After “winter” in Botswana and a couple of weeks of legitimately cool weather in the highlands of Zimbabwe, Jen and I were looking forward to the warmth of Mozambique. With warm, sandy, palm studded beaches calling our name, we...
Zimbabwe: Not What We Expected
I don’t know what we expected of Zimbabwe, but we found it a fascinating and beautiful place. The decision to visit Zimbabwe did not come easily. I struggled with tacitly supporting the violent dictatorial regime of Robert Mugabe and...
Botswana: Lessons Learned
Touring Botswana had been great thus far. We relished the chance to slow down and get to know folks along the way. Parts were available at decent prices, so we took advantage of the opportunity to get some much...
Botswana: New Parts, New Friends
For a desert country, it seems strange that half of Botswana’s landscape is dominated by water features. Almost all of Botswana is part of the Kalahari desert, yet it’s most famed features are rivers, a river delta, and lake...
Namibia: Adventures and Animals
We welcomed this plan of traveling with Paul & Julie into the Marienflus Valley, because the area is extremely remote and two vehicles is better in the event of an emergency. Together, we looked at a map to figure...
Namibia: Where the Desert Meets the Sea
We had been in Namibia over two weeks by the time we got to Windhoek, the capital city. Our plan was to set up a base camp and get some “town chores” done. Sometimes, especially in somewhere so sparsely...
Namibia: The Beginning
After the rush to get everything done on the trailer and get out of South Africa before our visas expired, getting into Namibia was a huge weight off our minds. Couple that with the country’s sparse population and laid...
Now We’re on the Road!
While I hate, abhor even, waiting, I have often found great ways to fill that time find me. This is certainly true of the time we spent waiting for the Jeep to arrive in South Africa. We arrived from...
Madagascar, Who Knew??
We came to Madagascar with few expectations, in large part because we knew so little about the country. As we planned for our Africa trip, we did try to learn about Africa. We read books and blogs, watched videos...
Warn Industries published an article about The Pioneering Spirit!
We love writing about our adventures and sharing them with you! It’s even more exciting when someone else writes about us! Click here to read the article from WARN
The Fun Starts “Just Now”
We often forget about the variety of differences between home and the rest of the world. Part of the fun of traveling is seeing just what life looks like for other people, in other parts of the world. Sometimes,...
Getting Ready for Take-Off
It’s called Slaying the Dragon within the international travel community. I think that starting from the USA may give us an unrealistically simplified view of the process of shipping a vehicle overseas. I will wait until we are driving...
Homage to Portland
There are many wonderful aspects of Portland that we will miss. One will be the bounty of deliciousness that has passed across our palates. Portland has become a hotspot of up and coming chefs to test out their skills on...
And We’re Off…
We have a departure date! One-way tickets to Africa are purchased and shipping for Snort is arranged. We are feverishly finishing up last minute details on Snort, sorting out paperwork and other particulars, then will need to pack Snort...
Sand Dune Driving for Africa
“It’s amazing the number of great people I have in my life that I would have never met if I didn’t own a Jeep.” We first met Lonnie on a trail run to the Tillamook National Forest. His orange...
Midsummer Update
During the last year of our planning, Pronghorn Overland Gear has been one of our most excited supporters. They committed to work with us early in the process, and are always excited to hear about what we are...
East Oregonian Newspaper Interview
A week or so ago, we were in touch with the newspaper of Jared’s hometown and were interviewed about our upcoming trek through Africa. We can now add print media to our collection of interviews (now two in total) and...
Family, Friends & 5000 Miles
Driving across the U.S. was not just about breaking in the Jeep, it was about the people we would see, both those we know and those we would meet along the way. After leaving our gracious hosts, Pradeep and...
Reunited
On March 29th, it happened. The event we had anticipated eagerly and anxiously, that would allow us to set in motion other pieces to the puzzle of getting our Africa trip off and rolling. We got the call from...
A Simple Way to Support Us Through Your Normal Shopping
We have become fans of Amazon over the years. Honestly, it is convenient, and when price shopping, it often cannot be beat. Thus, when we discovered that Amazon had an affiliate program, where we provide advertising for them on...