Latest / The Overland Journal Podcast / Rachael Elseman and the Overland Expo Foundation

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Rachael Elseman and the Overland Expo Foundation · The Overland Journal Podcast

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the Overland Drill Podcast. I am
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: your host, Scott Brady, and I'm joined today by a
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: very cool member of the Overland community, Rachel Elsman. Now.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Rachel is the executive director of the Overland Expo Foundation.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: She's extremely well traveled by suv, also by bicycle, long
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: distance bicycle travel, and she's also the event coordinator for
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: the Overland Collective. So if you get a chance to
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: ever experience something like the Big Thing, or you've attended
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: one of the other events at the ex Overland Ranch,
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Rachel is a big, a big part of making those
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: things a success. So thank you so much for being
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: on the podcast with me today.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm excited to be here. Yeah.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: So I've got some fun things to kind of kick
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: it off. One of the ones that was really interesting
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: to me was learning that you had spent months living
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: remotely in Baja. So let's let's I mean, how cool
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: is that? How did that happen? Where did you live
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: in bah How did you even make that come about
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: in your life?
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: So it was twenty nineteen. My husband and I had
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: been living on the road for almost all of twenty eighteen.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: We were not ready to be permanent in a home again,
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: and so started looking at where we could go and
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: things we could do. And we had some friends that
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: had worked in Lapause for the winter and they were like, hey,
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: you know, you can do like house sitting things down there.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: It's super fun. And so we joined a house sitting
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: website and ended up finding this house in Baja. So
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: we were actually in the northern part. We were kind
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: of in between San Felipe and Escalon. We were on
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: the backside of Mike Sky Ranch. I know, if you
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: ever leave Mike Sky Ranch on the backside of it,
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: you took a couple of those little back roads and
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: that's where the house was at at the time.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Your near Melling Ranch, Yes it was.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: Yep, Yeah, it was Baja Dark's Guys was the name
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: of the ranch. And so we spent four months house sitting.
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: We learned the difference between being off grid and being remote.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: The driveway to get to the house was about a
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: two hour off road trek in our little four runner whoa,
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: so once you left pavem minute it was another hour
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: and a half to the house, three hours to get groceries.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: Everything was off grid, solar panels. It had a well system.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: It was, but it was super fun because we got
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: to explore and see a lot of Baja that we
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: wouldn't have otherwise. Yeah.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: So when you were driving back in there, were you
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: heading towards the east?
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: Yes, we were also.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Even further into the mountains there kind of there's that
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: spine of mountains that separates, you know, that part of
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Baja from the Sea Cortes, So you were probably like
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: way up into those mountains.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: Sierra de San Pedro was the national park and so
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: were Pedro Martyr. Yeah, were just a couple miles from there. Yeah.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Wow, that is so, that is so cool.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: It actually snowed on us. Didn't know it could snow
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: in Baja, but we actually got like four inches of
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: snow in February. Yeah.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Well, Pikacho del Diablo, which is in that range, is
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: the tallest mountain in Baja, and a lot of people
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: don't realize that that's over ten thousand feet.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it is so like that's up in it's up
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: in the pine. There's pine trees in Baja. You're way
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: up in the alpine region. You actually get above tree
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: line in the rocks and stuff at the very top
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: of the mountain.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: What was really fun from that National Park. Once you
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: drive up there, they have a platform or viewing a platform,
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: and you can see the Sea of Cortes and the
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: Pacific Ocean from that same spot, which is wild incredible.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a beautiful part of Baja. A long time
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: ago I made an effort to climb Pikacho del Diablo
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: that it's one of the more challenging climbs actually in
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: the Southwest, and people don't It's much more difficult Mount Whitney,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: and that was much easier because Pikacho del the album
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  Speaker 1: there's no established trail, or at least there was not,
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: like probably fifteen years ago or so when I attempted it.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: But we got caught in so much snow, so deep,
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: and we were post holing into the snow and we
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: were having to run ropes across because of the exposure.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: So we and it just took too much time. We
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: had to give up, so we didn't make it to
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  Speaker 1: the very top.
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  Speaker 2: No way. That's wild. Yeah, and it's crazy to think
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: there'd be that much snow in Baja.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: There's a ton of snow in that region. So was
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: that the first time you had ever lived off grid?
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: Like that it was, yes, uh huh. And we had
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: to be really careful on conserving water because the pump
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: came like all the water came from one of the
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: streams on the property, and the flow rate of the
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: stream was not enough to really keep up, and so
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: you had to be really cautious of how much water
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: you were using each day, just so you didn't drain
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: the reserve tanks. Yeah.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: And then there was a solar system with batteries and
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: that was that was something you guys were actively maintaining
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: and keeping in working order.
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: It was. And the way the solar panels were set
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: up is they had the water lines run through the
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: solar panels and so that was the only way you
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: got hot water was letting it warm up underneath those
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: solar panels. Ye.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: And was it kind of like a cabin or what
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: was how was the house set up?
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  Speaker 2: It was a hacienda. It was three bedrooms. Like the
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: owners had done a lot of really fantastic work. It
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: was a beautiful house, kind of that stucco finish. Yeah,
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: but it was a true house. And then it had
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: a little cabin off to the side that they would
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: rent on Airbnb every once in a while that was
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: a little one bedroom studio and they had probably one
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: hundred acres as well. That every one in while, you'd
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: have someone come in camp on their land and they
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: had an orchard and originally had used it as an observatory.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I do remember that there was an observatory
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: up there, like off on the mountain to the side
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: of Kacho del Diablo. How cool is that? That's amazing.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: That's amazing. So what how did that kind of inform
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: the next steps for you? Because I would think that
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: being in that moment of quiet, that space of quiet
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: you and your partner, it it probably was pretty defining
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: of what was going to come next in your life.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: What did you learn about yourself and each other? And
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: how did that How did that help inform the decisions
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: that you made? After like basically a six month retreat, it.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: Was really interesting going Like I mean, we'd spend a
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: week or two out of the house and then you know,
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: driving to get groceries or to go explore more of Baja.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: You arrive in a town and you're like, oh my gosh,
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: there's so many people in the stimulation and it was
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: a lot. We're super close, so I feel like it
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: just brought us closer together because you're playing board games
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: with each other in the evenings, you're reading books together,
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: you know, going on hikes, and you just kind of
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: learn to be around each other a lot because you're
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: just each other's support system in that bilments is just
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: the two of you out there.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: That's that's amazing though, I mean what uh I mean
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: don't a lot of people need to hear that right? That?
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah? I would say it strengthen our relationship a lot.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that our relationships. I've heard it said that
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: a relationship equals time spent. So like if you spend
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: quality time together, and if you first of all, if
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: you like each other, you know, even if there's problems,
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: but if you start off like hey, I like this
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: person and I'm gonna spend a lot of time with them,
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: I don't know how you couldn't just get so much
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: closer absolutely, or you figure it out like yeah, this
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: isn't working. But clearly you guys figured it out that
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: it was like this is what we want and like
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: you wonder how many people have ever been able to
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: go spend six months with their partner with that much
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: quality time together?
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  Speaker 2: Does Yeah? Well, and we had lived inside of our
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: little school bus. So we had a four windows school
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: bus and we lived in that all of twenty eighteen,
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: so eighty five square feet together. So moving into the house,
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: we actually got more room. We had our own room.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: We could go to that's right, so we upgraded. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: you could go sit on the porch and read a
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: book or whatever.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, let's let's move onto the school bus because
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: I thought that was I thought that was really cool
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: because you you had grown up in Oklahoma, Is that
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: right correct? Yes? And is that when you bought the
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: school bus was when you were still in Oklahoma?
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  Speaker 2: So yes, And I have lived in Oklahoma on and off.
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: So once college in Oklahoma, then lived in Colorado for
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: a couple of years, Alaska for a summer, and then
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: had moved back home to Oklahoma, which is when I
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: met my my husband, Zach, and I convinced him that
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: we could live on the road. And we've known each
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: other for like two months before we bought this school
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: bus together.
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  Speaker 1: It was meant to be. It was meant to be.
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Maha. So we bought the school bus from a
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: school in Muscogee, Oklahoma. Still had all the seats in it,
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: and we spent about a year stripping it and then
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: rebuilding the inside so we could live in it. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: What man, what a neat thing to do. Now, you
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: guys did that together.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: You guys, we did that together. Yes?
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: And what was what was the part of the vehicle
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: build process that you enjoyed the most? Like for yourself personally?
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: It was making the space our own. So we spent
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: a lot of time kind of researching other vans and
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: other builds, but then kind of taking some of those
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: ideas and making it functional for us was probably the
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: most enjoyable part. Is like watching it come to life
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: is like you We literally hung a whiteboard in our
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: kitchen and would sketch different ways we wanted to lay
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: out and different things we wanted, and then to watch
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: those sketches actually turn into a home was really cool.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: And how how long is was it? You know, aft
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: of the driver's seat to the back, how many feet?
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: Onny feet?
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: Okay, that's so that's pretty good size.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah it was. It's the size of like a typical van.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: It fit into a normal parking spot that had plenty
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: of room.
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: Okay. Yeah, And did you guys do a full drive
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: conversion on it, or you kind of kept it.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: We kept it too, will drive.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that probably made things a little sporty at time.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: It did. So we lived in it from twenty eighteen
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: all twenty eighteen, we had that little break in Baja,
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: and then the rest of nineteen into twenty and in
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: the two and a half years we lived in it,
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: we only got stuck one time, and it was kind
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: of our own fault.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: Oh that's pretty good. That's pretty good.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: And we took it at places it should probably have
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: never have gone, but it did just fine.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: How cool was that? And that's a reminder to people too,
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: is I mean you can go and of course you
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: can go and spend a half a million dollars or
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: you could what did that van? What did that school
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: bus cost? New fifteen twenty grand? Stuff like that.
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: No, but we bought the bus for like two thousand
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: and by the time we actually built things in it
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: less than ten. Yeah, but this was again in twenty eighteen,
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: so I know costs have changed a little bit. But yeah,
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: we were in that whole set up less than ten
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: thousand dollars.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: That's and you went and you went, and you got
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: to go see the country you got to go explore
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: and live on the road and be together. And did
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: you feel did you feel like during that period of
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: time that you had a lot of agency over your schedule,
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: like that you guys were able to kind of do
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: what you wanted to do when you wanted to do it.
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: Absolutely. I actually missed that a little bit. It was
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: it's so freeing to really be able to just pick
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: what you do each day. Like we we had routes
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: and places we wanted to go, like high level things
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: we wanted to see, but it was so fun. Like
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: Montana was one of our favorite states. We'd really only
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: planned on staying there a week because we wanted to
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: see like the National Parks and go to Missoula and
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: do a couple of those things. We ended up staying
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: like three weeks because we could and just there was
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: so much to explore there that we were not ready
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: to leave, and so we stayed a lot longer. Yeah,
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: it was fun to be able to have that flexibility.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I think that that's one of my favorite definitions
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: of being wealthy is being able to do what you
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: want to do when you want to do it, So
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: you can be wealthy with a lot less money. If
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: you buy a two thousand dollars bus and do all
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: the work and then live in it on the road,
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: you can you know, be very wealthy for a lot
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: less money than the way other people choose to live.
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: So it's funny we use that now whenever we're thinking
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: of making like a big purchase. You look at it
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: and go, yeah, but that amount of money, we could
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: spend two months on the road. And so that's that
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: we balance almost all of our decision making based on
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: that of like, well how long could we travel with this?
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, because you've lived it, so you I think so
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: much of this stuff that we talk about on the
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: podcast or whatever, it's it can feel theoretical until you
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: actually live it, where you realize like, actually, you can
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: buy a two thousand dollars bus and you can modify
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: it yourself, and you can live on the road for
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: a lot less than what people spend, you know, trying
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: to maintain a household in a major city. So really, yeah,
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: that's incredible. And was it before that that you had
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: done a lot of the longer distance bicycle travel, So
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: I mean, like what a great I mean, in my mind,
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: one of the purest forms of travel possible is on
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: a bicycle. Maybe maybe walking would be slightly more so,
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: but I don't think you get anywhere. Like It's like
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: if you look at some of the really long distance
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: walking travelers, like it takes some ten years across the
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: continent kind of a thing. Whereas when you're bicycling, you're
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: moving at ten times the pace, but you're still going
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: super slow and you're totally reliant on the environment that
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: you're in and the people that you meet along the way.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: So you were in Alaska. Tell the listener about your
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: experience working in the bicycle touring industry and then doing
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: your own long distance bicycle touring.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so it was the summer of twenty thirteen. I
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: was living in Skagway, Alaska, And essentially what would happen, Oh,
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: it's amazing, Holy cow, absolutely beautiful. The cruise ships would
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: come into town. We would get passengers off of the
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: cruise ships. We would drive them up to the top
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: of the white pass put them on a bicycle, and
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: then they would essentially coast back down into town. So
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: if you ever get the chance to go to Skagway,
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: so much fun. And then we'd put them back on
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: the cruise ships, and the cruise ships would leave and
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: then you'd have all of this like summer employees that
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: we would just hang out and spend the evenings exploring.
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: I mean we'd hike trails, go kayaking, drive up to
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: Carcross or white Horse up in the Yukon and the
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: just continue the exploration. Lots and lots of mountain biking
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: in that area. And so we really got to see
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: a bunch of kind of the back country on bicycle
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: that way as well, when the summer was over, we
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: got a bonus, and the bonus was enough for a
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: steel framed Surly with a couple of panniers on the
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: back of it.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: And so, I.
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: It's so fun I love that bike so much I do.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: I will probably never let go of that bike. It
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: is faded and has seen all kinds of things, but
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: it is gotten me through a lot. When then looking
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: at like what I could do with the bike, the
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: Pacific Coast Highway was a really easy option. What was
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: kind of funny is it was cheaper to fly in
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: between Whitehorse and Vancouver than it was Juno and Seattle.
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: So me and a buddy actually rode our bikes up
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: to Whitehorse, packed the bike up, flew it to Vancouver,
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: and then I ride my bike from Vancouver all the
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: way down to Tijuana. Yeah.
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: Well, and from some perspective, Skagway to white Horse is
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: not a short haul, Like how many miles is that?
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: That's a thousand miles problem.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: No, it wasn't quite that far that it was several hundred.
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: But yeah it was still a track.
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and a huge like if I remember, like a
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: huge mountain pass between the two. Yeah, like a huge
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: mountain pass. Yeah, that's that's legit, that's legit.
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I had no idea what I was doing at
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: the time, literally just like tossed stuff in a pannier
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: and was like, all right, let's go. But I mean
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: you learned along the way. And the first week was
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: just rearranging what I had packed, like over and over
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: again because I packed way too much. I feel like
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: that classic mistake of like you really only need two
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: pairs of clothes. You need a pair of clothes on
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: the bike and a pair of close at camp. And
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: I shipped the rest of my stuff home so you
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: had a lighter bike. But yeah, it was was still
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: one of to this day, one of my favorite things
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: I've ever done?
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: Was that bike trip, the one to white Horse.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: No, the one from Vancouver to Tijuana. I mean white
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: Horse was super fun. That was cool, But no, the
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: Pacific Coast Highway is amazing.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: So you started in Vancouver and then took the ferry
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: over to the mainland and then started working your way
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: down basically Highway one.
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: Correct. Yeah, we actually went over to Vancouver Island and
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: rode a little there and then jumped over to Washington.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and what were some of the things that you
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: learned on that process? Because you can only take so
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: much because you're also moving and all that weight yourself
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: with your own legs and lungs and heart. So how
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: did that help inform your travels from then on? I
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: mean that's very minimalist.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I would say I continue to have that minimalist
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: mindset in all of the travels. You really don't need
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: a lot of things to enjoy travel. Clothes and food
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: and water really are kind of the essentials there. What
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: did I learn from that? I feel like you really
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: appreciate what your own body can do as you're traveling,
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: like you can do more than you really think you can.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: And it's just kind of giving it a shot and
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: trying it, because that initial thought of the trip was like,
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: oh my gosh, this is two thousand miles. I'm peddling
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: my own self. This is going to take anywhere from
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: six to eight weeks, Like this is an undertaking, and
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: about halfway through you get into this rhythm and routine
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: of like you wake up, eat breakfast, pack your stuff
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: back coming twenty thirteen. We're following a paper map and
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: a guide book. Yeah, and you're kind of looking at
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: the stops each morning of like, okay, what do we
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: want to do. You get on a new pedal and
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: it's a really beautiful way to travel because you get
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: to see so much at such a slower speed as well.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: And then you stop where you want, eat where you want,
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: rolling the camp and kind of do it all over again.
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: And that rhythm just really is kind of a fun
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: thing to get into. Yeah.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and how you said it was about about two months. Yeah,
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: I mean if you look at this, I mean I'm
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: just observing this theme here. I mean, Surly is a
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: really nice bicycle, but even fully built out with your
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: panniers and all your stuff, you're what three four grand.
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: Maybe, Yeah, that's probably fair. Yeah.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: I mean again, it's like that is like people spend
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: that on a computer, you know, and you and maybe
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: maybe your expenses for two months or three grand.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: It really was minimal. We did. So I did the
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: first part of it with my dad, which was also
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: really special. So I met him in Washington and we
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: rode to San Francisco together, and that's some time that
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: we really got to spend together, and like we'll treasure
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: that forever. We're super close, and so that was a
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: fun chance for us to really spend some time with
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: each other. But he enjoyed staying in the state parks,
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: and so we probably did spend a little bit more
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: on lodging just because it was fun to have like
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: the little yurts or the cabins in the state parks. Right,
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: But had I known about I Overlander back then, it
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: could have been a whole different game changer on free
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: camp sites.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you brought your own little tent and everything.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I did.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: That's incredible. That's just incredible.
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah. So the setup was really it was two panniers
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: on the bike rack, the tent and the sleeping pad,
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: and then a handlebar bag that was just stuffed full
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: of snacks. Yeah, yeah, I was thinking.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: I'm thinking about that because it like I noticed that
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: when I travel on a motorcycle, my calories just naturally increase,
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: like I eat more food, but you're you are the
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: motor Like how much How are you getting in enough calories?
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: Or did sometimes you know get in And.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: I think sometimes you didn't necessarily get enough for the day,
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: but a lot of times it was pulling into convenience
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: stores and grabbing a Snickers and a chocolate milk because
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: you're like, I am so hungry, I have to have
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: something well.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: And it's not like you got to worry about your
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: blood sugar spiking or whatever, because you're going to get
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: right back on the bike and start pedaling again, So
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: your body just needs the energy. Yes, wow, that's increasible.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: And did you find that like that you started to
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: get really fit? Were you like you were building like
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: a performance engine by the time you got to Mexico.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: Absolutely. The first couple of weeks we were doing fifty
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: to seventy miles, which felt like a lot. Like those
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: were long days, and if I were to do it again,
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: I would make the days shorter so you could spend
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: more time exploring. But by the time we got to
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: southern California seventy miles, you were like, no big deal,
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: Like we're just cruising at seventy miles today, Like awesome,
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: let's do it. Yeah. But to watch the change over
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: a couple of weeks of like going from seventy feeling
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: like a long day to seventy being like in the bucket, yep.
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: It is incredible how how the body can respond. And
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: you know, you're like, how old was your dad when
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: you guys did the trick together.
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: That's a great question. He would have been mid fifties.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, even then he probably had a similar like his
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: body was building a stronger motor. Yeah, it's never too late.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: It's never too late to go up.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: Absolutely not. No, What was really so I'm going to
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: jump in on there. What was really fun is in
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: twenty thirteen, we were doing this in October, which was
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: during some of the government shutdowns back then, and so
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: a couple of the national parks were closed. But insider tip,
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: if you're on a bicycle, you can just kind of
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: squiggle around the gates and we got to explore some
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: of the parks like with nobody else in them, which
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: was really special too, insane, like no other tours with
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: us for kind of cruising around on our bikes just
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: seeing things that was nobody else around. He worked for
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: the work for the government, and so about a couple
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: extra weeks on the bike because of that as well.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, oh like what that's what a great timing like
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: government shutdown, Hey, let's hop on the let's hop on
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: the bike and go. Yeah part of those Those are
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: such interesting stories. And I love hearing your perspective and
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: the fact that you've you've you've prioritized these experiences and
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: travel over the means of travel, like you just found
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: a way to make it work, and you've demonstrated that
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: time and time again to be able to explore the
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: length of you know, the coast of the United States
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: and even into Baja and then you know, be able
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: to travel for sounds like years in a bus for
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: a very reasonable amount of money. That's that's just all,
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: that's just all awesome. What what would you Because I
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: really want to make sure we spent some time talking
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: about the Overland Expo Foundation, but before we make that shift,
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: given everything that you've learned and the fact that you've
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: always prioritized doing and going over how you did it.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: What would be some advice that you would give to
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: other folks that are trying to do the same thing,
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: or even to yourself, your younger self, Like what would
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: be some of the top priorities you would give them,
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: or things that you learned along the.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: Date, and then stick with that date and just do it.
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: Like if you've got a trip that you're thinking about
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: or planning, give yourself a deadline and make it happen.
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: I mean, that's don't worry about what money is in
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: the bank. It'll work itself out and don't overthink it.
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: Just go for sure. That would be what I would
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: That's what I think I learned is don't make excuses
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: because there's always going to be an excuse of why
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: you can't, but like make an excuse of why you can.
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and at some point you just go and figure
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: it out.
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: That's exactly, It's exactly it. Yes, you'll learn a lot
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: along the way. You don't have to know everything ahead
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: of time. You're going to learn so much while you're
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: out there exploring and doing, like enjoy that experimenting and
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: figuring out what you like and what you don't like.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: Embrace being a rookie. You know, I think people I
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: don't think people give the fact of being a rookie
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: enough credit. Like I that's why I picked up motorcycling
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: is because I didn't know how to do it, and
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: I wanted to learn how to do it, and I
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: fell and made mistakes and bought the wrong bike and
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: all this other stuff. So I'm trying to like, that's
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: why I picked up sailing is I didn't know, ye so,
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: and I wanted to learn. So I feel like failing
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: for me has been such an important fuel and mechanism
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: towards progress in my life.
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: So I would agree with that. I mean, you're going
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: to make mistakes, there's absolutely no way around that. But
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: don't looking on as mistakes. Look at them as learning
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: opportunities and enjoy a little bit of the discomfort because
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: it's going to come along.
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, So let's talk. It's probably twenty eighteen
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: and you decide to go check out this crazy little
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: event in Arizona called the Overland Expo. Was that the
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: first time you had been to an event like that?
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: And tell me what happened?
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: Absolutely? So. We had been living in the bus just
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: for a little bit of time and my husband's Zach
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: was like, Hey, we're in Arizona. I have been watching
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: this event on YouTube for the last couple of years, Like,
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: I would love to go. They have volunteers. Do you
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: want to volunteer. It'll be a free ticket and we'll
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: just spend the weekend kind of checking out what's going on.
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: I was like, yeah, sure of course, we got nothing
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: else to do, Like, let's volunteer. Sounds great. I always
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: feel silly saying this, but Scott, I would say it
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: was a life changing weekend for me. Honestly, we showed
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: up at this event and we're immediately accepted into this
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: community of travelers, and it absolutely felt like we had
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: found a home and a place to belong. The people
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: that we met all weekend were just encouraging and supporting
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: and just love that. We're still friends with a ton
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: of people that we met, Like I could call them
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: up tomorrow and be like, Hey, we're coming through your town.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: Let's have lunch, or you know, let's plan a trip
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: together and they'd be all for it. And so I
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: would say the people that I met that weekend were
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: just it made the event for me.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, are there a couple. Are there a couple people
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: that you remember that come to mind that you'd like
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: to give, you know, honor in this conversation, the people
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: that really stepped up to help you.
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I can give a couple. I mean Alison delap
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: she has done you know, a Pan American trip. We
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: ended up working together. She's a fantastic support for me
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: still to this day.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: Incredible human being.
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, incredible human being. Be old later. They're Candice and Jordan.
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: They've done a lot of travels. They're currently in Europe
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: right now on the Trans Europe trip noahn Omily. Their
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: little tagline was one Less Tacoma, which I always thought
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: was hilarious because they drove a T one hundred.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: And now now all the now, all the bumper stickers
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: say one less Sprinter, So it just changes, it just changes.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: I think it was travelmore shop less was also one
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: of the things that they always chatted with too. And
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: then dear friend Linda, she is the nourishing nomad, or
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: was the nourishing nomad and just really focuses on how
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: food can be healing. And then I've worked with her
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: a lot on an allergy and so we've we talked
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: food all the time.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Amazing.
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: So she's another really fun one. So just a really
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: cool group of people.
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, thanks for mentioning all those folks, because I
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: believe that that's what makes that's what has always made
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: the Overland Expo so special, is the genuine travelers that
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: are there and that are open with their experiences, that
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: do the training and share their learnings with others, inspire
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: people to have their own version of adventure. I think
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: it's the superpower of the Overland Expo.
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: So I would agree, Yeah, and that's I would say it.
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: So it keeps us coming back here after a year
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: is just those new connections that you make every time,
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: or hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones.
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: It's really the heart of it. Yeah.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: And then at some point, I know, I know you
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: started volunteering fairly early on. At some point it went
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: from volunteering to working with the Overland Expo a little
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: bit more. So talk through that and then talk through
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: that transition to what started the Overland Expo Foundation.
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: All backtrack to that first question. So we volunteer heared
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: in twenty eighteen West and then right before the East
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: event that year, we had reached out and we're like, hey,
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: we'd love to volunteer again. We had so much fun,
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: Like we'll make it out to North Carolina if you
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: guys need some more help. And as You're actually reached
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: out and was like, Hey, we're looking for a customer
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: support person. Would you guys want to do some part
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: time work for us? And I was like, yes, absolutely,
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: and that's I ended up managing customer service. Zach helped
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: with volunteers and then also marketing a lot of the
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: social media and email marketing, and having that job is
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: what let us stay on the road longer because we
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: worked part time and it was enough income to be
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: able to continue traveling amazing. And then I feel like
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: the transition where all transitions happened as COVID.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, sure, that was a challenging time. Yeah it was.
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: And so both myself, yeah, both myself and Zach were
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: working for Overland Expo and we kind of realized maybe
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: one of us needs a more stable job with the
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: event industry being what it is. So we actually moved
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: back to Oklahoma back to our house there, and I
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: started working for the Universe again. The transition from part
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: time remote work back into a nine to five forty
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: hour a week office job was a big transition. Yeah,
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: when a position with the Foundation opened up, I jumped
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: on the opportunity to be back in the industry. Just
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: really missed the community. And so twenty twenty three is
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: when I started with the foundation.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: So and if I remember, yeah, if I remember, when
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: did the foundation start? I know it took a couple
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: of different evolutions along the way, but when did When
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: did it become like a five oh one C three?
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: So it originally started with the Overland Expo events in
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty so that's its origin date. It became a
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: five oh one C three and twenty twenty two, and
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: so I jumped in right after it became a five
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: oh one C three And in twenty twenty two is
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: really whenever it split from the events so that it
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: could be a five oh one C three. So while
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: we share a name, we are a separate entity from
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: the event series. We saw the fantastic partnership with them.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: We come and do all of our fundraising there, but
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: the Foundation does operate separately. So it's myself and then
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: I'll give a huge shout out to Matt Felderman. He's
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: the other employee for the Foundation. Both of us are
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: part time and we manage all the behind the scenes
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: stuff for the Foundation. Everything else is a volunteer run.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and then you guys have a small board, Like
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: who's on your board?
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so we have with Overland Expo, we have Jessica Kirchner,
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: and then Anthony Secola who used to be with Overland
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: Expo is now doing some freelance stuff. Alison the Lap
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: is on our board as well, amazing Brian mcvickers and
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: then Beth mcbrinnan.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: And those are those are all incredible folks. Yeah, it's
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: and it's neat to see like someone like Matt who's got,
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: you know, so much experience with marketing and outreach that
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: he can really help keep that momentum going. But you know,
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: I know personally, I have been able to interact a
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: little bit more with the Foundation of the last year,
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: and I have just I've been so impressed with what
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: you guys are doing. But like, one of the things
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: that I find really compelling is just how many organizations
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: you're supporting. So you're not only doing work from within
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: the Foundation, but then you're providing grants and support to
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: other organizations. Let's talk about some of the key organizations.
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: So can I backtrack just a little bit. So what
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: we do at the events is host the Saturday evening
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: Raffle and then we work closely with Overland Expo on
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: the Ultimate Build, so that's where primary source of our funding.
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: We're using that funding to provide grants to organizations and
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: individuals that are out there protecting our public spaces, doing
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: education and then using overland travel as mental health therapy.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: So just to kind of bridge that down a little bit,
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: so thank you. A bunch of the groups that we
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: are working with are like Boots on the Ground doing cleanups.
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: Tread Lightley has been a partner since day one with us,
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: and so we provide grants to them each year to
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: go out and whether it be trail maintenance, putting up
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: informational kiosks, hosting cleanups. We try to keep a lot
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: of those events around Overland Expo so people that are
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: traveling to the expos can also be a part of
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: those protection efforts. Some of my favorite groups that we
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: work with are groups like Tool Foundation, Team Overland, Fox,
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: Pravo Overland. A new one for us is First Do
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: Overland and Motorcycle Relief Project. All of these groups are
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: taking veterans on overland adventures. So whether it's a weekend
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: or a week long, oh mind overland. Don't forget them too,
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: because they're one out east, so they're taking veterans out
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: on a trip. They'll do a stewardship project along the way,
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: but really in the evenings, they're spending time around the campfires,
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: they're talking, they're building community and letting those veterans know
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: that they're not alone whenever they come back from active duty.
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: So the fact that overlanding really gets to facilitate some
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: of that healing. Just some of the most amazing stories
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: come from those groups, and yeah, that's what we get
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: to support.
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: I've been really impressed with how much your organization is
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: helping to veterans. What was part of the impetus for that?
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: What was that part of the original charter?
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: It was really a surprise to us. So Motorcycle Relief
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: Project was the first group that we started working with,
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: and kind of a I don't want to say on
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: a whim, but like working with them, originally we didn't
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: understand the I don't not that we didn't understand the
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: impact of what those trips were having and how much
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: they were changing lives and to see that travel was
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: helping to facilitate that was kind of this eye opening
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: experience for all of us where we were like, wow,
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: like overlanding can do more than just be a travel
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: it can be a means to healing. And once we
• 33:36
  Speaker 2: kind of made that connection, we just kind of started
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: seeking out and looking for other veteran groups we could
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: support because it was such a great combination of ways
• 33:44
  Speaker 2: that we can give back to the community, ways the
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: community can give back, and then like bringing those together.
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it was a natural was a veteran, As
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: a veteran myself, it's just it's so important to recognize
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: that it's when these guys come back, they have a
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: huge shift in the way that their life is lived.
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: They are in tight knit groups, they're in very intense
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: experiences together. It's all about helping the guy next to
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: you or the gal next to you, and so they
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: come back into you know, day to day living that
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: nine to five job you talked about, and that could
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: be a very difficult transition, and it's about acknowledging that
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: their life has changed significantly, and that part of our
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: responsibility as the citizens that have benefited from their sacrifices
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: that we can we can find ways to help them reintegrate,
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: feel supported, and be able to share their experiences with
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: other veterans to make sure that they're living their happiest
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: and healthiest life after their sacrifices that they've given, some
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: of which you know, are a life a lifelong disability
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: or you know, PTSD, other things that can occur from
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: active duty. I just really applaud what you're doing. I mean,
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: it's making a huge difference for these soldiers, So.
• 34:58
  Speaker 2: I hope so all the stories that we hear when
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: they come back from the trips are just amazing. If
• 35:02
  Speaker 2: you ever get a chance to chat with some of
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: the veterans that get done with a trip, they will
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: say that their their life changing and they really feel
• 35:09
  Speaker 2: like they've found a support system in a community that
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: they can get along with on like a hobby they
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: can toss their interests into, which is really cool. Yeah.
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think there's a nice overlap. I mean,
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: you get to work on cars, you get to be remote,
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: you get to do challenging things, you get to be outside,
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: you get to work as a team, And I think
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: that that really you get to sit around a campfire.
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: I think all those things really help veterans to feel
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: like they're part of something.
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: Well, it's interesting that you mentioned the team that comes
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: up over and over again in the stories is when
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: they're in active duty, you are part of a really
• 35:42
  Speaker 2: close team, and then having that team kind of almost
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: taken away from you whenever you come home, whenever you're
• 35:48
  Speaker 2: back on a trip or an expedition, you're part of
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: that team and everybody has their place and their kind
• 35:52
  Speaker 2: of purpose. On the expedition, they said that was huge
• 35:55
  Speaker 2: was knowing that they could be part of a team. Again. Ye, community,
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: isn't it?
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: It is? And so exactly. So much of us feeling
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: happy and healthy is doing things with the people that
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: we love, you know, doing things we love with the
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: people we love. But you know, we need to have
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: a sense of purpose. And like what you're doing with
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: the Foundation is very purpose driven. When these soldiers get
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: to go and go and endeavor on a trip or
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: an expedition, that is a big purpose. It's a big
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: thing to drive them. But we also need play. We
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: need to be able to have fun. Absolutely, and these
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: guys get to go out and they get to have fun.
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: They get to laugh at each other when they get
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: stuck or you know, or make a mistake or you know,
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: trip over a rock or whatever like that. That's all
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: part play and laughter and having fun is a big
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: part of being a healthy human being, and you guys
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: are really doing a lot to facilitate that.
• 36:47
  Speaker 2: That's probably a cool segue into some of the one
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: other activity that we do at the events. So we
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: partnered with tread Lightly and we set up a little
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: remote control car course and so the kids get to
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: have some hands on learning with that remote control car.
• 37:02
  Speaker 2: We'll send them through obstacles, but then we're teaching them
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: the tread ped principles as they're going through that course.
• 37:07
  Speaker 2: And so we're teaching them like stay the trail, pack
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: it and pack it out, respect wildlife and animals, know
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: where to camp, know about campfires, like learn how to
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: read those Kiosk signs. But again, we're using play and
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: fun to teach them some skills that they can use
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: whenever they're out exploring with their parents. Yeah, and the.
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: Parents are having fun. They're watching their kids, you know,
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: work on the remote control car or whatever, and that's
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: really great. So let's let's talk now about how the
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: listeners can help support the Overland Expo Foundation. How can
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: they how can they support this work that you're doing,
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: and what are some ways they can get involved.
• 37:43
  Speaker 2: Start with some easy ones. We are on all social
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: media platforms Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Give us a like,
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: a follow, a share. The other way is we do
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: accept donations. Those cash donations go straight towards our grant programs,
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: and so that's a really easy way to support the
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: foundation as well, be in a five to one C
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: three nonprofit. It's also tax deductible, so that's another way.
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: And then we also have a membership program, So it's
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: fifty dollars for the year for an individual. You get
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: tossed into a Facebook group where there's some community going on,
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: a fun little patch and some recognition of supporting the
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: foundation yearly. If you're an industry member or a brand,
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: it's five hundred dollars for the year. We'll bring you
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: this really cool little table display that you can put
• 38:27
  Speaker 2: up at the events. You're also part of that Facebook
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: group and get to reach kind of that dedicated audience
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: as well.
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: And it's really easy if you follow the Overland Expo
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: Foundation like on Instagram, for example, you guys do mention
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: some fund raisers that you do throughout the year. I
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: was able to just throw it up there in my
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: own Instagram as like, this is a not for profit
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: that I'm supporting right now and that can help other
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: people contribute and donate to make to make sure that
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: we're supporting the preservation of these wild spaces is our
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: stewardship of the land as travelers and our support for
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: other travelers, including our veterans. So what you guys are
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: doing as an organization is really powerful.
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: Is One other way to support the foundation is we
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: do always need volunteers at the events to help manage
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: the booth and then to work with the kids. So
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: if you're coming to any of the expos and want
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: to volunteer, we are also looking for volunteers for Mountain
• 39:22
  Speaker 2: West and East. Still.
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and if I recall, there's at least a booth
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: that most of the Overland expos for people to be
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: able to interact. Of course, supporting tread Lightly is another
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: great way to give back to stewardship in our community.
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: I think it's a really important important one. Leave no
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: Traces another one that I really believe does a lot
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: of great education and outreach. So that's very helpful if
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: you were to you know, if you have the opportunity,
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: which you do right now, you have this captive audience
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: of listeners. What's the number one need right now for
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: the Overland Act Foundation. What would be the thing that
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: would reduce your stress make you feel like, wow, we
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: made a huge win. What would be the one ask
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: that you would make of this audience.
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: Well, I feel like that's such a big question. I mean, honestly,
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: the monetary donations always come to mind, but really it's
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: being good stewards of the land on your own individually.
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: When you are out exploring our public lands, please take
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: care of them, Please stay on the trail, Please pack
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: out your trash, be cognizant of fire dangers. But like,
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: if all of us can put that effort towards being
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: good stewards of the land, it's one of the easiest
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: ways we can protect our public spaces and have a
• 40:38
  Speaker 2: voice stand up and say that you enjoy the public spaces.
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: I know they're being threatened right now of being sold off,
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: and let's let's chat with our congressmen and let them
• 40:47
  Speaker 2: know that we don't want that to happen. We want
• 40:48
  Speaker 2: them to stay public and free for all of us.
• 40:51
  Speaker 2: So this would be the big ways to support I
• 40:53
  Speaker 2: love that.
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: You know, taking responsibility over ourselves and our group, making
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: sure we keep group size as small. Let's not expand
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: camp sites. Let's leave places better than we found them.
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: You know, engage low range before you think you need
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: to engage your rear locker, before you think you need
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: to lower your tire pressure to reduce impact and tire spin.
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: All of those things really helped to preserve access to
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: trails and to make sure that future generations of Overlanders
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: allow can go and see the same things that we've
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: all been able to see.
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: So honestly, get educated on your vehicle. Understand how your
• 41:29
  Speaker 2: vehicle works, know how to use your recovery gear, and
• 41:31
  Speaker 2: understand what you're doing with your like good training. That's
• 41:34
  Speaker 2: one of the easiest things you can do is get
• 41:36
  Speaker 2: training in your own vehicle.
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: Well, Rachel, thank you so much for being on the podcast.
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: It's been a joy to work with you. It's been
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: a joy to learn more about the Overland Expo Foundation.
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: I had so much fun learning about all these crazy,
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: cool adventures that you've been on. I'm very jealous of
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: the six months in remote bah. I got to find
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: my own little version of that as I go along,
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: but I really appreciate is there anything Is there a
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: way for people to follow your own travels or is
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: that something that you have out on social media? How
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: do people follow you?
• 42:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah? So we are oke Nomads on Instagram. We have
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: a blog that sometimes we update when we feel like it,
• 42:17
  Speaker 2: but we are on Instagram for OK Nomads.
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: Well, thank you again for being on the podcast, and
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: we thank you all for listening and we'll talk to
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: you next time.
• 42:27
  Speaker 2: Thanks,