Video!

I visited my aunt's house on the edge of the Allegheny National Forest a few weeks back and came up with this short video of my cousin.  Hope you enjoy!

It's all over.

Here we are... at the end of days... but what better time to be alive.  How few people will get to be alive  when the world comes to an end? Wow, we're lucky!  It's almost five hours into this apocalypse, and so far, so good... but it doesn't really matter, does it?  If it's ending, it's ending, and if it's not, it's not.  What really matters is what you've done.  What matters is if you're happy with what you've accomplished in your time.  It may be the end of the world... or... it may not... but either way, it's a time for reflection.  Are you happy where you are?  Are you happy where you've been?   If so, then good!  Keep it up!   If the world ends, then you'll die happy.  If not, then let's hope the world doesn't end, but let's call it the end of the world anyways.  Let's wake up tomorrow in a new world.  A world where we're totally new people, and where we are what we really want to be.  There's no better time to start a new life than the end of days!  Good Luck!

Have an apocalyptic day... and maybe a new beginning.

Thankful.

     It's a day for giving thanks, and I am very thankful today.  I've got a belly full of turkey and all the fixin's, but only cause I was pretty lucky this week.  I crashed my truck coming home from work on saturday night, and came very close to not walking away from it.  There was a winding road, some gravel, a guard rail, a big hill, and of course, the tree which I barely missed.  After a short head-trauma-induced nap, I managed to get myself home without the car.  Talk about bad stories!  So, now I'm mostly incapacitated with a bruised ribcage and a pounding headache, and without a truck to get around, but you can bet I'm grateful to be with my family today.  

Have a thankful day.  

Photo update

Photos? I got 'em.

     So, I haven't been writing a lot.  Nor have I had a lot of things to write about bouncing around my head, but I have been photographizing quite a bit.  Here's what I've come up with:

I guess from now on, if I don't have anything to say, I'll just show...
And if you can't wait for a photo update, you can check out my flickr page which I update periodically.

Have a visual day.

Lucy, loosey.

      More photos from Braddock for today.  Above you'll see a picture of a friend we met in one of the houses.  We'll call her lucy.  We were shooting photos in a garage on a small alley when we heard footsteps coming towards the garage door.  I didn't think much of it until I saw a pair of work boots in the doorway behind Dana.  A moment of panic later we heard a woman's voice kindly asking, "What are y'all doin' in here?"  We explained that we were just taking photos, which satisfied her inquiry, and soon after we went on our way, but we were interrupted again a few steps down the road when lucy yelled to us, "Hey! Do y'all have 75 cents so I could get a loosey down at the gas station?" (A loosey is a single loose cigarette to those unfamiliar with the term).  I, of course, gave her the change and she then offered to show us into the upstairs of the garage we were formerly in.  We went up and got a few more photos, and soon came across a jar of quarters.  We didn't much care to take it from the abandoned house, but it didn't take long for us to figure out what to do with it.

Have a loose day.

More abandoned places.

   
     I would have posted this sooner (on time), but after my recent trip to Braddock, PA and back to the carey blast furnace with my friend Dana I had about 400 photos to go through and edit before I could post them up here.  For those of you who don't know, Braddock is an all but abandoned ex-steel town about 10 miles outside of Pittsburgh.  At it's peak Braddock had a population of over 20,000 residents, but since the decline of the steel industry in the area the population has dropped to under 2,000 today.  The mayor is currently working hard to revitalize the area, but for now it remains a public exhibition of what becomes of a piece of the world when the people who claimed it step aside.  

Exploring the area, we found more houses abandoned than inhabited.  Some were holding up  reasonably well, some were in major disrepair, and some; although obviously neglected since the owners left; showed signs of not being so abandoned presently. I love places like this!  But I've told you all that before.  For now just take a look at these photos I came up with.  This is definitely somewhere I'm going to be visiting again soon.

Have an explorative day.

P.S.  If you didn't already click the link above, check out Dana's blog here.

Nature's gonna win.

       I love the outdoors, and I love nature, so you might think I would be a bit of an environmentalist, but the truth is I don't really care much for environmental causes. Maybe care isn't the right word.  I do care very much about the environment, but I don't worry about it.  Who are we to step in and 'fix' nature when we see something going 'wrong'?  For instance, is it any better to save a species that's meant for extinction than to kill off one that's time hasn't come yet?  I don't know, but I do know that we are one of nature's youngest experiments, and we treat her like a child because we think we know what's good for her.  The truth is, she's been around far longer than us, and I'm pretty sure she's got more knowledge and experience than we could ever know and she doesn't need our help to stay afloat.  That's not to say that we aren't hurting the environment all the time, and nor do I mean to say we shouldn't stop it, but I know that if we don't stop, nature's not going to be the loser, we are.  There's a balance in nature; we might be able to tilt it for a short time, but if we continue for too long, then she'll be sure to stop us.  Even if we put all our efforts toward depleting natural resources, and paving the earth flat, we'd be dead ourselves from the consequences of our actions long before we ever completed the task.  So, I try my best to treat the environment well, and encourage others to do the same, but I don't worry for her when people aren't so conscientious.  I know that in the end they're really not hurting her, just hurting us.  

I undertook a short expedition to photograph an abandoned steel mill just outside of Pittsburgh a while ago, and was amazed and uplifted by how quickly nature had reclaimed what we thought was ours.  The mill was only abandoned in the late 80's, but now paved roads were covered by plants; small animals and birds had moved back into the area; and trees had taken root directly on some of the crumbling structures.  This place wasn't ever really ours, and neither is anything else; it's all just on loan, and nature will take it back soon enough.  She always wins.  

  Have a green day.

And in record time...

    The Hilton Head Island video is done.  This is a first cut of the footage, so I may be piecing together a few other edits using the same clips.  Who knows!  I sure don't.  I hope you all enjoy it.  Let me know what you think.  I'll be camping this weekend and filming for the next addition to my video collection.  This one should top all the rest if all goes to plan.

Have a pleasant day.

So, that's where they've been keeping it. . .

       Remember way back when, before the internet went viral.  When going on the internet actually was something?  I haven't fallen into the constant media trap like some others have, but even I strain to remember those times.  You had to sit down in front of a computer, dial up, wait for a connection, and then take care of the things you wanted to do on the internet in the time you had before you got up to do something else.  

      Now, anytime we want, we can do pretty much anything online anywhere we feel like it.  Its a good thing.  
      
      Now, all the time, we do everything we can online everywhere.  Its a bad thing.  

 
      I've given in comparatively very little to the social networking and instant information revolution thats been growing for years now.  I don't follow blogs or news from my phone unless I'm traveling and its my only option, my 200 per month texting plan rarely runs out of messages, and my Facebook status right now probably refers to something I did months ago.  You could say I haven't embraced the new technologies, but I haven't shunned them either -- they have their place.  I love that I can be in touch with anyone I know at a moments notice, but I also realize that just because I can do something doesn't mean I should.  It comes down to being where you are and experiencing what's going on right there right now.  I can't count the number of times I've heard a friend, hypnotized by their phone, say something to the effect of "Oh! So and so's camping… or swimming… or doing whatever else. They just posted it on Facebook." and thinking to myself "They're not camping. They're on Facebook!"   Other times it's just about being courteous to the people around you. These people have been kind enough to give some of their time to you.  You should return the gesture, and not distract yourself with others who couldn't, or just wouldn't make time for you.  Time is, after all, the most valuable thing each of us have to give or to keep for ourselves.

  If you spend all your time constantly telling people what you're doing or keeping up with what other people are doing, then you aren't ever really there doing what you are doing, and you're going to miss a lot.  So, when you're camping, be camping; when you're eating a nice meal, be there eating a nice meal; and when you have some time to sit down and catch up online at the end of the day, or at the beginning of the day (or even both!) then be there, catching up online.   

Have a conscious day.

New VENTURES

       Busy, busy, busy.  Trips to plan. . . weddings to attend. . . ideas to crystalize. . .  My friend is getting married this weekend.  There's one of the few adventures I don't think I'm ready for at the moment.  On the topic of adventures I am ready for, however, I'll be going to South Carolina next weekend, and if I can keep myself from getting too distracted with the fun I'll be making a video for you all to see.  Apart from that news, I've been talking about Rube Goldberg a bit with another friend of mine. . .  you know, the ridiculous, overly elaborate machines that people engineer to do mundane tasks for no particular reason other than having some fun. . .  well anyways, she and I may have a little something fun to exhibit ourselves in a short while.  Stay tuned for the South Carolina video, and the other little surprise we're planning in the coming weeks.    

       You may have noticed there are some extra buttons at the top of the screen.  They'll help everyone keep up with all of my ventures outside of this blog.  I'm most excited about the trading post.  I've wanted to do something more with my photography for a while, but didn't know what until just recently.  It only has one item for now, but it'll grow in time.  I'll let you check it out for yourself, but heres a little hint of whats inside, or rather a dead giveaway. 

Have a ridiculous day.

No blog this week. Wait, never mind there is one.

       There was to be no blog to read this Friday as I had planned to be exploring the wilds of Pittsburgh on my bike and my newly purchased $19 inflatable raft and making a film of the journey, but now there will be one... this one.  Due to a torrential downpour and a lightning strike within throwing distance of myself within a mile of my starting point, I've chosen to postpone the trip until next week (weather permitting).  This will be the first of my 'Mystery Adventure's of the Month'. (Sounds dumb, I know, but it'll be fun.)  I will be accepting ideas for short (2-3 day max.) adventure challenges (preferably outdoor ones, but I'm open to your own interpretation of 'adventure') from my friends and the readers of this blog each month, then I'll take the best ideas, throw them in a hat, and pick one at random to attempt.  The outcome will be presented to you as a blog entry, and usually (hopefully) a video accompaniment.  I'll be setting up a way to submit ideas soon, but if you can't wait 'til then, feel free to comment on any of my posts with your challenge.  There'll be a few other new additions to the site coming soon as well, but I'll leave you to wonder about them yourself for now.  (wow there were a lot of parenthesis in this post!)

Have a mysterious day.  

Problems that money can't solve.

     There will always be problems that come up while traveling, and there are several ways of dealing with them.  Some people choose to buy their way out with money, while other more adventurous souls might wing it and try to solve the problem without monetary assistance.  The latter is, in my opinion, the correct choice.  Problems that you refuse to, or that can't be solved with money almost always create great new experiences. 

     While hopping around Europe last fall my friend and I had the opportunity to piggyback on a newly acquainted French friend's vacation to Rome.  Upon our arrival in Italy we promptly became lost and made it to the villa well after sundown where we relaxed and winded down with a few beers.  At around 11:00, we were surprised to hear a knock at the front door.  It was the villa's owner.  We hadn't been loud or rowdy at all, so it didn't worry us so much as it struck us as odd.  Why would she come down to speak with us at such a late hour?  She spoke little English and we little Italian, but after a few minutes of broken speech and poor grammar it was clear that two of us would have to leave.  The villa was rented for five... my friend and I were six... and seven... and so began the worst and best time of our European vacation.

     We were faced with the loss of the roof over our heads, and no prospects of another to come.  The housing development that we were in was accessible only by major highway, eliminating the possibility of walking to a hostel or hotel; public transportation stopped running at 10:00, eliminating that option; and we were too far from any major metropolitan areas to get a taxi at such a late hour as well.  We would have to walk... somewhere.

     An empty field about a half mile away on the edge of the housing plan would be our bedroom for the night.  We found a hole in the treeline that made a small plant lined cave, set our sleeping bags out, covered the entrance with a poncho I had in my bag, and drifted off to sleep... BEEP! Only a few hours later we were jarred from our sleep by a car, nearly on top of us, and honking.  This was followed by a several minutes of unintelligible Italian yelling from the car's occupant.  We had apparently chosen someone's parking spot as our bed.  We would spend the next night in the field's tall grass instead.
  

     In my last post I talked about packing light to allow yourself to be more flexible and more immersed in your adventures and discussed a little about how leaving things behind can lead to better experiences along the way, but as you may have guessed, leaving things behind can also be detrimental in some situations... and I LOVE those situations.  Getting yourself in some trouble makes any adventure more noteworthy, and as we found out before, the 'bad' times make for the best stories to tell about later.  Packing and traveling light is the best way to get these stories.  That's not to say you should be reckless; always have what you need to travel safely in whatever environment you happen to be in; but depriving yourself of a few comforts will not only lighten your luggage, but also lead to problems you'll have to solve along the way which in turn lead to good stories to tell later in life.  The story above wasn't caused by lack of equipment, but rather lack of preparation, but the outcome was the same: a problem that money couldn't solve and a good story to tell.

That's about it for now. 

Here are some photos of nature winning.

No Keys

        The less you have, the more you will experience.  A car might get you to the grand canyon, but your feet will get you to the bottom of it.  This is a very important thing to consider when you're planning any adventure.  It's an inverse relationship, I suppose.  You might be able to pack up all the amenities of home in a nice big bag, but the bigger that bag gets, the less likely it is to make it to where you want to go.  I learned quickly that the best way to travel is light.  If I'm not gonna use it everyday (Sleeping gear, toiletries, camera), or I don't absolutely need it (food, flashlight, clothing), then I'm probably not going to bring it.  It keeps your days free of distractions and lets you really experience what you're doing.  One of my favorite things to leave behind is keys.  Keys are for people who have somewhere to be, or something keep away from others and even more than that, they're a symbol of responsibilities, and ties to the frantic modern world that you're probably trying to liberate yourself from when you're traveling.  On any adventure you should be opening up to others, not closing off, and the only place you have to be is right there in the moment, so why bring any keys?  I came up with this logic: 

(You might not totally agree with it, but it's treated me well so far.)    

adventures = freedom

freedom = no commitments holding you back

keys = ties to commitments 

Therefore, 

adventures = no keys

(I guess a car would be an exception,

but there are better and more fun 

ways of getting around)

So, maybe you see my logic, maybe not, but either way I always consider leaving a few things behind whenever I'm traveling about.  I might loose a few of the comforts of home, but they're more than made up for by new experiences.   

The summer solstice party is tonight.  I will be attending.  I will be bringing nothing but my camera.  

Have a liberated day.

Consider your future

     Every time I've dropped out of life to squander my savings on various adventures, I've been told I was careless, impulsive, irresponsible; and that I should take the time to think about my future before making such drastic decisions.  I guess that's good advice, but no one ever specifies a timeframe when they say 'future'.  Tomorrow's the future, so maybe you should get a good night sleep tonight if theres something important going on then.  Next week's the future, so making plans with some friends of yours might be a good thought.  Next year's the future, so you might want to do well at your job to advance your career.  The same goes for five years, maybe you want to get married, buy a house or make some investments for retirement, but that's about as far as a lot of people go when thinking of the future.
     I've always taken it a little farther.  What about 50 years in the future? or 100?  Well, you might be around in 50 years, and hopefully you'll have some good stories to share, but in 100 we can be pretty certain anyone reading this right now will be dead...  Then what?  All we'll have then are the stories we've left behind.

     The farther we look to the future, the less our mistakes, our shortcomings, and yes, even our finances matter.  Eventually all thats left is what we did.  You can spend your whole life working for someone else and making 'good' life decisions, or you can think about your future and do something to help yourself get to where you want to be.  Maybe for you that means working a job and advancing your career, but for others (myself included) that's not the right path.  I've boiled down my decision making process to two simple questions:

     1.  Will this be a good story?

     2.  If I think of this on my death bed, will I be proud of what I did?

     If I can answer yes to those two questions, then it's a good idea; if I can't, then it's probably not.  Even if the outcome is bad on one of my 'good ideas', I've still got a good story that I'm proud of.  That's a correct decision in my book.  And like I've said in the past, we all know the 'bad' stories are the best ones anyways.

Have an outstanding day.

The video is done!

So, my entry into Alastair Humphrey's micro adventure film festival is finally ready for your viewing pleasure and critique.  Let me know what you think of it on here, or on youtube.  You'll probably find it a little cheesy, but hopefully in an uplifting, motivational speaker kind of way, not a hacky bad comedian way.  I'm happy with how it turned out for the most part, and I think it embodies the feel Alastair is going for with this contest, and with his micro adventures.

Here it is:

My next video will be about rain...  inside...  hopefully...   Stay tuned in june to check it out.


Have an uplifting, motivated day.

Looking forward to looking back.

      I was at dinner with some work friends a few weeks ago to celebrate an employee's departure from the company to go to South America.  Of course, given the circumstances of the get together, the conversation soon turned to travel.  They all talked of their cruises and Disney vacations, and I of my months in tents and my minimally equipped, underfunded adventures, and though we spoke of opposite ends of the travel spectrum, it soon became apparent that we were all talking about the same aspects of our trips... The 'bad' experiences.  Their 'bad' experiences consisted of inadequate closet and bathroom space, queen beds instead of kings, and other annoyances, while mine consisted of riding bikes through barren marshland with no water for hours on end and pitching tents in cactus patches.  Each person has their own idea of bad, I suppose, but the point is clear: problems encountered while traveling make for the best stories.  It makes sense.  If everything goes to plan then there's no story to tell.  Would you rather hear the story about the time we spent the night in the woods and then drove home in our car the next day, or the time we had to spend the night in the woods because our car broke down and then we walked out the next day?  In my mind one story stands out as the obvious winner here.

     So, problems make for better stories than plans that work out. So what?  Well that's not such a big deal until you take it a step farther.  I realized this long ago, and because of it, I tend to deal with problems much better and more calmly than most.  If you have ever been around me when things start going wrong, then you'll know that as soon as they do, I crack a smile.  Everyone else might be miserable, we might be lost, or out of money, but I know it's gonna be a good story.
      I can't begin to count the number of times I've been sitting around with friends recounting a 'bad' experience I've had and laughing out loud with the very same people who were hating the world when we went through it, but every time I do I remind them that this is why I wasn't miserable myself.  That this funny story was what I was thinking about when everything was going wrong, and that I knew we'd all be here laughing about it together in the future.  So why would you ever be angry, or sad, or upset about problems that come up when you can just look forward to looking back and laugh at the situation you're facing?  It'll be funny later, so just think about later now.


        Micro-adventure video is almost done.  Hopefully I'll have it up later on in the week.  Until then enjoy this picture of Kenny psyched about our hot tub.

Have a 'bad' day.

BEES!

So, the bee video is done.  Here it is:

Oh, wait!  Wrong video.

Here's the real video.  It was really fun to make, except for the getting stung in the head part.  I'm not sure why I thought I could stand next to a hive of angry bees and be safe, but I'll know better next time.  

My next video will be about riding bikes, or climbing hills, I don't know yet.  It'll be about something.  

Have a thrilling day. 

The best beer I ever had.

       
         I consider myself a bit of a beer snob, so if I had to recall the best beer I ever had, the answer might surprise you a little.  It was a friday about a week in to my bicycle ride to florida, and we had stopped for the night at lunch rock.  We were starving.  We had been living on dehydrated vegetables and army rations since we had left home, and as for beverages, a bland, artificially sweetened drink powder packed in with the army food was the most flavorful thing to cross our lips.  It was around dusk and we were making ourselves comfortable, when a husband and wife with their two children happened upon our campsite, and as they approached we noticed a cooler in their hand.  Immediately, our food and drink fantasies began.   We ended up talking with them for several minutes about our trip, and about the area, but, as we would confess to each other later, always with the hopes of a surprise treat from that cooler in the back of our minds.  Eventually the family left, having invigorated and entertained us with their stories and friendship, but also having crushed our hopes of libations and gastronomic delights.  My riding companion, Bryce, had just turned to me to say "Man, I thought we were scoring a few brews or something!" when who else but one of the visitors would re-emerge from the darkened path with a gift of two Miller lites for we two weary travelers.

This story isn't about beer.  It's about the allure of travel and how it can change your perception of things; about living simply; and about enjoying the small things along the way.  Traveling, especially traveling very light, is the best medicine I've found for whatever troubles you.  Even if its only for a day, whittling your life down to what can fit in a backpack instantly shakes off the worries of the world and makes all the the little surprises more special when they come along.  I don't even like Miller Lite, but that night it was more enjoyable than any nice craft brew I might be able to come across at my house today.  I'd like to always live so simply.  

You may have read this story before on my old blog, but if not, you should take a look at it.  There are plenty of other interesting thoughts and experiences to read about there too.  

I filmed Eva setting up her honey bee hive today and got stung in the head, got a lot of good shots though.  I think I'm going to designate friday as the new blog day.  So, expect a new video next week and a new blog every friday (at a minimum).

Have a special day. 

video done?

So, I finally have a completed version of the camping trip video.  I still need to get a camera stabilizer, but until then I had to settle for part of my tripod with a 3 pound weight strapped to the bottom and final cut pro's 'smooth cam' effect.  Its a little jellyish at points, but its what I can do for now.  Play it in full screen, and ignore the wobbliness.

Have a relaxing day.

Woods.In the woods.

Eva and I went for a walk in the woods yesterday.  It was fun.  I took all these (and many more) photos along with some videos that didn't turn out so well.  I need a steady cam to balance my shots out.  I woke up today with my first ever tick bleeding me dry from the back of my calf.  The sucker almost made me late for work (god forbid!).  In other exciting news, I found a counterfeit $100 bill at work today.  It is amazing what they've done with these things! They look identical to real bills, they have blue and red security threads throughout the paper, magnetic strips in the paper that read 'USA 100', a watermark, and they even pass the counterfeit marker test that is the standard in checking for bad bills.  The only thing wrong with the bills is that the serial number for the bills is incorrect for the year they claim to be issued in.  So, looking at all the bills in front of me, one fake, the rest real, I got to thinking what the real difference is.  I already harbor great disdain for our money system, so it didn't take a big effort to jump to the side of the counterfeiters.  If we had any integrity in our economy I might be upset with people trying to cheat the system, but when the system is cheating us, I'm the first to cheer on the little guy, big as they may be to have the resources to make such pristine fake bills.  If you don't yet know how our money system works you should look in to it.  Money as Debt on youtube is a good, if cheesy, intro. It may be a little boring for some but the information is extremely valuable and not enough people take the time to familiarize themselves with it.  Sorry to turn this into an economy rant, I'll stop now.  I'll be purchasing my steady cam with my tax refund (taxes, don't get me started on those!) and should be updating with some nice stable videos soon.  I also have three other vids in the works and on the verge of completion.  You'll see them soon enough.  For now, heres some woods photos.

Swamp

Nicely framed picture of nothing in particular

I love this thing! ^^^ as far as i can tell a twig was stuck in the ground when a flood happened and the twig collected various floating debris until it came out looking like a strange flower.

Eva loved this Red fungus so we put it near this nice green moss.

Thats all for now.  Have a relaxing day.