Episode 2.7: Whites sands and Ruins

I originally put white sands on the map because there are wile oryx, an African antelope, that were introduced and have been out there for a while.  After asking around people started telling me that my chances of seeing one were pretty slim as there is so much desert and they are very shy.  I also checked out some stone age ruins in the Chaco Valley.  It's amazing to me that people lived in that high desert and were successful enough to build such large and elaborate structures.  I think the builders would be proud that even today many walls are still standing.

Episode 2.6: Grand Canyon

This was a frustrating video because no matter what I did I could not capture the magnitude of the grand canyon.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed finding my own little area on the edge of the canyon where I could sit and think away from all of the crowds.  I stayed in the national park for a while and spent some time flint-knapping, which was really neat to do in such a sacred place.  Grand Canyon ranked as one of my favorite, must-see, places on the trip.  It's just so dang big!

Episode 2.5: Arizona Rattlesnakes

Rattlesnakes are too cool!  They're just such a unique type of snake and widely distributed throughout the USA.  While visiting a childhood friend in Phoenix we hit the desert a couple nights and we turned up a few rattlers.  I was especially excited to find the black-tailed rattler sitting on the rock.  The Arizona desert was amazing and did not disappoint even though we only turned up a fraction of the amazing species that live out there.  I'd definitely like to go back and be a little more thorough.

Episode 2.4: Southern CA; weirdest place in the world

Southern California is weird.  They have a giant saltwater sea, an off grip squatter's town, and mud volcanoes.  Prior to visiting I had no clue about any of this.  Probably one of the coolest things down there was meeting up with Rob.  He is a man that just does things that he feels is right to do.  I doesn't conform to what's normal and thinks independently.  He had been back from Iraq and Syria a few months when I met him.  He was over there fighting ISIS alongside the Kurds.  We treat men and women that fight for our own country as heroes but to fight for another people in the name of justice is, in my opinion, indescribable.  There is no greater love than to lay down your life for another.  While he, of course, didn't die, he was wounded by shrapnel that got him in the face and much of his leg.  He is well and healthy now.  Everyone should go follow him on instragram @cavemanrob 

Episode 2.3: Sequoia National Forest

This was one of the most magical places on the trip.  I came here to see the world's largest tree but was met with much more than I bargained for.  Within 15 minutes of entering the park I saw a bear and shortly after found another.  Before this I had only gotten a glimpse at a bear in Yellowstone.  These bears were all up in the oaks eating acorns.  The next morning I got up early and B lined it to the General Sherman.  I was uncontrollably excited and the path to the tree seemed to last forever.  When I got there the forest was just quiet and there were very few people in the area.  Before going I thought, if I got the chance it might be cool to climb this massive tree but upon arriving that thought was lost as I could feel it commanded far too much respect than to let the likes of myself to try clamoring up its trunk.  The entire sequoia forest was absolutely mysterious and I loved every bit of it. 

Episode 2.2: Northern Pacific Rattlesnake

It's always a good time meeting up with new people that are interested in the same thing, especially when you are way out of your element.  Having never been to California, I was basically clueless as to how to look for snakes there.  I was fortunate enough to meet up with Demitri and we turned up this nice sized rattler.  I have noticed that most nature lovers that you meet online are actually pretty cool.

Episode 2.1: Tahoe!

I was fortunate enough to land a job as a valet in Tahoe and I ended up working there for two months.  It was really nice to be in one place for a little bit after traveling for so long.  I was able to explore around the lake on my weekends and discover some really sweet spots.  In this video I take you around to some of my favorite spots and show off the beauty around this mountain lake.

Bonus Episode: Mining Rainbow Obisidian

On my way down to Tahoe I stopped in Davis Creek to collect some rainbow obsidian and when I got there it turned out I had arrived at a knap-in, where knappers gather and make arrowheads and such together.  In this day and age the majority of knappers or older folks so it was really neat to meet up with these old timers that knew where all the best rock was and who were absolutely generous.  I didn't even film any while I was there because I was so consumed with interacting with these people and learning.  This was such an important part of the trip so I decided to drive the 4 hours back up on one of my two days off.  I mined all day and got a bucket load of obsidian.  This is more than enough to last me a few years.  All in all I'm glad I seized the opportunity to get some material that I will likely never have access to again.

Episode 1.32: Critters in California

This episode has some interesting back story.  You'll notice my hair goes from short to long and back to short.  I was looking for work starting in Oregon and wasn't getting anything interesting as I went so I had made it to California and kept looking.  I was on my way out of Tahoe about an hour where I caught that scorpion then after that I got a call for an interview back in Tahoe so I drove back and got a hair cut and landed a sweet gig as a valet for some fancy hotels.  At that point I had decided to stay in Tahoe for the Summer because everything was just so perfect there for living in a van.  In the two months of working there I paid off the entire trip and had about 800 bucks left over when I got home.  I was glad I got to work in such a special place and really stay in an area to explore it and get to know it on a little bit of a deeper level.

Episode 1.31: Crater Lake Cliff Diving

I'm in love with mountain lakes.  They're clear, deep, and absolutely gorgeous.  The only drawback is that they're always freezing cold!  Even on a warm day the lake will have you turning purple in a matter of minutes.  It was almost comical how quickly I forgot about this because Every lake I came across I just had to get in it.  This attraction may have been partly due to my need to for clean water to bathe in.  I pretty much bathed in every mountain lake that I came across and each time I was jumping out just as soon as my lather was rinsed off.  

Crater lake is amazing and everyone needs to go there.  There's a 15 foot cliff at the end of the trail that goes to the water's edge and you have to go take a jump.  There's usually a fit group of people hanging around there on a warm day jumping in.  A few of the alpha males will have to keep one upping each other on their jumps.  I just walked up and did a gainer to assert my own dominance... which, was quickly revoked as I whimpered like a puppy due to my inability to withstand the sub-sixty degree water.

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Episode 1.30: How to get free food plus SEALS!!!

As I drove into a small coastal town in Oregon I glanced at the church sign and at the bottom it had an announcement about their free breakfasts on Saturday morning.  I decided that was something I had to check out.  I met the pastor and she was super welcoming and told me all about the history of the church and showed me around.  With the little fishing port town being regulated out of the fishing industry many residents were struggling in every way imaginable.  The church served two other meals during the week and that's about all they could afford.  With the town dwindling the church was also dwindling but the pastor was keeping focused on what a church's role in a community should be.  She kept the main thing the main thing and that was a refreshing thing for me to see.  

I didn't really think about seals being around but I kind of just stumbled across some and it was really pretty neat.  This is an animal that I had never seen in the wild before.

Episode 1.29: Slugs, Salamanders, Newts, and MORE!

Oregon and my home are divided by a few mountain ranges and thousands of miles.  This geographic separation will inevitably produce completely different types of wildlife, especially when it comes to the creepy crawlies.  I had such a blast finding animals that I had never seen in my life and some that I didn't even know existed.  This trip was all about discovery and that is certainly the theme in this episode!

Episode 1.28: Waterfalls

I'm a water lover.  Since I was a kid I growing up in Florida, I was always near water and learned to swim at a young age and water has been a constant in life.  However, I never did see many waterfalls.  I saw more waterfalls in one day in the Columbia Gorge than I've seen in my entire life.  This was a really neat experience seeing the power of these free falling streams and rivers and among such a beautiful landscape was the cherry on top.

Episode 1.27: Sailing the Columbia

There are a few things that I just don't like.  Cold water is one of them and I would certainly consider the Columbia River as cold.  I was visiting a friend that I knew from my hometown who has relocated to Portland and when he invited me to go sailing with him and some friends I was hesitant but I don't get the opportunity to sail often so I said sure and I hopped on the boat.  I got wet, it was cold, and we got second to last in the race but I had a lot of fun and that's what matters!

Episode 1.26: Sustainable Trout Fishery

I love seeing and interacting with animals that I've never seen before.  Trout are definitely very foreign to a Floridian and learning about how Oregon is ensuring their future trout fishery was awesome.  I wish every state was that diligent about their fisheries.  In Florida we don't have chipmunks and being able to hang out with them was awesome.  They were so cool and very different than any rodent I'm used to seeing.

Episode 1.25: Into the Mind of the Caveman

Sometimes I just go into the woods and let me mind wander and I take natural materials and explore the possibilities of their individual properties.  Now, I come from a land that has almost no old growth trees and when I found this huge fallen pine tree what to do with it was obvious but I had neither the time nor the means of making a dugout canoe from it.  

Out west they struggle with wildfires so it's illegal to build a fire in most of these forests but I had found so much pine resin and I thought it would be fun to make some pine pitch but without fire that's impossible so I had to give it a try with mixing the resin and its ingredients but really I just ended up with a black play-doh like substance.  Regardless, it was fun!

Episode 1.24: Glass Buttes

Glass Buttes, Oregon is the obsidian Mecca for all flintknappers, so of course I had to pay a visit.  This place has miles and miles of obsidian everywhere.  I actually didn't even do any digging because people had just left so much behind to be gleaned.  Then a fella' came by and we started chatting and he gave me a few chunks of obsidian just cause he liked me I guess.  In this video I take you guys from a rock, spall out a large flake and work it down into an arrowhead.  

Episode 1.23: Craters of the Moon

A while before I had gone on my trip I had noticed this place on google earth and it looked so cool!  Idaho is one place I wished I had stayed a little longer but I was dealing with an issue with my van and as soon as it was good again I wanted nothing more than to just take off.  I saw zero potatoes which was a little disappointing but I guess that wasn't the season for them.  Idaho is cool though and don't let anyone tell you different :)

Episode 1.22: Idaho Dunes

One thing that I love is the unexpected... especially when it's a good thing.  It had been rainy for the last wee and still was but I saw a small brown sign along the highway that was titled, St. Anthony Dunes.  Dunes in Idaho???  I had to go check them out!  These are the first dunes I've ever been to and they were awesome!  How cool is it that these giant piles of sand were just everywhere!  Well, I enjoyed them thoroughly :)

Episode 1.21: Old Faithful

The USA has many icons but the one that I've known about since I was a little kid was Old Faithful.  As I kid I didn't really know what the big deal was but when I went there and watched it shoot off I knew what the big deal was.  To be completely honest though, I thought there were a lot of other geological oddities that were even cooler than ol' faithful.  Watching this video doesn't do this place justice though at all.  There are so many crazy things in Yellowstone and I only got through about a quarter of the park before I let the rain run me out.  I got a little goofy some of the foreign tourists and just had fun in an awesome place!