Kurt Koontz's Blog, page 21

Bhutan

During the Q-A at my presentations, a common inquiry is to ask about my next journey. The simple answer is that being in front of a new crowd at an unfamiliar location is an adventure. In many ways, promoting A Million Steps is similar to...

Mile High Adventure

Last Monday, I found myself on Highway 55 headed to Garden Valley, Idaho.  The 50 mile drive is scenic and stirred memories from many  glorious summers in McCall.  A friend of a friend invited me into her home to share my story with the local...

Why

After taking A Million Steps on the Camino de Santiago, the most common question I receive is a simple three letter word….”why?’  I adore Annie Lennox but here is my attempt to answer. Routines play an incredible part is all of our lives.  During my...

Andy’s Handshake

During my 500 mile walk on the Camino de Santiago, people drifted in and out of my life on a regular basis.  In the infancy of the journey, I had a hard time saying goodbye to friends.  The life lesson learned is that although relationships...

The Sunny Side

In my youth, the crystal ball predicted a life as an executive in corporate America, a trophy wife, several kids, a few spare homes, and memberships to expensive clubs.  Fortunately, the clairvoyant signal short circuited and gave me my existing life.  I am 50, childless,...

Camino 101

A million is a rough estimate of the number of steps I took while walking the Camino de Santiago. I made the calculation on day 13 of my trek as I walked along a portion of the path that was parallel to a highway with...

Slippin’

At my ripe old age of 13, Mrs. Dominique assigned her drama students the task of lip syncing a popular tune. This was years before Milli Vanilli ruined the art form. I chose The Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle” and remember flapping my...

Dive Bar Tour

Part of my refusal to conform shows up in a ridiculously long spring break each year to Palm Springs. For over 20 years, the annual trip to the desert has become part of me. Every year is a new experience. I have enjoyed some of...

Life Happens Now, and Other Lessons from a 500-Mile Walk

This is my guest blog post that was recently published on Tiny Buddha. In September of 2012, I flew from Idaho to Spain and began a 500-mile pilgrimage walk on the Camino de Santiago. I arrived in St. Jean Pied-de-Port without any expectations and a...

Jurassic Journey

Walking the Camino de Santiago was one gigantic journey. I left Boise in the Fall of 2012 without any expectations and it turned into a trip of a lifetime. This adventure continues on a daily basis as I embark on a mission to market A...