What is Adventures Across Anyway?
Updated: Dec 22, 2020
Two years ago I was walking along the rustling Fox River in the midst of fall. Wisconsin usually has two beautiful weeks of fall, crimsons and golds blanketing the skyline before the first hard frost hits and all the leaves cower from the trees. This particular day was slightly cold, though not bitter like most winter days, and most of the leaves had fallen already. I made it a habit to take the dogs out walking every day, usually by the river so they could play. If I was lucky, I’d get them home without any mud on them, but alas, Auggie was long haired and white and usually brought the outdoors home with him. Blue Jays let out their songs one last time before they went for a long winter’s rest and I sang along with them. It was in that moment that Adventures Across came into my mind.
I usually ponder on my walks, allowing ideas and perspectives into my mind. I was undergoing a major perspective shift at the time. No longer wanting to work a normal job, I opened my mind up to possibilities for something I could do on my own. As you know, I had aspirations to write books and I took thousands of photos out on my walks. How could I put everything I love to do into one thing that can bring me income? Though the real purpose for life is to find what you love to do and to do it, there’s gotta be room in the passion department to make money.
On this particular day, while observing the giant maples with gauges in their trunks from hungry beavers, that a voice came into my mind. It wasn’t my own, no. It was the Universe or something. It whispered “Adventures Across…” in the breeze, and since then the name has stuck with me. I had no idea where it was going, but it had to go somewhere. It was the jelly I needed for the peanut butter sandwich.
Fast forward two years and I’m sitting on an airplane on my way to Ireland. Finally, I’m taking an Adventure Across to another country, I thought over the Atlantic Ocean, at around 1 am someone’s time. Adventures Across is much more than traveling though, in fact on this flight I realized there were three aspects, three dimensions to Adventures Across:
Traveling, domestic and international:
If you’ve been following me for awhile, then you’ll know that since 2015, I’ve been traveling all over the place. Sometimes I even move my life to another section of the United States, just to see how it is like to live there for awhile. In 2015, Austin and I lived in Canada for two months, and we visited North Carolina and Colorado too. 2016 had us on a crazy ass road trip with no direction - we drove all over the West, traveling around 40,000 miles before we decided that Oregon was not our home! (Sign up for my email list to read the first few chapters of A Year Against the Rain, my first travel memoir about living off grid in Oregon.) In 2017 we traveled some more in the West, and even found ourselves wandering out East seeing what it was like to live in different states. At the end of 2018, we decided to move to Arizona and lived in our tent on public land until we found somewhere to build a garden in Sedona. And that brings me to 2019, where I found myself going to Wisconsin twice, San Diego once, and Ireland for two weeks. Who knows where else we’ll be going but I do know this, I’ve learned quite a bit these last few years!
This aspect of Adventures Across explores our travels, present and past, personal diary entries and travel advice. When it comes to traveling frugally, I’ve pretty much done it all, including being homeless from time to time (it’s not as bad as it sounds!) While traveling, we usually stop and become farmers. The first time was in Canada, second I was garden manager at my university, third organic farmers in Wisconsin, and currently creating a permaculture landscape in Sedona, Arizona. Austin and I love plants and growing food, and have gained lots of knowledge about growing and foraging. A lot of what I’ll share on Adventures Across has to do with plants, foraging, growing food, and permaculture. It’s what drives us to travel really, living in different climate extremes allows us to learn so much about how to grow food in different climates and what you can forage for in the wild.
If you’re interested in reading some of my old blog posts, or watching some videos on these topics, click on the links below!
- Reflections of living in an RV
- Adventures Across Guide to Living on Public Land
- Sedona Snowstorm - Rare Blizzard in the Desert
Adventures Across ourselves:
Maybe it’s a bit new age-y, but I LOVE exploring consciousness and the inner aspects of myself. In 2013, I had this massive awakening where everything in my life previous to that moment didn’t matter anymore and what I was pursuing in my life was crumbling before me. Long story short, the guy I thought I was going to marry and spend the rest of my life with dumped me and I was left with a clean slate. My dad introduced me to a movie called “The Secret” and the moment I finished the film my entire life changed forever. Concepts like Manifesting and The Law of Attraction came into my consciousness and started this search as to who I am, what I can do, and how I can heal myself and others. I also began a health journey around this time as I was really sick mentally and physically. Looking back now, this time was one of the most important in my life as it opened me up SO much to life and the endless possibilities each of us has. We as humans are limitless, anything we can dream of is possible with the power of believing in ourselves. This has proved to be true time and time again for me!
The Adventure Across ourselves is like a practice, something where you keep peeling layers off but each layer off is a layer closer to who you really are without all the social conditioning and traumas you’ve encountered in your life. There’s lots of ways to get closer to yourself, and I share a lot of them here on this blog and on my YouTube channel. Some of them are connecting with your inner child, spending time out in nature, journaling, creative outlets, medi