About John Brownlee

I grew up with a love for the outdoors. As a small child I would help my grandad plant his garden and then help him harvest the produce that fall. I lived in an area where there were hills, meadows and streams for swimming and fishing.

I was a member of an outdoor club from the ages of 9 to 16. Each summer we would go hiking and camping. One summer I hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail along the Tennessee North Carolina border.

When I was a senior in High School I saw a Disney Film called “Third Man On The Mountain.” It was a story set in a small Swiss village, about climbing the Matterhorn. I decided that one day I’d stand on top of that mountain.

While in college I was a member of an outdoor club that twice traveled to Mexico to climb mountains. On the first trip to Mexico the outdoor club climbed Iztaccihuatl, the third highest mountain in Mexico, 17,126 feet in elevation. The second trip we climbed Pico de Orizaba, Mexico’s highest peak, 18,406 feet tall.

I enjoyed those trips and climbing those two mountains, but they were not the Matterhorn. That was still my dream mountain to climb. Then on a summer day in 1969 I achieved that dream! I stood on top of the Matterhorn, 14,692 feet, and looked down on the countries of Switzerland on one side and Italy on the other side.

With two mountain climbing friends, Terry and Jack, from college days we had climbed what is the most rugged and awesome looking mountain in the world. By this time I had decided that I wanted to live in the mountains.

The three of us, also taught at a Wilderness Survival School in the eastern United States. We would take just one meal a day and teach others how to forage for food for the other two meals a day. Each class lasted for a week. In some of the classes we would leave the base camp and with only a canteen, poncho, machete or hunting knife plus the clothes on our back we’d spend three days living off the land.

In 1971 I was drafted into the U.S. Army and spent most of my time at Ft. Detrick, Fredrick, Maryland.

After the stint in the Army I turned my thoughts toward a profession. I enrolled in a professional school and was trained as an Anesthetist in the largest metropolitan area between Washington D.C. and Miami Florida.There was a certain allurement to that area but it soon wore off and I was glad to leave the big city for a small town at the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon.

While living here I made several trips to the Oregon Coast Range and a few trips to the Cascade Range in Oregon. The mountains always felt like home but the demands of my job prevented taking time to climb except for one day climbing up Saddle Mountain, 3,465 feet high.

Then there were kids to raise and bills to pay so the dream of a home in the mountains was temporarily set aside. But the desire was still there.

From Oregon we moved back east to Tennessee. Here we eventually built a house and the kids graduated from a local high school, three of them attending college.

It was here that I attended the second professional school and graduated with a Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree, passed the Tennessee Bar and began a practice of Law along side of my Anesthesia practice.

After the kids married and left home the dream of living in the mountains returned. We got out of debt and started saving money for a move.

Some 16 years ago we moved across the U.S. and now we live 30 minutes from a town of 7,000 and nearly 60 minutes from any town of 50,000 or more.

I’m officially retired from both professions with years of experience and practical knowledge that can benefit you. We currently live on a small country homestead complete with a garden containing a hoop house style greenhouse, raised beds and five different types of berry bushes. We partake of wonderful organic farm fresh eggs from our chickens and take pleasure in the company of two German Shepherds we rescued.

We have 100 foot tall trees of various species and lofty mountains for neighbors and are more in control of what happens in our lives. We would not return to city life for any reason.

Since retiring I have taken advantage of an opportunity to obtain a Certificate in Pest Control Management and worked part time in that field for several years.

I have had a booth and also been a Presenter at Sustainable Preparedness Expos in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. My presentations on finding suitable land for a country homestead have always been some of the best attended. I have been a guest on Podcasts and written articles on looking for, evaluating and purchasing Country and Homestead Property.

My wife, Linda, and I have taught over 200 people how to suture wounds in an emergency. She’s the administrator and editor for this website while also writing some of the articles. She is an accomplished person in her own right having grown up gardening, canning, freezing, sewing and enjoying the outdoors. She has taught sewing, quilting, food preservation as well as gardening. She has a website of her own called, Sew Quilt Ability, that she enjoys working with and writing for.

The information on this website, as well as the Country Homestead Buyer’s Course I created, is dedicated to giving you the best education and understanding of how to research, locate, evaluate, negotiate and develop your dream Country or Homestead Property.

We have thankfully and successfully escaped from the clutches of city life and have also helped others achieve their rural dreams and goals. We’ve been there, done that and know what works. We know that we can help you achieve your Country and Homestead Dreams and Goals too.