Overland Travel Series

[LiveWorkWander]

Hey hey everybody!

Allow us to introduce ourselves: we're Jessica and Jorge. We're married (sometimes happily, sometimes murderously) and have been traveling in North America full time (mostly) since December 2013. We started off our overland adventure in a 1974 Airstream camper, not a trailer mind you but a full blown 20' RV and then switched to 1991 VW Vanagon. When the call of the mountains included the disclaimer that 4wd was required to access more remote areas, we switched to a 1986 VW Vanagon Syncro. That rig was rife with problems and all kinds of sadness inducing dramas that led us to selling her. Then we kinda stopped traveling on a full time basis in October of 2017 and outfitted a brand new 4Runner because those don't break down everyday like our Syncro. Now we have hit the road again full time and are traveling around in a secret-ish vehicle that we'll reveal some time in the coming months.

What we want to do in this thread is share our videos with you, answer any questions you may have, discuss film gear or filming tips and get to know more of this community as we move forward with our travels. So, let's start off with a video created by LinkedIn that covers most of the bases of how we got to where we are and then you can also check out a video that the fine founders of Overland Bound did with us many moons ago.

The LinkedIn video:

The Overland Bound video:
PART 1:
PART 2:

We're looking forward to chatting with you!

 

[Steve]

Welcome to the forum for real! I know you've popped in here and there, and have been a big part of Overland Bound since the get go. Now we get to visit with you here too!

I've seen peeks of the new toy, and have a pretty good idea what it is. Can't wait to see what you're doing! :)

Wonderful to have your participation here,
Steve (AKA @EXPLORE-the_usa on Insta, where I've commented here and there.)

 

[Six Actual]

Thanks for sharing your story. Interesting to hear your perspectives and some of the truth behind the "romance" of the lifestyle. I found it really informative. The wife and I are inching closer to more consistent travel and stories like yours move us closer to that goal. We just completed a 10 day road trip (long for us) after Expo West. We left Flagstaff without a specific destination in mind. We decided to just wander around which was a bit of a departure for us as we normally have a pretty good idea as to where we would be camping each night when we explore here locally. It was great! Learned a lot and also enjoy that feeling you expressed about finding that perfect spot on a random forest road.

Look forward to following your adventures.

 

[David C Gibbs]

Jessica and Jorge, love to watch your Live-Work-Wander videos. The recent video about the North Rim area and Moab was great. If you wander into greater Boise, look us up. Lots of great Beer, Food here!
David

 

[LiveWorkWander]

Welcome to the forum for real! I know you've popped in here and there, and have been a big part of Overland Bound since the get go. Now we get to visit with you here too!

I've seen peeks of the new toy, and have a pretty good idea what it is. Can't wait to see what you're doing! :)

Wonderful to have your participation here,
Steve (AKA @EXPLORE-the_usa on Insta, where I've commented here and there.)

Hey! Sorry for the delayed response. I'm really bad at forums. But yeah, we want to connect with people here a bit more and figured we could discuss stuff here better than on other platforms. The new toy is such a phenomenal vehicle that our love for it is ineffable. Can't wait to start doing some filming with it!

 

[LiveWorkWander]

Jessica and Jorge, love to watch your Live-Work-Wander videos. The recent video about the North Rim area and Moab was great. If you wander into greater Boise, look us up. Lots of great Beer, Food here!
David

Boise has been on our list of places to spend some time at for a while. What's the best time of year to visit?

 

[LiveWorkWander]

Thanks for sharing your story. Interesting to hear your perspectives and some of the truth behind the "romance" of the lifestyle. I found it really informative. The wife and I are inching closer to more consistent travel and stories like yours move us closer to that goal. We just completed a 10 day road trip (long for us) after Expo West. We left Flagstaff without a specific destination in mind. We decided to just wander around which was a bit of a departure for us as we normally have a pretty good idea as to where we would be camping each night when we explore here locally. It was great! Learned a lot and also enjoy that feeling you expressed about finding that perfect spot on a random forest road.

Look forward to following your adventures.

The random, fantastic spots you find while just wandering is pretty awesome. For a long time that's how we approached every journey, just set off in a direction, find a dirt road and see what's down it. We do that less now than before because we're trying to find a work and wander rhythm. We want to have set hours we work whether it be on videos or things we write or illustration or actual paid work from our clients and then plan our wandering around when we complete those tasks. Something we've learned out here is that it's easy to get out of a routine and find yourself too scattered and disorganized which makes getting shit done harder. So we're trying to get some kind of system worked out. This is especially important to us because we do value creating, producing and exchanging value with others. In other words, it's very easy for us to become workaholics. By setting a routine, a schedule and then also living in our rig it kind of helps keep it all in balance. It's damn near impossible to be a workaholic in a vehicle where you have limited power and space plus that steering wheel is always staring at us while we work and that means that at any time we can just take off and go explore. So far doing a bit more planning than we have in the past is working out.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[David C Gibbs]

Boise has been on our list of places to spend some time at for a while. What's the best time of year to visit?

I think Fall is best, Mid-Sept to Mid-Nov, we can still get some hot days, but the Snow normally doesn't fly until after Thanksgiving on the valley floor. 2nd Best is Spring, Mountain meadow wild flowers and the streams are still fish able. Summer takes 3rd, and unless you like playing in the cold & snow, Winter comes in 4th. I flyfish all year so that is where my ratings come from. If you into White-water rafting, Summer is Best, but it can get into the low 100's here in July & August.
DG

 

[LiveWorkWander]

I think Fall is best, Mid-Sept to Mid-Nov, we can still get some hot days, but the Snow normally doesn't fly until after Thanksgiving on the valley floor. 2nd Best is Spring, Mountain meadow wild flowers and the streams are still fish able. Summer takes 3rd, and unless you like playing in the cold & snow, Winter comes in 4th. I flyfish all year so that is where my ratings come from. If you into White-water rafting, Summer is Best, but it can get into the low 100's here in July & August.
DG

That's good to know. We do love rafting but won't be anywhere near Idaho this summer. Are the colors pretty in autumn?

 

[David C Gibbs]

That's good to know. We do love rafting but won't be anywhere near Idaho this summer. Are the colors pretty in autumn?

Yep, especially in the riparian areas for the Mountain Valley floors, Sun Valley, Stanley, Mackey Bar, Boulder-White Clouds, Sawtooths and the back side of the Tetons. The western States have nothing to compare too, to the New England States "Leaf Peepers"...

 

[LiveWorkWander]

Yep, especially in the riparian areas for the Mountain Valley floors, Sun Valley, Stanley, Mackey Bar, Boulder-White Clouds, Sawtooths and the back side of the Tetons.

Yellowing aspens are Jessica's favorite.

 

[David C Gibbs]

Yellowing aspens are Jessica's favorite.

She'll love the Stanley, ID to Sawtooths to great Sun Valley/Ketchum road. Lots of quaking aspens.

 

[steven_cochran]

Hey hey everybody!

Allow us to introduce ourselves: we're Jessica and Jorge. We're married (sometimes happily, sometimes murderously) and have been traveling in North America full time (mostly) since December 2013. We started off our overland adventure in a 1974 Airstream camper, not a trailer mind you but a full blown 20' RV and then switched to 1991 VW Vanagon. When the call of the mountains included the disclaimer that 4wd was required to access more remote areas, we switched to a 1986 VW Vanagon Syncro. That rig was rife with problems and all kinds of sadness inducing dramas that led us to selling her. Then we kinda stopped traveling on a full time basis in October of 2017 and outfitted a brand new 4Runner because those don't break down everyday like our Syncro. Now we have hit the road again full time and are traveling around in a secret-ish vehicle that we'll reveal some time in the coming months.

What we want to do in this thread is share our videos with you, answer any questions you may have, discuss film gear or filming tips and get to know more of this community as we move forward with our travels. So, let's start off with a video created by LinkedIn that covers most of the bases of how we got to where we are and then you can also check out a video that the fine founders of Overland Bound did with us many moons ago.

The LinkedIn video:

The Overland Bound video:
PART 1:
PART 2:

We're looking forward to chatting with you!

Love the Videos ..... cant wait for more


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[4wheelspulling]

Thank you, for the videos. It should help people gain a new perspective on why we do what we do, but also, that it takes learning, and unlearning a different life. That might not make sense to some people but some will get what I meant. Safe travels, Benz.

 

[LiveWorkWander]

Thank you, for the videos. It should help people gain a new perspective on why we do what we do, but also, that it takes learning, and unlearning a different life. That might not make sense to some people but some will get what I meant. Safe travels, Benz.

That makes total sense. Thanks for watching the videos. Pretty pumped about the next video that coming out this Thursday!

 

[Biker Eagle]

Jorge. I've been watching your videos for over a year now(subscribed), and have really enjoyed them. Especially liked the north rim Grand Canyon vid, which was one of our favorite trips 30 years ago.
Love the Syncro concept, but VW's execution is sadly less than reliable, which is why I have a Toyota FJ Cruiser...reliability. But, you seem to handle adversity well and creatively.
Looking forward to the next video. Safe travels.

Biker

 

[LiveWorkWander]

Jorge. I've been watching your videos for over a year now(subscribed), and have really enjoyed them. Especially liked the north rim Grand Canyon vid, which was one of our favorite trips 30 years ago.
Love the Syncro concept, but VW's execution is sadly less than reliable, which is why I have a Toyota FJ Cruiser...reliability. But, you seem to handle adversity well and creatively.
Looking forward to the next video. Safe travels.

Biker

I completely agree about the Syncro. Quite frankly I believe it is the best overland platform in terms of livability, nimbleness/foot print, and romantic attachment but regretfully they are woefully unreliable. We get a lot of shit from people for saying they're unreliable but the truth is, I don't know anyone who has overlanded in a Syncro who hasn't had a fair share of trouble keeping their Syncro on the road. They just aren't built for the rigors of everyday, heavy payload, multi month/year overland travel.

Thanks for subscribing and for the kind words about the videos. Any suggestions on the series?

 

[MBroenkow]

• Keep going sweet places and sharing them with us.
• Keep getting along with each other and being goofy too.

While I love the romantic notions of the Syncro, I can't wait until we get to see your new rig on the channel. I think it will be great once the episodes aren't centered around the latest breakdown.

 

[Biker Eagle]

Suggestion Jorge...MOAR! :-)

Seriously, would like more info on the daily routines on how you handle things. Bathroom issues, cooking, water, multiday stays in a remote location...you know the mechanics. Because right now I'm still unsure how it would work. Wife and I are prepping for a summer long trip out west right now. She's of the mind we go to Colorado and camp in one place for three months...me I see 6 states in the west, 2 provinces in Canada, and the coastal area of Alaska as "the trip". Any advice you could give would help fill in the blanks for her.

 

[LiveWorkWander]

Suggestion Jorge...MOAR! :-)

Seriously, would like more info on the daily routines on how you handle things. Bathroom issues, cooking, water, multiday stays in a remote location...you know the mechanics. Because right now I'm still unsure how it would work. Wife and I are prepping for a summer long trip out west right now. She's of the mind we go to Colorado and camp in one place for three months...me I see 6 states in the west, 2 provinces in Canada, and the coastal area of Alaska as "the trip". Any advice you could give would help fill in the blanks for her.

Gotcha! I'm happy to write some of this stuff up here. As of now the episodes are covering a bunch of stuff that happened last year so I can't go back and reshoot all of that regretfully. BUT I am currently planning the new season and writing up episodes so I'll include little tutorials in the new episodes. Any other suggestions would be welcome!


Also, new episode is live!