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
Cameron McKirdy drives his vehicle, a 1986 Volkswagen Vangon in gross, extremely dangerous Winter weather conditions near the beach in Seaside, Oregon.
Survival Bros Tips for driving in rain:
Turn your lights on
Obey traffic laws
Allow extra time and distance between yourself and other cars
Have good windshield wiper blades and/or Rain-X the front
Take your time (go slower), plus let people in (merge), and people to cross the road
Avoid distractions like filming, texting while driving, and singing to music in your car
Please try NOT to soaking pedestrians with enormous puddles near sidewalks!
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 gives you a tour of the 1986 Volkswagon Vanagon, and discusses van dwelling. I use the Coast Products TX100 LED flashlight to show you how dark the windows are now with tint and black vinyl covering them. Look at the other gear I use and how, including my Kelty Recluse 2.5 insulated sleeping pad. You have to have some kind of mat to lay on to be comfortable camping.
I’ve been doing a great job of staying clear of local police. I continue to camp on private property with permission from the owner, or legally at camp grounds. Plus, by staying at designated rest areas, the cops can’t charge me with overnight camping. The police have better things to do anyways, like uphold their oath to The Constitution, and keep the peace. We know law enforcement is big fans of our emergency preparedness blog, so thanks for visiting! More adventures from the road soon.
I love game shows. I’ve always wanted to host one, or play others on TV. A new program called Let’s Ask America gave me the chance to claim $50,000. Using a webcam and Skype I played from my apartment, and represented for my city of Seaside, Oregon. The episode I starred in aired on my 30th birthday. It was the best gift ever. I dominated the competition, and maintained a lead the entire game. One by one I picked off the challengers. I attribute all of my success to following my instincts. I went with my gut. Even though we were playing before a live studio audience in Hollywood, I kept my cool. I racked up $6,600 heading into the final question. I decided to bank $5k, and risk $1,600 which could be doubled. I guessed the correct answer and screamed in joy. My total winnings ended up being $8,200! The crowd went wild, and I ran my mouth. The host Kevin Pereira asked what I would do with the money and I said, “Well Kev, shout out to William Blake and da Vinci, but I think I’m the greatest artist of all time. So I’m going to buy some Art supplies, and get my ideas out there.” The Daily Astorian wrote an article on my victory. Here’s the two clips the show has uploaded on their YouTube channel.
I’m always challenging myself. That’s why I decided hiking Saddle Mountain in Oregon on consecutive days would be a hardcore mission. I camped out a night, took photos, cooked, and rested in the VW Vanagon often. Besides achieving my goal, and reaching the summit back to back, I also met some cool people. There’s so many beautiful girls from Portland that make this day hike, it’s ridiculous. I gave them all a hard time about being tourists. I’m from Seaside, a local, and don’t look so out of place.
Take a look at the picture galleries I created for each day. The wildflowers were exploding, and made the hike much more pleasant. Plus, they gave me a chance to stop, breath, stretch, and take in their sweetness. I also spent time creating a video of Humbug Mountain. It offers a marvelous view point, and is only .2 miles off the main Saddle Mountain trail. So are you up for the Survival Bros challenge? Can you hike to the summit twice in two days, or maybe twice in one day? Somebody will take me up on this. Let us know. Good luck! Tons more soon, only on Survival Bros.
You gotta see Thompson Falls in Seaside, Oregon. This waterfall is gorgeous, but also extremely dangerous to get to. It’s located in the hills North of town. Please be careful if you do hike out there. Survival Bros will continue to bring you epic content, but only if you continue to like, comment, and share these blogs. It’s all for you. Enjoy!
Ready or not, my chubby puggle Mocha was going hiking with me. I took the pug/beagle combo to the top. She made the summit by herself, but it was a struggle. It was a sweltering 80 plus degrees out. My poor dog hasn’t been training hard lately. Her exercise routine consists of going from the couch to food and back. But Mocha and I have hiked, so I knew the 5-year-old mutt still had it. I remember the first time I let her off the leash on a trail. She was running back and forth, up and down it. The puggle was so excited to be out of the apartment. I couldn’t contain her. Once she even fell off a cliff as the bank eroded and I had to quickly swing her up by the leash and collar to save her. Mocha is much fatter now, but we are working on it.
When we got to Saddle Mountain State Natural Area her nose was working overtime. There were lots of people hitting the trail, and camping. I brought water, and gave the puggle breaks. I made her sit, and she would lay in the shade when she could. The hike is 5 miles round trip, but the elevation change is brutal. It’s 1603 feet to be exact, with the top at 3283 feet. Mainly I was concerned about her paws bleeding. There is lots of metal fencing on the ground to contain the loose rocks, and I didn’t know if that would bother her. On the way up I kept Moc on the leash, 1 because there’s cliffs, and 2 because lots of people were coming down the trail with dogs. I wanted to protect her. However, on the way down I decided it would be better to let her follow me off leash. She didn’t want to walk on the trail because the gravel was hurting her. So she waddled along side the main path, and didn’t hurt anything. Plus, it was getting late, and we were basically the last down.
On the way we checked out a geocache hidden on a side trail. I’ve found it before, but I wanted to see all the new stuff inside, and sign the log book again. Not many people locate it each year. I traded in a emergency paracord bracelet for a CD with clues to another cache. I’m getting into geocaching because it’s something fun to do while hiking, or when you’re just out and about. There’s more than 2 million geocaches planted around the world. This hobby also forces me to analyze and use maps too. I filmed Mocha and I checking out what was inside the ammo box this time.
After a few solid hours of hiking, Mocha, my cameraman, and I reached the peak. We all sat down and took in the majestic views of the North Coast. You can see the whole coastline, from Seaside well into Washington State. Poor Mocha was beat. She was gasping for air, and I was a little worried about her. We had just enough water left to quench her thirst, but more would have been nice. Usually there is a spring about halfway up that I feel is safe to drink from. My dog did lap up the puddle there, but I wasn’t getting on all fours. In the end, Mocha killed it. I was so proud of her. I kept her motivated with words of encouragement, smacking her butt, and tossing turkey jerky in her mouth. On the way back I told Moc we were going back to the car and home for ice cubes (her fav). My legs were jello, and Mocha was walking funny, but we accomplished the mission. Next time we will be even stronger, and smarter about it.
Mocha knew we were going to the top. If you want to rock a paracord bracelet for emergency preparedness made by Survival Bros, send $8 to cameronmckirdy@hotmail.com via PayPal. Thanks and best wishes from us both.
Survival Bros by Cameron McKirdy 