We are driving around the world. Right now.

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Hourless Life

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Eric
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Just a heads up to our Hourless Life community:

...

We're all ready to go and start the next part of our global journey and if you are reading this, we're so glad that you are with us for the ride!

~ Eric + Brittany + Caspian Highland | Hourless Life
Love. Explore. Study. Share.
Safe travels!! Looking forward to more awesomeness when you climb back on the map, I mean grid.
Sneak peak at to where we are right now. Ready to come to Mexico yet? ~ E
 

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Well, we did it! We made it to La Huasteca Potosina, essentially a tropical paradise deep in the interior of Mexico. We got 5 hours of footage so we are breaking up the video into several parts as we feel it is worth showing. This little video shows an area called Aldea Huasteca. Wait until you see where we camped and how much we paid.

Hit me up with any questions if you have any. ~ Eric

 

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I don't normally make public posts on our Patreon but I think this is something worth showing publicly as it is often overlooked in the full-time overlanding life. Feel free to read or just look at the photos, but if you are really curious about the drawbacks of overlanding full-time here is one major one.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/58932780
 
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We are currently overlanding through Mexico during our global overlanding adventure.

Last week, we introduced you to the La Huasteca Potosina region of Mexico. In this week's episode, we take you deeper into La Huasteca to show you some of the most amazing things we've ever seen in Mexico, including:

-A wild animal sanctuary
-Our favorite paid campground we've ever stayed at
-An insane drive through a mountaintop city
-A journey through the surrealist gardens of Sir Edward James
-Much more!

We hope you enjoy watching this video about La Huasteca. It is an amazing place and we can't encourage you highly enough to visit. If you have any questions, please ask! Happy to be a resource for anyone coming into Mexico. ~ Eric

 

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We are enjoying following along on your adventures on YouTube, and did not realize you guys were Overland Bound members till now! We have been seriously considering upgrading to the Gladiator/Alu-Cab and have enjoyed your build videos, looking forward to seeing how it holds up, and hopefully a build update video of what you like and don't like so far. Love your guys family dynamic and looking forward to seeing your trip unfold. Travel Safe.
 

Hourless Life

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We are enjoying following along on your adventures on YouTube, and did not realize you guys were Overland Bound members till now! We have been seriously considering upgrading to the Gladiator/Alu-Cab and have enjoyed your build videos, looking forward to seeing how it holds up, and hopefully a build update video of what you like and don't like so far. Love your guys family dynamic and looking forward to seeing your trip unfold. Travel Safe.
Hi Dave and Michelle! Thanks so much for being part of our journey. If we can ever be a resource, please don't hesitate to reach out. We do our best to answer the questions we can.
 
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Just when you thought overlanding through Mexico's interior couldn't get any more amazing. Wait until you see this.

We've now been in Mexico on three separate overlanding trips over the past three years.

This city of Guanajuato is probably our favorite city yet. It is a UNESCO World Heritage City and it is mind blowing!

In this video we take you on a day in the life with us. From the moment we wake up until we call it a night.

The first part of the video is during the day, and the second at night. They couldn't be more different. It is like 2 different cities in one. I really hope you take a moment to watch this. I think if you do, it will convince you to head south of the border and give Mexico a try if you haven't already.

Any questions at all please don't hesitate to ask. ~ Eric

 

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(Long post ahead, but I hope worth a read. Also open to civil discussion.)

On an online forum that I'm on, I received a comment today that essentially said, and I'm paraphrasing,
"Not in a million years would I go to Mexico, let alone take my kid. They could get kidnapped or worse. But more power to them for taking the trip. I don't have that risk tolerance."

We get these kind of comments all the time. I thought I'd share my response for open discussion.

My response:

"Interesting comment.

Not trying to be argumentative, rather trying to understand your position.

Why would you assume the worst about the people of Mexico? What information is your comment based on?

Has it been your first hand experience that you've had a negative experience in Mexico? Are you basing this on what you've heard in the news and on social media about the country? Or are you basing this on a story that you heard from someone who had something happen to them first hand?

I'm really curious, because we get these types of comments all the time, and most folks, when asked just say that "they've heard" terrible things and it has caused them to be afraid of making this journey.

I can tell you that this is our third overlanding trip in to Mexico in three years. In 2019 when our son was 2 we did 2000+ miles into the interior of Mexico. In early 2020 before COVID was a thing, and my son was 3 years old, we did 2000+ miles covering the entirety of the Baja Peninsula. Now in 2021 we're about 2000 miles into interior Mexico again.

Not once throughout all of Mexico have we felt that our security or safety were in question on any of those trips in over 6000 miles through the country.
Actually what we've found is that the people here are kind, beyond hospitable and incredibly humble. That's been our first hand experience. Many of our friends have reached out and expressed concern but they are always the ones who haven't done the journey, or "never in a million years" would do it.

Whenever we talk to folks that have actually made the journey, they all echo our thoughts and experience.

Unfortunately I feel that mass media, social media and the like love to share stories that get them views. A kidnapping, car jacking, or murder will always get more views than a walk through a Mercado. It's sadly the way our consumption of media has gone. The horrific story of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie was all over the media and they sadly got more than their 15 minutes of fame. Right?

But most people have never heard of Dan Grec, Richard and Ashley Giordano, Scott Brady, or Graeme and Luisa Bell. These are folks who have overlanded vast sections of the planet. At least one of them has overlanded on every continent including Antarctica.

Why is it we don't hear these stories and people aren't familiar with them?

Honestly because they aren't sensational enough for mainstream media.

Bottom line, you know a little of our story because you ran across one of my posts on a forum. But very few people know who we are or what we're doing. Because our story isn't picked up by any major outlets. But believe me, if something horrific were to happen to us and we got car jacked, kidnapped or worse, we (just like Gabby and Brian) would get our "15 minutes of fame" and millions of people would hear our story. The folks who said, I told you they shouldn't have gone would be right and I probably wouldn't be around to hear about it.

But the reality is that we could complete our drive around the world in 10-15 years, and unless you follow us on YouTube, Patreon, Instagram, Facebook etc, or heard us speak at an event like Overland Expo you'd never even know we existed.

Unfortunately this is the way of the world.

Anyway, I hope you take this in the heart it was intended, My point is that if you really want to know what it is like to be down here, ask folks like us who are doing it and take with a grain of salt the stories you hear from news outlets and other second hand information.

I'm really glad you posted, because my hope is to at least provide something to think on for those that would have grave concerns about doing so.

Appreciate your "more power to the OP" comment. I know that your intention was not to blast us, and my response was not intended to blast you either. Just to give perspective.

Appreciate you reading if you read this far.

All the best from Guanajuato, Mexico. ~ Eric"

Thoughts? Discussion? Comment below.
 

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read though the whole thread. Awesome! Look forward to following along. I am planning on my first short trip into Mexico after Jan 1. Lived here on the border all my life and have crossed into our sister city, Acun, since I was a kid. Never felt scared. Going down to Muzquiz and then up to Boquillas Del Carmen, just across the Rio Grande from Big Bend National Park.
I followed Dan Grec on his Pan American, African and now Australian expeditions. You’re right, 9/10 times the media only picks up the sensational stories of violence, etc.
 

Hourless Life

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read though the whole thread. Awesome! Look forward to following along. I am planning on my first short trip into Mexico after Jan 1. Lived here on the border all my life and have crossed into our sister city, Acun, since I was a kid. Never felt scared. Going down to Muzquiz and then up to Boquillas Del Carmen, just across the Rio Grande from Big Bend National Park.
I followed Dan Grec on his Pan American, African and now Australian expeditions. You’re right, 9/10 times the media only picks up the sensational stories of violence, etc.
Right on Josh. Thanks for catching up on our story. Hopefully you've had a chance to watch at least one of our videos. Glad you are making the trip down. We'll be leaving Guanajuato on January 1 and heading to Puebla, Mexico.

Dan is good people and a personal friend. He's been very influential in our journey. I've been chatting him up the past few days. We keep talking Gladiator stuff together lately haha.

Good to have you on our journey! ~ Eric
 
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OVRLNDX

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Hello fellow Overland Bound members! (Updated 10/21/21)

We're are driving around the world, and wanted to share (uncensored) the journey with our fellow like-minded adventurers. As we add to this thread, we hope to share all of the victories as well as the trials and tribulations of the journey.


View attachment 180802
(Photo credit: Amber Baldwin / Story Chasing)

Who we are:
We are an American family of 3 who are currently preparing to drive around the world. We entered the overland community in 2018. We have completed numerous loops around the United States. We've also ventured 2000 miles into the interior of Mexico, and 2000 miles throughout the Baja peninsula.

We are now on a long-term, full-time, global overland journey.

For those that have attended Overland Expo events, you may have attended some of the classes or panels we've participated in and have heard some of our story. For those that don't know us...

A little bit more about us:
We're Eric, Brittany, and Caspian Highland. We've been traveling full-time throughout North America since February 2014 (as of this writing nearly 7 years) owning no home or property. Our son Caspian joined the adventure in 2016 by going straight from the birthing room of the hospital to the Jeep.

I (Eric) am a 20 year veteran of the United States Coast Guard, also worked at the King County Sheriff's Office (Seattle, WA) and Texas Department of Public Safety (Austin, TX) before retiring fully in 2011. And by retired I mean that after my "retirement" my wife and I started several companies and were self-employed for nearly a decade to make our dream a reality. We've sold the businesses to help us build out our global overland vehicle and begin this journey.

My wife Brittany is an incredible woman, an insatiable adventurer, an avid writer, and actively writes articles for various companies and brands. Incidentally, she has started contributing articles to Expedition Portal and has been writing articles for Winnebago for quite some time.

Our family motto:
L.E.S.S. Which stands for Love, Explore, Study, Share. It is what we hope to do with our journey. Love on others, Explore the world around us, Study voraciously the culture and history of the people and places we visit, and Share what we've learned with those who have interest.

Our philosophy:
I tell people all the time, "We're not independently wealthy, but we're incredibly rich." These past 7 years of full-time travel have really opened our eyes to the enormity of the world around us, and the beauty of the people within it. We've been blessed to experience many astounding things during our years of travel, and we look forward to much more on a global scale. To us, this is the definition of being "rich." We can always make more money, but we can never make more time.

How our journey has unfolded (a brief chronology):
February 2014 - Lived in Austin, Texas, sold pretty much everything we owned and moved into an RV.
February 2014 - Started an RV Blog to document that journey called RV Wanderlust.
June 2016 - Purchased a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon we dubbed "GUARDIAN."
June 2016 - Started a Jeep blog to document that journey called Jeepsies.
December 2016 - Our son Caspian joined the party.
June 2018 - Brittany tells me she wants to overland around the world. Yes this was her idea.
December 2018 - Sold our RV and moved into our Jeep.
January 2019 - Made our first international overland journey, 2000 miles through the interior of Mexico.
March 2019 - Purchased another, smaller RV we dubbed "BASECAMP"
January 2020 - Made the decision to drive around the world and began planning for this adventure.
February 2020 - Made our second international overland journey 2000 miles through Baja Mexico.
July 2020 - Sold most of our business holdings and dropped our income significantly to free ourselves up.
November 2020 - Launched our (hopefully final brand) Hourless Life to document our global journey.

Our immediate plans for the future:
January 2021 - Purchase our global overlanding vehicle. (COMPLETED: February 2, 2021) (Picked up the Gladiator May 31, 2021)
February 2021 - Launch our YouTube Channel for the global journey. (First video released February 24, 2021)
May to July 2021 - Finish the buildout of our global vehicle and field test in the USA. (Starting Build June 1, 2021)
June 2021 - Leave our current overland vehicle "GUARDIAN" stored in the Denver, CO area. (Stored June 25, 2021)
August 2021 - Showcase the Gladiator build and speak at Overland Expo Mountain West in Loveland, Colorado. (Completed August 29, 2021)
September 2021 - Showcase the Gladiator build and speak at Overland Expo West in Flagstaff, Arizona. (Completed September 26, 2021)
October 2021 - Cross the border into Mexico Interior. * (Completed October 9, 2021)
October 2021 to April 2022 - Live in the interior of Mexico, preparing for our journey through Central and South America. (CURRENT)
April 2022 - Begin our journey around the world as we head into Central and South America.

The Plan After South America:
The plan as it stands now, is that once we've enjoyed Central and South America, that we'll ship our vehicle to South Africa and drive up either the East (easier) or West (ridiculously challenging) Coast of Africa. From there into Europe and then across the Old Silk Road to Asia. Then we'll probably ship the vehicle back to the States, and fly to Australia and either buy, rent, or borrow a vehicle in Australia to enjoy that continent. Then we'll return home having driven through all 6 habitable continents. We anticipate this journey will take 10-15 years.

Our Hearts:
We have been inspired by those that have gone before us, and we hope to be inspiring, empowering, and encouraging to others. We don't do this for recognition, we do this because we choose this life. We all get one shot at this wild and precious life, and we hope to experience the world for all that we can.

We hope to get to know some of the members of this community, and to share a day or two with you along our journey should our paths cross.

Follow:
If you'd like to get to know us, you can follow here on the platform of your choice:

Website: hourlesslife.com
YouTube: Hourless Life
Instagram: @hourlesslife
Facebook: Hourless Life
Twitter: @hourlesslife
Pinterest: Hourless Life

Our Jeep Gladiator Overlanding Build Video Series:
Here is the introduction video to our overlanding build. The vehicle will be on display at Overland Expo Mountain West and Overland Expo West 2021:




Our Sponsors:
In the interest of transparency with the Overland Bound community, I want to share that we have been gear sponsored by several companies for our global journey:
  1. Goose Gear
  2. RedArc Electronics
  3. Alu-Cab
  4. WARN Industries
  5. Rigid Industries
  6. EQUIPT Expedition Outfitters
  7. Kuhl Clothing
  8. Juniper Overland
  9. Red Oxx
  10. Lifesaver
  11. Midland USA
  12. Cascadia 4x4
  13. Blue Ridge Overland Gear
  14. GoTreads
  15. Just Jeeps of Austin Texas
  16. Thunderbox USA
  17. Renogy Solar
  18. DMOS Collective
  19. Sonoran Expedition Collective
  20. Long Range America
  21. TeraFlex
  22. MaxTrax / Adventure Imports
  23. 67 Designs
  24. OK4WD
  25. GP Factor
  26. Dobinsons Suspension
  27. GAIA GPS

Final Thoughts On Our Initial In Progress Adventures Thread:
This is really happening! We're so excited to finally be on this journey! Our first video from our global overland journey was posted on October 14, 2021:


Obviously the elephant in the room is COVID-19. But since we don't know how things will progress, we'll have to re-evaluate as we come closer to crossing each individual country. Having said that, we must move forward.

If you have any questions for us, please comment below. We love getting to know others with similar passions and we hope you'll come along for the ride. I'll be updating this thread as we continue this journey. Thanks for reading!

Eric + Brittany + Caspian Highland | Hourless Life
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I think it’s pretty dang cool yall entered Mexico just an hour from where we live!
 

Hourless Life

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Guanajuato-Small.jpg

Welcome to Guanajuato. The first time I've really had a chance to update on the city itself. Guanajuato is a magical city. Essentially the topography of the city resembles that of a bowl. The Centro Historico is in the bottom of the bowl, and the city rises up around it.

Interestingly enough, Guanajuato was raised almost 30 feet from where it originally sat. Underneath this city is a vast network of tunnels. Google Maps does not work here. The tunnels were originally used for drainage, but have now become part of the daily traffic pattern. We were lost for 2 hours inside the city itself trying to find a way to get to our airbnb.

Airbnb? That's not overlanding!

It is when you are making a 10-15 year global journey. At least it is for us.

(And our airbnb is right in the heart of the historic district about a 3 minute walk from this photo.)

We need to make the trip sustainable so extended stays in various cities around the world are part of our plan to make it so. Right now our 5 year old is in Spanish immersion school 2 days a week and Spanish preschool 2 days a week. Brittany my wife is also taking Spanish two days a week. I speak it fluently so I get. a pass on the language classes (at least for now).

We arrived in Guanajuato on November 15th, and we'll be here until January 1st. We are in love with this city. The city is alive with music, art, culture, and activity at all hours of day and night. There is a major theater that hosts free performances on the regular. We've been to several. Oh and the food here is incredible. It is truly a cosmopolitan city where you can get food from all over the world. In the past week alone we've had Italian, Hungarian, Thai, Middle Eastern, and Mexican cuisine.

This is our 3rd overlanding trip into Mexico in the past 3 years, but our first time in Guanajuato, and I have to say that it is so far our favorite city in this country.

Happy to answer any questions about the journey or the city if any come to mind. I'll try and get better about posting photos from time to time.

~ Eric
 
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