Hi. I’m Tom! Thanks for visiting.

I’m a mid-40s former software engineer, currently on a sabbatical of indeterminate length. At its core, this is a site about how I’ve taken control of the one thing I can’t get more of, my time, and what comes next.

For now, that looks like a lot of outdoor adventure and travel with my truck camper or motorcycle across North America and internationally. But it will also mean working with nonprofits I’m passionate about to protect and restore forests and critical wildlife habitat.

This may look like a travel blog now, and in many ways it is. But it’s also about the uncommon path. It’s about determining what enough is in a world that tells us it’s never enough, and stepping off the treadmill of consumption, the corporate grind, and the pursuit of things to pursue real purpose, contribution, and connection. It’s about creating more and consuming less. It’s about doing hard things with amazing people, and discovering what gifts I have to offer in the work of protecting life and building healthier ways of living.

The name comes from an Edward Abbey quote that’s stuck with me for years:

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view…”

Abbey’s vision—of meandering rivers, dark forests, red rock canyons, and something strange and beautiful waiting beyond the next turn—captures what I’m after. Not the straight, well-marked path, but the crooked trail that winds through uncertainty toward wonder.

This site is my attempt to document that trail, share what I’m learning along the way, and maybe inspire others to find their own path.