That magazine but we set out towards southern Idaho Thatcher Idaho is about an hour north of Logan Utah actually and it's not too far from the Tetons. And it's odd and also not too far from Pocatello Idaho if you're trying to get a picture of where it is but what surprised me about this area is I didn't expect it to be as a law and green and bountiful as it was I can think of another word bountiful always comes to my mind when I picture this area because it's lawn rolling hills with Rivers meandering through it and farms and just incredible vistas the go on forever and it was a perfect time to visit the area right in the early part of the summer because everything was just full of life so we arrived at Maple Grove hot springs and it definitely who was in the early stages of a soft opening a lot of things were still under construction but they had in place some your sin canvas tents that were lined along the river pretty views we got a tent site with our tent set up and we had a view out over the river and it was nice and I hadn't really planned to you know have any direct conversations with anyone there we were just strictly tourists at this point but just as we were setting up one of the owners came by to see how we were doing introduced himself and we immediately hit it off and I asked him a little bit about the history of the place and what they were hoping would happen and what their goals were and he was such a great conversationalist and was so open and so excited and enthusiastic about what they were creating here at Maple Grove Hot Springs I said Do you mind sitting down and talking to me about you know who you are in what your vision is and he said No Absolutely I'd love to do that so great so he met a little later outside of this. IG year it that they had put out for conferences and yoga corporate retrieves and family gatherings and so we sat outside and just started talking about. What had inspired him to get involved Mabel Grove hot springs and the great part of conversation is you quite often have no idea where it's going to go in here was someone who was really open and willing to talk about the events in his life that had led him to changing drastically the course of his expected future and how he ended up being one of the owners and general manager of this property and so what I thought was going to be a quick conversation about Maple Grove hot springs and this venture that he was sitting out on to create kind of resort like nice camping resting experience became a conversation about finding our truth in mental health and finding the courage to step away from the expected path to take care of yourself and to create a life that feels healthy and good and grounding even though it's not what everyone thinks you should be doing. I enjoyed my time with Jordan Mintz out and I'm looking forward to getting your thoughts about this conversation and as I said although we're not taking calls today in the studio I always welcome your feedback to Elizabeth at the reluctant therapist dot com You can also find me on Facebook the reluctant therapist you can leave messages there or follow us on Instagram Elizabeth underscore T.R.T. You can listen to previous shows by visiting the C.B.X. Dot org or podcast our shows by visiting any ways that you find podcasts Apple podcasts works and search a conversation with a reluctant therapist hit subscribe and our shows will be uploaded so you can listen to your convenience and if you have an extra minute to write a review that also helps to get the podcast out to other people so here it is a show from the road Thatcher Idaho My guest is Jordan Mintz I'm Elizabeth Barrett This is a conversation with a reluctant therapist and you're listening to Central Coast public radio K.C. B.X. . Hot Springs so far as I know hot springs which of the source right over here has been enjoyed by humans for centuries and centuries going back to the Shoni and beyond this was traditionally a winter. Space for. Nomadic tribes Inc and housing all along the very reverse a really geothermally active corridor of Hot Springs. And so it's been here for a long time it's rumored and kind of known to have passed through lots of hands as early as the seventy's. People have told me that their grandparents came here into fashion hop pools you know in the forty's and fifty's so there's anecdotes of people utilizing it for a long time was it always just public space. Typically privately owned but pretty loosely whether through ranching and so kind of unstructured how people used it and then I think in the early ninety's started to be commercially developed. With a few pools that were really refined in the early 2000 and so not very long ago when it was how did people access because you can't go to the source it's 120 degree right how did people so always with the source is turning out a lot of water at any given point and you'll see that there's a runoff creek that runs down through the ampitheater there and water falls into the reservoir and then that is now piped. You know for about 100 yards to the pools here and go through a pretty rudimentary cooling system so far as I can tell that makes its way into the pool that comes out around 162175 in this pond down here it's starts to be cooling off around $140.00 M. At the time it makes it into the pools and those pools fill up right now those are ranging between 98 to one o 5 which is a really great temperature. So there's a lot of water that's turning out and it. So yeah it's been developed in a hodgepodge fashion for probably 30 years by different owners and the story of most owners has been one that I've even related to in this very short period of time which is this land requires a lot you've got right now 45 acres with fresh water requirements irrigation water demands a lot of mineral hot water that wants to deteriorate consume and clog everything it touches really and so it requires a lot of maintenance and cleaning and understanding that mineral water pressure is directly related to the. Volume of the reservoir so when it adds and flows so does the pressure which means we're constantly having to adapt flow rates to keep the pools there so and it's a fully off grid property and noise has been and so most owners you know it's all hands on deck and they've typically lived here and put blood sweat and tears and a lot of resources into just the maintenance of the space which observationally has taken a real toll on the individual individuals on the land because at the end of the day that is humans versus a dynamic force of nature here and that it's always going to take its toll Who do you think that over the course of the last 3040 years there's a lot of well intentioned Yes owners who just couldn't keep up yet and in many ways they kept up great and but ultimately I think. Everyone finds that there's a lot of balance here on this property but that balance can swing way too far if you don't have the right resources and energy and probably rebooting and so so far as I can tell much of that balance turned into a form of almost feeling like a prisoner of the land particularly once you start to welcome guests or overnight guests and you're running a lean operation and this a lot of this is before the era of Internet businesses or scheduling and so you're hanging tight waiting for maybe a customer or 2 or 30 to show up which means you're really leaving the site and. And so it really took a toll and so many of the owners of the past have experienced real financial scarcity struggled to find a business model around hotsprings day use and either lost the property or really had it fall like what happened most recently into a state of deterioration that it was no longer operable and been kind of you've chosen to sell rather than reinvest that capital back into any of us want it out yeah so how did you then come to be part of the land Yeah history in this area yeah. In many ways I feel like a really lucky and appreciative newcomer and so I don't take that lightly because this place has customer culture even today there are guests who've been coming here for over a decade. While most people are here for their 1st time and so those who've come here for a long time have a deep love for it and have really bonded with it over sometimes generations you know what is it yeah but was it what was the attraction was it always the mineral spring Yes OK So what is it about this I'm going to backtrack problem what is it about the mineral springs here because you know we're familiar with hot springs and potential healing power but what makes these mineral springs unique so one of the things that I find entertaining and I'm really excited to solve it is to my knowledge very few of the owners have actually ever tested the minerals and I really. Which is maybe a representation of that scarcity it's a high cost and it's not top of mind. They're always hot they're always enjoyable they don't smell that's good enough we do know that there are primarily lithium hot springs which are naturally. Said to have great effects on stress anxiety. Tension etc and so the hot springs are a really big reason why people come here but my experience personally and in talking with so many of the guess is they don't necessarily come here because the water here is distinct to maybe Lava Hot Springs or Crystal hot springs but they come here because this is one of the few places that happens to be sitting on largely untouched. 45 acre property along the Bear River and united there is reservoir surrounded by thousands of untouched ranching and Bureau of Land Management acreage and so you get to enjoy everything that we love about Hot Springs without the crowds and with a very dynamic wildlife and ecosystem that is changing every season. That means we have golden eagle bald eagles fan till crane pelican thousands of swans all of those cycling through with each season we have deer moose L. Tk mountain lion their ideology there are bears there infrequent we have turkeys pheasants and lots of great fish and it's not uncommon to sit in the pools and watch a pair of bald eagles fighting over. A fresh catch from the reservoir early in the morning or late in the evening and so to be able to enjoy Hot Springs nearly in their natural setting without needing to hike a long distance and without being overwhelmed by tour buses or crowds or noise or distraction is one of the reasons why people love maple grove so impart the challenge if they love it because it's empty OK OK but it being empty. Makes it a real struggling business and so our challenge is how do we get more people to enjoy this place in a way that's actually last distracting than it ever was before if you're just tuning in my guest is Jordan Mintz out he is the general manager and founding partner of Maple Grove Hot Springs in fact sure I had a ho and were sitting together along the bare river and overlooking the source of the hot springs and what I find so fast the in Jordan is that there is this beautiful river and then the hot springs or you're sitting in the hot spring looking at the river how many places are there like that in this area I mean it's got to be unique and to itself it is this river has a lot of geothermal activity but most individuals are only able to enjoy that in really commercially developed spaces which are amazing and they're great for families they're great for friends but it's an environment that's going to include a lot of crowds a lot a big pool infrastructure and water slides and that doesn't always appeal to people . Who want to enjoy hot springs in a natural setting but who also might not be able to hike to some of the more remote destinations that have those ingredients because this is not the only place but it is unique in that regard so then bring me to the point where you and your partner decided this is something we want to do yeah because you didn't grow up here I didn't yeah so I don't know how you know far far back in the most immediate term I'd like to go anywhere Yeah so all I'll give you my. Abridged version of how I ended up here OK and then maybe we'll go back and yeah OK because they're directly connected so I. Just to make it clear what an odd fit this I have a graduate degree in development economics from Georgetown University where I taught. I worked in the software industry. Right after graduate school. With a startup of mine in the civic tech sector. And did developing for 3 years a venture backed company that aimed to create an audience moderated online town hall software for elected officials. Ultimately had great traction but not a real viable product market fit so after 3 years you know 6 S. Fully ran an. Unsuccessful company and it was an amazing learning experience is the time of my life and I really learned that. I did enjoy Well my my background professionally was academically was. In foreign affairs national security international development that I really enjoyed a more collective work environment and so from there I went to work almost at that same pace which was you know a long days and a long weekend but a really rewarding work environment I rolled out of her I thought well. I've been in this software space were you a professor at Georgetown I would consist in a teaching assistant to former Secretary of State Madeline Albright Oh my God And so a very fun role for a nerdy policy wonk from Utah Yeah and if you're not you are firmly sitting right so I went out to D.C. For school and work and found that wonderful job in fellowship towards my last year and had the time of my life and started my company right out of that and so I actually after this world of foreign policy didn't get to dive in much professionally I ended up working in the civic tech software space. And concurrently was having the time of my life professionally. I was married and I was sick we were expecting our 1st child and ultimately we separated and divorced over those years in the startup years so the start of years were full of very rewarding work but also in immense toll on my personal life moving from D.C. Back to Salt Lake City. Balancing a separation amidst having a child and so so many highs and lows and surprisingly in that environment my mental and emotional health was doing OK I thought yeah yeah getting up and doing where you very day were functioning but it was really. Overwhelming time of. Collapse in many ways we ultimately made the hard decision to close down our business. Navigated the process of divorce amongst a one year old and all the while being financially responsible for kind of 2 emerging homes and so what I did in that space as I was so weighted down by the pressure of failure and the implications of that and and all this knowledge I had accrued but also the just the sheer responsibility of navigating to 2 homes in a state I didn't think I'd come back to right because you found yourself back in your home yeah and I thought Oh well you've been in D.C. And all that I mean I got married at intellectual environment Yeah and. But there I was and so and I was really committed to be there and in that space. I turn to the you know the most practical logical resume building opportunity which was an opportunity of a lifetime to join another big growing software company in Utah and it was an amazing opportunity company called qual trip and I felt very fortunate to join the team at the stage I did how and how old are you at this time probably later happening probably 30 OK so it's all happening very quickly graduation starting job oh boy start ups not going to make it but start ups that's OK we we raised under a $1000000.00 We had a team we tried everything we could our investors had a great idea and didn't in our approach and everyone said there's not a product market fit but we gave it our all and so now what you have to take those lessons we do something else and so I dove into a wonderful high pace startup at the time I in order to financially sustain to home I got creative and I started to experiment and I restored an old 1976 airstream and it's I think if you google Jordan Manzo Airstream you watch a video that actually. Highlights me and my daughter are living in that I really and the mental health implications from a positive perspective of downsized dramatically and I moved in $280.00 square foot Airstream trailer and you're like the original tiny home person kind of before tiny hands were seen as something cool everyone and sometimes myself included thought oh he's falling apart completely He's lost his mind now he's in the trailer down and it's literally on my I remember on my 30th birthday. Her birthday party in my friend's backyard in front of my trailer and I thought you know when you're like 15 your parents go you know if you don't go to college and they paint this picture when you're 30 you're going to be living in a trailer in the backyard with a barrel that has a fire in it you know that was exactly what was happening and so it was. It was not lost on me that this was shaky territory if I wasn't comfortable but I was it was almost as if you were moving towards this direction yeah I didn't ignore you could get you just didn't know where it was taking you know I write so I I did that and I did not join the tiny hole movement because many folks have this like long crafted plan they've been observing it they've been interesting boards and honey we're doing it and here it is mine was I bought this trailer on a real whim on a bike ride over a weekend and so I remodeled it found a great space my friends backyard and spent the next 3 years there with my daughter who was 2 at the time. And living with me part time and we and I moved from one spot to another as you sometimes have to do and was totally introduced to something that was always maybe speaking to me but I didn't quite identify with it I certainly never deliberately did it which was minimalism just by necessity you move into a space like that you have to downsize quite a bit and I really experienced the mental benefits of removing clutter eliminating financial stress and it was a really happy time and ultimately that trailer that that allowed me to afford a home that was a duplex I could have a rental and I kept renting that trailer in the backyard that allowed me to really save up a bit and I sold that trailer and the resources from that trailer what allowed me to do this oh really but during that time I made some some pretty I crashed pretty hard unrelated to living in a trailer if you're just tuning in I'm Elizabeth Barrett and my guess is Jordan Mintz general manager and partner in Maple Grove hot springs along the Bear River in Idaho and George and I started off just talking about his vision for Maple Grove hot springs but we soon wandered off and started talking about how Jordan needed to find Maple Grove Hot Springs to help bring a balance to his life and so we continue our conversation along the Bear River in touch for Idaho You're listening to Central Coast public radio K.C. B.X. . While I was living in a trailer I got that job at a big software company that started a catch was I had to commute down to Provo Utah which is about an hour each way and I was experiencing a dramatic loss in time with my daughter just by working. No longer for myself and I was working in a very fun dynamic environment that was really rewarding but at the same time I was experiencing for the 1st time even after divorce even after living in a trailer even after being financially scarce it wasn't until I was making a lot of money. Secure that I started experiencing like I think this is what people talk about when they talk about anxiety. I think I'm not afraid to get up in the morning I can't wait to go to bed at night and. The next day I show up to work and I'm paralyzed and it's a dynamic environment and now my my strengths are no longer yielding what they used to and in fact they are buckling under my. Early signs of depression. And with each commute I would become more depressed and with each new work challenge instead of it being rewarding it was more and more paralyzing and while I was succeeding in certain regards in the short term as you try and do it a new role in a new company. My long term stamina was. So invisible to me I almost couldn't I was no longer imaginative about what I could even do I would never say I became occupied with suicidal thoughts but I did become uniquely uncreative about my future I was trying really hard and I was feeling snippets of it and routine and tradition were helping a lot but I was seeing friends last I was working out last I was seeing my daughter last all the things that I kind of knew kept me balanced so was I wasn't like surprised I could see all the writing on the wall but I couldn't see any way to change the variables the workload wouldn't shift much I did feel comfortable to talk to the team members and managers and everyone was you know overwhelmingly understanding which made me kind of appreciate that your understanding because you're probably Experion there to be elements of this that's exactly HAMANN And I'm not I don't I didn't focus uncomfortable to talk about it I made the decision to leave my employment because I thought the primary variable here is my is commuting are all these tangible things and before before I try and seek. Medical support I want to try and see if I can eliminate the things that I am aware of and I ultimately chose to concurrently do both because I was at a pretty low spot where I was like you know even stabilizing. But I was clear that I needed some help and I wanted to still excel as a father and to not compound my situation even more by having some type of collapse and so I kind of hit a wall actually right around a birthday of mine and I don't even recall which one it was but it it really crashed and I I made a decision it was just before you left a job or I was still having to deal with that you do in the garage Yeah I remember the day I came into work and my my peer and coworkers a dear friend of mine looked over at me and I just started to cry into the computer . And he just said well let's go to lunch and we did and I laid out that I needed help and that I don't envision a a work life balance for my personality type that can navigate through what the role of the company required at that time which was really me saying I don't think I'm a 9 to 5 person. I don't think I can make the tradeoffs given the fact that I'm a single parent for my time and my time with my daughter I don't think I can afford . To give up 2 hours a day to commuting in a car I think those are things that are pushing me over my limit and I've sustained a lot of low moments and these seem like ones I can control but I have no idea how I'm going to afford this how where I have no idea what awaits certainly if not this job and what and it was also imagine some ways another I can't leave or fail at another reason everything is completely another failure in my view right I'm not proud I was well and what I love so I left I left with all the support of amazing team members and your friends they understood and so no one was surprised that something else might call to me that was a little less structured and so that happened and I had learned that it was a beautiful thing to talk to everyone I was afraid to talk to including my ex-wife I had to fill her in which is always a tough thing to do if you're co-parenting and you're trying to maintain a front that you've got it because you don't want it we don't want anyone to question you and and they're the tipping point so it was as I was getting ready to have these crucial conversations with my work team and almost unable to function at work anymore a friend over the weekend unbeknown to him invited me said Hey I know you're the type of person that if you could be available you would I have a spot on a $21.00 day trip for the Grand Canyon private rafting and it's in September and I know you just got this great job what do you think and so that felt like the right medicine at the right time and I seized on all of that together and I quit with and any plan and. For a moment marinated in the fact that I've now fell twice and I have no idea where I fit now but the requirements are even higher but it was a decision to say but I know where I don't fit and that's huge That's huge I tried what would be the conventional alternative and I know that's not for me and maybe I jumped in to quick or who knows what but I it was clear that was not the right fit for me and I went on the rafting trip had the time of my life that and the day I got back I got an email from an international development organization that I had worked a lot with in the past that was Salt Lake City based they were recruiting for the director of their international expedition program which helps companies and individuals who are supporting international development infrastructure projects all over the world in 7 countries. And help their donors head out to the field to go through an educational and experience Schol. Expedition and seminar to learn about how effective community development takes place so there's a teaching role there's a travelling role there is it's not a conventional job and it's in a field that I really was passionate about and it kind of stepped out of for a bit and so I found a quick home in the most rewarding employment I could have imagined in the role that I had actually been an expedition leader for the years in the past and so it was easy. Initially because it was familiar and so it was the softest landing. and it was a blank canvas much like a start up organization it's a lean non profit and so which you love the excite me when job that ad and and they were welcoming of someone who had spent some time outside of the stay in the field and also in the private sector and so there was just a lot of needs as well and so is a really rewarding time in i dug in and i told myself i i haf to learn to thrive in commit for 3 years who to 3 years ok i can't tank the because you start when you delicious mental health issues you start to question your ability to do what you've always daniels forget and i questioned in my unable to see something no my home unable to function right and have i'd lock in the traditional way right away we're at a family get up and go to work and no what unfolded with 3 amazing it just under 3 amazing years in a couple different roles and it's called choice humanitarian leading over 500 people over 20 different trips across 7 countries and having both the the time of my life at really learning my strengths my weaknesses and also experiencing wonderfully impacts full gross in the organization you know we went from sending 200 donors and partners abroad to under a 1000 and that's where i learned set interesting when people and groups get out of their comfort zone There's magical growth that happens and I really enjoy facilitating that I love to teach and I love to also help support individuals in this context who are going abroad oftentimes for their 1st time into cultures and communities that make them very uncomfortable with perspectives and paradigms that are often very ethnocentric to experience. True equal exchange of information is across cultures within cultures and to come back a little bit more aware of a little bit more tuned in about their roles and responsibilities as global citizens and that was fascinating and detachment getting off of cell phones getting off of Internet getting off of social media. All things that I did heavily after I crashed to my benefit. You got off of all this yeah right really not that I was very active to begin with I've always been a skeptical naysaying last mover. But interestingly in the software field and in totally Yeah and in the interconnectedness and I know similarly in there was a real. Clash of values and I admit that that while I loved the start up environment of solving your problems ultimately these are not the types of problems I was interested to spend my time on earth solving You're listening to Central Coast public radio K.C. B.X. I'm Elizabeth Barrett and my guest is Jordan general manager and partner Maple Grove hot springs and we continue our conversation along the Bear River in fatter Idaho I was at an H.R. Conference in Tampa caring for the software company and nothing against H.R. Professionals but I was there. And I was standing in the back of this convention space and realized like you know I am on this floating orbit that has this fascinating geological bio chemical combination that sustains the self-aware being called human and we're here for a finite period of time that is unknown to any one of us and I I'm having a panic attack that I'm spending my waking hours. At this conference in Tampa and I almost couldn't turn that awareness off it was existential nature and so I it's it's the crashing of enlightenment or awareness you know and so but then the solution of what do you do with that in a modern society is almost more overwhelming. And but I learned something about myself I said you know about every 2 to 3 years I. Am a creature of open ended possibilities I'm just going to tell the story in a session I love that I need 3 to 6 months off with No not a firm commitment to come back but a likely one but I'm going to consider. Anything else and if they'll have me that's great and if not that's OK too and I need to spend some time with my daughter and I want to spend some time for myself I've learned that that's my medicine and so rather than cashing out my retirement at age 65 I will cash it out in 2 to 3 year increments for about 6 months to a year and and so and I had been informally doing that for over a decade right those things that you considered failures actually in hindsight were in unconscious seize reduce Yeah yeah recharging and so I'd look back into that and I said I really appreciate that and between graduate school and between college and between this job and that job at these windows and there and I think back to those are the happiest times of my life and so this time last year I pretty much started my 6 months off. You had already in June and you didn't have this plan no oh no you just needed out I had no plan OK The plan was to maybe come back to choice which would have been a rewarding opportunity and there would have been thrilled to do it OK And you know here he is again can't hold down a job leaves at the high point of his career. No real game plan you know and I'm I can only imagine. With the whispers I don't know what speculations were that were said to me but I I was clear on time taken 6 months and this is my plan and towards the end of that time. I had caught when a friend told me to just come visit me Hot Springs this is in September of last year so I came with my girlfriend at the end of a small hunting trip with her family. And we came on a beautiful September of this place turns into fire. Turns red and yellow and orange at different stages and it's amazing and we're the only ones here and the property was completely falling apart and rundown and the bathroom ceiling was leaking the main office roof was about to collapse and the whole time I was sitting here I was doing what I keep doing with properties this is rambling which probably everyone does about what this place could be and also how special was it took me minutes to feel like this is one of the most unique places and we spent not even that long of an afternoon here and I was fixated on it and talking to everyone about it and telling everyone to go visit it and also complaining how it was going to go the way of all these old properties which is either continue to be run down into disrepair or get turned into a hyper commercialized you know R.V. Trailer camping place or something like that or a boutique retrieved if you know who knows yet or something who knows what and everyone with their idea and a few weeks later I heard it was closed and in so it wasn't on the market we owe so this was just a random He checked this place out it wasn't much good out. And I came and checked it out and too bad though it's really fallen apart man this could be cool it was on the market but you already had a sense of what you could do yeah I instantly contacted some family and friends. And I started to mobilize. Some connections to the seller and a mutual friend put me in touch with a few other individuals who started the same and we quickly got together and realized that I think we have enough shared interest and a very interesting yeah so everything was really quick so and what we were able to put together was a like minded group of 4 friends and family and ultimately people who cared about the vision the mission the business there's actually a real moment that gets to. The goal of this space the goal of the space is to help individuals connect with themselves with each other through a small sense of community really common to the old being the type of. End to the natural ecosystem that this place is housed in and to do it in a way that finally creates a sustainable business model that can support this land outside of scarcity that cannery naturalize the space while inviting more people on it that can get more people to soak in these waters so you don't want to just become a selfie Yeah I did still sanity in the time another another cliche environment. So I acknowledge well we're putting up canvas for new units that's pretty. In vogue right now and so then the ideas well how do I do those in a way that's authentic to us while we design our own day beds and customize everything we build into it what was the building around the corner that's that's that was an old prohibition era dance hall and drinking saloon and so I'm told was that part of this property. Back in the day probably not it's historically that foundation has been here ever since and in the spirit of. Collecting things that might have a use I think every owners left it thinking at some point they might build something on it and I'm really excited to tear that down clean that up and set free the beautiful. Lies Beneath it was this the center of your vision was the kind of. The center point. No At the end of the day the center point is always the bread and butter of the space which is the hot hot springs OK And one of the challenges around that is that building did not look like that building looked like a collapsed garage and so that's what we had to work with in the pools where they operate when they're OK They all everything had operational challenges pipes had gone on maintain for a full season which meant certain things were running certain things were broken and leaking and we had to repair a roof mid February with no power we still don't have power. I won't bore you with the challenges but this there this is the hardest thing I've ever done. It's also the most rewarding thing I've ever done it's felt like the most balanced one I'm here and imbalanced at the same time because we don't have Internet we don't have power yet which means all of the the physical rebirth of the space is only half of the project the other half is rebirthing the identity and business of Maple Grove which is at the end of the day a software that Lucian right I mean if you're going to have an alliance right you're going to somehow reach it right Know your audience and we are and so right now I'm what I'm learning is. There's a beautiful balance in physical labor and also working in a coffee shop on a computer for a handful of days and I it makes me thrilled for both and for me who are probably an undiagnosed attention deficit type individual it is the ideal work environment I'm in a big city some of the times and I am completely unplugged in present the rest of the time interacting with people and solving water temperature issues and plunging out mineralized pipes and digging out rolled culverts that have collapsed in chatting with the guests and chatting I think there is if they're comfortable and rolling boulders and telling the story makes me really happy. But it has been a real challenge because right now there is not a marriage of those 2 worlds there are competing forces for my time as a single parent still and as someone with a girlfriend you still have your significant other you know so what that means I was right now these 6 months have been filled like a marginally successful modern day homesteader where every season unveils new problems and new challenges as you're not even a year into it oh no we've really been at it since April right and observational since February and so we we've had to move fast to pull off the business and but it's working and it's so fun to get guests up here it makes it all worth it. So much of the work that we've done has been with volunteer crews so my background choice for an attorney is leading groups abroad a part of that experience is integrating a very excited volunteer base into community led development projects and so we learned here that you know this is a working center and we're seeing something really interesting that will inform how we operate for ever which is when guests come up here and we plug them into projects we have they believe as stakeholders as friends and we get so much more done and they're having an experience that made their weekend reenergized them for whatever that is they have to go back to if I'm experiencing this high volume of balance with physical labor and still working in a digital world at times. What or how many guests are also looking for a little introduction to that at a small level and so once we're operable we have a lot of other phases of development which include trial maintenance animal husbandry production of food and growth and our goal is to create a guest worker trade program as well so guests can optionally plug in to laid out volunteer projects for a few hours a day for discounts on the nights that they've just spent so that people can have balance which is a little bit of work a little bit of play a little bit of connection a little bit of privacy a little bit of relaxation and hopefully some celebration somewhere in there people are just really excited to unplug their snow connectivity here and even when we have Wi-Fi. We will explicitly not offer that to guests unless there's a real pinch of a problem which is what people are looking for and that's a so are our product that we're offering as protection from that distraction and we will be the stewards of that gate. So if I come back here 3 years from now given your your kind of history will you be here yeah. My desire to really involve myself in this space as part owner and part short term General Manager is it so that I have. The ability to tackle projects when I'm a real I really enjoy the startup phase of things but I believe in being uncomfortable and what's uncomfortable for me is the continued growth in management of something that I've started and so I'm really here because it has all the right ingredients for me to be committed and balanced and to also still come and go as I please our goal is is to actually for all the workers here to create a program and some processes where this place is no longer. A caretaker dependent space meaning we have a team that's on site and arms rotating through as they need to which keeps us all fresh and all reenergized and new ideas coming through so my goal is to see us through this initial phase and then to see us through the phase after that OK and the phase after that and for you it's like a series of start ups Yeah yeah and the same in the fall I won't be here full time I think we'll hire a caretaking couple winter season will slow down a bit we'll still be operable. And I think I will continue to help run the business entity and to help make sure that our event side of things continues to grow and. And so for me this is home I found my home I found a place that I'm going I don't think I need to skip out on this I think this has my built in flexibility right now I don't see it I am fully immerse seamers If you're just tuning in this is a conversation with a reluctant therapist I'm Melissa Beth Barrett and I'm sitting in Maple Grove Hot Springs in fact Idaho with my guest Jordan Mintz. So Jordan I found this property through Sunset Magazine How do you how does the Sunset Magazine relationship kind of work in your mind well it's an exciting one in the sense that we're building Maple Grove for ourselves at the guests who've been coming here forever and what I assume or hope are people out there who are looking for the experience that we're offering I'm thrilled with any partner or outlet that wants to put that out there because we're actually doing the homework and the work on our end to make sure that. This place doesn't get overcrowded and so for anyone starting a small business any news is typically good news what's great about how we even ended up in Sunset Magazine as one of our 1st retreats is with a company founded by my girlfriend called Wilder goods. And so Wilder goods was in the process of putting together their fall field trip Meanwhile Janie's boyfriend me is working on this project and Maple Grove got snatched up and mentioned in that story about the wilder goods. Field trip and in many ways has been an awesome platform for us to meet people like you it's oh it's interesting because it seems that your life has been a series of doors opening in you having the confidence or even the trust to walk through those doors and I think that's really something it's going to inspire other people and one of the reasons I want to sit down and talk with you today so thank you Jordan is our for spending time sharing your story which is inspiring and also your vision for Maple Grove Hot Springs and I will be back and we will revisit this and see where you are a year or so from now right well thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us thank you and this is been a conversation with a reluctant therapist I am Melissa Beth Barrett and my guest has been Jordan Mintz our general manager and partner in Maple Grove hot springs and although we were taking calls in the studio today I look forward to hearing your feedback about the show you can send me an e-mail to Elizabeth at the reluctant therapist dot com or you can send me a message through Facebook the reluctant therapist or through our Instagram Elizabeth underscore T.R.T. And if you missed any part of the show you can always find this show and all of my previous shows at K C.B.X. Dot au Archie under the news talk tab or if you'd like you can pod cast my show by visiting a conversation with the reluctant therapist at Apple podcasts or anywhere you find your podcast hit subscribe the show will be uploaded and he can listen to your convenience as always I appreciate the opportunity to share these conversations with you will be back again next Tuesday. To thank you for supporting Central Coast Public Radio OK C.B.X. . A little bit later let. Yes your 2 biggies to be ex lists are supported by brick radio. They sting into conversation with the reluctant they're pissed at the program that represents the views of the speakers and not necessarily those of case of the axe he said next welcomes the comments of those with divergent views. That support for gay sex comes from Kabul extra education featuring the class Arabella Keating on Saturday October 12th including how spices in a meal affect digestion and flavor one more at extended poly dot edu. Stay tuned for fresh air it's 3 o'clock this is K.C. B.X. Listener supported public radio. With. Elvis introduced today's guest. His name is James James Burton played with 1989 stage comeback in Vegas until his death. Many other iconic including Sinatra Johnny Cash and. He played on many Ricky Nelson hits and performed in his band. James Burton plays on the new box set Elvis live in 1989. Talk or reviews the 1st solo album by Cleaver of the indie rock band. Reviews Give Me Liberty a film set in the medical transport. First news. Live from N.P.R. News in Washington I'm Jack Speer some hospitals and schools in Palm Beach County Florida are still closed as the county remains in a tropical storm warning over hurricane Dorian now a Category 2 hurricane Dorian is expected to move along the southeast coast Madelyne Fox reports from member station W L R N in Palm Beach County evacuation orders are in effect for coastal areas mobile homes and other vulnerable housing deputy Palm Beach County Mr John Van Burnam says there's reason to be cautious we're asking people to not be on the roads to stay in the shelters if they're in the shelters to stay at home if you're at home a Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach transferred all of its 64 patients to other nearby hospitals J.F.K. Medical Center closed both its emergency departments the hospital is still open to patients V.A. Medical centers across Palm Beach County are closed as are public schools and universities 9 public schools in the county are currently serving as emergency shelters For N.P.R. News I'm Madeline Fox in West Palm Beach authorities now say 34 people died in a boat fire off the southern California coast officials say some of the victims ranging in age from 17 to their sixty's will likely have to be identified through D.N.A. Due to the fierce heat from the fire most of the victims appear to have been from the Northern California area all 34 who died were below deck when the fire erupted 5 crew members were rescued by nearby boat after jumping into the ocean it's not clear what started the fire but all the passengers on the overnight dive crews were sleeping below decks the boat was more off Santa Cruz Island the community of Odessa Texas is dealing with many emotions in the wake of a gunman's attack this past weekend Joseph lay with member station reports the mayor says he's glad the suspect is dead Odessa Mayor David Turner tells the radio program Texas standard it's better that taxpayers don't foot the bill for the gunman to face justice police shot and killed the 36 year old after his shooting spree that fatally wounded at least 7 people in Midland and Odessa over the weekend I may sound very callous but you know when you stood beside officers who have bullet holes and or older legs. You see a little a police officer that's lost his sight in one of his eyes the Australian mad as hell Turner says he has faith that state lawmakers will take meaningful action to prevent attacks like the one that shaken his community or the massacre at an El Paso Wal-Mart that took place a month ago For N.P.R. News I'm Joseph Leahy in Austin factories are less busy last month these 2 for Supply Management a key purchasing managers group says its manufacturing index led to 49 point one any reading below 50 signals a contraction in manufacturing stocks lost ground down Jones Industrial Average down 285 points today 226001 118 the Nasdaq fell 88 points This is N.P.R. U.S. Jaja is rejecting the latest effort by some drug makers including distributors and pharmacies to dismiss claims they help for the nation's opioid crisis U.S. District court judge in Ohio who is overseeing upwards of 2000 opioid lawsuits by state and local governments says plaintiffs can try to prove deceptive marketing by drug makers and other companies helped lead to a massive increase in the supply of the addictive pain killers that not enough was done to stop it the judge's ruling comes ahead of a trial next month involving to Ohio counties against produce pharma the maker of Oxycontin eating a poor diet can apparently contribute to vision loss N.P.R.'s Allison Aubrey reports that is the conclusion of a case study of a teenage boy who lost his.