A year in the life... (Part 3: United States)

Burning Man [September]

Attending Burning Man was one of the nonnegotiable goals I set for myself this year. It didn’t matter that I didn’t have a ride, or know anyone else that was going; I had my ticket and my pack and I was going to make it there somehow. Luckily, I was able to get a ride part way with a good friend from high school who I reconnected with. After our intense pre-burn road trip where we were able to successfully bamboozle unsuspecting locals, I was left to my own devices. So I took to a busy intersection in downtown Klamath Falls with my thumb and a grocery cart full of supplies for a week in the desert. Veteran Burners might call me crazy; Virgin Burners even more so; but everything worked out as I suspected it would. Brian, my saviour, even had an extra bike and tent for me to use! Weeks of minimal anxiety in the back of my head vanished within seconds as we made a few last stops for glow sticks and batteries. We had a soak in some hidden natural hot springs along the way and basked in the desert sunset with a cold beer in hand; a perfect way to begin my first burn.

“Welcome home!” I will say no more except that this has been one of the single most important experiences of my travels. I finally discovered that which I knew existed but had been unable to find thus far. Burners are my family; Black Rock is my spiritual home. Let the pictures give you a glimpse, but to really understand what Burning Man is, you have to go and experience the magic of the playa dust for yourself.

(I also know now to bring a real camera next year…)

Some more plugs: check out the sites of these other travelers and nomads who I met on the playa. (http://www.joannahaugen.com/) (http://www.technomadia.com/)


Fellow nomads at happy hour. (Photo: Joanna) My Asian sistahs! Or rather: “self described exhibitionist Asians who enjoy seeing their photos on the internet”. (Photo: Brian) Which is why I include this next one. :) (Photo: Brian)


Is she wearing a skirt?! (Those of you who know me solely as a hobo and a dirtbag are probably thinking that… I’ll have you know I own several skirts and dresses, which sit idly in a box all year.) (Photos: Ben Tang)

Utah [September]

With the wonders of Burning Man behind me, I set off with my new found sense of inner peace to explore more of the surrounding states. Don’t ask me why I ended up in Salina. All I can say is that unless you are a cultural anthropologist who is interested in studying the extent of ignorance and misery in small-town USA, do not go here. Here is an excerpt from my journal:

“I am literally cowering in the corner of a parking lot waiting for the cover of darkness because I am too afraid to do anything else. I can't go out in public anymore, I cant move freely about the town [without being persecuted]. I’m shivering; my feet are wet; I’m intensely sad that the people are so ignorant here. If there ever was a hobo hell, Salina would be it.”

Enough said.

Barefoot Chuck [September]

I rarely, if ever, have the privilege of meeting people who live a similar lifestyle to me. That’s why I was overcome with curiosity and joy when a young guy with a beard, military pack, and a piece of cardboard unexpectedly showed up in the same park as me in Hurricane, Utah. Unless you have been to small-town Utah, it’s hard to understand how incredible of a coincidence this is. Furthermore, he was educated, friendly, and homeless by choice; a conscious objector of the system as well! We immediately bonded over shared granola (insert hippy joke) and packing strategies. The next three days were spent camping under the stars, bathing in ice-cold rivers, and soaking up the beauty of Zion National Park. We attended a wonderful outdoor music festival in Springdale where we enjoyed the absolute generosity and kindness of the locals, as well as barefoot dance parties in the grass. We were collectively known as “the hitchhikers” by the end of the day, with people even singing the Canadian national anthem to me in random outbursts.

Chuck is my bro on the road; he is the only other perma-hobo I’ve met other than Neil, and our shared lifestyle and ideas make us immediate kin. I encourage you to check out his travel blog at (http://nomadiczen.com/). The post entitled “Spaceship Broken, Need Ride” goes into more depth about our serendipitous meeting.

P.S. Im sorry I made fun of your shovel Chuck...! But I am secretly laughing!


Chuck! (Photo: Chuck) This one goes out to my mom who always tells me that I won’t have any friends if I don’t shower. Finally: photographic evidence. (Photo: Chuck) Our hobo camp on the side of the road. We prefer the vast night sky to enclosed nylon tents. (Photo: Chuck)

Colorado City [September]

The home of the Merry Wives Café, I was able to spend a few days in town with some friends from the road. Most of what I know is through word of mouth so I had no idea what to expect, but I can truly say that I met some extremely kind and welcoming people. I had a great time on a family hike to the narrows, and enjoyed learning about the history of the town first hand.

The Willow Way Hotel [October - December]

My stay in Arizona is officially the longest I have lived in one place in the past year and a half. It was really great to be a part of a community again. While I truly love my adventurous lifestyle, it does get exhausting to always be traveling and always be connecting with great people who I will most likely never see again. There is little consistency from day to day, so I really enjoyed the stability and sense of home that I had in Sedona. However, that is not to say that my life was stationary; I was privileged enough to be able to go on various road trips across the state visiting poetic awesomeness, and exploring the natural beauties of the original Wild West.

To keep it brief, my stay can be characterized by poetry, love, lightsabers, road trips with good friends, polygamous, Flagslams, unapologetic egos, tipsy art walks, upscale open bars and resulting gong shows, live music and hotel jam sessions, guns, pimps and hos, canyon switchbacks, good home cookin’, an endless supply of clean socks, peace, art, community, laughing hard, riding in the back of pickup trucks, backyard bonfires, stunning sunsets and starry nights, howling, fire-wielding burners, dancing on tables, general toplessness in the City of Sin, Canadian attempts at busking, duct tape madness, Thanksgiving cooking blitzes, and blind tours of the Grand Canyon.

Thanks to everyone in Arizona who made my stay the best! Whether it was a ride up the canyon, or an epic lightsaber duel in the middle of downtown, you know who you are …

Some more cool stuff to check out: (http://www.bdeckermusic.com/) (http://www.myspace.com/yinyangshows) (http://www.myspace.com/buskereaton) (http://yzurblog.blogspot.com/) (http://www.pyroklectic.com/) (http://www.wickedhoops.com/)


A road trip through beautiful southeastern Utah with another nomad, Mike. We had fun debating the ramifications of scarcity and trying to kidnap stray dogs, but our best adventure was a camping excursion to a large cave that we found along a deserted stretch of highway. We had a fire to keep us warm while the wind raged around us and the first snow of the season covered the landscape. (Photo of truck: Mike) (Photos of cave: me)


A spattering of selected photos: a day at the creek in Sedona (Photo: Fox); the Juice Box (ie. the hobo shack) my home in Flagstaff for a few days (Photo: me); a gorgeous Arizona sunset (Photo: me); taking in the depth of the Grand Canyon (Photo: Emily); my favourite road tripping buddies (Photo: Emily); a sunset on the Navajo Nation (Photo: Emily); a hoop jam in the park in ‘Preskit’ (Photo: Fox); prepping for Vegas (Photo: Nika) conquering Vegas in spandex and legwarmers (Photo: me).

Final notes

Thanks again to all those who rose above the disposition of fear, and took a chance on me by picking up a random stranger off the side of the road. It is these encounters which have restored my faith in humanity, and given me new hope for the future. I highly enjoyed connecting with each and every one of you.

That was my effort at briefly summarizing my year on the road with my pack. I have slept in countless forests, fields, ditches, and the occasional motel garden. Since I dropped out of university in 2008, I have traveled over 33,000 kilometers across this continent by the power of thumb alone, not including buses, planes, and organized rides…

There is a wonderful and inspiring world out there. Sometimes you just have to dig a little…

Peace, Az





PS. Have YOU seen the gun show? I certainly have… (Yes, I realize the juxtaposition of the word ‘peace’ right above this…)

A year in the life... (Part 2: Canada)

Hitching with Jenna [April - May]

After a few weeks of rest at home, it was time to make the trek out to planting. After making her own unsuspecting brother drop us off on the 401 on-ramp, Jenna and I spent three weeks together with our thumbs outstretched on the Trans-Canada. While waiting for rides, time was spent on the shoulder cartwheeling, philosophizing about the correlation of sketchy orange hats to number of rides, raving about bags of butter, and having the occasional dance party in the rain. After experiencing a Saskatchewan sex trade show, getting stuck in Wawa, and hiding out in the ditch from the cops, we finally made it to our destination of Prince George amidst impressions of pregnant cow faces. This is the longest amount of time I have spent with another person on the road, and we had a great time bonding on our cross Canada adventure. She is also one of the few people who really understand my lifestyle and the different things I experience on a daily basis. Cheers to a great trip and a great friend!


These photos were taken on a beautiful afternoon in the Rockies. We stopped for a picnic lunch in the tiny railroad town of Field before continuing on to Revelstoke for the night. (Photos: Jenna)

Big House [May]

One of the most inspiring stops along our route, these guys deserve special mention. Jenna and I felt immediately welcomed into the wonderful community of activists at the “big house”. Whether it was informal living room discussions or organized events, we were continually amazed by their dedication to politics, education and activism. This house exudes an aura of Cuban-inspired generosity, where no matter how little they have, they are always willing to share and take care of each other. With such a warm and open atmosphere, we really enjoyed our stay in Vancouver (not to mention the impromptu reggaeton dance fiestas!) If you want to check out some of their work, follow the links.

Mobilization Against War and Occupation (http://www.mawovancouver.org/) Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (http://www.vancubasolidarity.com/) Fire This Time (http://www.firethistime.net/)


A discussion series put on by MAWO. (Photo: Jenna) Enjoying Ali’s delicious Osh. (Photo: Jenna) Starting the car is a team effort at the house. (Photo: Jenna)

Planting [May – June]

This year marks another spring spent in the forests of B.C. planting trees amidst snot rockets and mom jokes. This is the time of year when I get to hang out with the boys and fully indulge my loud, obnoxious, dirt bag alter ego. This is the person I really want to be all year, but have to hold back on because of the rules of appropriate behavior in normal social contexts. Luckily, my crew seems to be able to tolerate me and they know how to dish it out as well. There were lots of great moments this year, including glow-in-the-dark midnight raves, wild bachelorette parties with Tanya Towers, the usual crew bonding over fine literature, and 5 a.m. missions to ensure the right of drunk, homeless people to packs of cigarettes. Big shout out to all the girls and boys of Venture North, some of the toughest, most down to earth, hardworking dirt bags around. This is one of the few jobs where your supervisor treats you to kegs of beer, and you get to cuss at your boss. Jealous yet?


Noble’s Crew: some of the burliest bad boys around and clearly not to be messed with. (Photo: Jordan) The wonderful wenches of planting… break the law! (Alliterate much?) (Photo: Jenna) Thumbs up to reforestation. (Photo: Jenna)

Yukon [July]

Having heard about the beauty and isolation of the north, I decided to finally take up an offer from some family friends to visit the Yukon for a few weeks. I road tripped from Fort Nelly to Whitehorse in a vintage Volkswagen Van with Keith, an Australian ship captain on his way to Kodiak. We had a great time together, taking time to enjoy the exceptionally beautiful scenery and wildlife and camping along the way. I was immediately impressed by the hip hop scene in Whitehorse, after witnessing some of the local freestyling and breakdancing talent. The Yukon has a great community of creative, outdoorsy people who love to travel. Throughout my stay I was privileged to meet a lot of really interesting people, and felt right at home with my nomadic ways. For the duration of the Dawson City Music Festival, I lived in a tree house. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to meet the local man who lives in a cave. Its definitely one of the only places in Canada where Members of Parliament still pick up hitchhikers in their beat up trucks. That in itself speaks volumes about the friendly, adventurous, and down to earth spirit of the people who live in the north.

On a side note, while waiting for a ride on the highway in Teslin, a UK couple with a young child passed by on bicycles. I would find out several months later from a stranger in Moab, Utah that we were in the same town once again, albeit being several thousand kilometers apart from where we last saw each other. Such is the power of synchronicity in my life these days…


Road tripping on the Alaska Highway complete with herds of bison, raging rivers, and a sign post forest. (Photos: Keith)

Quesnel [August]

August was spent reconnecting with a friend I met on the road last year. I made myself at home in the back of an old pickup truck in her yard for three weeks. We had a great time together picking fresh food from the garden, cooking delicious meals, having slumber parties outside, going on freelance missions, dreaming about the possibilities of the future, and most of all, engaging in raucous fits of laughter. This is the kind of laughter that leaves you rolling around in the grass, gasping for air yet still unable to stop. Luckily, she is able to share this joy with others through her online radio show. As a laughter yoga instructor, she gives workshops allowing groups of people to engage in laughter for the health of it. Feel free to check out her online show at (www.blogtalkradio.com/misslafalot), and join in yourself! We were left nearly in tears several times over the course of the month we spent together. Thanks for all the good vibes Heather and Raffi!

A year in the life... (Part 1: Central America)

From the cloud forests of Guatemala to the vast deserts of the southwest; from the desperate poverty of Soyapango to the highballers of Venture North; from the rich traditions of the Tlingit First Nations to the avant-garde culture of radical self-expression at Burning Man; here is a brief over view of my year on the road.

It has been a wonderful and productive year. Thanks to everyone who offered me a ride, couch, floor, back yard, meal and a little inspiration. I appreciate all the gestures of genuine kindness and hope that I can someday give back to others what I’ve gained from these experiences. A very special thanks to everyone who contributed photos to this project. On that note …

Just me and my pack in southeast Utah. I stopped for a roadside break and attempted to learn the skill of self-photography. (Photo: me!)

Elections monitoring in El Salvador [January, March]

My year began with a trip to El Salvador to be an international observer for the municipal and presidential elections. It is a country in which the memories of civil war are still fresh in the minds of the people, who struggle everyday for some sense of peace and justice. Several thousand observers came from many different countries to show international support for a democratic elections process. Despite numerous documented cases of fraud and corruption, candidates Mauricio Funes and Salvador Sanchez Ceren won the race making it the first presidential victory for the FMLN (Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional) since the creation of the party.

It was really beautiful to witness the joy of the people as they finally achieved what they had spent so much time fighting for. I got to meet and shake hands with some of the top-ranking politicians in the FMLN. I also went on a hike with a family of former guerrilla fighters who showed us one of the former base camps of the revolutionary movement, as well as the surrounding bomb craters and remains of houses.

However, my stay was not occupied solely by political causes. In between the elections, I went to visit Orlando and Alicia’s farm north of the capital. We shared lots of laughs as I learned how to milk a cow, make fresh cheese, defend myself from the ducks, and use a machete in the fields. They are a very generous and welcoming family and I had a great time with them.



A pre-election FMLN rally. (Photo: A.M.) President elect, Mauricio Funes fielding questions from reporters. (Photo: me)



The Salvadoran landscape during dry season. (Photo: A.M.) Enjoying a ride back to the house after an afternoon in the fields with Orlando. (Photo: me)

Guatemala [February - March]

Guatemala is another country which has been ravaged by civil war and is slowly on the path to recovery.

While in Guatemala, I got to tag along on a Canadian human rights delegation from the Breaking the Silence Network. We went to visit a small village where a Canadian mining company (Goldcorp) has been involved in human rights abuses while displaying utter neglect for environmental and health concerns. The locals gave various accounts of lies, tricks, bribery, as well as death threats that were used by company officials. Disappearances of local activists have been documented as well as severe contamination of the local water and soil. While this is only one mine, I think it’s important to examine the greater issue of where our resources come from. As Canadians, we like to think that we have a good international reputation, but there have been some terrible crimes committed by Canadian corporations overseas. “Between Midnight and the Roosters Crow” is an excellent documentary which examines similar issues with the oil company Encana in Ecuador (http://icarusfilms.com/new2005/bet.html). If you want to learn more about the subject, these Web sites can also help: (www.resistance-mining.org/)(http://www.miningwatch.ca/).

I also visited Santa Anita la Union, an organic coffee co-operative founded by ex-guerrillas. While the farmers get to work their own land, they are a struggling community in massive debt. With the way fair trade works, they don’t even make enough money on their exports to the U.S. to pay off the interest on this debt. There is an incredibly beautiful and free documentary on the Internet which explains their situation in greater detail (http://www.voiceofamountain.com/en/film).

While in Xela, I got sucked into the vortex known as Casa A. I met a wonderful group of friends who defined the rest of my Guatemala experience. Between delicious potlucks, hula hoop busking, and hikes to active volcanoes, we shared many good times together. While there were many worthwhile opportunities for me to volunteer or help out, I felt it was important to take some time for myself and enjoy the beauty around me.



Learning how to plant coffee beans at Santa Anita. (Photo: Nanna) Riding into town to see the first-ever performance of the Vagina Monologues in Colomba. (Photo: Nanna)




Sunrise over Atitlan: a Christmas present from my mom. (Photo: me) A group hike to watch the morning eruptions of Santa Maria. (Photo: me) Lindsay, my hooping partner in crime! (Photo: me)