Love and kindness are the very basis of society. If we lose these feelings, society will face tremendous difficulties; the survival of humanity will be endangered. - Dalai Lama
I get a kick out of being an outsider constantly. It allows me to be creative. - Bill Hicks
The status quo sucks. - George Carlin
“If the fool would persist in his folly, he would become wise.” – William Blake
Check out the vintage bike frame I was given for FREE. I’ve always wanted an old school Specialized Rockhopper, so I had to fix it up, and ride. The bicycle needed some TLC. I bought new handlebars for $1, rubber grips, a back tube and tire, plus located a matching racing seat and post. It must be a 1989, or 1990 Specialized, featuring Shimano Deore LX components. The original matching wheels came with.
Survival Bros also pressure washed everything, to get the road grim off. Just had to share the photos with the fans. I haven’t seen this bike, this nice, anywhere online in my searching. I sold the restored project for $150. Funny part was, the buyer showed up in a classic Volkswagen Vanagon like mine, so we had lots to talk about, and share. This bike was just too small for me, with a 17 inch frame, it’s best suited for a teen. It went to a good home, and freed up space inside my van. More cycling projects being blogged about soon.
Holding a Battleship Grey colored Rockhopper Comp frame
Riding the fully restored mountain bike for the first time on trails
What’s good? Its been a Heaven of a year! Survival Bros has beefed up the website with frequent posts, vivid photos, and new HD video productions. Visit the ARCHIVES for all of the fun, and emergency preparedness news.
Here’s my favorite YouTube videos from 2014, in case you missed the action and adventure:
My #EDC backpack gear for #Survival
Steel Target Shooting Demonstration with Tactical Gypsy
Cameron McKirdy’s LifeProof smartphone case review as seen on The ABC World News with Diane Sawyer
How to get FREE stuff in life
Video of my #vandwelling setup on the Oregon Coast
Checking out William Henry knives at a jewelry store
The perfect vehicle for The Zombie Apocalypse
Exploring World War II bunkers on Tillamook Head near Seaside, OR
Doing yoga with certified instructor Sarah Whisler at the beach
You can’t define Survival Bros, or Cameron McKirdy. There’s no way of knowing what will come in the year 2015. Stay tuned. Thank you for your support of this project. I’ve produced all this for free. Please continue to like, comment, share, and subscribe to us. Let’s make the Survival Bros community even greater in the days to come.
Mocha The Puggle and I love you! (Hiking Saddle Mountain)
I was gifted tree resin fit for a King today. Pictured is a fat handful of Frankincense and Myrrh gum bled from a plant. My buddy Gypsy Hugh got the aromatic harvest burning on a hot hookah charcoal. Next, we place the purifying fragrance in my 1986 Volkswagen Vanagon. The pleasant odor filled my bus with smoke, and the scent should linger for days. It smells like incense, only more pure, and natural to me. It was a kind gesture to hot box my vehicle like that, and very appropriate on Christmas Day. Enjoy the pictures below. I’d never seen these hardened resins in person, called tears.
I stopped by Yogi Tea Headquarters in Springfield, Oregon today. After buzzing the doorbell I was welcomed inside, out of the rain. They don’t give tours of the building, but offered me a handful of sample tea packets to try. I took my time investigating each type, but ended up taking every kind I think. Pictured are new varieties I’ve never seen on store shelves before. You can find Yogi teas by the box at nearly every health food shop. They are delicious. I’m grateful for the hookup. It paid off to stop, and inquire. These will go into my EDC bag immediately for later consumption. But I got two of their Roasted Dandelion Spice Detox formula, so I will have to drink that tonight.
Update: I went back for this picture of the free sample bowl at headquarters. I scored 11 more packets from Yogi. Visit them in Springfield, OR for a hook up.
Help yourself to unlimited free tea just for stopping by
Are you a natural scavenger like me? I often dream about prepping for disasters by roaming the streets, searching for anything I can use; pens, paperclips, tape, food, water, First Aid supplies. It’s crazy how much people in America through away. Lots of items in the trash are still good, another man’s treasure.
I made a pit stop at Goodwin Park at 1172 Necanicum, on the corner of 12th in Seaside, Oregon. When I got out of my Volkswagen Vanagon, I noticed I had rolled over eight AAA, and AA batteries. So I did the natural thing, and busted out my HD camera for a vlog rant. Turns out these energy sources were still full of life. They must have fallen out of someone’s vehicle or bag. I swooped them up, and put them in my EDC backpack for storage. I have many flashlights, and headlamps that could use these batteries later.
What have you scavenged around town or in the woods? It’s always fun to find stuff you can use, especially money. But don’t get too attached to anything, because you could lose it also. Like the time when I recently found $20 on the ground, put it in my pocket, only to realized it fell out of my jacket before I could blow it!
One of my favorite activities do to for myself is taking a trip to an isolation chamber, or flotation tank in PDX. The two spas Survival Bros have checked out are Float On, and Common Ground. Both are open to the public, just call ahead before you try this form of alternative medicine. There’s many benefits to floating, but in general it’s excellent for meditation, and relaxation. Specifically, I use this type of therapy for an improvement in circulation, and to enhance creativity.
So how does it work? Well, the video interview featuring Joe Rogan is a good place to start your journey. But since I have experience, here’s how it went when I stopped by Common Ground at the Everett House Healing Center and Spa. They are located at 5010 NE 33rd Ave, Portland, OR 97211. First, I reserved a floating session by phone (503-238-1065), which cost $65 for 90 minutes. If you call them, and ask for a promotion, you may be able to get a better rate. There’s two tanks here. Common Ground is a wellness co-operative, so consider becoming a member for more savings. It’s a wonderful environment, bursting with plant life outside, and welcoming people all around. The reception area is cozy. Shop, explore other services, such as massage, or you can help yourself to a beverage like hot tea. Check in for your float, then grab an over-sized towel and hit the showers and sauna. Beware, locker room may be coed at times, so you may see some boobies.
After loosening up in the sauna, and breaking a sweat, I rinsed off again, and took off my bath towel. I slipped into the dark tank, and got settled in. Using earplugs is recommended, so one more bodily sense is cut off from The World. That’s the idea. You use an isolation chamber to go inside yourself, work through issues, and make discoveries. A floating air pillow supports your head and neck. Then you simply lay there in darkness, mostly submerged in salty water. The Epsom solution is ideally the same temperature as your skin, at 93.5-95 degrees. So as you relax, you begin to lose a sense of where your body ends, and where the The Universe begins. It’s like being thrown back into the womb. Finally, you’re alone with yourself again, and can process life better.
Follow the links provided to find out more benefits of flotation tanks. You’ll begin to discover how it changes your brain. If you try out an isolation tank, you may feel your mind bending. According to Common Ground in Portland, OR this “stimulates left/right brain synchronization; shifts brain waves from Beta to lower frequency Alpha, Theta and even Delta; creates mental clarity, alertness; increases creativity, problem solving; heightens visualization; deepens meditation; expands awareness, intensifies acuteness of all the senses, accelerates learning.” Sign yourself up. If you try this, you won’t be disappointed. It is not a waste of time. It’s something new to most, and good for you on many levels. Leave a comment if you have additional questions, and I will do my best to answer them. I will explore this topic further, and blog more about floating soon. Cheers.
I needed to fly away. I packed up my huge 110 Liter Kelty backpack, and boarded a plane for Denver, CO. Listening to Dre, Snoop, Hendrix, and Wiz set the mood on the ride. My brother lives in brick apartment downtown, and was generous enough to let me stay one week there. He showed be around, mentioned cool spots to frequent, but mostly I just got high a mile above the sea level I swam from.
Staying in the historic Capital Hill district, there were Marijuana Dispensaries within walking distance. I anticipated the treats I’d savor, and the bud I’d put in the air. The AMCH hooked me up with all sorts of medicated goodies, as seen in the pictures below. Of course, I didn’t get the best deal as a Oregon resident, compared to people with medical cards. I will say, however, it’s good to know friends in high places for the best stuff. I showed my OR ID, and purchased a bag load of THC infused gummy and taffy candies, cookies, Ear Wax, Pixie Sticks, strains of Indica and Sativa, and a very special Chocolate Rice Crispy Treat. The green, gooey bar was loaded with 500 milligrams of activated THC. The label warned of couch lock, and I found out that’s a real thing. After eating all of it, it took too much energy to move. I watched Judge Judy for 3 days straight. Sure, Denver is a fun city, but I didn’t visit there to act trendy, and fit in. So I smoked every 15 minutes, and got fatter. It sounded better than trying to pick up chicks. I had a hard enough time trying to pick out a can of coffee that wasn’t decaffeinated. And with the thin air up there, picking up anything is difficult, especially females. I’d need an oxygen mask for sex.
I felt free being able to carry a fat bag of smoke, and edibles down the street without worry. Now, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and D.C. have ended marijuana prohibition. Measure 91 in OR has been years in the making. With a tax on it, everyone wins. Except the people that have never tried pot, and refuse to. Ignorance is a dying breed. If you haven’t puffed weed, do all stoners a favor, and don’t comment on something you don’t know anything about. Weed is real medicine. So ditch the pills, and consider Nature’s cure for just about everything – MARIJUANA!
Flying over the Rockies.
Dank nuggets.
Ride a bike for FREE downtown.
SWAT at Denver’s City Hall
Denver Fire Department
Burgers and Fries for me!
AMCH serving the public for recreation and medicinal.
Best food ever.
Intense medicine 500 mg. THC
My marijuana stash for the week.
Cone jays label.
Individual joints.
One love.
Weed cookie munched.
We’re so high…
Check out different pot varieties, and the AMCH shop in Denver, CO
My fellow Oregonians rejoice the news that Measure 91 has passed, and weed in legal in our State!
The colors! Witness two magical rainbows going into the Pacific Ocean water. Filmed in HD video on the Prom near 12th Ave. in Seaside, Oregon. Produced by http://www.cameronmckirdy.com More fun movies, and van dwelling Vlogs coming soon. The Volkswagen Vanagon is still putting around. Thanks for visiting my website. Have you ever seen a double rainbow in person? It was awesom. I love The Universe.
Out of nowhere, my VW Bus is struggling to start. Everything electrical flickers. The radio cuts out. The engine sputters. Plus, the battery and OXS (oxygen sensor) light came on. I called Avery’s Air-Cooled in Kelso, WA and they helped me diagnose the problem over the phone. We figured the issue was a faulty voltage regulator. Mechanics Jason and Kelly had a $40 Bosch part, and installed the unit for only $29. But before I got fixed up and back on the road, I was parked on the shoulder of Highway 101, waiting for Classic Towing to get me to another state – Washington. Thank God for AAA. I’m on the Premier towing package. Nothing but the best for my baby. Funny that I broke down on the way to the repair shop.
Avery’s Air-Cooled always hooks me up, and keeps my bill low. And if you have a Volkswagen, chances are they will have the part you need in stock. Call them to order something at (360) 425-1119 Here’s their website too! http://www.averysaircooled.com/ I will have to shoot some HD video there soon. They have tow truck loads of vintage bugs, buses, and beyond. And if you hang out long enough, you’ll get to see a traveling Art Show as the graffiti passes on the nearby train tracks.
Survival Bros sleeps in a 1986 Volkswagen Vanagon GL, down by the Columbia River for free. You can stay at in the Safeway parking lot in Astoria, Oregon at no cost, and you won’t be hassled for being there, according an employee running the gas station. I was polite, and purchased distilled water in the store anyways. Find out if the sea lions drove me crazy from all the noise. I kept imagining the loud animals being destroyed by killer whales, great white sharks, and nuclear war heads. However, if your cruising the Oregon Coast, keep this location in mind so you don’t have to pay to live, or for a view. I love the car camping lifestyle. If you can stay mobile, and explore The World, why do anything else? More van dwelling videos in High Definition coming soon. Thanks for liking, and commenting ahead of time. Cheers!
My RV parked next to other travelers stationed at Safeway in Astoria, OR
Holding a Battleship Grey colored Rockhopper Comp frame
Riding the fully restored mountain bike for the first time on trails
Survival Bros by Cameron McKirdy 