Dude!
Man, I love seeing creativity that isn’t tied to big expenditures.
There are a lot of custom builds out in the world that cost a lot of money.
Most of them don’t show a lot of skill or creativity.
This one is different.
It’s fun to see somebody gearing up to live in his van while he goes to college….saving money….travel….all the good stuff.
Here’s another video about this guy’s experience….
There are so many ways to make it through this life.
Good job.
I might be missing something, but it looks like the guys in the video are tearing out the interior of the van so they can get it unstuck?
That’s pretty weird….but I guess it would work.
I get stuck….but don’t jettison the ballast.
It’s too hard to get it all back together.
I’m (typically) just being silly.
I don’t think these guys are that incompetent.
I like seeing good breathing protection, too.
And…if you’re going to build a Sprinter van….how much cooler is it to build a 38-year-old van than it is to go and buy one brand new?
Well…I say…….cooler.
This is one of the better van build documentaries I’ve seen.
For folks with “no experience”, I think that they did a nice job.
Smart folks…learning on the fly.
Good stuff.
I guess the guys are in Portugal.
Their website can be found at www.wildweroam.com
People have been doing this for a long time.
We might have lived in vans….cars….friend’s closets.
We’re creative….there’s lots of places we can end up sleeping if we need to.
But….we haven’t been documenting it like this for very long.
YouTube is a trip, isn’t it?
Here’s a college student describing where she parks the van she lives in when she needs to find a place to sleep.
Good advice….good planning.
Where she sleeps is usually a secret….unless she puts it up on YouTube.
It’s a different world now, I suppose.
You can make a movie if you have a cellphone.
You can record your life.
Where would I find the time to do that?
It’s hard enough just living it.
We have a bunch of vans and cars full of accoutrements out at our local Wal-Mart, too.
People are living in the parking lot.
Van life is so romantic!
Not really.
When the weather gets warmer, you see a lot more of these vehicles out in the back row.
It’s shady out at the back row ….folks are trying to stay cool.
Sometimes it doesn’t look as fun as some of the videos I see on YouTube.
These guys need a trust fund and a brand new Sprinter van.
Then maybe they could have more fun out in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
Maybe they could buy some stuff that didn’t say “Great Value” on it….if they had a bunch of money.
Maybe then they could live “high on the hog”…..out in the parking lot.
Everybody doesn’t end up at Wal-Mart, though.
Maybe there’s another place?
84 VIEWS!
How much value does a sunrise that no one notices have?
That’s impossible, of course.
People all over the world see the sun come up.
It’s not a solitary experience.
Noticing and really seeing/appreciating might be different things.
And….the number of people who watch something on YouTube doesn’t define value…..but….84 views?!!
Come on, people!!
Get with the program!!
Here’s a live performance from Willy Porter.
I spent part of the day listening to him yesterday while I delivered the mail.
This guy is in a different league than most of the singer-songwriters out there right now….writing….playing….all that stuff.
I’m amazed and appreciative of what he does.
Again….WILLY PORTER IS THE DUDE’S NAME…He’s darn good… .AND, THANKS TO ME…..85 VIEWS!!
Bingo….Happy Birthday.
Here’s a couple on a bike tour across the US….
This section of their tour goes from Moscow, ID to Spearfish, SD.
It is so beautiful out there…..and check out the roads!
We have a bunch of bicyclists out here.
It’s great bicycling country….hilly….temperate….populated (?)….but it’s not like it seems to be out west.
There’s a lot of traffic out where we live.
Even though we live “out in the country”, the roads can get kind of spooky for riding.
Lots of big trucks…..drivers on cell phones….blind curves.
I like these straight roads and big vistas.
Here’s another section of their tour…this time from Spearfish, SD to Indiana.
Here’s an idea….build behind your house and live mortgage-free after renting the main structure!
There’s a lot of smart choices in this build…from the corrugated metal for siding to the plywood floors in the loft…..too….well, just watch the video.
There’s a bunch of good choices.
This is so creative.
Creativity comes out of a lack of money (sometimes)…..and, if you have a bunch of time, you can get creative going that direction and save quite a bit of money.
Time is the thing you need to go in that direction.
If you don’t have time, you can hire creative people to do it all for you…..and then you can take credit for the results when it’s all done.
That way will cost you.
Awwwww….what the heck.
You’re either creative or you’re not creative.
It doesn’t have anything to do with how much money you have.
I do think, though, that a lack of money demands some creative solutions sometimes.
When you have to figure out a way to make something work, you have to get creative if you can’t just throw some money at the “problem”.
This is another Kirsten Dirksen video.
They’re all good.
Here’s a nice off-grid house with an impressive solar panel array.
And….it was built without spending a bunch of money.
With some time….access to salvaged building materials…..a lot of vision and hard work….and a big helping of skills….you could build a house like this, too.
That’s a good thing to see.
It’s good to understand what you can do…..once you learn how to do it.
So much of the time, we back off from things that are outside of our “comfort zone”….back off from things that are unfamiliar or that seem difficult.
Actually, there isn’t anything that we can’t learn to do.
There’s never a time when it’s right to say, “I don’t know how to do that…..”
It’s never been easier to find out how to do something.
Figure it out.
Put a giant solar panel up on the roof if you want to.
It’s your life.
Do what you want.
This guy’s videos are good.
More “doing stuff out in the woods”…..stuff.
We planted a bunch of trees over on the property we own….and yesterday I took a big tank of water over to water them since the well doesn’t have a pump yet.
That’s as close to being out in the woods as I’m getting lately.
But….it’s my choice.
( I won’t do the water tank method again…too squirrely driving it down the road in the old truck. All that liquid weight shifting around makes for a weird ride.)
Not getting out in the woods is another of my goofy choices.
I need to get the family out for some camping.
We live in one of the best places in the world for that.
What am I waiting for?
A big, thick Scandinavian sweater?
It’s getting too hot for that.
Man.
A junkyard looks like a fun place to hang out.
All those used batteries….all those used tires….engines….cars!
It’s not Disneyland….but….it looks fun.
I need a junkyard with about 20 RHD Cherokees that I can get to in less than an hour.
Needing access to more parts is really kind of a bad thing, if you think about it.
A car that never needs parts is the way to go.
But…..cheaper parts is a good thing when you need them.
As far as buying a car from a junkyard….er, automobile recycling center….well….I say, “WHY NOT?!!”
You need options when you have a car that breaks down.
You need to keep a rig on the road.
Why not get your next one from a place where most of the stuff is already broken?
Eliminate the middleman.