Camphost Confessions

Part 1 The One About Our Latest Follies

Camphost Confessions Season 1 Episode 3

Hey it’s Healy and Kelsey at Camphost Confessions! Send us a text!

We're coming at you with all the swears! Have you ever found yourself navigating the chaos of a tire mishap on a busy highway, while balancing the challenges of unpredictable weather and traveling with pets? We certainly have, and it was quite the adventure! From the National Park Service's shifting landscape and its impact on conservation efforts, to our personal tales of overcoming roadside disasters, this episode takes you on a journey through the trials and triumphs of life on the road. We dive into the complex world of park management, discussing potential layoffs and the possible emergence of NGOs in roles traditionally held by government employees. Through our stories, we highlight the importance of skilled staff in ensuring visitor safety and preserving public lands.

Our travels down Highway 99 were anything but ordinary. Imagine the panic as a tire rolls across the highway, weather forecasts threaten your plans, and communication tools seem to vanish at the worst possible moment. Despite these hurdles, the camaraderie and humor we found along the way made all the difference. Join us as we recount how highway patrol officers became unexpected heroes and how LNT Towing provided a much-needed lifeline. These experiences underscore the unpredictability of life on the road, reminding us of the resilience and adaptability required to face such challenges.

Camping trips with friends and family added a delightful twist to our adventures. From joyful reunions at Lake Achieve to the spontaneous thrill of camping on a dried lake bed, these moments brought laughter and gratitude to our journey. Even when faced with mechanical issues and unexpected breakdowns, the kindness of strangers transformed potential nightmares into heartwarming tales of human connection. Through each chapter, we share insights into the joys and struggles of a minimalist lifestyle on the road, emphasizing the importance of embracing the unexpected and finding joy in every detour.

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Speaker 1:

we're live.

Speaker 2:

It is february 15th at 5 51 am that's right, um, our day is about three hours in already, which is pretty normal for us. What's on your mind, baby?

Speaker 1:

oh, the National Park Service stuff that's getting to me.

Speaker 2:

We just read that a bunch of employees were let go and that seemingly all of the probationary employees will be let go today.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so it's actually. This is really weird that our podcast is actually coinciding with this, because I mean, we're talking about what is in store if there's, if, like, these positions get eliminated, and what could potentially happen. And we're seeing it, it's already been happening, but now it could be fast-tracked and it could get really scary with our public lands.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and not only I mean. The greater issue is definitely the public lands and everyone. But on a more personal level, it's kind of like alarming for us because this is going to directly affect our employment. Um, there could be way more jobs for us because they're going to need more, uh, independent contractors or just like concessionaire type companies, right, or we're already in like a pretty niche market and we could be completely wiped out Right of more experienced and better qualified outdoor workers than us that could, that they need jobs too.

Speaker 2:

Like what are these federal employees going to do? Maybe they'll?

Speaker 1:

that's kind of crazy, um well, I think they all should create concessionaires and run them really really, really good and don't run it for the profit but run it for the conservation.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but there would need to be so much new legislation.

Speaker 1:

Well, I think, instead of it being companies that are allowed to do it, I think it needs to be NGOs, and so non-profitsprofits, not for-profits, non-government organizations um, you know, friends, of types of places to start taking over their, like, local communities, start taking over their own campgrounds and stuff right and there could be like think about how many people um just like have no idea that this is an option or are teenagers and are like lost and don't know what's next, like how am I going to afford housing?

Speaker 2:

or like what is my job going to be? That could be a program that, like YMCA or Boy Scouts, like there's a.

Speaker 1:

The Conservation Corps.

Speaker 2:

Conservation Corps, yeah, or like I mean, when you graduate from Boy Scouts or Eagle Scouts, whatever they are, then the next transition could be to hosting jobs and caretaking roles.

Speaker 1:

Right, yeah, because one thing that we're going to definitely lose is people with experience and knowledge of parks that keep visitors safe. With experience and knowledge of parks that keep visitors safe, and when you're paying minimum wage and you're barely doing a background check on people and you don't care what their knowledge and experience is then that reference is because that's who's hired right.

Speaker 1:

These are the type of people that are hired, and so they don't care what your background is. Um, as long as you can clean a toilet and point people to like a campsite or collect money, you're absolutely golden we just so happen to care like I right you already had your like outdoor background and I just started caring because this is the life that I'm living, but so many people I mean they don't.

Speaker 2:

If I hadn't been with you I wouldn't have known all of the all of the park information that I was sharing with people at the coffee shack. And the coffee shack was at the. It was like 14 or 16 miles from the visitor center at the North Cascades and it was the last stop for espresso for 76 miles. So I was sharing lots of information. But just think, like all of the people that don't have, like the guy that we worked with at kachis, he did not care to go outside, he was fine to stay in his van and play video games and just go work his shift at the booth and had no interest in like gathering local knowledge, no interest in like trying the trails himself, reading all of the signs, educating himself, finding, finding the Friends of Cachoe's Facebook page and then talking to the volunteer firefighters and the regular firefighters and getting all of this info. If you don't have people that care, our employers are just lucky to have us.

Speaker 2:

Is what I'm saying, Right?

Speaker 1:

No, the Forest Service and the Park Service. I'm saying right now the forest service and the park service. Like they train you to know that obviously that local knowledge is incredibly vital because it could be life or death for people right for visitors what happens when there's no government staff to educate people?

Speaker 2:

and then they're also hiring people that are minimum wage. Don't care, don't give a shit, they're just there for two months in a free spot to park there's no oversight no oversight, no knowledge no, nothing. The park service directly and imagine if, oh my gosh, like the amount of people that just would have like like, possibly died at like serious injuries or serious, got themselves into some serious predicaments just at noca alone, from you being like, oh no, it's 2 pm, you can't right I'd rather you not go on this hike right now.

Speaker 2:

You should have started that like three hours ago, right? Or somebody's gonna ride their bicycle into a forest fire, right, and the road's gonna be closed. What if there's no staff around? Like, what if there's no staff to tell them? Then that person would have ridden their bike 60 miles to the road closure point.

Speaker 1:

They did, they did ride their bicycles to the road closure point. They did, they did ride their bicycles to the road closure point and three miles beyond that.

Speaker 2:

But you know what? They got to talk to park employees on the way and had some info. They at least knew where to. I don't? It's just crazy. There's not going to be anyone skilled and knowledgeable in the outdoor world, and that's scary.

Speaker 1:

Sorry, I'm making a note.

Speaker 2:

Oh, you're totally fine. Yeah, I think it would definitely have to go differently. I would like to see the contracts that concessionaires have be more. I understand, so every contract. I don't know much about the park service bids, but forest service-wise I know that a district or a cluster of districts will put out there what they need for a concessionaire, and then all of those contracts can change.

Speaker 2:

So whatever's happening in New Jersey could be different than Florida and all of the money could be allocated completely differently. And I get like there's different factors to take in, but it'd be so cool if it were consistent.

Speaker 1:

I feel like something. I feel like nobody's voice is going to be taken into account and they are going to probably eliminate public lands and turn it over for a private profit, because look at what else is happening and I don't want to admit that. Yeah, well, I think that They've gone around Congress and the Senate this entire time in the last month without no balance of fucking powers, and this is one thing that is a real easy chopping block.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and it's scary because I, the employees, are first, but what's next?

Speaker 1:

they're drilling for oil in national parks the first thing I'm gonna do is go fucking homestead like a motherfucker. I'm gonna go stake a claim right away, before the oil and gas can get out there I just um, I just.

Speaker 2:

There are so many protected lands all over the world, and even the most war-torn and third-world countries, I just have hope somebody will save us before we destroy ourselves. But I don't know who that's going to be. Maybe us on.

Speaker 1:

Monday, maybe Welcome back fellow campers, outdoor enthusiasts and the unfortunate souls who just discovered their peaceful retreat in nature is right next to the camp host blasting Jimmy Buffett at full volume while cleaning bathrooms. Love them or hate them, I'm going to get you out of my campground on time.

Speaker 2:

It's you.

Speaker 1:

It's a proven method. This is Camp Host Conversions, the podcast where we pull back the tent, flap on what really happens in campgrounds. I'm Healy and as always, I'm joined by my highly capable golf cart driver, co-host Kelsey, who once successfully quieted a rowdy campsite with just a solar garden light.

Speaker 2:

Hello, yeah, that did happen. You guys don't call me Solar Light Kelsey for nothing. One of these days I'm sure you'll get me to tell that one. Today we are coming to you from a very snowy, frozen campground in Oregon Potentially snowed in, we shall see. We're here for a few more days until our new site is ready, and I thought this was going to be our mini vacation before we go off grid again. But par for the course, in the full-timer world, things have not gone as planned. On our way here, we had a. It was not a wreck, but an incident.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's a very I don't know even how to explain what happened. The tire just came off the truck I was. So when we travel, uh, healy drives the tundra, towing the airstream, yep, and then I drive the yellow van covered in stickers. That's whining and so loud that you can hear it from a mile away. Just ask my sister. Yeah, um, she can like hear me when I'm at the right, when I get off the bridge in astoria, and it's like literally a mile from her house and she can hear me coming because it's all uphill anyway. Um, okay, so we drive like that. I follow healy. I'm blind.

Speaker 2:

I like to know when to break right and so she we're on highway 99 in california yeah, and along the sierras. We're outside of corning california and we are trying to manage. It's pretty close to Redding and Shasta and then Crater Lakes next, so we're like trying to manage what's going on with the weather and trying to hit everything at the right time trying to see if we're going to need chains. We're doing a pretty good job. We're like, yeah, we're just going to go ahead and get going.

Speaker 1:

We're going to get all the way past Shostow.

Speaker 2:

We're going to get over the mountain and down.

Speaker 1:

We have a new job lined up, and so we were going to hit the coast.

Speaker 2:

Oh right, we weren't even going to. I forgot at that point when we left we were going to go to the coast and wait for our site to be ready at our new job. Yeah, we were going to lollygag up the coast through the Redwoods and then pitch our tent at South Jetty Thousand Trails for three weeks or two weeks or whatever, and that's like obviously just a figure of speech because Healy's not sleeping in a tent.

Speaker 1:

No, obviously glamping airstream we have two heaters running so, uh, yeah, we're just cruising down the highway and I was thinking, man, it's a, it's a freaking beautiful day.

Speaker 2:

No wait before that we were going to go up the coast, but there was a we were going to go up the coast but there was a storm.

Speaker 1:

Storms were starting to come in.

Speaker 2:

Flooding and we had been driving the coastal highway at our last job and it was over a bunch of road closures and flooding and mudslides and all of that shit scared us. So we were like, okay, we're not going to do the coast, we'll just go inland. We just have to get past shasta yeah and it's gonna be all right.

Speaker 1:

So we're driving through corning and I thought I thought we blew a tire. Um, didn't couldn't really tell where, though, uh, the truck just started, started to like shake and I'm like cool, this is all right, I'll just pull over. Like that's one thing about California is, it's got the widest shoulders in the world on every road, and so I I didn't pull over completely off the shoulder.

Speaker 2:

Um, I, but I didn't know what was happening, because we pull over, we don't have radios which, uh? We are now getting radios which, uh we are now getting radios we want radios, so if anybody wants to.

Speaker 1:

Please continue to listen to our stories.

Speaker 2:

Please help us get radios, yeah we're we're gonna buy ourselves radios, so so truck is shaking and we're not communicating with each other because we're driving and I'm like ah crap.

Speaker 1:

Okay, there's a light right here, I don't know where the hell I am truck's shaking. I'm like all right cool, because we're driving back and forth or anything, and so all of a sudden the truck itself, the back end, just slams onto the ground. But I and I'm already onto the shoulder, but I can't get any further over, because now I'm sitting on my axle and there goes one of my tires just fucking down the road and it crosses the highway and I, I don't know, I have a great, big, big Toyota Tundra and it came with these stupid sized tires.

Speaker 2:

Yeah you didn't put them on there.

Speaker 1:

I did not do the lift kit or anything of that nature. It came this way, and so this stupid tractor sized tire is just going down the fucking road.

Speaker 2:

So from my point of view at this point she knows that much and I'm behind her. Uh, I, I only have remy and so we have five animals and we both like we drive at weird hours and just drink a shit ton of coffee. So we're just like pulling over constantly. Somebody's always got to go to the bathroom. But we just pull over randomly because whenever Healy sees a spot wide enough where we can both stop, we just do Because we can just go in the rig or walk the dog on the side of the road. So I think like, oh, maybe this is a bathroom stop, but it's kind of soon. So then I pull over behind her and I'm like what the fuck? She left the, she left the driver like the driver's side back end of the airstream way too fucking close to the road. It's like over the white line and I get out and I'm like what the fuck? And there's like semis right here I can't move any farther over.

Speaker 2:

I'm sitting on the axle we're on a massive highway that's 65 55 if you're towing, but it's only two lanes, but where we are it is as there's a stop sign no, not a light. It was a stop sign only if you're turning with a turn lane, but that's left and we're on the right side.

Speaker 1:

And so people are they can't get into the turn lane because without hitting each other. Oh my God, so I?

Speaker 2:

hop out and I'm like, why is your stream back here?

Speaker 2:

And then I look up and I see the tire going. It's already past the road and it's already in the ditch and I'm just like what the fuck? And as I'm running to get the tire, I see that the truck is sitting on the ground like the the metal of the truck. You had to run past that side. Well, yeah, but I'm like it's a lot to take in. I'm trying to make sure I don't get hit by a semi um, trying to make sure Kat didn't get out when one of us got out of the car.

Speaker 1:

So then I look back and I'm like, wow, we just like fucking live here now, right, yeah, we just live in the uh sudden olive capital of the world, or of not the world. My apologies um to the better, the better places in the world that grow olives. I respect you. Um no, in california, uh no, it was wild and I'm taking a video as she's running back, because I'm like this is out of the realm of things I can comprehend right now.

Speaker 2:

I had to peel the tire like out of the fence Right.

Speaker 1:

So one, we're on a busy ass highway and so, no, like how no one got hurt by my tire is fucking beyond me. And then, like I'm so freaked out about the traffic and we were, there was a um, a dot sign. Uh, at this intersection across the highway with a whole fuck ton of cones around it, I go oh my god, I forgot you mentioned it and I ran over and got like six cones and just lined them up behind the van Campos love cones.

Speaker 2:

We use them for everything we use cones for everything. But I forget the tow truck driver. When we were leaving he was like did you put the cones there? And he said are they your cones or were they here? And I was like they were here and I didn't even put them back. So okay. So this I'm jumping way ahead because I had. I had by the time I got cones.

Speaker 1:

I had already talked to the insurance guy, so I call insurance. I think we've dealt with a lot of shit. I know a lot of plan A's and plan B's and plan C's. I plan for everything. Like we were driving to the next Le Schwab in Reading to get tire chains for my truck, like that's where we were at in the process and we're not even there.

Speaker 2:

And the van does not have a hitch, and that means if the truck's out of commission, our house is just stuck.

Speaker 1:

So I call Geico, because that's whom I have, because that's whom I have, and I'm like hey, so, uh, my tire just came off my truck, but I'm also towing my airstream and I need help. And they're like the guy is just like what?

Speaker 2:

and I'm like like, never had that happen before.

Speaker 1:

I'm like no, dude, I am not even in washington. I am in california, alongside the friggin road, and thank god there was like some things, like it was a clear blue day. It had been fucking raining 10 inches of rain the last three days. There was severe flooding in the whole area prior to us going through.

Speaker 2:

We had just driven through like a foot of water, like maybe 25 miles back, yeah. So thank God we were in a dry, like pretty safe spot, but we also I just want to, I'm sorry, I just want to say the California Highway Patrol.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I was going to get to him Uh okay, they were just freaking fantastic.

Speaker 2:

And I want to say the California Highway Patrol.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I was going to get to him Okay.

Speaker 2:

They were just freaking fantastic.

Speaker 1:

And I want to make sure we talk about them, because I had the best interaction.

Speaker 1:

So we got. So I'm on the phone with Geico and dude's like yeah, dude, I honestly do not know how to help you. I'm like this cannot be the first freaking time that someone who's towing a trailer needs roadside assistance, needs a double tow or some shit. And he's like I've never dealt with this. I'm like because he's like no one. He's like OK, let me call around Well first. He kept offering me because he's like no one. He's like okay, let me call around well first. He kept offering me. Just. He's like do you just need are you? Do you have a flat tire? I go no, my fucking tires across the street, the whole thing, all of it. It's gone, rem and all rem and all it's across the street.

Speaker 2:

I don't think you know, at this point I had been sending my mom um pictures and all Rim and all it's across the street. But I don't think you know, at this point I had been sending my mom pictures and all of the information because she works for a trucking company, right? So I knew like and it's really small and like I've known the boss forever and I'm assuming like he's going to know what to do. So in the meantime I've already called 911 and told them.

Speaker 1:

Oh right, because I'm like call 911. This guy doesn't know what the frick he's doing and I've already lost it on the phone.

Speaker 2:

Well, I've already told 911 that we're traveling. I'm behind her, I don't have a hitch so I can't do anything, but I'm like I'm in a big yellow van and I have my hazards on, so I'm kind of like blocking the situation. But her tire came off and I think the axle is broken. So I told 911 that and that, just it just came to me. I wonder if that's why Highway Patrol showed up, because and helped us further, because I was like well, yeah, I think it's the axle.

Speaker 1:

Thank God he did. Yeah, I had no idea what had happened. Like it's sitting on the rotor, it like everything's a disaster and I set up cones and then, like we're sitting in the truck and I don't even know what to do I've already had a meltdown and then highway patrol shows up and you hop out.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I went and greet him talk to him and I was like, oh my god, we're traveling, we just like we work at campgrounds. We're on the move, we're going to our next job, we have to get to oregon and I can't tow anything. I don't, I don't know what we're gonna do and the insurance is like they just have no idea what's going on. But they say a tow truck's coming, at least for the truck, and then while he's standing there, I'm like I have to take this.

Speaker 1:

It's the insurance company Geico goes, or I get a text or something that it's been canceled, yeah. And then the lady's like how was the tow? And I'm like it was canceled. You guys just canceled it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and then a second highway patrol pulled up and they realized it had been canceled and they were like okay, well, we're going to call and get somebody that can help you with both, because the person that you called wouldn't have been able to do anything about the airstream. And I just like told them the whole situation like dire, like we, what are we gonna do? And are we gonna be in trouble if, like I, might have to sit here all day?

Speaker 2:

like because I might. I was like you know, maybe we'll get a rental, but I didn't know what her insurance policy was at the time.

Speaker 1:

so I'm like telling, telling the cop, maybe I, maybe we'll get a rental, but I didn't know what her insurance policy was at the time.

Speaker 2:

So I'm like telling the cop maybe I'll go get a U-Haul and then I can tow it. But they were so cool and they were like no worries, we're going to sit here and make sure you're safe.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, oh, my God, so freaking, friendly and like never, once did it even cross my mind to leave the air, Like it was absolutely not an option to me and in any capacity to leave the airstream.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, if it had just been the van like we could probably leave that shit on the side of the road for a while and hope for the best.

Speaker 1:

But there's no way we're leaving our house here. Yeah, it's my house. I'm like yeah, I don't think so. And so it's got the. Yeah, it's my house. I'm like, yeah, I don't think so, and so, um, it's got the litter box right. That's where you were fucking pets gonna sleep. And so, um the it's a flat top the highway patrol.

Speaker 2:

They were like okay, so we're gonna call someone for you, but we're gonna get someone that he's like I know somebody.

Speaker 1:

He's like, don't worry, I think I know somebody and so and he's like, but it's going to a kid it's going to have to be at our rate and our rate.

Speaker 2:

I'm not sure what it is right now and I'm like all right.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, their rates Three hundred dollars per vehicle. If anyone's wondering, so shout out to the kid from LNT. I never got your name.

Speaker 2:

LNT Towing in Corning, california, in.

Speaker 1:

Corning California Showed up and it was something he had never seen before and did us a solid and got us into Le Schwab and Le Schwab.

Speaker 2:

Not only did he. Okay, so he comes and he's on a flatbed.

Speaker 1:

This is Friday at 11 am.

Speaker 2:

So he's going to take the truck and then he thinks that he's going to hitch the Airstream to his flatbed like Rutgers, so he ends up not having the right hitch.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's a twofer right, it was supposed to be a twofer one.

Speaker 2:

He's like I'm just going to do it for you, I'm just gonna it would be another 300. And we're like, oh my god, this would be like 600 cash right now, like we travel and like eat ramen and work minimum wage yeah, I have an airstream because I had a different life before I'm gonna continue to emphasize it.

Speaker 1:

I I should be grateful for what I have, and I'm not because I just want something that has some slides and a door to the bedroom, Like that's it.

Speaker 2:

But no, we are. I'm. I think I'm grateful enough for both of us for this setup.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

But it's everybody's worst nightmare. That lives full time. Like what happens. Like that's stopping me that lives full time Like what happens. Like that's stopping me from wanting a class a. Like what happens if your rig is in the shop. Like where the fuck do you live? I don't want to have to go to a hotel and figure it out. Like I want my house to always be available. So like we're kind of freaking out and I'm in slippers, like I travel, looking, looking like I live in a van. And this guy was so fantastic.

Speaker 2:

He was like I'm just gonna I and I was like I'm gonna stay here with like the animals and like watch the airstream I made a terrible joke and he's like I'm just gonna come back and get the airstream for you and I'm gonna do it for free, mind you like not only did he come out, it's like 12 miles into corning because, like, we're on the outskirts of town.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we were on highway 99 so he comes back so he doesn't have the right hitch for the airstream like 12 miles off of i-5.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, so he leaves at the schwab.

Speaker 1:

I'm trying to give everybody a geographical we're pointed north and we're east of Corning.

Speaker 2:

Right, so she's over yonder at.

Speaker 1:

Le Schwab. So he takes me over to Le Schwab, but it's just me and my truck that gets over there, right? And so he old boy does this so solid. I sent Kelsey a dirty joke Stop it. Dirty joke, stop it. And then I get there and they just dump the truck on the ground right. Oh fuck, I forgot about my bike too.

Speaker 2:

So anyway, remember that we gotta put that in there oh, that happens later, but the airstream gets put on the flatbed and I just have to like drive through town with our house behind us.

Speaker 1:

What to do? Like wait, you're bringing the air stream here, can we stay here? And they're like, yeah, we don't care, so which? Is crazy because, like kelsey's, like I'm here, I'm like where, and she's like on the other side of the building as we watch them unload the Airstream, then, which is its own insurance claim right now?

Speaker 2:

Because it definitely got dropped on its ass coming off the flatbed and was like a freaking seesaw.

Speaker 1:

This is a PSA for Airstream purchasers. Do not get the Bambi Sport.

Speaker 2:

it is three inches too low and it's fucking stupid it is yeah, and I I wish like it's just not gonna be an option for us in the future, anytime soon to have a, not like a bigger, better airstream, because we could have so much more for the money and something else. But I love the inside of an airstream and I mean the outside too, but this one it. Yeah, the clearance is so low and it's strange because so many of them are just a little bit wider and have a better clearance and yeah it could have been a lifelong house, had that happened I've hit so much shit with this thing.

Speaker 2:

It's so stupid, anyway, anyway, so uh healy's talking to the insurance company and me and the animals are just setting the house up in the fucking lush wab parking lot across the street from the 7-eleven their public bathroom as our personal restroom, like their wi-fi because, uh yeah, there's no hookups or anything we didn't have hookups, so like I'm not gonna put the generator in the starlink outside in the parking lot because I was gonna run a, an extension core.

Speaker 1:

But then I'm like I said no oh, they probably won't like that we had the solar gen. It was totally fine yeah, um, we did lose a little bit of food, though, um.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that sucked, we lost like like five pounds of ground beef.

Speaker 1:

So I think by the time things were said and done, they're like yeah, this isn't happening today, and so that was by three o'clock. We were parked with our trailer On Friday, On Friday, and uh, yeah, just uh. Then we went exploring.

Speaker 1:

We were pretty, pretty sure we were gonna have to live there for like, yeah and so then, uh, like my deductible um dawned on me it was a thousand dollars and all this shit, and I'm like, okay, well, there goes all of our money that we had to get us to florence like oregon. And so I'm like, okay, okay, we got this. We got this, everything's fine. Oh, because not only did the truck land on the axle, I ran over my fucking tire, it bounced off the side of the truck and dented in the side of the truck the back quarter panel behind the tire. The whole thing is fucking just caved in it ends up the.

Speaker 2:

The pins were just sheared off yeah, all the pins sheared off.

Speaker 1:

So, uh, I don't know. I don't know about that. It's uh never like everybody that I talked to, not a common occurrence. No one's ever seen it before, and when you google it it says someone's messed with it. Either they were too loose, which means someone loosened them, and I'm like, okay, I'm not going to be weird.

Speaker 2:

Or yeah, we're just going to travel and then we're going to pack different.

Speaker 1:

So what LeSchwab was able to do was let us fucking sleep over.

Speaker 2:

And you know what I am so thankful.

Speaker 1:

First of all, all the van parked right next to it, and nobody complained. Nobody complained whatsoever, nobody.

Speaker 2:

We were in everybody's way on that side too yeah, and nobody made us feel uncomfortable or like we were unwelcome, uh, second, the town was incredibly walkable and drivable pause, Pause.

Speaker 1:

When I googled the town it said it was like the nicest friggin' people ever.

Speaker 2:

And it was.

Speaker 1:

It is, absolutely it's the best.

Speaker 2:

I told you best hospitality, even like better than the South yeah.

Speaker 1:

It was, so everybody should go there. I don't know, just say hi.

Speaker 2:

Every single. It's not like fantastically beautiful it looks like bakersfield, like it's not special, but the people were just phenomenal and the weather was like just perfect for not having, for not having electricity, like what are you to do? Well, thank god we weren't freezing cold, we weren't everything just.

Speaker 1:

Oh, it worked out so well thank god, we were where we were yeah so the boys lost a tire anywhere in that drive we could have been then that well it whatever.

Speaker 2:

We could have been in zero degrees on shasta, but the boys have to go outside. I turn healy into a truck stop lover, so there was a loves down the road. Yeah, oh right, and we, in the morning, we take them to the dog park yeah, we go get coffee in the van and take the boys to the dog park at the loves in town and it was fantastic.

Speaker 1:

And then, uh, love a loves dog park so they are able to get the parts and fix the truck uh, to get it back on the road for just a little bit over $400.

Speaker 2:

By 3.30pm on Saturday, less than 24 hours.

Speaker 1:

And so we just scooch on down to Love's in Corning. So thank you so much LeSchwab for everything. So awesome it could have been so so much LeSchwab for everything, so awesome.

Speaker 2:

It could have been so, so much worse.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we could have just had no idea what to do, Like we could have been just sleeping alongside the road.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and the van right now is pretty much packed as like a storage unit, because we're just we'm not using it, I'm not sleeping in it, we're just like getting it from point a to point b so to make everything more livable while we're on the road, because we usually have our toys outside. That's just all in the van. So it's not like you, me and both dogs right can and three cats can just go live in the van as a backup plan.

Speaker 1:

So before we move to lishwab and before or um loves, I get up in the morning and I go check on my truck because it's on the other side of the parking lot. It's on the other side of the building. I had taken photos the night before because I'm like you know, I I just don't have a good feeling about this.

Speaker 2:

Because the track is packed full of Heelys, stuff, of all my crap.

Speaker 1:

And on top was obviously my e-bike. And friggin'. I get up in the morning and there you go, Straight to my truck. The e-bike is missing and I'm like, come on.

Speaker 2:

You know what?

Speaker 1:

Joke's on them. It sucks.

Speaker 2:

It's broken.

Speaker 1:

The pedal comes the pedal keeps coming off and you will hurt your butt when it happens.

Speaker 2:

I think I wouldn't put that better seat on it. I'm so sad, though, because your e-bike was like a blast and I've had so much fun with it, especially when cascade can be off leash.

Speaker 1:

I'm following, yeah um yeah, it's a really cool thing to have.

Speaker 2:

Um yeah, but jokes on whoever stole it jokes on us for leaving it out, but also that's totally on me, but I had nowhere to put my shit.

Speaker 1:

I had two generators.

Speaker 2:

I had my blackstone was still there, um like I, I'm just proud of us for still thinking about how nice the people were when your bike got stolen.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, but, like you know, even when I called the police, I called the non-emergency line and I'm like I just feel like I need to file a report and I ended up. Oh, she asked me for the serial number. I actually just found it in my email. The other day.

Speaker 2:

Well, that's good, because now you can maybe get a new one through insurance and they won't know she, because now you can maybe get a new one through insurance, and they won't know. She goes.

Speaker 1:

you know, it's not often that they're going to be able to find a bike. I'm like you know, I'm standing on this like real busy main street of your town right now and I don't see a single person on a bike. So if I do see someone going 20 miles an hour on a bicycle, I might assume it's mine, because no one's riding them around here. And she's like yeah, you're right, we don't have a lot of e-bikes around here.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, everything is kind of spread out.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, but no, that's on me. But you know what we're traveling and like that. That was something that literally could not be prevented.

Speaker 2:

No, and it all went. So best case scenario in my mind.

Speaker 2:

It would something like that. Like if I were thinking about traveling, about my worst nightmare, I'd be like, oh my god, if that happened, we'd probably have to like, I don't get a hotel, get an airbnb. We're gonna live there for a week and, oh my god, am I gonna have to call my mom and like see if there's some truck driver on the west coast. They can like, take some of my shit or something like what are we gonna do? But it all worked out so well and everybody was so gracious and just so, so understanding and like empathetic, yeah, towards us and so much compassion so then, uh, we went to loves and that was nice, ate at denny's shout out to the waitress, don't remember her name, she was super nice yeah, and she was so busy because the other girl called off yeah.

Speaker 1:

And then, uh gosh, we went to that the olive pit well, I, I, and then we drove around for the giant olive, and then I took you to an organic lavender farm. The people were weird, but it's off season, so it's just an awkward.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I was like I don't know. This place doesn't seem like it's open. I'm not driving the van in what looks like these people's yard so you can go check. And Haley sees a sign on this lavender farm store, slash campground, and it says office.

Speaker 1:

and she just opens the door and it's their house and some old ladies asleep in a chair and these dogs, a pipple is like at the door, like barking in my face, and I'm like hey, buddy, um, you know what? I'll just come back.

Speaker 2:

That's the difference in me and you, because I will miss out on like 80% of the things, because if I don't feel like I am more than welcome there, then I'm not going to fucking try.

Speaker 1:

Missing out on getting bit by a dog like potentially no you'll just push the boundary.

Speaker 2:

I don't know. Let's just open this gate. It says manager.

Speaker 1:

like open, like this is where you go, like there was products sitting on their counter right, but like it was, like they were sick and it was their day yeah, and I was like you know what she's? She had come out and I don't uh somebody, uh gentleman, was working there and he had come around the building. He's like can I help you? And I'm like I was just uh seeing if you guys were open.

Speaker 1:

He's like, well, we can be, and I'm like no, it's totally cool, she was sleeping, it's all right. And he's like, yeah, she got sick with strap. And I'm like and then she came outside and I'm like halfway across the parking lot and I'm like you know what? You guys, how about y'all just take care of yourselves? All right, just do not worry about me, I'll come back some other time. And so, um, everybody, go to that organic lavender farm in corning, that's what I have to say. So, because she was like thank you, you know, and like and the olive pit was pretty cool.

Speaker 2:

It reminded me of like going to lancaster to one of the yarmish stores.

Speaker 1:

There's a million samples and if we could have toured every olive farm and tasting them, that would have been like my ultimate dream. I love green olives I hate olives, but I tried them anyway because I'm gonna oh, and I'm such a basic bitch, I only liked the ones that um were the regular yeah I was like don't you want the blue cheese jalapeno?

Speaker 2:

and I'm like gross.

Speaker 1:

And then I'm like that african pepper with cream cheese was delicious and then I'm like, oh, this is my favorite and it's just the very basic, typical I'm surprised you didn't like the canned one best. No shit right like coconut, pear is spicy to me anyway.

Speaker 2:

Anyway, in the grand scheme of things, just like super thankful how that all worked out and if a shitty thing had to happen, we really have been lucky. And I'm thankful for everybody that helped us, because mainly the first chips guy, because if that highway patrol officer hadn't called lnt towing then none of this would have panned out the way it did, yeah, and and you know what, though?

Speaker 1:

uh, geico has been great since then.

Speaker 2:

It it was just like a weird scenario that yeah was hard to solve um and so now we're like midway through the claim um the truck. The truck got back on the road but still needs like a serious inspection and some work done. I don't trust it right now. So it's going to go to the shop as soon as Cause it needed a new rotors, new brakes, new brake pads, um a new e-brake brake.

Speaker 1:

Um the rim. They got off the uh the spare and then um, the tire wasn't rated for the load so they put a used tire on it which doesn't match the other tire.

Speaker 2:

So it actually sits weird but they did it for free, that part they did all that, that shit caught.

Speaker 1:

That saved me a lot of money and so um. But they're not a collision place and I feel like the truck felt some trauma oh yeah, for sure and uh, I don't think it was awesome, maybe that the um so okay. When we just unhitched the other day, um, I realized that the hitch was loose on the truck. I couldn't figure it out because there's I didn't tell me that well, it's like the great big.

Speaker 1:

It's the great big um toe hitch that I have that has like the sway bar connection and stuff. Okay, all right, and so there's two big bolts that hold the ball on with the whole contraption, and the top one was loose. And that totally makes sense that when we hit the pavement that all slammed down, which loosened that top bolt, and I never checked it so like to put the truck on the um on the flatbed, I actually had to pull the hitch receiver out, which, I mean mine, weighs like 100 pounds, and throw it on the ground so that and then like disassemble everything and then so that we can get the trailer moved as well.

Speaker 2:

But I got to use the lift button on the tow truck. You didn't tell me that. Yeah, so the Airstream, it was like sideways and because of how it was parked and he's trying to get it on the flatbed, but to like go with the right way. So he's like can you control this? For? Me because I'm gonna have to go push it, oh shit. So he pushes it with his body, and that's when he's like do you guys have a lot of stuff in here?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I'm like no, it's all in the van, because I'm not gonna be like, yeah, everything we fucking own is in there and we want you to tow it for free and this is probably why it's on the ground. But I was just like, no, there's not a lot of stuff in there, it's pretty light actually, and then I'm using the lift, the buttons on the side of the truck and and I'm bringing the airstream up, damn, as he's pushing it to get it lined up, so it's on the flatbed straight.

Speaker 2:

And then it got so close to the ground I was like I don't know, like do I have to do, like I have to do this part where the airstream is going to drag on the ground, and I'm like what now? And he's like I'll do it. So that's when I stopped.

Speaker 1:

Well, that's exciting. I didn't know you got to do that. Yeah, I mean, I know you were using them too, I felt like a little boy and I was really excited I had asked for you to take a video of the being loaded up, and then you were like I didn't have time or some shit. Oh yeah, I didn't know why?

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, I was, oh yeah, I was like doing that.

Speaker 1:

And then when he took over, I was like collecting the wood that because he had to line up all of those pieces of wood for the airstream to get up on to the, he had to make a ramp on to yeah, on to the flatbed because it wasn't like it was too low.

Speaker 2:

So anyway, I was gathering up the wood and putting it in his little like storage.

Speaker 1:

So I think this is a really interesting episode. It's already 50 minutes 50? Yeah, but I think this discusses the life on the road and how the shit we have to carry to survive, and then the things that we can't carry because we don't have enough room but it's funny because, like, I feel like we have way too much stuff.

Speaker 2:

I like I'm just way more of a minimalist than you. I still have a good bit of stuff, but not really if it was like all broken. You gotta take the floaties, I know, but I'm like we. We change weather so drastically, no matter how bad.

Speaker 2:

I plan or like say there's no fucking way we're going out of season like I left my the best jacket that there ever was. It's like this green puffy costco costco trench jacket that me and ke both have and my sister has in a different color, and it's so warm. I left that, like ski pants, all of every my croc boots. I left it all in Haley's storage unit in freaking Wenatchee because I'm like no, we're going south for the winter. Well, guess what? Now? We don't know if we're going to be able to get to this new job that starts on Tuesday, because we might be stuck in 20 inches of snow and need chains on everything, including the Airstream, who has chains for their trailer, by the way.

Speaker 1:

I don't feel equipped to drive into the mountains into this one road that isn't actually maintained in the winter, so I'm very concerned. Like like highway, this forest service road scenic route isn't maintained in the winter, and so I'm really, really concerned um I am too. I don't feel like I'm capable.

Speaker 2:

That is like beyond me and right now this truck is unhappy and I need to get it in and I'm just waiting until we park our airstream I wish kelly was closer because I feel like if she were here yeah, I would just be like kelly, can you please drive it in and park it and she would, yeah, she would I know that I have um made made jokes at her expense over high centering a rig and knocking some shit off the side and stuff.

Speaker 1:

But no, she is. She makes a big stupid grin of hers like, oh, I did it again, you guys she is the best driver that I've ever driven.

Speaker 2:

Oh, like I've ever had the privilege of seeing Park, something like watching her park, her class A with it's I think it's 36 feet yeah um watching her park, that in the site at leavenworth, at thousand trails, first of all, you guys, it's a dirt road right and it's one lane. Second of all, there are trees everywhere on a car and there's like trees in this, like in the spurs, like you have to park so close like it's kind of a clusterfuck for me to park the van.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so she's over 50 feet altogether. She's already detached her car and the trailer and like we got to watch her back into this site with that's within like six feet of a cabin, two different sides.

Speaker 1:

I mean she just she kills it yeah, and then you don't expect like you expect somebody with a cdl to hop out and no, you just get this girl, this 29 year old girl, respect to age. If she's 29, then I'm 18, yeah it's a 29 is a joke that my grandpa used to always make. That you know you never get over 29. 30 was old back then anyway. Um no, this girl just hops out wearing dreads and fucking tie-dye and you know, and just fucking ready to rock with her stupid basset hound Like yeah.

Speaker 2:

I don't know if you remember so when we left Leavenworth in April.

Speaker 1:

April.

Speaker 2:

Maybe we left when Kelly left Leavenworth in April, before my birthday.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that was rude.

Speaker 2:

Oh man, that was so, so sad. I miss her so much, like I just miss. I miss her being right there like I suck at texting people. I want them to be oh yeah, with me.

Speaker 1:

I just can't keep up communication when you live in a campground with even if they're your best friends, you might go a week without seeing them because you're good but like they're still right there and it's just the best peace of mind ever.

Speaker 2:

Like I've never felt as comfy as and safe as when I know she's just like a few steps over yeah, but anyway, um, you were sick when she was leaving and oh, yeah, in october no in in April.

Speaker 1:

And. Lark was there the day that Kelly was leaving, you guys got to ride around and we got to ride.

Speaker 2:

Kelly was like want to go for a ride, so before she left the park, and my daughter's never been in a great big rig like that to ride in.

Speaker 2:

Well, I mean, she's been in Kelly's house. She's been in Kelly's house, Just not when it's been on, no, not while it's driving. You know, she's never been in a house that's moving with fucking 30 000 house plans, yeah, and she's, she's five, so it's fun. So we, we get in kelly's rig and we're in her site and it's where. So lark lark lives really close to that campground, so like it's where she had been yeah, she had been visiting and seeing at kelly.

Speaker 2:

So it's like she had been yeah, she had been visiting and seeing Aunt Kelly. So it's like crazy, because this thing that you've seen parked there for like six months.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's like a tiny house.

Speaker 2:

All of a sudden we're sitting on the couch and then Kelly's like well, come on, we'll get a better view. So then me and Lark get up in the front seat and all of a sudden, this thing that you've been looking at because kelly has all these light displays and it's just like her, the front of her rig is like staring at a museum. So all of a sudden, me and lark are just in it and it's moving and it's driving through this campground that we only ever walk through.

Speaker 1:

There's never cars yeah, I've only taken a truck through there. I've never been up like I did ride out with you guys and it's's so so tight and small, but her driving was impeccable.

Speaker 2:

That was when I was like, oh my God, this girl can kill it. Yeah, I was super impressed, right.

Speaker 1:

And then she put one of them horns on. That's like the Woody, the Woodpecker or some shit and it's like an air horn. It's awesome.

Speaker 2:

One time when she lived down the road from me, when she was at a campground like 15 miles down the road from me and she was gonna come stay at my boat launch and I didn't have cell phone service so I was like we'll just honk on your way in, because the boat launch is like a mile from my site, so I'm just like in the van and hear a big old class say honk like oh my god, kelly's here, let's go, boys.

Speaker 2:

I have a video of the dogs riding with me on the golf cart to go get to her and she's just in the parking lot. It was right before her mom came to oh, yeah, yeah, oh, that was some shit yeah, and on the way, I'm like how she parked them. I'm like boys, do you want to see Aunt Kelly?

Speaker 1:

And they hop out and just take off running into her rig and they were so happy so I did get to witness some impeccable park job. So we went to Lake Achieve for Kelly's birthday last year and I hadn't been there in a couple years.

Speaker 2:

In a year.

Speaker 1:

And so we go, and there's some doubles.

Speaker 2:

It's the first time that we're all there with nobody working.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it had been. It was closed, right, not closed, but it's like it's the end of the season and so, anyway. So they get a double sight, and Kelly's ma drives up from Southern California and, with her best friend, marcus, shout out yo, love and light, what a good friend, Right. And so they get up here, right. And then he drives her mom up there and they get to Lake Cheese and they get the site set up. Well, what Kelly does is Kelly's the one that knows how to turn this shit around.

Speaker 1:

One. She gets fucked up in this turnaround and I'm like yo, you're like going to tip your trailer over because there's like you're going the wrong way. And she's like, no, I got this, I'll figure it out. I'm like sweet, and she totally did. And then so she got her rig into the site. And then she puts her mom's rig in the site so that the doors are facing each other and so they can use one awning or whatever. And they're both class A's and this was friggin tight, like whoo, whoo. I was like, and this is a brand new class A that her ma has.

Speaker 2:

And it was set up like so perfect that her mom's awning like came out and the rug went out and it just perfectly ended at Kelly's.

Speaker 1:

It was awesome and, like it was, that was so rad. I brought my my Blackstone over and we just grilled out for the weekend.

Speaker 2:

And her mom. So Her mom's just so cool. Like not only did her mom come 20 hours longer of a drive to visit her, she didn't just go camping at one place, like when I, when I, I my whole goal is to drive the van, like once every six weeks, once every three months, like whenever I move Right, like it's, I don't want it to be the daily driver. Anyway, her mom gets there, comes to our the camp, not Kelly's campground.

Speaker 1:

Oh, and I'm not there. I'm in Leavenworth.

Speaker 2:

She came to my campground outside of Roslyn, then went to Kelly's campground and then went to Keechie's and then went back to Kelly's campground. So she drove that rig around like hours, hours all in the one week that she was visiting.

Speaker 1:

It was crazy. I mean mean this is going, you know, 25 miles up a forest service road, you know, like one like going up to salmon and then it's the most I've ever seen, kelly's rig move, that's for sure, and mine too, because I just kept following them.

Speaker 2:

Kelly and I had been camping on the lake bed too.

Speaker 2:

She was in a tent, though. So the campground where I was, outside of Roslyn, it had a boat launch and was on Cle Elum Lake and it's a reservoir and the whole lake bed is like really compact and the lake is just so low, like a like a hundred foot 80 degree incline like to get down to the water. So the campground was super slow, not a whole lot going on, and it was kelly's birthday, getting ready to be her birthday, and we got cell phone service on the lake bed. So she convinced me and I'm like so much of a pussy that I'm scared to drive the golf cart out there until like the third week, right. So she convinced me it'd be fine to drive the van out there. So I just like leave the camp host site, leave the campground, take the freaking golf cart and van and go park it. I I don't know like at least four or five football fields out away from the parking area for the day use, where you're not supposed to drive, and we're parking out on the lake bed.

Speaker 1:

These are jobs that they want you to stay at 24-7.

Speaker 2:

And Kelly brings her car out and then sleeps in a tent. And I had Cascade. We had all the boys, all the animals, everyone was so happy. Remy was running around free because there was nowhere for him to get lost, but it was, and we were getting cell phone service to be tracking her mom on the drive Right.

Speaker 2:

So then that's why we ended up camping there. That was, you weren't there, but it was like you were there for a little bit. At the end, I wish that you could have camped more at that campground, or just ever with me?

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, Didn't I stay overnight one time?

Speaker 2:

No, we were at Salmon. Oh yeah, oh, we were at the other campground, not mine.

Speaker 1:

You were replacing a camp host couple that were getting fired.

Speaker 2:

I'm never going to camp host at Wish Bush again. I can say I liked it and it was a wonderful time, but I wouldn't want it for the whole season because the clientele was not my jam, no, but Some people can be scary. Yeah, it didn't feel it was the first, they weren't welcoming.

Speaker 2:

It was the first they weren't welcoming. It was the first Forest Service campground on a road that went another 30 miles and had at least 15 more Forest Service campgrounds. So everybody that wasn't really meant to be outside and just wanted to go throw their trash on the ground and be an asshole outside and they picked that because it's the first stop. But camping there was like magical because there weren't a lot of people, because it was the end of the season.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, the end of the season is the best part of the season. Yeah, and I had this incredible field like beautiful meadow behind my site that opened up. That was just gigantic it was. It was similar to the site in Maine. I just never thought that I'd have that much space to myself like private again. And the view that it looked at was the? Um, very similar to the view from Cachise, because I'm just like looking at the mountain.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you're just looking at the mountains there, the same mountains. Yeah, that's awesome.

Speaker 2:

So I was very satisfied and because the it was so empty and the boat launch had a bathroom, even though it was like a mile away, it was just a blast driving the golf cart around and not having I love not having phone service, and Healy and I weren't working together at that time, so like yeah, I had gone back to Leavenworth. I, I love some no phone service. No one with me. Kelly was like 15 miles down the road.

Speaker 1:

So I got Starlink.

Speaker 2:

So that's us. I become a recluse and I'm like I just want to run around with my dogs in the woods and I want nobody to contact me and then if you leave healy alone, there's either going to be a new pet or starlink yeah, like I think the the pool closed.

Speaker 1:

I had nothing to do, my wi-fi was intermittent and I'm like I can't handle this like.

Speaker 2:

You were so bored you hiked the Enchantment Saloon.

Speaker 1:

Oh my, that was for a different reason that was not out of boredom, but yeah, I sure did, I sure did.

Speaker 2:

Which covers the hardest part of the PCT right.

Speaker 1:

Asgard Pass does.

Speaker 2:

Asgard, that wasn't what you did, but it's similar to it.

Speaker 1:

That's what one of our friends did inadvertently oh, that wasn't what you did, but it's similar to it or part of it. One of our friends did inadvertently no her and oh, she did plan it.

Speaker 2:

And her boyfriend. I wonder if they're still together. Probably not now.

Speaker 1:

If we were good friends we would call and ask, but you know we're not.

Speaker 2:

Camp friends see each other. When they see each other, I'll love you when I'm with you. I love you all the time, but I'll ask about you when I'm with you.

Speaker 1:

That's right. Camp friends see each other when they're camping. You're right, because we have some great friends on the road and I'm. I don't talk to anybody.

Speaker 2:

No, you do, and we were just talking about that this morning, Like how we should.

Speaker 1:

I'm trying to stay pen pals with some volunteers from last year and it's a pain in the ass nobody wants to be my friend, nobody wants to be my pen pal, just text me back like yeah we were.

Speaker 2:

Just my mom, like has all of these friends from her lives all over the place and she keeps in touch with like all of them. And I can't even keep in touch with my cousins that are like my best friends that I love, because God forbid I text somebody or answer open my phone or anything.

Speaker 1:

And she's like I can't. I'm like I sent you, sent you something in messenger.

Speaker 2:

I'm like, no, I can't, I can't look at it.

Speaker 1:

They'll know I'm like. I might have to talk to somebody who knows well. Anybody else that's ever texted me that I haven't messaged back, they'll know that I've been online I'm like, and then I have to. Who the fuck cares?

Speaker 2:

well then, I have to like read it and then I have to respond, because if I haven't read it then I don't have to respond in my mind, but then don't read it. So just look at the crap that I've sent you no, but the anxiety of seeing that there's other messages that I haven't answered.

Speaker 1:

Well then, create a new account, because I'm sending you really cool shit.

Speaker 2:

This is like my fourth Facebook. I can't do it again.

Speaker 1:

A talking dog is very important. I need you to.

Speaker 2:

Well, now that you have TikTok on your phone again, we can just. That's my preferred method of video. It's your love language. I'm only using Facebook because that's where family is.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

And I want them to like see pictures of my life and know I'm alive every now and then, and because that's where I find job info. If it weren't for like the WordCamp or Facebook groups, I would have deactivated it already. I don't like Facebook.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's the only way I keep in touch with people, but apparently right now my algorithm is so fucked up I don't even see anybody in my friends list anymore and no one's seeing me, so that's fine. I have to tell you something right now I am so fucking cold that I want to die.

Speaker 2:

You guys can see us on TikTok where I'm putting all of our videos and pictures. We'll turn on the heater because I want to read the rest of this, so this is part one. Yeah, part one of our first two-parter.

Speaker 1:

And so we're not just bringing you stories, unfortunately. We actually want to educate you, so that is what we're going to do, and our next. The rest of this episode is about things.

Speaker 2:

It's about camping, the history of camping.

Speaker 1:

Like the history of the camp host and why concessionaires are a necessary evil and, uh, we think that it's important to know what's going on around you.

Speaker 2:

So if you're interested in camping, then don't you wonder who painted the picnic table that you're using, or where that shit that I wonder?

Speaker 1:

I think this is really important because right now nobody knows why they're paying at a trailhead or at a day use area or at a campground.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 1:

No one knows why and we need to tell you why. But that's at the end of the rest of this episode.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and when you know better, you can do better. So we just like want everyone to be aware and we're going to teach you things, but that was the shit show of our life. Wait, one last thing. Um, it didn't end with the, with spending the late saturday night at the truck stop. Um, we get to the truck stop because it's late and we're not gonna drive in the dark, right, because we have to go over the mountain and the mountain's going to be cold, and yeah, don't want to deal with that.

Speaker 2:

So I roll. I'm like I'm going to go fill up the gas tank before I park in this parking spot at Love's for the night and Haley comes to talk to me while I'm filling up and I roll down my window and my fucking window gets stuck down in the van, the driver window, and I have cats in the van three of them and I'm like, oh my god. So then I'm running over and we're like shuffling cats between. I have like my arm up on the window blocking everything, all weird and we're like throwing cats at each other to get them into the airstream and then I throw like such a fit, basically, that healy takes apart I take apart the entire entire door.

Speaker 1:

So I was a machinery technician in the coast guard in a different life and so I'm like well I'm like it doesn't want to go up and down. I don't fucking know like, and I'm like'm like cardboard on it.

Speaker 2:

No, we're not doing this. I'm not. I'm already obnoxious. It's a yellow van with like 400 stickers and peeling paint and I tried to modge podge stickers on the front. That now looks like trash. So, I am not showing up to a new job with a plastic bag or cardboard on the window, and it's going to be cold tomorrow and the inside will be frosty and that we have to add to our story now is how we crossed those passes the siskiyou pass, by the way, that's the one that we crossed, yeah so yeah, I took apart the window and then got

Speaker 2:

it all taped back up and we had I have yellow duct tape, so now the van driver window is held together and then with yellow, the very next day I lost the lock out of the Airstream storage cabinet door on the side of the trailer. On probably the Cisco pass, and I have matching silver duct tape. So that's holding together our only side compartment or underneath storage.

Speaker 1:

So stupid.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but Healy took it all apart, got it all packed back together and now my window's up. So I'm super thankful and we will catch you after our breakfast break for part two. Bye, bye.

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