Caving In

Better late than never I suppose. I'm taking the plunge and will try to update this on a semi regular basis for those of you who are curious as to what I am up to. For those of you who don't know me or just met me, my name is Thomas and I am living on the road in my Volkswagen van named Bertha with my Australian Cattle Dog BB. How did I end up in this predicament? Well...about a year ago I found myself about 9 months away from being honorably discharged from 7 years of active duty Army service and trying to decide what path my life should take. Most people in my situation would probably be hunting for a job or applying to school but most people aren't me. Those options sound too boring to me. I was bitten by the travel bug while stationed in Germany and I decided that I needed to travel and experience the country I devoted 7 years of my life to serving. I also wanted to incorporate my skills as a diesel technician and my new found love of rock climbing into my plan and then the light bulb turned on: take a Westfalia Volkswagen camper van, insert a diesel engine into aforementioned Volkswagen, sell all my possessions, pack my climbing gear in the van, and hit the road to find the best climbing destinations in the states. I have already documented the process of converting my Volkswagen to diesel and that can be found HERE.

I was discharged from the Army in Fort Knox Kentucky on 25 April 2014, and that's where this journey begins. Obviously it is now June so I will have some catching up to do but for now here are a few pics from along the way…

“How bad is this pitch going to kick my ass?”

Down Day at the Tower

“The summit is for the ego, the journey is for the soul.”