Outland Adventures

 Hey Y'all! Can't believe how quick September went, and we didn't do the best with keeping up. especially videos. We'll try to get at least one posted tomorrow. October Blog & Video Schedule: 1st Tues- What We Do On Rainy Days 3rd Thur- What A "Typical" Day Looks Like (DITL) VIDEO-  Video- KY Music Hall of Fame & Museum 8th Tues- Chris' 45th Birthday Extravaganza (10/06)  10th Thur- Our Favorite Things/Places/Experiences This Past Month VIDEO-  Ohio, Smucker's Store, Cleveland Zoo, Others 15th Tues- Where Are We? 17th Thur- Our Least Favorite Things/Places/Experiences This Past Month VIDEO- Ohio, Haunted Attractions 22nd Tues- What Chore Day Looks Like (DITL) 24th Thur- October Photo Dump VIDEO- UPDATED VAN TOUR!! (New Things) 29th Tues- What Travel Day Looks Like (DITL) 31st Thur- November Blog & Video Schedule VIDEO- Travel Day (DITL) Thanks, The Outlands

 Hey Y'all! In this blog we're sharing things about van life that just make sense... I'm sure you've seen the memes and videos on social media. We've been slacking on the social media things, especially our YouTube lately. So here's our list: Van Life Things That Just Make Sense Van life is a unique lifestyle that requires thoughtful planning and preparation. Here are some things that just make sense in this nomadic way of living: Essential Gear: Portable power: Solar panels, inverters, and batteries are must-haves for powering your appliances and devices. (As you may know we've opted for solar and a power bank, that's working well for us!) Water storage: A reliable water tank, filtration system, and a way to heat water for showers and cooking. (We have a 5 gal tank, and a solar shower, but we use Planet Fitness a lot for our shower needs.) Cooking equipment: A compact stove, cookware, and utensils for preparing meals on the road. (As we've writte...

 Hey Y'all! We got some new van stuff. The best find was probably this $10 goodwill infant dresser. I didn't take any pictures of the process so far, but it was in pretty good shape, just needed a light sanding and stain. We sanded it down in-between doing other things, and so it took a couple days but nothing major. We haven't stained it yet, simply because we haven't been out to a store that would carry it. We plan to put it in place behind the drivers seat, and remove the plastic drawers stacked there. It doesn't really give anymore space than was there, but it's far more sturdy and better looking. The true deciding factor on it was that it fit the space perfectly! Other things we've purchased for the van recently are small, boring mechanical things- like a belt to forgo the squeaky smog thingy (technical term) and other even smaller things like a pin for this, or a screw for that, etc. Some household type purchases, like a laundry basket (collapsible) an...

 Hey Y'all! It's been awhile since I've done one of these, but be prepared, that doesn't mean there are a ton of pics... Photo Dump, July til Now- Near Jonesborough, TN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCytynvXxXs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXvWgftq_b4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lctU2FA-5jk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdpyRHEmsPw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRMMQMLX6yc This was one big trip, fairly local to home base. It was a lot of fun! We did all the things you saw in the above linked videos plus swam in the Nolichucky River a few times, just relaxed and read, and people watched at the campground... Baileyton KOA, Christmas in July: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsuQR8BvrvA&t=9s As we said in the video we had fun here! A lot of it was geared toward kids, but it was welcoming and fun for all. We'd definitely do a KOA event again. (We'd like to do a Halloween one soon.)   Kentucky Music Hall of Fame & Museum: (Video soon!) We went he...

 Hey Y'all! While we don't like to dwell on the negative too much, we also want to let you know about the things/places we didn't love. Maybe you will love them, or maybe we'll save you a trip! Since we talk about State Parks frequently, let's start there... There are 2 TN State Parks we'd put on the list: Cedars Of Lebanon- https://tnstateparks.com/parks/cedars-of-lebanon While we were here we really just caught up on chores, partly because it was necessary and partly because a lot of the park amenities were closed.  Pros & Cons: The spots here were huge, and the park and it's history are neat, but so much of it was closed. Either for renovation, or seasonally. Only one of three campgrounds were open, two of them being under renovation... looked like plumbing and electrical to us. So that left the remaining one pretty busy, however everyone was pretty quiet, and stuck to themselves. Not near as friendly as other places we've stayed. The Nature Cente...

 Hey Y'all! This is a bit of a filler blog, because while we've been places we've liked nothing so far has beat these five. Honorable mention to the latest museums, we really enjoyed them all. Both Jonesborough, and Greeneville TN are awesome (Lost State of Franklin) and we highly recommend them too.   We've been fortunate to have seen quite a few sights these past few months, here's our top 5!  There were so many cool things, and places coming up with just five favorites was harder than expected. Working from 5, and in order we'll start with... 5)  Athens Veterans Museum - Welcome to the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives. Located in Athens Alabama, we are proud to be a part of our military history with a large exhibit center, guided tours provided by local veterans, gift shop, meeting facilities, monthly coffee call and much more . The Alabama Veterans Museum & Archives collection contains an impressive display of artifacts from the Revolutionary War unt...

 Hey Y'all! Let's share  an interview with Chris, CEO and owner of Shadow Wolf Studios, a very small gaming company who a year ago released their first mobile game on android, and iOS, with updates following soon after. They have released a second, android game as well. Both can be found in the play store. Question's I asked Chris: What made you decided to start SWS?  I've always been into gaming, and learning how they work. As far back as I can remember having my own gaming company was my goal. Creating the games myself, and my friends and family want to play is my passion. What's been the companies biggest challenge so far?  Finding the time, I still worked full time outside of Shadow Wolf Studios, when I released the first game. Now we (my wife & I) travel full time, and I am loving that too... I try to continue building code in the evenings. Biggest achievement?  Getting those two games released! What's your first game about?  Foxy Pop, Check out a ...

 Hey Y'all! I did a bit of research, starting with just "western PA things to do" since from Ohio, you come to western PA first.  Immediately a reddit post came up for  Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad . That looked like something we'd be interested in, and it's in our price range for activities. After checking that out, I searched things nearby, and came up with quite a bit in just a quick search- After seeing how much there is to see and do nearby, I started looking for places to camp, these were the most promising- This option was the closest to my search of Oil City, and one of the cheapest on this app. The abandoned school looks like Chris' thing, and I'm totally up for a night or 2 out there.   Oil Creek Family Campground  had a lot of amenities, and activities in the park, for a decent price. There's also a decent amount of  Forest Land , some free, some fee, and various amenities among them. That's also a solid option. In my search I als...