Why I Travel

Exposing myself to new experiences reminds me of being a kid; back when the world felt small and memories were amassed on a daily basis. The landscape, culture, food, language, the differences, both subtle and the obvious all provide all new experiences that are hard to find as we get older and settle into the daily grind. Traveling solo adds an even better opportunity to learn about yourself and how you fit in the world around you.

Desert Rat

I lived in Alaska for six years surrounds by glaciers and rugged peaks. I grew up hiking the Wasatch Mountains of Northern Utah. I’ve gotten lost in the Canadian Rockies and trekked through Patagonia. I love the mountains. But my heart is with the desert. When I left for South America there were really only three places I had to visit. The rest were optional. Those three places were Baja, the Atacama Desert, and the Salar de Uyuni.  My lifelong goal to visit all the great deserts of the world started in Southwestern US but were validated with my first visit to the Atacama.

Photography

I don’t have much skill behind the camera but I proudly claim that I put myself in the right place at the right time. A lot. It requires commitment, effort and dedication. Not to mention a little luck. This site will contain many of the pics I was able to capture when the opportunity was presented to me.

Land Cruisers

You’re going to see a lot of Toyota Land Cruisers throughout this page. I bought my first in 1997. It was 10 years old and had a 118k miles on the odometer. It went to Alaska twice and saw thousands of miles of backroads in the Western US. I had no doubt after that first FJ60 that my trip down the Pan-American would be in Land Cruiser. In 2004 I picked up Ruby Claire, my 97 40th Anniversary Edition Cruiser, and built her for the trip. I now race a LC in Baja, I’ve been back to Alaska twice more in a LC, and pushing 500k miles behind the wheel of my trucks over the years. Their reliability and global ubiquity make them the perfect overlanding platform.