Spring 2020

I was unfortunately not immune from the restlessness and unease felt across the world this spring. Lebowski and I suddenly had to book it back to the midwest from Salt Lake to wait out social distancing orders at our respective homes. Unsure if we still had jobs, were carriers of COVID-19 from Park City, or when we would see each other next, we shared a tearful goodbye at an I-80 rest stop. While at home, I spent a lot of time building out my car, sitting on the porch and distracting my brother from his schoolwork. As much as the world seemed to be crumbling around us, I had a very pleasant time being back where I grew up with my family. While in Cleveland, I got word that my summer job in Maine as a backpacking guide wasn’t going to happen. Quickly, I put together my backup plan and began heading to California.

On the way, I was able to stop in Ann Arbor to hang out with Lebowski, Blankie and Andy to tinker on cars in the garage. After Ann Arbor, I took the back roads south to Athens to do some porch sitting and camping with my good friend Hannah. From there I had a long stint to my next stop in Salt Lake City to see my pals Ruthless, Snacks and Bullfrog. I took Ruthless to the old stomping grounds at Great Basin National Park and had a blast running the crumbling ridges with her, and weirdly ran into some old friends on Wheeler Peak. The park was my last stop before arriving in Tahoe City to prepare for a summer of CBD hemp farming in Oroville, CA.

Spring 2020 Tunes

Lebowski flamboyantly throws a stake into the ground while on the long haul back east from Salt Lake City. This evening we pulled off at a deserted campground. | 3/26/20 Iowa

The annual family egg hunt took to the outdoors this year. Here Gabriel pulls one from a Paper Birch tree. | 4/13/20 Westlake, OH

A late season flurry dropped some snow on the old rec center sledding hill. It only stuck for a couple of hours, but I still managed to get some turns in! I can reasonably confidently say I am the only person to have telemark skied this face. (Photo cred: Dad) | 4/17/20 Westlake, OH

Gabriel won an award for his truly world-class trombone playing at Purdue University. Such an honor necessitated a proper headshot, followed by a dashing pose. | 4/24/20 Westlake, OH

Lebowski tinkers with a minibike he rebuilt for our backyard enjoyment. | 5/2/20 Ann Arbor, MI

For a change of pace we decided to camp out in the yard on a warm night. | 5/3/20 Ann Arbor, MI

On the way to the backcountry campsite in Sells Park, Hannah pauses to enjoy the sounds and smells of spring. | 5/16/20 Athens, OH

Turtlehead Cave, one of thousands of rockhouses in the sandstone hills of the Ohio River Valley. | 5/17/20 Athens, OH

Hannah and Mel, giddy after having created a truly marvelous fire. | 5/14/20 Athens, OH

Ruthless begins the 2,000 foot rock scramble to Baker Peak. From there we would follow a knife edge ridge to Wheeler Peak which sits at 13,065 ft. | 5/24/20 Great Basin National Park, NV

On the inside, I built a mattress platform with a trap door for clothes storage, seven drawer cabinet, interior and exterior sliding tables, space to sit upright with my feet down, window insulators and ultra-efficient LED lights. | 5/26/20 Baker, NV

Mom and Dad laid out an intricate Easter egg hunt for Gabriel and me. The name of the game this year was to look high. | 4/13/20 Westlake, OH

Gramps fills us in on the latest happenings in the neighborhood on a particularly good porch sitting day. | 4/13/20 Westlake, OH

Gabriel took me out for my first round of disc golf to pass some time while on social distancing orders. Despite his infinitely superior technique, I finished only three throws behind. | 4/28/20 Bay Village, OH

Enjoying the fruits of his labor, Lebowski whizzes around a fine midwestern yard. | 5/3/20 Ann Arbor, MI

My good friend Andy is an excellent mechanic who is forever fixing up old cars. One of his favorite is this '69 El Camino. | 5/10/20 Ann Arbor, MI

A day spent fishing on an empty lake is always a good day. Here Lebowski and Blankie soak up the sun while Andy lazily works on hooking a prize fish. | 5/4/20 Pinckney, MI

From the comfort of her new tent, Hannah takes a gander at the jungle that is Southseat Ohio. | 5/16/20 Athens, OH

Michael takes the longboard for a few laps down the hill in the West End. | Athens, OH 5/18/20

Through one of the craziest turns of fate I've ever expereienced, I stumbled into Athens pals Abe and Justin on the highest peak in the least visited national park in the country. As luck would have it, I had just come from Athens with a stash of Jackie O's which was nearly as sweet as the summit. | 5/24/20 Great Basin National Park, NV

At long last, I customized my RAV4 to be both a living space and a halfway serious off-road machine. Exterior upgrades were made to suspension, ride height, tires, front end protection and a roof mounted sliding solar panel. Click here for the full tour. | 5/26/20 Baker, NV

Next: Summer 2020

Hemp Farmin’ and the Grand Sierra Traverse