Episode 1.13: The Bat Cave

This may be the only place worth going to in all of Iowa.  People have a lot of bad things to say about Iowa and from what I could tell, it's a weird place.  There's a lot of corn everywhere and just hundreds of miles of it.  This experience made me realize the importance of localizing our food sources.  

The caves were cool and the had some neat history behind them but they've basically been pillaged of all their stalagmites and such.  Nonetheless, there were a lot of coo minerals in the walls that shimmered in the light.

My favorite part was easily the two little bats that I found sleeping.  They were so tiny and fuzzy looking!  I believe the were common brown bats.  Having only found two, I wonder how many these caves might have hosted historically.  Hudreds? Thousands?

Episode 1.14: The Badlands

If you're in South Dakota then you have to go to the badlands.  It's insane!  I only had a day to do the badlands which is unfortunate but it was a ton of fun.  I feel like I hit the major points of this place but there are still miles left to be explored.  My favorite part was definitely the great horned sheep that were all over the road and not afraid of me at all.  The animals here were just not afraid of people at all which was kind of neat and not something I'm used to.

One  thing I want to point out is that in the timelapse of me running around climbing on thing I climbed up on top of point on the right of the screen and there were little cacti growing on half of it so I didn't have much room to move around on it.  I was being cautious but I was so afraid of getting stuck by a cactus.

Episode 1.12: BMX Racing my cousins

I visited some family on my way through Illinois and I got to do some BMX racing.  It was a lot of fun and I beat my little cousin.  I'm pretty sure he let me win though cause he didn't really look like he was trying but I'll take it :)

Living the Dream

 So here's basically what's happening with my life:  I'm in South Lake Tahoe living out of my van.  I got a job as a valet.  It's decent work especially for the money I'm making.  I was a little disappointed that I was working for minimum wage at $9/hr until I got on tips.  I'm making at least $15/hr with tips and it's nice going home with a pocketful of cash.  They've got me working some over time as well so I'm working a little over 40 hrs/week.  Do the math :) Living the van life is ridiculously cheap too.  The entire purpose of being here is to make money and save up a lot.  I have dreams for the future which include buying land, building a house (wife, kids, sustainable living etc), getting a sailboat and sailing across the vast oceans.  Of course all of this would be recorded for the world to see.  I just want to discover it all and share it and change people's lives and at no point be owned by anyone.  I want to show the Glory that is embedded in nature and make people realize what's important in this life and inspire to live the fullest life that you can.  I don't know maybe I'm crazy but whatever :)  We all die and the only thing that's left of us is what we've done.

Episode 1.11: Runnin' Wild!

Ok, so I lived in Turkey from 8th grade to 12th and one of my good friends back then was Sarah.  I had only seen her once since then so I had to visit her on this trip.  We found some local forests in Indiana and had a good time running around exploring.  Sarah had never caught snakes before but she did really well and showed no fear.  I even got her to hold the big black racer and she didn't get bit... like I did.  Sarah is super cool and I suspect I'll have to swing by Indiana on the way back ;)

Episode 1.9: Off grid in Kentucky?

A good friend of mine up in Kentucky let me stay out on his farm for a few days.  He's working on sustainable living and hopes to be off grid soon.  This is also a dream of mine.  I want to learn how I can depend on nature to sustain myself and I want to figure how everyone else can do the same.  It's going to be difficult but I think I'm up for the challenge.  Not really sure when or where this will fit into my life but hopefully sooner rather than later.  Step 1: buy land :)

Episode: 1.10: This is how I clean myself. It's fun :)

I traveled up through Kentucky and into Indiana.  I took my first primitive bath in a lake with the soap that I made with Mr. Mike.  The water was cold and it was windy but I really needed a bath and the next day I was planning to see a lady friend so I figured I ought to be fairly presentable.  The bees were weird, no idea what was up with them but they tickled my feet a lot.  The salamander was probably my favorite thing of the day.  You almost never ever see them up on the surface on their own and it was only up there because something moving around in the leaves scared it up.  That was a solid good day though :D

Episode 1.8: Cave Painting

Ok so we weren't actually in a cave but we did replicate some cave painting that primitive people did thousands of years ago.  I met up with the pros at the spirit station and they started mixing up some paints and we got busy with it.  What's so cool is that they used charred shells to help the paint bind to the rock which is important if you want your art to last and that's why we have cave paintings that have lasted so long.

Episode 1.7: The Tennessee Classic

This place is insane.   I spent most of my time flintknapping and hanging out in the knapping pit.  I just love knapping and when I get a chance to knap with other knappers I'm going to choose that above anything else.  I wanted to give y'all an idea of the atmosphere at the classic.  Yes, it's basically a caveman gathering.  The people here are not primitive at all.  They're the most generous and delightful people you'll ever meet.  It's amazing and I plan to try and go every year.