Send us a text

BONUS: The Quest Express talks to the principal of a middle school in Canada, but not the kind of principal on Ferris Bueller, "Nine times, Mrs. Bueller. Nine times." No, Danielle Shantz is more of a People's Principal and advocate for students, parents and teachers alike. She was inspired to write Healing in the Halls after witnessing the widespread damage to kids, parents and teachers in the aftermath of Covid. Website: www.healinginthehalls.com

Book your own VIP Day / Weekend: info@thedinnerstory.com

Season 2: host@thequestexpress.com

Inside:

• Artistic roots
• Consequences of Covid on kids
• A path forward for education
• Experiential learning & engagement

Danielle is a lifelong learner with a deep connection to her farm family heritage, placing great importance on family bonds. An educator by profession, she loves nature and enjoys writing as a way to connect with others. Her passion for continuous learning and her appreciation for the natural world reflect her nurturing spirit and commitment to personal and communal growth.

Healing in the Halls: A Reflection of the Pandemic and Its Impact on Schools, Education, and Families is a poignant and timely exploration of the profound changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic in the realm of education. This thought-provoking book delves into the heart of the crisis, shedding light on how schools, educators, students, and families navigated unprecedented challenges in Saskatchewan with her family, her roots are here, in the Land of the Living Skies. The art of sharing stories comes from her grandfather and father, who instilled in her a love of the art of communication and making connections with all you meet. Through these experiences, stories, and the love of learning and educating, the idea of creating a collection of stories, problems, and most importantly solutions, emerged. Read more here...

The Vacant Farm - By A.C.(Tony) Steiert
Not a scene from a painter's book.
Just a vacant farm-with an aging tired look.
The yard once a haven and a farmer's pride,
Taken over by nature in her stride.
A lonely windmill hanging its head,
No longer pumping-just resting instead.
The barn, weather-beaten with aching back.
Not a single eye left anywhere,
But broken and shattered through wear and tear.
Once it housed the farmer's steeds,
Ready and waiting for the family needs.
Gone is Bossy with her four bottles of milk-
More important to mother than botts of silk.
The outhouse with open door and empty chair-
With an old Eaton's catologue still hanging there.
The house - once a home and happy abode,
just full of memories yet to be told.
No longer does the chimney mother's secrets tell
For the wood and heat had its own special smell.
In the attic, some antiques giving way to rust,
Resting silently beneath a mantle of dust,
I feel the presence of a family here,
Although they have been gone for many a year.
I can see the mother with apron wrapped,
Working a strudel with fin

Support the show

Website: https://www.thequestexpress.com

Feedback Survey: https://forms.gle/6yMieXo2iGEE1Qmr9

Say Hi: host@thequestexpress.com

Music Credits: INTRO: Loyalty - Philip Ayers | OUTRO: Grasshopper's Dance - Etienne Roussel

Send us a text

BONUS EPISODE: Today we meet an American expat and former journalist who has made Buenos Aires her permanent home. We talk tango, AI, the globalist agenda, off grid living & Bucket List travel.

Visit her platform at the links below:

• https://wander-argentina.com/travel/
• https://wander-argentina.com/buenos-aires-tours/
• https://wander-argentina.com/f-a-q-living-in-argentina/
• https://andewanderer.com/about/

Inside this episode:

• Ande's winding road to Argentina
• The political change Argentines need
• A peek inside the Tango Obsession & Lifestyle
• Wander Argentina
• How Google & AI are destroying indie publishers
• The "One Year to Live" Question
• Carrie's new phobia from Bali
• Ande's travels to Bangalore, Nepal & Portugal
• Ancestry DNA tests - get yours here
• Bucket list & fave locales
• B-YOU: Build Your Own Utopia

Next week: A Middle School Principal turns the trials of Covid into a book and restores hope in parents, engagements in students, and a clear path forward for teachers.

Questions? host@thequestexpress.com

Bio:
Andy Wanderer is a former journalist who moved to Buenos Aires to escape the live-to-work matrix. Once she became fluent in Spanish and established herself here, she redirected her zeal for exploration, learning and storytelling into creating "Wander Argentina," a digital platform for those captivated by this expansive and fascinating country.

Support the show

Website: https://www.thequestexpress.com

Feedback Survey: https://forms.gle/6yMieXo2iGEE1Qmr9

Say Hi: host@thequestexpress.com

Music Credits: INTRO: Loyalty - Philip Ayers | OUTRO: Grasshopper's Dance - Etienne Roussel

Send us a text

ASPEN: Today we conclude the Aspen Series with 4th generation Aspenite and Aspen Hall of Famer, Tony Vagneur, who gives us a historical tour of Aspen.

Read Tony's column, "Saddle Sore" in The Aspen Times here:

Visit the Aspen Historical Society: www.aspenhistory.org and if you're living in Aspen or moving there...

Hire his daughter Lauren, Creator & Owner of Chic & Tidy: www.chicandtidy.com

Inside this episode:

• The Paepke's vision for Aspen
• Judge Shaw & The Paepke Migration
• Silver, Limestone & Prostitutes
• Aspen Historical Society
• The Story of Hotel Jerome
• A ghost in Tony's childhood home

Next Week: Ande Wanderer, a former journalist from NYC who moved to Buenos Aires to escape the live-to-work matrix.

Questions? host@thequestexpress.com

Bio:
Tony Vagneur was born into the Vagneur ranching family in Woody Creek. His great-grandfather, Jeremie Vagneur arrived from Val d’Aosta, Italy, in 1882, and carved out a ranching dynasty that thus far includes five generations. He is a life-long rancher and businessman. Known primarily for his column, "Saddle Sore", in The Aspen Times and his exploits as a general raconteur and cattle ranching cowboy.

Tony grew up on the original Vagneur homestead in Woody Creek, named the Elkhorn Ranch by his grandfather, Ben. Tony graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and business administration from the University of Colorado.

Once back in Aspen, Tony began working for his aunt and uncle (Eileen and Vic Goodhard) at Aspen Trash Service, Inc., a relationship that would indelibly mark Tony’s business career for the next 25 years. He also did stints as a builder, a bartender, an equipment operator, a horse trainer, a ski racer, a string of Marlboro commercials and a long run at the T Lazy-7 Ranch. Tony put in seven years as an Aspen Mountain Ski Patrolman.

Tony spent much of his free time helping the Vagneur Ranch Company take care of the cattle in the high country. The cow camp became his home away from home. In the late 1980s, he created his own volunteer educational position with the U. S. Forest Service, a relationship he maintains to this day.

Since 2000, Tony has spent winters on the ski hill and summers caring for herds of cows in the mountains above East Sopris Creek. He has been a regular volunteer on boards like the Roaring Fork Valley Planning Commission and the Red Butte Cemetery board. His column, “Saddle Sore,” appears each Saturday in The Aspen Times, and he fills up his spare time playing the piano around town.

The Vagneur family’s ranching legacy continues to now include Tony’s daughter, Lauren, and her husband, Ty Burtard. The couple leases the family’s original homestead in Woody Creek, operating it as a hay and cattle ranch.

Aspen Hall of Fame Inductee

Support the show

Website: https://www.thequestexpress.com

Feedback Survey: https://forms.gle/6yMieXo2iGEE1Qmr9

Say Hi: host@thequestexpress.com

Music Credits: INTRO: Loyalty - Philip Ayers | OUTRO: Grasshopper's Dance - Etienne Roussel