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The Lady Overlander Radio interview with guest Misti Tokarsky · The Overland Journal Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to the Oberland Journal Podcast. I am
0:06
Speaker 1: your host, Scott Brady, and I'm joined today by Misty Tokarski. Now,
0:10
Speaker 1: Misty is one of the hosts of the Ladies Overlander Radio,
0:16
Speaker 1: which is a podcast that's available on all of the
0:18
Speaker 1: popular podcast outlets. And this is a really cool podcast
0:22
Speaker 1: because they spend the time interviewing ladies from around the
0:26
Speaker 1: world that are exploring, traveling, and learning about And they're
0:29
Speaker 1: sharing that with each other on the podcast. Misty's an
0:33
Speaker 1: accomplished traveler herself, has traveled internationally. She's also spent a
0:37
Speaker 1: career in the Coast Guard. And she traveled in an
0:40
Speaker 1: interesting way. She uses two separate vehicles to travel around
0:44
Speaker 1: the country with her family. And she shares some of
0:47
Speaker 1: her insights around that. She also shares some of her
0:50
Speaker 1: insights around travel in general. A very cool podcast. It
0:55
Speaker 1: was really a pleasure to get the time to spend
0:57
Speaker 1: with Misty and to learn more about their podcast, which
1:01
Speaker 1: we recommend that everyone listens to. So please enjoy my
1:04
Speaker 1: conversation with Misty. And a special thanks to Onyx for
1:10
Speaker 1: their support of this week's podcast. Going further on your
1:14
Speaker 1: adventures is about having the right tools. The Onyx Off-Road
1:19
Speaker 1: app's intuitive maps make it easy to find trails and
1:22
Speaker 1: disperse camping. And their offline maps give you full GPS
1:26
Speaker 1: navigation capabilities and even without cell coverage. Fortunately, I use
1:32
Speaker 1: OnX for every trip in North America because I always
1:35
Speaker 1: know who owns or manages the land that I'm traveling on.
1:39
Speaker 1: It also makes for a reliable track recorder and I
1:43
Speaker 1: can filter the trails based on the full drive or
1:45
Speaker 1: motorcycle that I'm using. On my most recent trip in
1:49
Speaker 1: the Quartermaster, I used the OnX to find trails near
1:53
Speaker 1: where I was staying in Joshua Tree. I used the
1:56
Speaker 1: difficulty rating and the elevation to to determine which trails
2:00
Speaker 1: are best suited to the vehicle and the weather. Thanks again, Onyx,
2:04
Speaker 1: for your support of the Overland Journal Podcast. So Misty,
2:10
Speaker 1: thank you so much for being on the podcast with
2:14
Speaker 1: me today. I'm so excited to have you because I'm
2:16
Speaker 1: just a big fan of what you're doing with Lady
2:19
Speaker 1: Overlander Radio and your podcast. You've had some amazing guests
2:23
Speaker 1: on there, people that I really respect. And I just,
2:26
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to hearing about your story, maybe some
2:29
Speaker 1: of the things that you've learned on from your podcast guest.
2:33
Speaker 1: And if you've consolidated your own experience, plus all of
2:36
Speaker 1: those amazing travelers that you had on the podcast and
2:39
Speaker 1: how you pulled them all together. So thanks for being
2:41
Speaker 1: with us today.
2:42
Speaker 2: Thank you. Yeah, I'm very excited.
2:44
Speaker 1: Awesome. Let's start off with, as I understand it, you
2:47
Speaker 1: and your husband were in the National Guard.
2:50
Speaker 2: Coast Guard.
2:50
Speaker 1: Coast Guard. That's the difference. Yeah. Coast Guard. Apologies. How
2:54
Speaker 1: did that feel going from a career in the Coast
2:57
Speaker 1: Guard to now traveling full-time on the road?
3:01
Speaker 2: I think that the Coast Guard spoiled us and damaged
3:03
Speaker 2: us a little because we'd moved around so much. Every
3:06
Speaker 2: two to three years, we would go to a new
3:08
Speaker 2: duty station.
3:08
Speaker 1: Sure.
3:09
Speaker 2: We just kept that travel bug.
3:10
Speaker 1: Travel was..
3:11
Speaker 2: Nowhere was home. Just wanted to continue that after we retired.
3:16
Speaker 1: That's cool. What was one of your favorite duty stations
3:19
Speaker 1: that you were stationing at?
3:21
Speaker 2: Ironically, one of my favorite duty stations was my very
3:24
Speaker 2: first one. And I really didn't think I was going
3:26
Speaker 2: to like it when I first got there, which was Rockland, Maine. Oh, cool.
3:29
Speaker 2: So I'm a Florida girl, born and raised. And my
3:31
Speaker 2: first duty station was up in Maine.
3:33
Speaker 1: Oh, wow. Talk about a difference. Yeah.
3:35
Speaker 2: I really thought it was the end of the world.
3:37
Speaker 1: Yeah. In some ways it is. It's pretty far.
3:40
Speaker 2: Yeah. So I tried to adjust my thinking and said
3:44
Speaker 2: to myself, I better make the best of this. Young.
3:47
Speaker 2: I was young and single at the time. Didn't have
3:49
Speaker 2: a lot of money. doing the non-rate brand new military
3:52
Speaker 2: person thing and just had to adapt to that environment
3:57
Speaker 2: and persevere. And I ended up finding a lot of,
4:00
Speaker 2: I found a love for hiking. I found a lot
4:02
Speaker 2: of things in that area that I never expected I
4:05
Speaker 2: would be interested in or enjoy. And it just changed
4:08
Speaker 2: my perspective on things. And I put that mindset in
4:12
Speaker 2: where every place is going to be what you make
4:14
Speaker 2: of it. So you can either have a really good
4:16
Speaker 2: attitude about it, or you can have a poor attitude
4:18
Speaker 2: and It's going to be that way either way.
4:20
Speaker 1: Isn't that true? It seems like in life, if you
4:23
Speaker 1: think about it, the only thing we actually have any
4:26
Speaker 1: control over is our response to them, is our attitude.
4:31
Speaker 1: Because our money can be taken from us. Our health
4:33
Speaker 1: can be taken from us. Yeah. And you just never
4:36
Speaker 1: know what circumstances can arise in life. But even in
4:41
Speaker 1: our last moments, the only thing that we have any
4:42
Speaker 1: control on is how we react. Totally. Our attitudes. And
4:47
Speaker 1: I think that the military does help with that. I
4:50
Speaker 1: know that in my time in the service that I
4:53
Speaker 1: went from being at home, I had such supportive parents.
4:58
Speaker 1: But I was also, I felt like I was without
5:00
Speaker 1: a rudder. Like I didn't really know what direction I
5:02
Speaker 1: wanted my life to take me. And the military, because
5:05
Speaker 1: it removes a lot of decisions, it helps you see
5:09
Speaker 1: what's most important.
5:11
Speaker 2: It does, yeah.
5:12
Speaker 1: You can really see... which direction that you want to go.
5:15
Speaker 1: And it gives you some self-confidence, teaches you a little
5:18
Speaker 1: bit of leadership, gives you a little bit of a
5:20
Speaker 1: backstop if you make some mistakes. So it's pretty interesting
5:25
Speaker 1: how that makes a difference. So, I mean, I would
5:28
Speaker 1: think one of the things about cool about being in
5:30
Speaker 1: the Coast Guard is that you're always on the coast.
5:32
Speaker 1: So did you start off preferring more like boats and
5:37
Speaker 1: sailboats and things like that? And then you slowly got
5:40
Speaker 1: into vehicles or At what point did you kind of
5:42
Speaker 1: transition towards wanting to be more vehicle-based travel?
5:45
Speaker 2: 20 years in the Coast Guard, being around the water
5:48
Speaker 2: and being on and around boats made me realize that
5:51
Speaker 2: I don't want to go on cruise.
5:53
Speaker 1: You got the t-shirt.
5:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm over the boats. I probably will never sail
5:57
Speaker 2: around the world or anything like that, just so everybody's
5:59
Speaker 2: aware of that. I do still enjoy the ocean. It's
6:02
Speaker 2: one of my favorite places, but I just really wanted
6:04
Speaker 2: to be able to go to all of those places
6:06
Speaker 2: I watched on TV or heard about as a kid.
6:09
Speaker 2: For example, my bucket list continent is Africa. I cannot
6:12
Speaker 2: wait to go and explore.
6:14
Speaker 1: My favorite spot.
6:15
Speaker 2: So I did the water and the ocean thing. I've
6:17
Speaker 2: been to the Caribbean. I've been to South America and
6:19
Speaker 2: Central America by ship. I've been through the Panama Canal
6:22
Speaker 2: by ship.
6:23
Speaker 1: How was that?
6:24
Speaker 2: It was long.
6:25
Speaker 1: Was it? Like longer than you expected?
6:27
Speaker 2: Because it took, I think it was like 12 or
6:29
Speaker 2: 13 hours and I was standing out on the side
6:31
Speaker 2: of the bridge and I was taking bearings with an Allidate.
6:34
Speaker 2: It was one of my additional duties on the ship.
6:37
Speaker 2: Everybody had extra duties they had to do. And so
6:39
Speaker 2: we had to set sea detail and I had to
6:41
Speaker 2: stand out there and take bearings. And it was just
6:43
Speaker 2: a really long day. We were following a cruise ship
6:46
Speaker 2: through the locks and I just have to wait to
6:48
Speaker 2: move to the next lock. And it was a neat experience,
6:51
Speaker 2: but very long day.
6:53
Speaker 1: So for, to help those that are listening, why don't
6:56
Speaker 1: you explain what an Allidate is?
6:58
Speaker 2: Okay, so it is a nautical piece of equipment that
7:01
Speaker 2: helps with navigation. It helps take bearings off your location
7:04
Speaker 2: and other fixed objects.
7:06
Speaker 1: So you triangulate your spot on a map. And what
7:10
Speaker 1: other navigation principles did you learn when you were in
7:14
Speaker 1: the Coast Guard? Because you probably learned a lot about
7:16
Speaker 1: dead reckoning, triangulation, probably GPS as well.
7:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, so later on in my career, I got more
7:24
Speaker 2: into GPS and things like that. But when I first started,
7:27
Speaker 2: it was a lot of paper charts, a lot of
7:29
Speaker 2: drawing your bearing and figuring out which direction you needed
7:32
Speaker 2: to go. And at my first duty station, when I
7:35
Speaker 2: was up in Maine, I was at a small boat station.
7:38
Speaker 2: So we had to, as part of our qualification process,
7:40
Speaker 2: we had to go and they would tell us, we
7:43
Speaker 2: want you to go to this position or this location.
7:45
Speaker 2: And we had to navigate ourselves there as part of
7:49
Speaker 2: the qualification process.
7:50
Speaker 1: That's cool.
7:51
Speaker 2: Yeah.
7:51
Speaker 1: And that probably is quite helpful in even overlanding today.
7:56
Speaker 1: You're able to take all those dead reckoning skills and
7:59
Speaker 1: map reading skills and all of that and apply it
8:02
Speaker 1: to your own travels.
8:03
Speaker 2: One day I hope to apply those skills in the
8:06
Speaker 2: Rebelo Rally.
8:06
Speaker 1: Have you done that yet?
8:07
Speaker 2: Haven't done that yet.
8:08
Speaker 1: We are talking about doing it. You'd be a perfect
8:10
Speaker 1: fit for that.
8:11
Speaker 2: Yeah.
8:11
Speaker 1: Anyone who I have talked to that has participated in
8:14
Speaker 1: that event has said it's either life-changing or one of
8:18
Speaker 1: the most fun things that they've ever done, so... Our producer, Paula,
8:22
Speaker 1: got to do a couple days as part of the
8:24
Speaker 1: immediate route last year, and now she can't wait to
8:27
Speaker 1: get with the team to do it with the whole event.
8:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've interviewed several rebels, and they all tell me
8:34
Speaker 2: the same thing. Once you start doing it, you're going
8:37
Speaker 2: to want to do it every year.
8:38
Speaker 1: And Emily Knoller is just an incredible business person, very
8:41
Speaker 1: successful driver. And I would say that the quality at
8:45
Speaker 1: which she has executed that event, it's really without peer
8:48
Speaker 1: in the United States. If you were even to compare
8:52
Speaker 1: it to the Baja events, it's at a whole nother
8:54
Speaker 1: level of execution. So it just really shows her skills
8:58
Speaker 1: in so many areas.
8:59
Speaker 2: And I got to hear her speak up at the
9:01
Speaker 2: Northwest Overland Rally a couple months ago as well. I've
9:04
Speaker 2: had her on the show as well, but she is
9:06
Speaker 2: just very inspirational. She definitely comes off as a great leader,
9:10
Speaker 2: very self-confident.
9:11
Speaker 1: Absolutely. Rockstar.
9:12
Speaker 2: To me, when you look at her, you're like, okay,
9:14
Speaker 2: everything's going to be okay because she knows what's going on.
9:17
Speaker 1: What are some of the things that you learn from her, Sheila?
9:20
Speaker 2: She did a little roundtable thing with Patty Upton and
9:23
Speaker 2: another one or two women. And she just talked about
9:27
Speaker 2: trusting yourself and leaning into your own confidence and just
9:34
Speaker 2: really focusing on believing in yourself and empowering yourself. And
9:39
Speaker 2: I just thought that was pretty awesome. You can tell
9:43
Speaker 2: she's very well put together. She's very smart.
9:46
Speaker 1: Very bright.
9:47
Speaker 2: Yeah. And she's not afraid to compete in anything. a
9:50
Speaker 2: mixed gender type of environment at all.
9:53
Speaker 1: Do you think that's something that needs to be a
9:56
Speaker 1: more consistent message is that travel is available to all,
10:01
Speaker 1: there is no limitations? What do you think are some
10:04
Speaker 1: ways that as an industry, you feel like we could
10:09
Speaker 1: improve that message in the show?
10:11
Speaker 2: So I think that starting with some of these shows,
10:14
Speaker 2: a lot of them are embracing doing women-centric programming, I
10:19
Speaker 2: think that it's not meant to be exclusionary. It's meant
10:21
Speaker 2: to provide a smaller, safer environment for women to ask
10:24
Speaker 2: questions that they may not feel comfortable asking in front
10:27
Speaker 2: of a mixed crowd.
10:28
Speaker 1: Sure.
10:28
Speaker 2: So that's one of the reasons why I embrace it
10:30
Speaker 2: so much. That's why I started the podcast. That's why
10:33
Speaker 2: I love to come and teach at these flasks that
10:35
Speaker 2: we've shows because I feel that it's important if a
10:39
Speaker 2: woman wants to ask about a hygiene situation or wants
10:43
Speaker 2: to talk about her fears about traveling by herself and
10:46
Speaker 2: she doesn't want someone else to be there. downplaying that
10:49
Speaker 2: or saying oh you're fine she wants to be able
10:51
Speaker 2: to express those concerns i think in a welcoming environment
10:55
Speaker 2: and that's what i see starting to happen in the
10:58
Speaker 2: not only the overlanding world but the off-road and automotive
11:01
Speaker 2: industry as well i see them realizing hey these women
11:05
Speaker 2: are purchasing vehicles as well they're no question spending money
11:08
Speaker 2: they're buying rooftop tents or they're sleeping in their rig
11:11
Speaker 2: they're asking these questions.
11:12
Speaker 1: Growing segmenting yeah with solo female travelers. Totally. I really
11:17
Speaker 1: appreciate you sharing that because it's, we, everybody needs their
11:20
Speaker 1: own way of connecting in with their hobby. And, and
11:24
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter how it needs you. It's whatever they
11:27
Speaker 1: need in order to feel successful in order to learn.
11:31
Speaker 1: And we need to continually adapt as an industry to
11:33
Speaker 1: meet the needs of people that are coming in to
11:37
Speaker 1: the overland space. So I really appreciate your podcast. I
11:41
Speaker 1: appreciate what, what the Rebel has done. I appreciate the
11:45
Speaker 1: fact that those kinds of trainings are available at the
11:48
Speaker 1: Overland Expo because we need even more of her. So
11:53
Speaker 1: how are some ways that businesses can support women travelers
11:59
Speaker 1: in Overmoney? What are some things that you think are
12:01
Speaker 1: maybe missing or where they're missing the mark? Dick, you
12:05
Speaker 1: had the opportunity to wave a magic wand. How would
12:08
Speaker 1: you see things improve?
12:11
Speaker 2: So I think that, and I have seen a little
12:13
Speaker 2: bit of that at this show, I think that these
12:15
Speaker 2: different vendors need to walk around and speak to women
12:17
Speaker 2: travelers face-to-face, see what works for them, what doesn't. I
12:21
Speaker 2: know two of the biggest things that I encounter when
12:24
Speaker 2: I speak to other women, that they're concerned with is
12:26
Speaker 2: safety and hygiene.
12:27
Speaker 1: Sure.
12:27
Speaker 2: Those are the big things. A guy, a lot of
12:30
Speaker 2: the times, like my husband, for example, he can go
12:32
Speaker 2: and he doesn't really necessarily care about showering. He says,
12:34
Speaker 2: I'll shower when I feel like it or whatever. Whereas
12:37
Speaker 2: some women..
12:38
Speaker 1: Yeah.
12:38
Speaker 2: Are very much, I can't do anything about having clean
12:40
Speaker 2: hair every day. Maybe I don't have to shower every day,
12:42
Speaker 2: but I have to have hair.
12:43
Speaker 1: You definitely don't have the hair problem. Yeah. But I
12:47
Speaker 1: think that there's, I think it's important also that there's
12:50
Speaker 1: also a lot of men that like to shower. I mean,
12:52
Speaker 1: I think we need to keep, we need to provide
12:55
Speaker 1: solutions and help people feel comfortable saying, because I would
12:59
Speaker 1: think that because it's this traditional thing, perspective of you
13:02
Speaker 1: can go a month without showering, then that makes even
13:05
Speaker 1: the men that want to shower more often feel like
13:07
Speaker 1: they can't even speak up about their needs. But I
13:11
Speaker 1: think that it's so important to your point that we
13:14
Speaker 1: find ways to meet the needs of travelers wherever they are.
13:18
Speaker 2: Right.
13:18
Speaker 1: And hopefully that inspires more innovation within the marketplace. What
13:23
Speaker 1: are some things that you're seeing on the product side
13:25
Speaker 1: that are doing a good job of addressing hygiene for
13:29
Speaker 1: your audience?
13:31
Speaker 2: So a lot of the companies that create whites, they're
13:35
Speaker 2: making more. I don't want to, I don't necessarily want
13:38
Speaker 2: to put things in genders or floral type scents or
13:41
Speaker 2: more peppermint or things like lemon, things like that, where
13:45
Speaker 2: it might be more appealing to females.
13:48
Speaker 1: Sure.
13:48
Speaker 2: A lot of these companies, there's a little company here
13:51
Speaker 2: that has a tiny little shovel for digging cat holes.
13:55
Speaker 1: Yeah. I saw that. You can put some pellets in there. Yeah.
13:58
Speaker 2: There's some kind of mushroom or something that's. Yeah.
14:00
Speaker 1: Oh, I didn't know what it was, but it looked
14:01
Speaker 1: like a little pellet. That's smart. Yeah. And there's a
14:05
Speaker 1: lot better toilet options now.
14:07
Speaker 2: Yes.
14:08
Speaker 1: And I like having the toilet just as much as
14:10
Speaker 1: anybody else. And I think that just removing that stigma
14:13
Speaker 1: of it's the woman that wants the toilet. I think
14:15
Speaker 1: we should just take that off the table.
14:17
Speaker 2: Right.
14:17
Speaker 1: Because yes, absolutely. If you need one, get one. But
14:21
Speaker 1: everybody benefits. Let's take that away. So that way people
14:25
Speaker 1: aren't feeling concerned about having one in their vehicle. Like
14:29
Speaker 1: I was just talking to a composting toilet company here
14:33
Speaker 1: because I like having a composting toilet in my camper.
14:36
Speaker 1: I've been sick in my camper and having a toilet
14:39
Speaker 1: is really important. And being able to have good hygiene
14:43
Speaker 1: when you're living on the road is really nice. That's good.
14:47
Speaker 1: I'm glad to hear that you're finding that there's opportunities
14:51
Speaker 1: to give that safe environment for people to express what
14:55
Speaker 1: they need. And that you're starting to see the industry
14:58
Speaker 1: respond a little bit to that.
15:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really nice. And again, like you said, though,
15:03
Speaker 2: things can be gender neutral. Everybody wants a toilet. Everybody
15:06
Speaker 2: wants to be able to shower, that kind of stuff.
15:09
Speaker 2: I've just seen a lot of the comments that I get,
15:11
Speaker 2: especially for women that are just starting out. If either
15:14
Speaker 2: they're scared to do it because of all of these
15:17
Speaker 2: different reasons or fears or past traumas or whatever it is.
15:20
Speaker 1: Of course.
15:21
Speaker 2: And then they want to make sure that they can
15:24
Speaker 2: take care of business if they need to and be
15:26
Speaker 2: clean and all of that. So that's where I try
15:29
Speaker 2: to make a lot of my focus. And I also
15:31
Speaker 2: do a beginning overlanding class. So because people, sometimes they
15:35
Speaker 2: get overwhelmed when they look at all of the stuff
15:37
Speaker 2: that they have here and they don't know where to start.
15:39
Speaker 2: I tell them to start small, start with inexpensive items
15:43
Speaker 2: at first, just go somewhere locally, keep it close to home.
15:47
Speaker 1: What are like just at a higher level when you
15:51
Speaker 1: have one of these flasks?
15:52
Speaker 2: Yeah.
15:53
Speaker 1: What do you talk about around selecting a vehicle? What
15:56
Speaker 1: are some things that we can share with the audience
15:58
Speaker 1: around what you recommend or what you've chosen to share
16:02
Speaker 1: with your students?
16:04
Speaker 2: I tell them initially, whatever vehicle they have currently, they
16:07
Speaker 2: should start with that.
16:08
Speaker 1: Good place to start.
16:09
Speaker 2: Because if they hate it, they haven't just went and
16:12
Speaker 2: spent a lot of money on a vehicle. So we
16:16
Speaker 2: start simple. A lot of people talk about Jeeps, and
16:18
Speaker 2: I'm not saying anything against Jeeps. Jeeps are wonderful. They're
16:21
Speaker 2: very capable. They don't have a very big payload. So
16:24
Speaker 2: it depends on if you're going to be traveling by
16:25
Speaker 2: yourself and you don't have to take as many things.
16:28
Speaker 2: Or if you're somebody like me that's traveling with a
16:30
Speaker 2: husband and children and you have to bring a lot
16:33
Speaker 2: more with you. So we do have a Jeep, but
16:35
Speaker 2: we also have a 4Runner because a lot more payload.
16:38
Speaker 2: So those are the kinds of things we just talked here.
16:40
Speaker 2: I don't think that I don't vehicle bash or anything
16:43
Speaker 2: like that. We just talk about if you want to
16:45
Speaker 2: go to those further out places. You might need a
16:49
Speaker 2: little more clearance or you might need a four-wheel drive,
16:52
Speaker 2: those kind of things. I've known other people that have
16:54
Speaker 2: traveled all over the place in two-wheel drives.
16:56
Speaker 1: So true. The important thing is to go.
16:59
Speaker 2: Yeah.
17:00
Speaker 1: And then figure out what it is that you really need. Right.
17:02
Speaker 1: Because some people do find that I like going a
17:04
Speaker 1: little further back in, away from the crowds. Maybe I
17:08
Speaker 1: feel safer that or I really enjoy being connected in
17:12
Speaker 1: with nature and I want to get a little further
17:14
Speaker 1: away from the highway. And that's when having four wheel
17:17
Speaker 1: drive or maybe a little bit better tire can help
17:20
Speaker 1: you do those things, get a little further away from
17:22
Speaker 1: the crowd.
17:24
Speaker 2: Absolutely. But I think it's a process. So when we
17:27
Speaker 2: first started out, we had canisters from Walmart, basic, a cooler,
17:31
Speaker 2: very basic things. And we slowly, as we've done it
17:34
Speaker 2: for over time, we've changed out those items and upgraded
17:38
Speaker 2: those items and really thought about our purchases before we
17:41
Speaker 2: invested the money. to make sure it was going to
17:44
Speaker 2: work for our situation. And that's another thing that I
17:47
Speaker 2: tell people, just because your Overland build works perfectly for you,
17:50
Speaker 2: it may not work perfectly for me. I may need
17:53
Speaker 2: something completely different.
17:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, you couldn't fit by people in this. Not well. Barely, right?
18:00
Speaker 1: I guess they could have dinner in here, but that's
18:01
Speaker 1: about it. You couldn't sleep in here. What are some
18:04
Speaker 1: of the questions that you find that you get in
18:07
Speaker 1: those flasses that we could share with the audience? What
18:10
Speaker 1: are some of the ones that you see come up
18:12
Speaker 1: regularly around first starting overlanding? What are some of the
18:16
Speaker 1: questions you get?
18:17
Speaker 2: So specifically with the women that come to the classes,
18:19
Speaker 2: a lot of it is, what do I do if
18:21
Speaker 2: somebody comes up into my campsite? And how do I
18:24
Speaker 2: handle that situation? How can I escape? What if I'm
18:26
Speaker 2: sleeping in my tent and I can't get down to
18:28
Speaker 2: my driver, to my driver's side to leave? So we
18:33
Speaker 2: talk about trusting their intuition. If you pull up to
18:36
Speaker 2: a site or an area that you're ready to camp
18:38
Speaker 2: and something doesn't feel right, there's no shame in moving
18:41
Speaker 2: on somewhere else. There's no shame in getting a hotel
18:43
Speaker 2: for the night. If you're really just in an area
18:45
Speaker 2: that isn't, you just have a bad feeling. With my kid,
18:50
Speaker 2: all five of us, when we pull up to an area,
18:52
Speaker 2: if anybody has a bad feeling about it, we don't
18:54
Speaker 2: stay there. We move on. So the big thing I
18:57
Speaker 2: talk to women specifically about is trusting that gut, trusting
19:00
Speaker 2: that intuition. being aware of their surroundings, even putting up
19:04
Speaker 2: a drone if they need to just check the surrounding area.
19:06
Speaker 1: That's smart. That's great advice. Throw the drone up and
19:09
Speaker 1: then look and see if there's maybe 200 meters away,
19:12
Speaker 1: there's another campsite and Luke looks like it's been there
19:15
Speaker 1: a while. And yeah, that's really smart. That's a good idea.
19:19
Speaker 2: And I tell them to try to avoid major metropolitan
19:21
Speaker 2: areas because like, for example, right outside of Portland, there's
19:24
Speaker 2: a lot of homeless population. There's a lot of drugs
19:27
Speaker 2: that are happening in the forests around there. I personally
19:30
Speaker 2: am of the belief the further out you get away
19:33
Speaker 2: from everybody else, the safer you are.
19:34
Speaker 1: What do they say? Bad roads breeze good people?
19:37
Speaker 2: Yeah.
19:38
Speaker 1: I like that quote. Yeah. What are some other pieces
19:41
Speaker 1: of advice that you give around security?
19:44
Speaker 2: One of the biggest things is your alarm. Your car
19:47
Speaker 2: alarm is your best friend. If it's middle of the night, something's...
19:50
Speaker 2: moving around outside, you don't know if it's an animal
19:52
Speaker 2: or a person, set off your fire alarm. The lights
19:54
Speaker 2: will go off, the sirens will go off.
19:56
Speaker 1: Draws attention.
19:56
Speaker 2: You know, draws attention.
19:57
Speaker 1: Smart.
19:58
Speaker 2: Yeah. Another thing is just making sure somebody knows where
20:02
Speaker 2: you are. Do you have an in-reach or a Zolio
20:05
Speaker 2: or spot, whatever? Just let somebody out there in the
20:09
Speaker 2: world know where you're going to be located if you
20:11
Speaker 2: possibly can.
20:12
Speaker 1: Just so. Have a point of contact.
20:13
Speaker 2: Right. Somebody did a lifeline. Yeah. And I think that's
20:17
Speaker 2: a big thing for women. Like we started a Life360
20:20
Speaker 2: group just for women overlanders. So if they want to join.
20:24
Speaker 1: I make it. What's the name of that so people
20:26
Speaker 1: can find it?
20:27
Speaker 2: It's actually when they joined my Facebook group, Ladies Overland Lounge.
20:31
Speaker 1: Okay.
20:31
Speaker 2: We give them that option if they want to join
20:33
Speaker 2: the Life360 group. And that way, we've had women that
20:36
Speaker 2: were in Central and South America that joined as well.
20:38
Speaker 2: One of them was in a motorcycle accident, so it
20:41
Speaker 2: was alerted. Possible we can provide assistance or help them
20:44
Speaker 2: get help, poly-MS for them or whatever, just so they
20:47
Speaker 2: know somebody is out there.
20:48
Speaker 1: A more active community. Right. Each other. So that's on your,
20:54
Speaker 1: and what's the name of your Facebook group again?
20:55
Speaker 2: Ladies Overland Lounge.
20:57
Speaker 1: Okay. And so if they join Ladies Overland Lounge- Then
21:01
Speaker 1: they'll get some communication about the opportunity to connect with
21:04
Speaker 1: the life.
21:05
Speaker 2: Life-resistant, correct. That only works if you have cell signals.
21:08
Speaker 2: There's still, but it is an extra little comfort.
21:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a good idea. And then if you have
21:14
Speaker 1: an in-reach on top of that or a Starlink or
21:17
Speaker 1: something that has an ability to connect while you're remote,
21:21
Speaker 1: that oftentimes can, it certainly helps me feel more confident
21:26
Speaker 1: when I'm in the back country that I have a
21:28
Speaker 1: way to communicate if I had a problem.
21:30
Speaker 2: Right.
21:30
Speaker 1: For sure. What are some of the other things that
21:33
Speaker 1: you recommend around safety or security that you think has
21:38
Speaker 1: helped for members?
21:39
Speaker 2: I think the biggest thing that we try to push
21:42
Speaker 2: is whether it's recovery gear or just your vehicle or
21:47
Speaker 2: first aid kit or trauma kit or anything that you
21:49
Speaker 2: have in your possession, make sure you know how to
21:52
Speaker 2: use it. I think a lot of times people go out,
21:55
Speaker 2: they go out and they do these things and they
21:57
Speaker 2: don't even know the full capabilities of their vehicle. They
22:00
Speaker 2: don't know the limitations. They don't know how to even
22:02
Speaker 2: change a tire. Some people, they don't know how to
22:06
Speaker 2: correctly use their winch or all of those things. I
22:10
Speaker 2: just feel like knowledge is power. So if you're going
22:12
Speaker 2: to be going out there, especially by yourself, whether you're
22:14
Speaker 2: a man or a woman, you should absolutely know how
22:17
Speaker 2: to use the equipment that you've had with you.
22:18
Speaker 1: Let you see if it works properly. Maybe there's a
22:21
Speaker 1: part missing or whatever. When you're doing it in a
22:23
Speaker 1: training environment, you can really test a lot of that
22:27
Speaker 1: gear and and see what's working or what's not working,
22:30
Speaker 1: if it's broken or if the seals have failed or
22:34
Speaker 1: the expiration date or something like that. That's really good feedback.
22:40
Speaker 1: What are you finding that are areas of interest? Is
22:44
Speaker 1: there areas that people want to travel or is there
22:47
Speaker 1: areas of training that you're finding more interest or less interest?
22:51
Speaker 1: What are some of the topics that you're finding on
22:54
Speaker 1: your podcast are more popular than others?
22:57
Speaker 2: So we've had a couple of roundtable discussions on the podcast,
23:00
Speaker 2: one of which was, should you travel with a firearm
23:02
Speaker 2: and the pros and cons of that? I know when
23:05
Speaker 2: we were traveling internationally, that's not really an option.
23:07
Speaker 1: Not really.
23:07
Speaker 2: That's more of a United States kind of thing.
23:10
Speaker 1: What was the result from that?
23:12
Speaker 2: So I think the consensus among the panel was if
23:17
Speaker 2: that's what you feel comfortable doing, sure. But there's lots
23:20
Speaker 2: of other ways to handle situations that don't necessarily involve
23:23
Speaker 2: a firearm. And you need to make sure that you
23:26
Speaker 2: know each state's requirements and regulations and laws regarding that firearm.
23:31
Speaker 2: So if you're going to carry it, you've got to
23:33
Speaker 2: be able to deal with all of the other things
23:35
Speaker 2: that come with it.
23:36
Speaker 1: You do have to take on a lot of responsibility
23:38
Speaker 1: to carry a firearm for sure. And like you said,
23:41
Speaker 1: get training. Absolutely. And that applies to everyone that's listening
23:46
Speaker 1: for sure. So that's a cool topic. So what were
23:49
Speaker 1: some of the other ones that you found were really popular?
23:52
Speaker 2: Women should never travel alone. And I named it that
23:55
Speaker 2: on purpose because it got quite the response. So that
23:58
Speaker 2: was a very, we had, I think, seven different women
24:01
Speaker 2: on that show. And it was very animated discussion. It
24:05
Speaker 2: was great. And one of the things that I would
24:08
Speaker 2: like to mention is most of the time when I
24:10
Speaker 2: travel by myself, it's other women that tell me I
24:13
Speaker 2: shouldn't be doing that or why am I doing that?
24:15
Speaker 2: And that's a little bit defeating because it feels you
24:22
Speaker 2: really want people other women to encourage you and empower
24:25
Speaker 2: you and make you feel confident. But when another woman
24:27
Speaker 2: is telling you, hey, that's really dangerous. Why are you
24:30
Speaker 2: doing that? You shouldn't do that. It takes the wind
24:33
Speaker 2: out of your sails a little. So I think that
24:36
Speaker 2: why I bring that up is to tell women, definitely
24:39
Speaker 2: encourage others. We have enough things in this world, enough people,
24:43
Speaker 2: and everyone does, that are telling us we shouldn't do
24:46
Speaker 2: things or can't do things or whatever.
24:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, don't add to that.
24:50
Speaker 2: Don't add to it.
24:52
Speaker 1: To that narrative for sure. When you had that panel,
24:57
Speaker 1: when you were talking about if women should travel alone,
25:01
Speaker 1: what were some of the outcomes from that or some
25:03
Speaker 1: of the, what you felt were the takeaways from that conversation?
25:06
Speaker 2: I don't know if I'm able to share this, but
25:08
Speaker 2: one of the commenters was a male and he, he
25:12
Speaker 2: actually said, my penis has never made it to where
25:15
Speaker 2: I can or can't do something like traveling or whatever.
25:18
Speaker 2: That's irrelevant, whether I'm a guy or a girl. I
25:21
Speaker 2: should be able to travel by myself. He just said,
25:23
Speaker 2: I've never been in a situation where that benefited him
25:27
Speaker 2: or helped him in any way, shape or form with traveling.
25:30
Speaker 2: So it was a funny comment that everybody laughed about,
25:33
Speaker 2: but it's true. I think that women have a little
25:37
Speaker 2: bit of an advantage because of that. I guess maybe
25:41
Speaker 2: in their nature, they think through different scenarios. And I'm
25:44
Speaker 2: not saying men don't either, some men, but a lot
25:46
Speaker 2: of women, a lot of men are just like, let's go.
25:48
Speaker 2: Women will think through different scenarios. What do I do
25:50
Speaker 2: if this happens? What do I do if that happens?
25:52
Speaker 2: And I think that it's just naturally in our nature
25:54
Speaker 2: to keep us safe for whatever reason. And we talk
25:58
Speaker 2: about at times even traveling to different countries and the
26:01
Speaker 2: different cultures and safety factor for women is different than
26:04
Speaker 2: men in a lot of those other countries. So Those
26:06
Speaker 2: are all things that you've got to keep in your mind.
26:09
Speaker 1: I think everything that you're talking about is valid. And
26:12
Speaker 1: that's the most important thing that needs to be acknowledged
26:14
Speaker 1: in the industry is that everything that you're experiencing and
26:17
Speaker 1: everything that for women that you interview are experiencing is valid.
26:22
Speaker 1: And it can't be dismissed. We have to listen and
26:25
Speaker 1: we have to learn where is the consistencies within those stories.
26:30
Speaker 1: So as an industry, we can begin to help provide support.
26:33
Speaker 1: And that starts with just acknowledging that Everyone's going to
26:37
Speaker 1: have their own experiences and they're all valid. I have
26:40
Speaker 1: seen shocking differences in the way that people are treated
26:45
Speaker 1: around the world. And it can vary significantly between men, women,
26:51
Speaker 1: or even other groups where they can be really treated differently.
26:55
Speaker 1: And we need to acknowledge that that can happen and
26:58
Speaker 1: start to provide tools and support to enable women or
27:02
Speaker 1: anyone to go out and travel safely and Have an
27:06
Speaker 1: amazing experience. That's how we have an industry is if
27:09
Speaker 1: everyone feels comfortable doing that because otherwise you're missing out.
27:14
Speaker 1: I think as an industry, we're missing out on a
27:17
Speaker 1: lot if we don't listen to the needs of women
27:20
Speaker 1: or anyone else.
27:21
Speaker 2: I agree.
27:22
Speaker 1: I think it's really important for us to be listening
27:24
Speaker 1: to those stories and those experiences so we can improve things. No,
27:29
Speaker 1: that's really good feedback and I appreciate that. And it's
27:32
Speaker 1: a reality problem. It's absolutely a fact. So some of
27:36
Speaker 1: the women that you've had on the podcast, I think about,
27:40
Speaker 1: have you ever had Lois Price on? I have not yet. Yeah,
27:43
Speaker 1: she's my hero. Just incredible traveler. And the places that
27:47
Speaker 1: she has gone is just absolutely incredible. But some of
27:51
Speaker 1: the well-traveled individuals that you've had on the podcast, has
27:55
Speaker 1: there been a couple things that you've had yourself as takeaways? Oh,
27:59
Speaker 1: that's an interesting lesson. Or is there some consistency there?
28:03
Speaker 1: across those well-traveled international travelers that you think you could
28:07
Speaker 1: provide to the audience here that they can hear?
28:11
Speaker 2: I think a lot of it centers around children because
28:13
Speaker 2: I am a mother and I have three children that
28:15
Speaker 2: I travel with. So a lot of the takeaways that
28:17
Speaker 2: I've received from other women travelers regarding children is that
28:21
Speaker 2: it's been a great experience for those kids. They're much
28:25
Speaker 2: more open to anyone from any kind of background. They're
28:29
Speaker 2: able to speak to anyone about anything. A lot of
28:33
Speaker 2: times they'll bring people in to a conversation that normally
28:38
Speaker 2: maybe they would have been hesitant to do.
28:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, sure.
28:41
Speaker 2: I think that it built confidence. I think that it
28:43
Speaker 2: shows them how good we have it here in the States.
28:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, sure.
28:46
Speaker 2: Because honestly, we have it.
28:49
Speaker 1: We're pretty fortunate.
28:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, very. And so that's something that I learned from
28:54
Speaker 2: a young age when I first joined the Coast Guard.
28:56
Speaker 2: And then when I went to other countries was, wow,
28:59
Speaker 2: the way that women are treated, the way that people live.
29:03
Speaker 2: in the environments that they live in. And you just,
29:07
Speaker 2: if you haven't been to other countries, I don't know
29:09
Speaker 2: that you can necessarily grasp the difference. Sure, you can
29:13
Speaker 2: see things on TV, but TV is definitely, as we
29:16
Speaker 2: all know, not accurate.
29:17
Speaker 1: Not really in reality.
29:18
Speaker 2: And over-sensationalized. Yeah, so.
29:20
Speaker 1: You need to experience it to know it.
29:23
Speaker 2: Right.
29:24
Speaker 1: And the more experience that we have, the more that
29:26
Speaker 1: we have an understanding. The more that we have an understanding,
29:28
Speaker 1: the more that we have confidence in what we need
29:30
Speaker 1: to do to be successful with travel or whatever else
29:34
Speaker 1: that we're trying to do in life, for sure. I
29:37
Speaker 1: also wanted to take a brief moment to thank all
29:40
Speaker 1: of you for listening to the Overland Journal podcast. By
29:44
Speaker 1: listening to this podcast and subscribing to the Overland Journal magazine,
29:47
Speaker 1: you're supporting our employee-owned and veteran-owned business. Impartial reviews and
29:54
Speaker 1: in-depth content like this would not be possible without your support.
29:58
Speaker 1: If you enjoy the podcast, I think you'd really love
30:01
Speaker 1: The Print Magazine as well. And 100% of that subscription
30:05
Speaker 1: price goes back into creating the content like you're listening
30:08
Speaker 1: to right now. And as a special thank you for
30:12
Speaker 1: your loyalty, we're giving 20% off any subscription. And that
30:16
Speaker 1: even includes our special lifetime subscription, which includes numerous lifetime-only benefits.
30:23
Speaker 1: You can go to overlandjournal.com and use the code OVERLANDPODCAST
30:29
Speaker 1: at checkout. Again, that's code OVERLANDPODCAST at checkout, and that'll
30:33
Speaker 1: give you 20% off. I sincerely appreciate your support. To
30:38
Speaker 1: improve the experience for either other women travelers or the
30:42
Speaker 1: women that are traveling with them, what would be, if
30:45
Speaker 1: you could pick your top five of things that you
30:48
Speaker 1: would challenge the audience to think about to make things better?
30:53
Speaker 1: In our industry, for women traveling solo, for the partner
30:57
Speaker 1: that may be traveling with the male listener.
31:01
Speaker 2: I think the first thing would be to empower your
31:04
Speaker 2: significant other. Trust her. If she says she's hesitant about
31:08
Speaker 2: certain things, trust that. Don't diminish that. Talk through that.
31:14
Speaker 2: Listen to her concerns. When you're out talking to vendors,
31:18
Speaker 2: I know that at times some vendors speak directly to
31:21
Speaker 2: the man, right? The woman standing there, maybe that's her
31:24
Speaker 2: rig that she's there to buy something. You don't know.
31:28
Speaker 2: So changing that mindset, if someone starts speaking to you,
31:30
Speaker 2: like I've had people come up to my husband and say, hey,
31:33
Speaker 2: I love your rig. And he's, thanks, that's my wife's.
31:36
Speaker 2: So just changing that mindset. And if someone does come
31:39
Speaker 2: and approach you and your wife is standing there and
31:41
Speaker 2: it's about her or for her, direct them over to her.
31:45
Speaker 2: And force that interaction. Trust her intuition.
31:48
Speaker 1: Powerful.
31:49
Speaker 2: Women's intuition is very powerful.
31:51
Speaker 1: It is.
31:52
Speaker 2: If she does not feel comfortable in an area, try
31:54
Speaker 2: not to diminish that or brush that to the side.
31:58
Speaker 2: Talk through it. Maybe her concerns are unfounded. Maybe it
32:01
Speaker 2: is just originating from fear, but still talk through it.
32:05
Speaker 1: It's not exactly on the surface. There's all of these
32:08
Speaker 1: nonverbal cues that we encounter. I'd When I talk to
32:13
Speaker 1: couples that are getting ready to travel, I just say
32:15
Speaker 1: that you need to have a hard and fast rule.
32:17
Speaker 1: If either person says they don't feel comfortable, there's no discussion.
32:21
Speaker 1: You move on.
32:22
Speaker 2: Exactly.
32:22
Speaker 1: That way it isn't about, and it doesn't matter if
32:25
Speaker 1: that same person says it five times in a row.
32:28
Speaker 1: If the person you're traveling with isn't feeling comfortable, why stay?
32:33
Speaker 1: Even if you really wanted to go see that waterfall,
32:35
Speaker 1: is it that important? It's the relationship that's the most
32:38
Speaker 1: important in my mind. And it helps us learn more
32:41
Speaker 1: about each other. And one of the things that I
32:44
Speaker 1: would encourage is any training that either person gets, they
32:48
Speaker 1: both need it.
32:49
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
32:50
Speaker 1: They both need driver training. They both need to work
32:52
Speaker 1: on the car together. They both need to get medical
32:56
Speaker 1: training together. Because what happens if either person falls off
33:00
Speaker 1: the roof rack and breaks their leg?
33:02
Speaker 2: Very, very true.
33:03
Speaker 1: Someone's got to drive the car. So both people need
33:05
Speaker 1: to know how to pull a winch cable and do
33:08
Speaker 1: spotting and The more training that the couple gets, the
33:12
Speaker 1: more effective they'll be together and the less likely they
33:14
Speaker 1: are going to have an argument, I think.
33:16
Speaker 2: And I also think the more buy-in you have from
33:19
Speaker 2: your significant other, if you can get her on board
33:22
Speaker 2: with doing these things and learning these things, she's going
33:25
Speaker 2: to feel more a part of the experience as well.
33:27
Speaker 2: So even if she's not driving that day, maybe she's
33:29
Speaker 2: helping to navigate or maybe, you know, you get a
33:32
Speaker 2: flat tire and she changes the tire or... She sets
33:35
Speaker 2: up camp and you break down camp and you share
33:37
Speaker 2: those responsibilities. I think that's a very good thing.
33:40
Speaker 1: For me, like when I get to travel with my partner,
33:43
Speaker 1: she's an awesome driver and it's fun for me because
33:45
Speaker 1: then I get to take photos and she's, and I
33:48
Speaker 1: get to experience her getting pulled over by the cops
33:52
Speaker 1: in Tanzania. Yes. Make it where everybody's getting to have those,
33:58
Speaker 1: that rich experience, no matter what it is, driving the
34:00
Speaker 1: vehicle or doing a daily inspection on the car. Learning
34:04
Speaker 1: those things together, I think, just enrichens the relationship.
34:07
Speaker 2: For sure.
34:08
Speaker 1: In so many ways. Let's continue on that same thread.
34:10
Speaker 1: Is there anything else that comes to mind that you'd
34:12
Speaker 1: love for this audience to hear? Ways that they can
34:15
Speaker 1: improve the experience, either for their partner or for a
34:19
Speaker 1: solo female traveler?
34:21
Speaker 2: I think that, like we were just talking about, encouraging
34:23
Speaker 2: her to go and take additional training. Maybe a women's
34:27
Speaker 2: wilderness first aid class or recovery. We are doing an
34:32
Speaker 2: event this fall where... We're having a whole weekend experience
34:35
Speaker 2: where we're having a recovery instructor come and teach about
34:38
Speaker 2: that vehicle safety and recovery and dynamics. Just anything from,
34:43
Speaker 2: there's just so many different things. Basically anything that a
34:47
Speaker 2: guy can learn how to do regarding vehicles and overlanding
34:51
Speaker 2: and travel and all of that, a woman is able
34:53
Speaker 2: to do as well.
34:54
Speaker 1: She just needs to.
34:55
Speaker 2: Build that confidence.
34:56
Speaker 1: Women have a higher matriculation rate than men, so I
34:58
Speaker 1: think they can learn it all.
35:00
Speaker 2: Yeah.
35:00
Speaker 1: I don't think there's any limitation there. Tell me about
35:02
Speaker 1: this event that you got coming up. I wasn't aware
35:05
Speaker 1: of that. So you have an event coming up. Where
35:07
Speaker 1: is that going to be located?
35:08
Speaker 2: That's actually going to be in Northwest Arkansas this year.
35:11
Speaker 1: Cool.
35:11
Speaker 2: Next year, we're planning on trying to do it out
35:13
Speaker 2: in the desert in Arizona.
35:14
Speaker 1: What's the name of the event?
35:15
Speaker 2: It's called Ferulosophy. Okay. So it is a woman's overlanding experience.
35:19
Speaker 2: And it's basically a lot of different classes. beginning overlanding,
35:24
Speaker 2: hygiene safety, all the things I normally cover at the shows. Sure.
35:27
Speaker 2: But also vehicle recovery, first aid. We're going to be
35:30
Speaker 2: doing some yoga in the morning just to get everybody
35:32
Speaker 2: in the right mindset. Yeah, it's just building that network
35:35
Speaker 2: in that community, meeting other like-minded women, that kind of stuff.
35:39
Speaker 1: And where do they find more information on the event?
35:42
Speaker 2: They can find that on our website, ladyoverlanderradio.com.
35:44
Speaker 1: Ladyoverlanderradio.com, where you can find that information. So on the
35:49
Speaker 1: training side, do you have two or three trainers that
35:53
Speaker 1: you like to recommend to your audience? And who are
35:56
Speaker 1: those individuals?
35:58
Speaker 2: So my go-to person for off-road recovery is Aaron from
36:02
Speaker 2: Switchback Outdoor Safety.
36:03
Speaker 1: Okay.
36:03
Speaker 2: It's his own business. He works out of Missouri.
36:05
Speaker 1: Okay.
36:06
Speaker 2: And he is excellent. He is former law enforcement, very
36:10
Speaker 2: much into empowering women. He's done several women's classes for
36:14
Speaker 2: us before. She's just a great person. He has a
36:17
Speaker 2: wife and Four, three, and one child on the way. Wow.
36:21
Speaker 2: So he's a family man. He's very passionate about what
36:25
Speaker 2: he does. He's very, from the moment you arrive for training,
36:30
Speaker 2: he's in training mode and you're in training mode. It's
36:31
Speaker 2: just like being in the military where you're on the
36:34
Speaker 2: second you get there. He's teaching you hand signals. He's
36:37
Speaker 2: telling you, he's giving you directions, telling you where to park.
36:39
Speaker 2: He's telling you how fast or slow to go, all
36:41
Speaker 2: of that stuff.
36:42
Speaker 1: Awesome. So. One of the ones that we like to
36:44
Speaker 1: recommend is Ina Barlow for anyone.
36:46
Speaker 2: Oh, she's amazing as well.
36:47
Speaker 1: To get training. She's incredibly capable. One of the most
36:50
Speaker 1: successful Rebelle Rally competitors. Works a lot with the OEMs
36:55
Speaker 1: at the highest levels of skills, both in driving and
36:58
Speaker 1: in recovery. Yeah, Mina's an awesome one to recommend as well.
37:03
Speaker 1: Is there anyone else that comes to mind that you'd
37:05
Speaker 1: like to recommend for training?
37:10
Speaker 2: Not really what else I can currently think of. You
37:12
Speaker 2: have a really good rapport with Erin, and Nina is
37:14
Speaker 2: amazing as well. I've been wonderful things about her. I
37:17
Speaker 2: haven't had the opportunity to meet her yet.
37:20
Speaker 1: So we need to get her on the podcast.
37:22
Speaker 2: Oh, yes, definitely.
37:22
Speaker 1: She's a total rock star.
37:24
Speaker 2: We tried. There was some scheduling stuff on both of
37:25
Speaker 2: our ends, but yeah, she's awesome.
37:27
Speaker 1: Let's talk a little bit about what you've got coming
37:29
Speaker 1: up next. What do you have coming up next for
37:31
Speaker 1: your own travels? Tell us a little bit about the
37:33
Speaker 1: vehicles that you use.
37:36
Speaker 2: Okay, so my husband has a Jeep Wrangler 2018. He
37:40
Speaker 2: has a rooftop tent on there, a kitchen in the back,
37:43
Speaker 2: drawer system, onboard water, all of that stuff. I have
37:47
Speaker 2: the Toyota 4Runner. I love it. I used to have
37:52
Speaker 2: a rooftop tent, but on the back of the 4Runners,
37:54
Speaker 2: they have that little fin that sticks out at the
37:57
Speaker 2: top there. It's hard for me to get up on my...
38:00
Speaker 2: tailgate and get around that and push, do that upward
38:03
Speaker 2: motion because of some shoulder issues.
38:05
Speaker 1: Sure.
38:05
Speaker 2: So I've moved into sleeping inside my rig.
38:07
Speaker 1: I like sleeping inside of you.
38:08
Speaker 2: I like it a lot too. I feel a little
38:10
Speaker 2: spoiled now, but.
38:11
Speaker 1: All the insulation.
38:12
Speaker 2: Yeah.
38:13
Speaker 1: It's quieter. It's raining right now. Unfortunately, we're not, I
38:16
Speaker 1: don't think we're getting wet. Are you getting wet? No.
38:19
Speaker 1: It's starting to rain here in Colorado at the Overland Expo,
38:21
Speaker 1: but you're just a lot out of the, you're out
38:24
Speaker 1: of the elements. You have all that insulation and sound
38:26
Speaker 1: deadening inside the vehicle, which I think makes a big difference.
38:30
Speaker 1: So what's the next big trip that you guys are planning?
38:34
Speaker 2: So initially we were going to be going to Spain
38:35
Speaker 2: for our 20th anniversary. We were going to rent a
38:37
Speaker 2: little camper van.
38:38
Speaker 1: That's awesome.
38:39
Speaker 2: Yes. And life things have happened. So we're putting that
38:42
Speaker 2: on hold for now. And now we'll probably be going
38:45
Speaker 2: to Greece in the spring.
38:47
Speaker 1: Fun. Yeah. So I'm pretty excited about that. It's just,
38:49
Speaker 1: they're not that long ago and I super enjoyed it. Yeah. Oh,
38:52
Speaker 1: that'll be a great adventure. So tell everyone who's listening,
38:56
Speaker 1: let's do a recap on how they can connect in
38:59
Speaker 1: With you. So give us your website, all your social media,
39:02
Speaker 1: how people find out more information on that. Anyone else
39:05
Speaker 1: that you recommend that others follow that can be a
39:08
Speaker 1: good resource?
39:09
Speaker 2: I will give a little shout out about the fall
39:11
Speaker 2: edition of the Overland Journal. I interviewed Patty Upton. She
39:15
Speaker 2: is phenomenal. World traveler. She and her husband went through
39:19
Speaker 2: the Darien Gap, all land crossing of Darien Gap. They're
39:21
Speaker 2: in the Guinness Book of World Records for that. There's
39:23
Speaker 2: a great article on her in the magazine that I wrote.
39:27
Speaker 1: Thank you for that.
39:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, she is just out joy, a wonderful one for
39:32
Speaker 2: a person.
39:32
Speaker 1: I need to get her on the podcast. I really do.
39:34
Speaker 2: And as a matter of fact, she's told me I
39:37
Speaker 2: can tell this, but I'm helping her write her book.
39:40
Speaker 1: Oh, awesome.
39:40
Speaker 2: Very excited about that as well.
39:42
Speaker 1: I'm glad you got a chance to work with Tina.
39:45
Speaker 1: She is just another rock star.
39:47
Speaker 2: She has been amazing and learned a lot.
39:50
Speaker 1: And she keeps me in line, which is a big job. Yeah.
39:54
Speaker 1: I always feel bad for all my missed deadlines with Tina,
39:58
Speaker 1: but she gives me a lot of grace, so.
40:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, she was very helpful through the full process.
40:03
Speaker 1: Super competent. Yes.
40:05
Speaker 2: Patty Upkin, Kristen Whetton, her badass brunette. She's an amazing,
40:08
Speaker 2: her story is so wonderful. She first got into overlanding solo.
40:13
Speaker 2: There's so many women that I just really admire. Carol
40:17
Speaker 2: Van Straalen, as a mother, fellow mother, I love her.
40:20
Speaker 1: Sure.
40:20
Speaker 2: Brittany Highland, very good friend of mine. We share very
40:24
Speaker 2: similar philosophies on homeschooling, roadschooling.
40:27
Speaker 1: Sure.
40:27
Speaker 2: There's a lot.
40:28
Speaker 1: And we could probably add some more in the show notes,
40:30
Speaker 1: but even more importantly, people can tune in to the
40:35
Speaker 1: Lady Overlander radio so you can listen to your podcast
40:39
Speaker 1: and listen to all of these incredible guests that you've
40:41
Speaker 1: had on your podcast. So I really- encourage people to
40:45
Speaker 1: subscribe to your podcast and listen to those episodes. There's
40:49
Speaker 1: a lot of fun content that's covered and there's some
40:52
Speaker 1: really good humor and you bring in a lot of
40:55
Speaker 1: unique guests onto the podcast. So I just would really
40:58
Speaker 1: encourage people to subscribe. Thank you. Awesome. Is there anything
41:03
Speaker 1: else that we can do for you to call to
41:05
Speaker 1: action for the audience that we can do to support
41:08
Speaker 1: what you guys are up to?
41:09
Speaker 2: Really just subscribing to the podcast, coming on when we
41:12
Speaker 2: go live and commenting and interacting with us will do
41:14
Speaker 2: great things for us. And just support each other and
41:18
Speaker 2: keep continuing to build that network with other women.
41:21
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your career of service in
41:24
Speaker 1: the military. You and your husband have both done so
41:27
Speaker 1: much to help our nation. And now you're getting a
41:30
Speaker 1: chance to travel the country and around the world. Thank
41:34
Speaker 1: you so much for being on the podcast.
41:35
Speaker 2: Thank you.
41:36
Speaker 1: And we thank you all for listening, and we'll talk
41:38
Speaker 1: to you next time.