+2 – 1 +1 -2 = 0 (Huh?!?)

What’s the best way to squeeze in a quick business trip to Northern Montana in the middle of the busy Spring housing market?

I’m sure there are other ways, but here’s my strategy, executed to perfection last week:

Tuesday:  work a full day in the Twin Cities, then head to the airport around 6 p.m to catch an 8 p.m. flight (Psst!  Early evening airport lines — at least for departures — are blissfully short).  Make a connection in Denver, then arrive in Spokane at 2 a.m. Central.

Thanks to the 2 hour time change, though, it’s only Midnight local (Pacific) time.  Which means the car rental companies are still open.  Collect rental car, drive to nearby hotel . . . and promptly crash.

Wednesday:  Sleep in to 10 a.m. Central — only 8 a.m. local!  Have a nice breakfast, do emails and phone calls for 90 minutes, then drive four hours northeast to Libby, Montana (just 40 miles from Canada).

After arriving in Libby, get to Lincoln County Courthouse, City Hall, and Forestry service before they close at 5 p.m.

Make that 4 p.m.! 

Since Montana is on Mountain Time, not Pacific time, you lose an hour crossing the Idaho – Montana border.

Thursday.  Meet with a local logger and a timber consultant; visit various area logging projects.

Friday.  Make a quick stop at Montana Department of Natural Resources, then head back — running late — to Spokane for 2 p.m flight back to Twin Cities via Denver.

Then an epiphany:  2 p.m Pacific = 3 p.m Mountain!  I relax, slow down . . . and enjoy the breathtaking drive.

Friday night.  Get back to Twin Cities — exhausted — at 9 p.m.

Voila!  Due to the time change, it’s suddenly 11 p.m.

Time to go to bed — which I do post-haste.

Total time away:  just a tad over 72 hours.

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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