fun because I'm talking so everybody knows. I get excited when I have relatively. I like, have the same bloodline, but, like, on my dad's mother's side, I think I mentioned, with the whole connection with Teddy Roosevelt, who's a big, you know, avid outdoor hunter. She was supposedly, like, when I was a little girl. You're gonna laugh. I. I go, grandma, I need to do a family tree. And, like, she wrote out Teddy Roosevelt like he was a distant cousin, I guess, to her.
So I was like, wow. And it was funny. My teachers didn't really believe me, but they're like, huh? They were like, what?
But she, you know, had an interesting history, too. And I just feel like, what you guys. That does adventure. Sounds amazing.
I love it.
[01:03:32] Jason: Yes.
[01:03:32] Dr. Sarah: That's so exciting. I'm glad I asked you.
And is there any advice you'd want to give either on the realm of somebody kind of wanting to get into what you do with project management or civil engineering and all that, or maybe on the adventure side of what you do? Any kind of advice or wisdom you want to pass on and the podcast to the listeners? Anything you want to share?
[01:03:59] Jason: Yeah.
You know, I think one bit of advice that I shared this with some of my kind of younger nieces and nephews is, you know, we live in a very corporate America kind of, and I think it's. It's evolving. But I think people are so driven by their jobs here in the US and.
And I've been guilty of that of, like, we just. We get tied in with a company or whatever, and it's like, it's consuming, and I think it's just important.
I mentioned this to younger people, and it's harder. I feel like every desirable place in the world has become more expensive to live and have that lifestyle.
But I just, I'm a big proponent of start with where you want to live. You know, don't. You got a job in Texas and you don't want to live in Texas in the weather. Don't take the job in Texas. Go find a job that, you know. Yeah. And that might mean. And I know some of that kind of comes with.
If you're in a financial crunch, you don't have those liberties. But where possible, I think it's important to live where you, you know, work where you want to live, you know, and then I think that that lifestyle is attainable to where you can still do your work and you can do the things that you want and live a balanced lifestyle.
[01:05:11] Dr. Sarah: Yeah, I love.
[01:05:13] Jason: Yeah, that's. That's. I think that's one that kind of resonates as far as ownership, project management. I mean, I just, you know, I found more than Anything, it's just do what you say you're going to do, you know, like, yeah, being thorough. And I always thought it's like I gotta do backflips to like for myself. And it's like just be on time, be punctual, like do what you say you're gonna do and those relationship based areas that you work, like it resonates and like whatever. I'd say whatever industry, whatever work you're in. It's amazing how just, you know, you see a lot of people, how they operate and they continuously show up late to meetings and you're like, isn't that the basics, like of just showing up every day and doing a job and providing a service. And I find that just doing those basics is enough sometimes to just, you know, to, to do the work, do a good job and build a reputation for yourself.
Yeah, I've kind of found that and I think I just feel very fortunate that a lot of my projects and the work that I've done and being, you know, steadfast, having tenacity to like really steward projects for people.
That's the phone call I get in two years from now, like, hey, we heard that this so and so worked with you and they've said things and we really need someone to provide that type of work.
So it's, it's amazing how, how powerful relationships are and providing success and you know, doing again kind of doing what you say you're going to do and following up and not being the one. Although Sarah, I've been a little late to getting, getting to your email so I've not been the most punctual but.
[01:06:55] Dr. Sarah: Oh no, you've been fine.
Oh, you were traveling in Argentina. I mean, hello.
[01:07:02] Jason: Oh yeah, that's, that's another word of advice. Where possible, just say yes. You know, say say yes to, you know, a friend has got a trip put together and it's so easy to say no, I can't make it happen but, but I do think that the world has changed. We talked about outdoor experiences and the COVID factor that I think people are now realizing that experiences are almost worth more than the fancy car they have in their driving.
So I say say yes.
And this kind of resonates coming off the heels of my father in law's service, but just remaining curious.
I think we live in a world that we all kind of somewhat can be know it alls and the curiosity and you know, I, there's so many and I. It's great having a conversation with you and having the Back and forth. You're. I don't know how many conversations I have with people where it's like, and I don't know if it's a mountain town thing I'm kind of getting too much into.
You know, you have a conversation with somebody and it's like, you ask questions, you ask questions. They talk about themselves. They talk about themselves. And then like, I get to the point where it's like, are you curious at all about me? Like, is there a two point relationship here or is this just. And I. And I think sometimes it's maybe people's social oddities and norms. I think we're all guilty of it. But I'm always like, where's the curiosity? Like, I'm curious. Asking questions about you and I. Same thing here. Like, I. When we get off this interview, I want to learn more about you and what, what drives you. And I think it's important for people to. Yeah. Being long winded, but to just be curious and continue to be curious. Like in a world where we kind of know it all and we have all the information at our fingertips. But be curious of our fellow man.
[01:08:49] Dr. Sarah: Yeah. I think this is all great advice, great wisdom, everybody listening. So, yeah, and I think that all, all of this is great.
I will definitely be thinking about what we've discussed today for a while because it makes me think too. Like, I'm kind of in a situation right now where I've kind of, you know, like I said, I have my art, I have a podcast, I'm doing all that. But I'm trying to really find that role that is lining up my kind of my doctoral journey with what I can offer and opportunities and different things. And I'm open to, to, you know, I'm open to where, if it's here in Charleston, great. If I have to relocate, that's fine too.
But I also want to say that I think you and your wife are very blessed you guys found each other.
And so I just think that's awesome and amazing and I'm so happy for you on that. And I'm hoping I'll find that person. You know, I'm like, where is he? But I'll find him, hopefully eventually.
[01:09:55] Jason: But.
[01:09:55] Dr. Sarah: So I can go off and go on adventures with, with him. But.
[01:09:58] Jason: Yeah, you will. Yes, I can imagine.
[01:10:01] Dr. Sarah: Yeah.
[01:10:01] Jason: Yeah. And hopefully we get to see you here in the Teton soon.
[01:10:05] Dr. Sarah: Yes, yes, for sure. I definitely want to come and check that out. That's definitely on my list now. And I'll either come solo or maybe I'LL maybe by that point, I'll have somebody coming with me, who knows, we'll see. But I'll manifest that. Like you manifest, I think manifesting.
And to me, you know, I'm a little, you know, I'm. And what you would call I'm spiritual. I'm all about God and all that, and I feel like there's manifesting tied in with that, and I think that it's all part of the vibe of everything going on. So. Yeah. But, yeah, this has been awesome talking with you, Jason, and I just want to thank everybody who's been listening, and I hope you've learned something, or maybe you've probably most likely been inspired by all of Jason advice and words of wisdom. Maybe it's making you excited to go out and try a new adventure or something.
Between golf and fishing and skiing and mountain biking and motorbiking, motorcycle. Everything what he does and yeah, if. But yeah. I want to thank everybody for listening to the Dr. Random podcast and thank you, Jason, for coming on.
And.
Yeah. So, as always, here on the Dr. Random podcast, Jason, you want to say anything before we sign out?
[01:11:27] Jason: I just want to say thank you, Sarah. It's been really nice getting back in touch with you, and this has been a lot of fun. I don't get. I'm always just kind of driving, driving on projects and adventures, and a lot of times don't get time to share. And to be honest, a lot of times people don't really understand what I do. They're like, yeah, Jason does. Does project management. So it was kind of fun to be able to share that more in depth and if you were interested to hear about it. So thank you for your time. Thank you for putting this podcast together and all that you do. It sounds like you got a diverse.
A lot of. A lot of irons in the fire of a lot of things you're doing. And I also like to take pictures and have been getting more into kind of drone photos and videos. Oh, cool. So it would be fun to host you here and kind of learn more of what you do in photography and, yeah, maybe go snap some. Snap some wildlife photos together.
[01:12:17] Dr. Sarah: That would be amazing. I would love that.
All right. Okay. And then, as always, as we say here on the Dr. Random podcast, I'm gonna say ciao,
[01:12:29] Jason: adios.
