Other Righteous Unrulies — Unruly Skoolie

Well, we've been on tour exactly eight weeks and it's time now to give some good old fashioned road-dog cred to some of the coolest rigs we've seen along the way. Some are retired, some are full-time road warriors and some are somewhere in between, but like us, they all share the Unruly Spirit and represent a break from the mold of conformity. In order as we saw them:

This guy, though he looked super intimidating in that way that only hermit, prepper, angry vets can look, wins for most preparedness. Solar AND wind power are feeding whatever his private needs may be in this old-school fifth-wheel that's being pulled by a badass camouflage, tough looking, zombie-ready truck. Extra points for added trailer with boat and gear for maximum mobility options on land and water. Look was completed with fierce looking canine. Mobile wind-power is something I definitely support and if our own system wasn't already over-kill I'd advocate harder for mobile water-catchment, too. Prep on, comrade. And don't forget to keep it classy. (Sorry for the crap on the windshield. A little splooge left over from bus construction. This pane of glass would later be replaced after a run-in with a golf ball.)

After the driver of the black double cab pictured in the background below drove his truck into the lake at Elephant Butte, New Mexico, all the crazy rigs came out to "help". In it's new civilian life, this lone-star badass above can get you, all your friends and all your food and drinks to the lake party in armored glory. Below, is your daily driver. It's what you choose when you just want to cruise low-key and possibly help win the war on zombies.

On to Colorado...

The Galloping Goose appears to ride no-more, but it's badassery is eternal.

I honestly don't remember exactly where in tarnation we happened upon The Galloping Goose, but I'm sure glad we did. Half train, a quarter bus and a quarter trailer, this dream machine makes up for confinement to the rails with pure sexy style. With over 140,00 miles of railroad operating in the US, I dream of what it would be like to take a tiny house like this on a wholly different kind of tour across the land. If these walls could talk....

Outside of the Grand Canyon we run into these guys at the gas station. The inside of the rig is set up a bit like ours, but the back third is reserved to house their "toys," two badass looking touring motorcycles. The captain, Dug Strickler, was far from his central Pennsylvania homeland with one of his homemade party busses (Party Bus Adventures, dugstrickler@gmail.com) but his mission was noble. Here, hundreds of miles from the chilly northeast, Dug was joining and aiding his comrade, Hotrod's (aka Chad Hoffman), around-the-world- motorcycle adventure. Follow him at Hotrodsridetotheotherside.com

Hotrod, himself had the peaceful aire of a buddhist monk expatriate who found more enlightenment on the open road than the stale breath of the ancient monestary. He was clear eyed and content and even though I was on my own epic, I yearn to join him, to be him... that kind of freedom come cheap but not easy and it's only for the Unruliest among us. Godspeed, comrade. And maximum respect.

Bad Trips can happen to anyone, y'all. Try not to let them happen to you.

You may remember from an earlier blog the Austrian/German couple we met at the Grand Canyon who sat at the helm of this Wicked Camper. This thing just screams "UNRULY!". You can rent minimally built-out Wicked Campers worldwide through their website www.wickedcampers.com where the quote on the mainpage, "Too weird to live, too rare to die" greets your hungering spirit.

It's not a competition, y'all, but the Top-Dog Prize of Unruly Badassery goes to these guys: The "Doggie Cowboy": Adventure Sidecar Piilot/ Gunfighter/ Actor and Chaco: The Canyon Commander- Co-Pilot (per their business card). This old-timer toured with The Grateful Dead and even did a stint as a circus performer at Wavy Gravy's circus school in California. One fateful night, he took his faithful but ailing pitbull to the the vet in Arizona and left him overnight for observation while he camped out somewhere in the Navajo Nation. That night, as he mourned under the stars, the Doggie Cowboy was adopted by another small pitbull mix that came through the shadows deep from the res. That night, an old dog died and a new dog found a mate. "You can take the dog off the res, but you caint take the res out the dog." These two were found reflectively taking in our bus on the butte atop Jerome, Arizona. We were happy to meet them (a few days after Saguaro's departure) and he was content to see The Unruly.

Above and (two) below were spotted in one of our favorite spots, Jerome, Arizona. Jerome could be home for us, suffice it to say. It's got just enough funk, weird, wild, nature, small town, tourism... maybe a little too much tourism.... but still... it feels... inspiring. It's a junk-yard ghost town filled with artists, desert rats, crazy rigs like these and real people walking the line between serving the Sedona tourist crowd and their own hedonistic desires. These homes have seemingly been retired but I believe in my soul that they could be exorcised, cleansed and made homey again in a magical, unruly world where dreams are fulfilled and nature rules the day.

This green machine looks conspicuously like it might be trying for another go at it.

Nothing random like a rainbow-colored barrage of semi-trucks to lead you to the "great" town of Weed, California. We didn't stop at Truck Village, so I don't actually know the story here, but isn't it just adorable? "Why not?" asks the Unruly Spirit. "I have no idea," answers everyone else.

Just a little white skoolie in Bend, Oregon.

I didn't actually get to talk to the captain of this rig even though he sat inside ours for a while; I was on a very important phone call with Renee, but Skeets had the honor and here's what he learned. "M" is from Oregon and he just scored this shorty from a school district nearby for $1000. He's in Bend for the evening to party and as the weather gets nicer all across the state, he'll spend the summer mountaineering and adventuring using this little gem as a home and a home-base. More power to him. Be smart, be kind and have fun comrade.

The Colombia River Gorge, especially where it runs between Portland and Hood River is a glorious destination for many adventure seekers this time of year. We've been in Hood river for two weeks and were drawn here for the wind (kite-bording), the snow (year-round skiiing/snow boarding), the water (fishing, kayaking, SUP, swimming) and the terrain (mountain biking, hiking, and the popping of farm fresh berries, veggies, herbs and meat) and the general sense of nature-related enlightenment. Top quality breweries on every corner and top quality legal and recreational marijuana puts this place over the top on the scale of summer-time desireability. It's not unusual to find rigs like the green machine above and others lined up at Waterfront Park enjoying the mellow vibe of Hood River laced with the adventure of your making. It could be heaven, but today, May 17, it's 65 degrees, and I think the cool, wet weather keeps the weaklings (like us?) out for the long haul.

If I were to spend some more time in Hood River, I'd eventually meet the captain of the Farm Food rig. I love it. It's got solar, it's low-key, it's nimble and humble, it's unique and hand-built, it's classy and sassy. It's just the kind of thing you'd be completely unsurprised to see around these parts making the Columbia River Gorge feel a little more like home.

In true artisitic/narcissistic fashion, all roads lead back to The Unruly. Our rig, our home.... the idea and embodiment of our own search for freedom and adventure. These last eight weeks have lead us through the hill country, the desert, the snow-covered mountains, the forests and the hills. We've seen the ocean, waterfalls, ancient volcanoes and have just barely tasted the wild....

And at the end of the rope is just us, one little Unruly family, amongst so many intrepid warriors paving the way to contentment. There's no one "right way" to "unruly". So many of our friends, comrades and acquaintances are building the path to the new paradigm that serve us all more wholly. More holy.

May we all seek the edges and live amongst the fringe, where ever we are, whenever we can.