Broadening the Range!

Well, the range has expanded, and so must the plan. Our hope is there will be three phases to Ranging. First, basic travel without preset ideas about what 'attractions' exist--just to meet people, walk the streets and observe. So far it has taken us up the West Coast through San Francisco, Sacramento, cities and towns in Oregon and Washington. Then, North into Vancouver and Whistler; back down into Colorado, and along the northern border of the U.S., with other excursions into Canada (Windsor, Toronto, Montreal) to Detroit, NYC, NJ, CT., the South, Florida, and the Keys. We then went on a short tour through select cities in Europe (London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and Lisbon). Next, we'll return to Europe for some more off-beat expeditions, and then into Asia, followed by the South and Central American tour. These have been and will likely continue to be almost entirely urban excursions, with the occasional backwater detour, to get a look at civilization: to compare strategies and to observe different cultures.

Once this is complete, and it may take up to a year, Free Rangers will take another global circumnavigation via sailing vessel(s). We will not take trusty Alchemy, but instead will crew: at first as paying helpers (these trips typically cost around thirty bucks a day), and then as paid deckhands.

And finally, we will hit the road as per Plan A. If you've read Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley" it will be, largely, that, if a bit updated.

Here we go.

Gunther can be reached at gunther@freerangerproject.com

Shilson Calls It

It's not a new idea, it's not an uncommon dream, and the reasons for it are tedious. But it's also a bit universal.  The call of the wild, the call of freedom: that itch brought on by confinement to a system.  

Living in the mainstream of the American tech industry, in the Silicon Valley, is a fairly straightforward proposition.  For most people, for people who aren't "opinion leaders," who aren't "industry influencers," it's a rat-race on a treadmill.  It's Dilbert. It's "The  Office."  All we cogs in the machine can really hope for is to claw our way to middle management, take our two weeks vacation, and pray to have some kind of nest-egg for retirement.  No victory for humanity is being won, and by and large, our contributions are unremarkable to the larger world. It's comfortable, but it's ultimately indentured servitude with heaping helpings of stress, depression and anxiety.  

And so, today, I'm making the call.  I'm jumping off the hamster wheel, for better or worse, leaving 9 to five, mortgages, yard work and all the comforts of home in a very literal rear-view mirror. I've decided to outfit a vehicle for indefinite travel throughout the American Northwest and beyond. Launch date is set for July 1st, 2017. While there exist many potential denouements, there is also the possibility of not having any.  This appeals to me.  No end-game. On the other hand, there may be proprietorship of a pool-hall art gallery at the end. Who knows.  

But in any event, Gunther's coming along.

We will be the Free Rangers. Or at least cheap rangers. There will be art, photography, writing, and hopefully enough income to pay for gas, rice and Obamacare. This website might even become an LLC in order to manage it all.  Mostly, though, there will be discovery. It looks a little like this:  The vehicle is stocked with staples and equipment--solar-charged generator, other systems like a water heater and shower, rocketstove, cooking cleaning etc. It also has a bike rack, on which perches my Fuji hard-tail mountain bike with 750-watt electric motor. I will park the truck roadside, and ride into the woods with Gunther, backpack, bedroll, tent and easel. Finding a suitably bucolic spot, my occupation will be to meditate, to breathe air, to paint, to write, and to contemplate.  We may wake up early, we may sleep in.  We may return to the truck the next day, or not. We may stay for awhile, we may move on.

Whatever happens, Gunther and I will keep you few dear readers abreast of developments here, with missives, sketches, photos, and the occasional painting: originals offered for sale to help with funding.

Wish us luck!

-John and Gunther
Free Rangers