Ash & Joe

take the show
on the road

Joe & Ashleigh 9/23/18 Joe & Ashleigh 9/23/18

Two States Ago

“Are you ready to leave California?”

Joe asked.

“Nooo!!! … – I mean, sure...”

Ashleigh answered.

“Pick a box. Its contents will help you on your way.”

Two of the options on the Pick a box screen – green leaf and mushroom – clear tributes to two tools oft used by game designers, certainly creative types – and obvious inspirations for the Super Mario Bros. 3 game at this bar in Oregon (“Ashland’s Most Ashlandiest”).

Day three in Ashland, we got to thinking about a seldom considered aspect of this trip: “Where would we live?” The honor and the irony inherent in the asking, is the fact that we have a support system and a strong family structure – most of which happens to be centered in the Northeast.

“Are you ready to leave California?”

Joe asked.

“Nooo!!! … – I mean, sure...”

Ashleigh answered.

“Pick a box. Its contents will help you on your way.”

But c’mon, the whole coast of California, of Oregon, of Washington State. The San Francisco Bay Area, Portland, Seattle; the Olympic Peninsula, the entire Pacific Northwest... just to start. Sebastopol. Ashland. And on and on...

But, our families...

Such a high bar is set for us to even consider moving out West.

But—the West!

Joe 9/16/18 Joe 9/16/18

“Anywhere that’s wild.”

Arriving in San Francisco in 1868, John Muir asked a carpenter for “the nearest way out of town to the wild part of the State.”

the carpenter responded “where do you wish to go?”

John Muir’s response:

“Anywhere that's wild.”

On the way to Yosemite Valley for the first time, Muir shunned the "orthodox route," for "we had plenty of time," he said, and proposed “drifting leisurely mountain ward by the Santa Clara Valley, Pacheco Pass, and the San Joaquin Valley, and thence to Yosemite by any road that we chanced to find; enjoying the flowers and light; camping out in our blankets wherever overtaken by night and paying very little compliance to roads or times."

Arriving in San Francisco in 1868, John Muir asked a carpenter for “the nearest way out of town to the wild part of the State.”

the carpenter responded “where do you wish to go?”

John Muir’s response:

“Anywhere that's wild.”

We are on the threshold of Tioga Pass, the eastern gateway to Yosemite National Park, having dry camped last night at a free site with views of Mono Lake on the driver’s side and the Sierras on the starboard.

I’m cherishing my insulated mug, iced with dark cold brew.

John Muir drank purple tea he made by soaking sequoia cones in water, “hoping thereby to improve my color and render myself more tree-wise and sequoical.”

I just love that.

Joe 7/20/18 Joe 7/20/18

A Day in the Life of a Nomadic Couple

Less than two months in, we're just beginning to find the rhythm and feel a sense of stability, even within the inherent undulations of living nomadically. We are approximately two rungs above vagrant on a scale of bum to banker! (We have jobs and a luxury camper.) But we're probably closer to vagrant than you think...

So while we can't yet speak from a place of authority about "what it's like" to live this life, there are a few things we've figured out, and we thought it would be interesting to share.

Also, quick administrative update for those following along at home: we're about a month behind "real time" in our blog updates (here on Namago.co), but we're keeping our Twitter feed more up to date. You can also see our tweets here on Namago.co under the "Where We Are and Where We Were" heading.