Nat Park Stories Summer Slevin

While in on the Kenai Peninsula, I parked near a big built out bus on the side of the road. 
It seemed like the perfect place to camp for the night, with a gorgeous view of the water and the surrounding mountains.
 
The brown bus nearby had black trees painted on it and “The Skoolie” written on the side and although signal was hard to come by, for about 5 minutes I had signal on my phone, so I googled the name of the bus.
I found the instagram account and send a message to Dean Chytraus, the owner of the bus.
 
I asked him if he was interested in chatting over margaritas, which I had in my van.
The text was so awkward to send and I didn’t think he’d respond.
But a couple of minutes later, he did and invited me over.
I explored his amazing bus and asked if I could record our conversation.
 
Although we do talk a lot about National Parks, the conversation often veers into talks about life on the road, what got Dean into this life, how he prepared for his journey, and where his travels have taken him.
 
You definitely hear more of my voice in this episode because as soon as I started talking to Dean, I felt like I was chatting with an old friend. He has such a friendly and welcoming demeanor, making even Rocky feel comfortable in his presence.
 
Dean has since sold his bus, with the plan to buy a sailboat, but you can still follow his travels and amazing photography on instagram or YouTube at The Skoolie or @uncooldean.
 
 
 
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“If I could tell anyone to do anything, it would just be to do an experience like this. You know, meet 13 strangers and see the world.”  -Lizzy McSpadden
 
When I met Lizzy, she was on a road trip with more than a dozen strangers, on day 9 of an Alaskan tour.
 
Lizzy decided that she wanted to see Alaska before she started what she calls her “big girl job”, working as a lawyer in Arkansas, so she booked a trip with Trek America.
 
She is on a quest to visit all the National Parks and on a mission to get her travel companions to start saying “y’all”.
 
I absolutely loved the way she described the view, summing it up with the word majestic.
 
And I’d have to agree.
 
Let’s jump in!
 
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“It’s wild up here. You’ve got to be ready for everything.” -Ashley Gamble
 
 
I am so excited for you to hear this episode.
 
Ashley Gamble is a tour guide for a company that takes adventure seekers on ROAD TRIPS to National Parks and cities.
 
As you will hear in the interview, she drives a 15 passenger Ford Transit full of tourists to various places all across America.
 
Trips last anywhere from 7 to SEVENTY FIVE days.
 
Imagine it, you and 14 strangers road tripping, camping, hiking, fishing, eating, and adventuring together for weeks at a time all through America.
 
To me, it sounds like a dream.
 
Midway through the interview, I ask her how she found this job and how you can join their team or take a trip with them.
Here’s the link!
 
I met Ashley while we were in Wrangell St. Elias, on day 7 of their National Park trip.
 
She’s been to Wrangell several times and fondly told me that the Park blows her mind every second. Haha
 
You’re going to love this. 
 
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People often ask how long my interviews are and I ask them how long a conversation is.
It can be one minute or three hours. 
 
This is a really fun episode because it gives you a real peak into what actually happens on the road… a conversation that turns into an interview, and goes off in different directions, as new people are introduced, and new conversations start.
 
It’s only an 8 minute episode simply because at the end of it, another person I knew pulled up and soon the conversation became hard to follow as we all bonded and connected and told our stories.
 
Before you hear that, you have to understand how extremely ironic it was that we would happen upon each other. 
In my month and a half in Alaska, the couple that pulls up and yells my name toward the end are the only people I saw more than once.
 
Weeks previously, we had met very briefly at a bus stop in Denali National Park, over 60 miles into the Park.
They didn’t want to do an interview at the time, but they still wanted to talk. So we chatted for over 20 minutes about their life and their adventures. It was a wonderful and memorable conversation.
 
Then 3 weeks later, as I was interviewing Larry Williams, one of my Wrangell Rescuers, I heard my name called out and the couple and I reconnected.
 
At the end, you hear how we all pulled over on the side of this long, winding dirt road and just talked like old friends. The recording actually went on for over 30 minutes, but like any conversation with 5 people, it took many turns and became hard to follow so I only included the beginning. 
 
Before we jump in, I also want to give you a little background about the person I am interviewing, Larry Williams, who was really quite fun to talk with.
Before I started recording, he told me a bit about what brought him from Maryland, all the way to Alaska to visit his friend. 
He told me about his experience as an adventure blogger and about his dreams of starting his own podcast.
You can follow all of his adventures at TruVentureOutdoors.com.
 
Let’s jump in! 
 

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“This is my first time in interior Alaska and it’s just phenomenal. It won’t be my last time, that’s for sure.” - Andrew Aughenbaugh
 
I met Augie, in a very hilarious way… By being stuck in a ditch in the largest National Park in the country. 
 
I cannot begin to capture the relief I felt when this big truck with a towing rig right on front and Maryland plates, pulled up to my rescue. 
 
Augie had been on the road for three months, driving all the way from Maryland to Alaska, tent camping every night.
 
I was shocked when he told me that. 
 
He has biked, canoed, hunted, camped, explored, fished and adventured his way all across Canada and Alaska, and he wasn’t finished yet.
 
About 7 minutes in, Angie talks about what he brought with him on his 3 month trek and he’s agreed to share his contact info with you so that you could reach out to him with any adventure or gear related questions, seeing as he is WAY more experienced with the rugged adventuring than I.
You can reach him on his website: AugiesAdventures.com
 
 
He also reached out to me just a couple of months ago and told me about a book he’d just released about his adventures. You can find it on Amazon by searching Following The River's Current
 
At the end of this interview, after the outro, I included a little treat. Apparently I was recording a bit about the bumpy road when I was run off the road by an RV and ended up in that ditch… it seemed pretty relevant and it cracks me up every time I hear it, so I put that short audio at the end.
 
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this interview with my Wrangell rescuer, Augie.
 
Let’s jump in! 
 
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"Wrangell is often referred to as the Park without handrails."
 
Brendon Seaholser was such an interesting interview because of his honest and blunt demeanor, as well as his love of the park and adventures of all kind. 
 
During this interview, we talk about what brought him to Wrangell St. Elias, one of the month desolate and isolated parks in the country, a story which starts in Vermont, and winds through many continents.
We also talk about how unbelievably vast the Park is, and the possible consequences of going into this wilderness unprepared. 
 
You’ll hear him talk about the stories of going into the wild, about the dangers he’s witnessed, and the magic too, the unreal beauty of the largest Park in the country, and one of the largest pieces of wilderness in the world. 
 
One of my favorite things about this interview is the awe that you can hear in Brendon’s voice as he talks about the Park and especially, the mountains. 
You can hear how much love and respect he has for this place, and it made me feel it too. 
 
When I walked out of the tiny one room visitor’s center where I’d met him, I felt a chill of excitement to be in such an incredible place. I felt so grateful to be witness to this Park that had created such awe in this man I’d had the pleasure of meeting. 
It gave me a new way of looking at, and respecting, this unfamiliar place. 
 
As you hear me mention in the interview, earlier that day, I’d had a few hiccups on the main road, namely ending up in a ditch, being towed out by strangers, then later having a flat tire, which I describe at the end of the interview.
At the time, I’d questioned why I was even there, in the middle of this wild and overwhelming place, until this interview that made me so incredibly aware of how fortunate I was to be there and how precious this Park really is. 
 
I really can’t wait to share this one with you!
 
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