In the spring of 2008, while upgrading cabling infrastructure for a large Lake Austin property, a subcontractor asked me to engineer a similar solution for a remote retreat property in Montana. What began as helping a colleague evolved into a comprehensive property-wide electronics upgrade. On August 14th I drove through Missoula, arriving at the mountain retreat that evening.

The project involved re-wiring a large multi-structure property with copper and fiber communications infrastructure, installing a property-wide phone system, designing and implementing temperature-controlled outdoor electronics enclosures for camera and communications equipment, and restructuring the central electronics closet by installing a proper equipment rack. In the end, cameras installed a mile away could be monitored in all structures, any person could be contacted regardless of location, and reliable fiber-optic based internet was available everywhere on the property. I helped my colleague remotely at first, then was onsite for two weeks, with a return visit two years later for follow-up service.

That project was more than just another job, it fundamentally shifted the direction of my life, and ultimately led to the journey documented in We Meet Again.