The beginning!

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Summary:

• I am now fully nomadic and traveling the world

• I am starting a blog, welcome

• There's good people everywhere

  
  

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Hello reader!

I'll start here by saying that I have started this blog mostly to stay in touch with family who want to see some life updates, but if you happen to be a friend or a non-family member, feel free to call yourself family now... and I hope you enjoy following along :) There are so many folks that I want to send photos and updates to, and this feels like a great way to make sure that those updates get shared, and in a way that allows me to hit just one button instead of 40. The only catch is that you must still feel the same excitement as if I am sending this directly and personally to you, aight?

This is intended to be an easy way to share with my loved ones (you) what I'm up to, what I'm planning next, and so that the folks that I carry closely in my heart can also feel close to me, and track a thread of coherence about where I am and why I'm there (that's for you mom & dad - for trying so well to piece together all my friends' names and project titles for years now). I'm also planning to share about the lovely people and projects I meet along the way, so as to weave new community with existing community. In the spirit of swift shares that I am allowing myself to not polish to perfection - just know that this will be a scrappy blog full of improper grammar and weirdness.

To Mom, Dad, Leah, Poppy, Lilly, and Grandpa - this blog is especially for you. I am thinking of you all often and am excited to share an even clearer window into my world at the moment. If you're ever wondering what I'm up to, come check this page! I'll also plan to send you the link when I make an update. Feel free to share this page with any friends or anyone who is interested, and definitely feel free to send me a request about what you'd like to see here. Miss and love you all

Now -

I left Bozeman Montana this week, after 12 years of calling it home. I'm setting off on at least several months of nomadic living, but to be honest - I feel like it will probably be a while longer than that. I've been dreaming of doing this since I was ~12 and it feels incredible to actually make the jump.

The day I left Bozeman, I went on one last mountain bike ride (pictured above) with my dear friend Tyler. The autumn colors were starting to explode in the trees and the fresh autumn smell made me completely euphoric. I was riding all 12 miles with a huge grin. I hadn't actually gone on any real bike rides this summer and it was one of the last things I was feeling sad about as I was getting ready to leave. Being able to do so gave me a much needed feeling of resolve.

It seems like whenever I'm about to leave a place I love for a while, the land puts on one last incredible show - as if to say "don't forget about me." It also feels like some kind of test, like - "are you sure you want to leave?" Not to tempt me to stay, but to encourage making a choice that is truly a choice - between many good things - not an escape from something mediocre. What a beautiful, precious place Montana is.

It's bittersweet, but yes, I'm sure.

I've been dreaming of jumping into a full-on chapter of travel since I was ~12 years old. It was around the time that I started watching nature documentaries and also when I got my first camera. I remember dreaming of packing all my things in a bag or two and living that way for a few years. I recall honing in on New Zealand in my mind as a favorite travel potential. Years later, as I was about to graduate high school, I felt a yearning to do a gap year there before college. By the time I graduated high school, I felt sincerely ready to pursue photography and film at Montana State and so I passed up on the idea of a gap year in NZ before college. I figured I could just do a year of study abroad during college instead.

I then landed in Montana and fell in love with the place, the school, the mountains, the people - everything. At that point, why would I want to go abroad? I had just found a place I wanted to really invest in. And so the plan got pushed back once again, this time I figured I could just do it right after I graduated college.

By the time I graduated, I had started an art collective in town with friends and it was a dream-come-true project (Shoutout: The Artery Collective). There was no way I was going to leave at that point. And so it got pushed back again. This time, it was pushed back until I had enough income and a stable independent creative career to be able to support myself getting there and being there for as long as I wanted.

Fast forward several years, and this is finally the case.

🎉 [Insert a little celebration here: I only recently realized that I have been fully supporting myself via an independent creative career for nearly 5 years now. My last "job" ended right when covid hit. I decided to lean into video / documentary film at that time and put my head down so well that I didn't even realize it has... actually worked... until recently! Holy $@!*!]

Point being: I'M FINALLY DOING THE THING. AHHHHH!

And so, two weeks ago - after a chaotic 10 days of packing all my things in a storage unit, living out of my 4Runner as I was preparing to sell it (yes - sold the 4Runner - we're going all-in right?), doing a few gigs, and visiting as many dear friends as I could before leaving...I set off. Two bags & my camera.

📍First stop: Ojai CA.

I visited a friend Tommy who is a talented welder, metal artist, and all around genius with all things engines, wires, and metal to do some photos in his shop, and stayed in a little cabin up in the hills of Ojai that provided an epic view of the sunrise and valley below.

Tommy

📍 Second: Nevada City, CA

Next I went to Nevada City, CA, for a few day gathering with a group called Experience House. We stayed at a gorgeous home that had a farm, a lake nearby, an epic music recording studio, and space for the 20 of us to cook meals together and create support for each other's various projects and life callings. Project discussions included: creating regenerative 'cities', art therapy models for first responders, creating a "borderless" world via helping to nationalize people in their ancestral countries, and more. The consistent love and genius in the room was palpable.

📍 Third: San Francisco, CA

I then went to San Francisco to visit Brooks and explore the city. I met loads of creative folks, got in a surf, spent lots of time in parks and amongst some redwood trees, and went to a bluegrass festival and a concert of musician "Ry X" who I had been wanting to see for years. Before the Ry X concert, I emailed their manager and asked to photograph the show, to which they said yes! I also did a couple other photoshoot gigs for people in the area, did a few co-working sessions downtown with people who I met at Experience House (mentioned above), and received some mentoring from some of those people on some passion projects of mine.

📍 Fourth: Austin Texas

I then flew from San Francisco to Austin TX to meet up with Leah - We went to a day of the Austin City Limits music festival and had a blast scootering around the city together.

I stayed in Austin for another 9 days after Leah left and got to see some other live music, some gallery openings, and did a few gigs - some photoshoots and filmed a music video for some musician friends that live in the area. Austin is a great city that I enjoyed more than I expected to. Included below is a photo of a "treehouse" installation that was at one of the parks there - a bit metal sphere that had a net in the middle of it where people could hang out. One of the coolest things I've ever seen - and I thought "this should be in every city."

Now, I am back in Bozeman for two weeks while I repack my bags to head to New Zealand!

I will head there on November 9th and am planning to be there for roughly a month. I am planning to be in the Milford Sound area and to explore lots of mountains and beaches. I hope I get to see all or most of you (fam) for the holidays and can't wait to catch up more then. Love you all