It’s difficult to start a post like this, where does a person begin… I guess I’ll start with how I think I grew in knowledge over the past year.
In early 2022, I began buidling this website and community. I wanted this to be a place to share, our knowledge, photos /videos, general topics of travel, off-roading and overland camping. I have learned so much as a website builder and community manager while building this website. Months of work has been spent, creating custom CSS coding I have never messed with before, I have spent the last 8 years working Natural Gas Pipeline construction, all to make this website the best work of my life-time, in my opinion. While I learned so much over the past year with coding and the website in general, it’s not where I learned the most.
I think I learned the most from myself, about myself, and what I am capable of accomplishing. What I mean by that is, I have spent so much time on these adventures alone, That I am now comfortable being alone, whereas before I didn’t like being alone, especially in the forests. The trip to Wyoming, Montana & Idaho this past year really cemented that concept in my head, especially Wyoming. I spent a week in the Bighorn Mountains, had no contact with anyone during that time. Mainly because there was no cellular coverage up in the mountains. It was kind of an interesting experience because I had never done that before, certainly not for a week.
It is very a liberating experience from my point of view. I spent most of the trips last year alone and plan to continue. Being alone allows me to cover the trails, campgrounds and more without feeling pressured by others. I do my best work when not feeling pressured. I’m sure you all can relate. I can find the attractions and interesting things along the trails. It just seems to be easier.
Also I have become increasingly more comfortable writing from the heart. I kind of always had an issue with expressing my opinions via social but with this blog I have really broken my personal barriers. I write more about personal experiences than ever before. Kind of interesting, I guess.
Need for protection…
I also learned I need to protect myself while out camping and riding. Several years back when I still had my Yamaha Grizzly ATV, I was riding down a trail in Northern Wisconsin and came across a Black Bear in the trail, while I didn’t hit the bear with the ATV, the bear did jump up on it’s hind legs as if it were going to attack. Last year, I came across moose and bison along the trails in Wyoming, This reinforced the need for me to look into protection. I have spent the last few months studying and I think i have the right solution figured out, no, not a gun per se. Due to complexities of ever changing laws in states, I have settled on a pepper ball gun, and a few other items I intend to hide around my UTV, Camper and truck.
I have seen an increasing amount of disturbing videos, on Youtube for instance, of people camping in the woods, in tents and people coming up to the tents while the people are sleeping in the middle of the night. This is another reason I have the tent 11ft in the air, atop my camper.
It’s not the wildlife that is scary, It’s people out walking around at 2:30 am around your tent in the middle of nowhere.
I can do Podcasts!
This is a work in progress, I have never been a very confident speaker and this shows in my podcasts currently. I am getting better though.
I started podcasts in December of 2022 as a way to speak more in depth about the articles each week. I hope everyone can learn from these podcasts as I am able to relay more details, It’s just an easier format.
Conclusion…
I hope everyone enjoys the articles and various content I put out every week, It’s way more work than I would like to admit. I spend 10 or 12 hours average everyday content planning, writing articles, creating graphics, communicating with members, optimizing advertising campaigns and much more. It pays off when I see members joining, sharing / interacting with one another & learning from the articles and my experiences. I have always had a passion for creating and this blog and community is a way to share and connect with like-minded people around the world and I appreciate all the members helping me along the way!
What a great experience this is for me, I can’t wait to see where this goes next!
