Latest adventure and truly the end

I didn't want to close out 2024 without a post and an update on the blog. The update is below but first the adventure and the tryout of the adventure platform on an extended trip.

November saw us headed to the southwest. More specifically, we camped or stayed in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Kansas. For those keeping track that is 41 states that we have spent at least one night in since the onset of the indefinite, independent sabbatical,. With the trip to Alaska in 2025, I should be at 48 states on the sabbatical and more importantly, all 50 states since 2017. 

We split half the time camping in our adventure vehicle or tent and the other half in motels and hotels. Since we also drove a lot of miles, and the better fuel economy versus towing a trailer, the cost difference was minimal versus RV living (to be fair, it was actually cheaper to operate the new adventure vehicle rather than towing and that does not include the rapid depreciation on an RV). The cryptid hunting hounds had no problem adapting to the smaller space as they are well known for being low maintenance. The only real issue was tent camping at Grand Canyon National Park. It dropped to the mid to low teens at night and the tent was a bit chilly for sure. A space heater was helpful, but nylon is a poor insulator and we opted for a hotel instead of staying a third night.

The Grand Canyon was beautiful as were the other National Parks I visited - Zion, Canyon Lands, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and Capitol Reef. I also stopped at Meteor Crater and Lake Mead to round out the trip. We mostly stayed on the back roads as we have no height or length restrictions and no concerns about getting stuck and unable to turn around. 

I've decided to just do a series of photo dumps (as is my nature when I am slow to post). Enjoy. And I know you are curious, but yes I was still looking for cryptids (like Big Foot), but I did not find any. So far my methodology has been as productive as everyone else's and I have had a lot more fun doing it. 

I love a good tree picture, so here is one with the Grand Canyon beyond.

 

Tent setup in Grand Canyon

Cozy setup in vehicle. Key word is cozy.

The actual Grand Canyon. I have like 50 photos and none of them do it justice. Since I can't capture the feeling, this will have to do,. 

Lake Mead

Zion National Park

Zion

Bryce Canyon National Park

Hunting hounds confused by the cold white stuff. At 9200 feet it does get a bit chilly. Bryce Canyon

Another one at Bryce Canyon.

Capitol Reef National Park

Canyon Lands National Park

Arches National Park

Arches

In December, along with S&S (from previous adventures), I also headed back to the hill country of Texas, We managed to visit a number of museums and scenic spots in between checking the breweries, wineries, distilleries, and mead shops for Big Foot. 

Waco - and the Magnolia property

San Antonio river walk, The picture is blurry but it looked clear when I took the picture. It is possible my eyes were blurry and it that counter acted the photo. 

Random stranger at a brewery. We stopped at about 35 different establishments looking for Bigfoot plus 3 museums. No luck but we were willing to take one for the team.

Johnson City utility lighting up the park. It looked pretty and I have a soft spot for utilities. 

The overall prototype concept of a single passenger vehicle to be a mini RV was completely successful. I will be making a change however as it became clear I needed a smidge more room so I can sit up in bed and have better access to bathroom like features in an emergency, I have already purchased a conversion kit for a minivan and I am seeking a used Dodge Grand Caravan to become my new travel platform. This was one of my many original travel ideas (along with truck camper, SUV camper, full size conversion van, et. al.) and now that I am no longer full time on the road and with a lot of miles and nights under the stars, I am ready for this type of travel, The plan will be to camp (in the van or a tent) at least half of the time and structures the rest (motel, hotel, VRBO/Airbnb, cabins, etc.). . I am excited to get the conversion going as I have a number of items to bring over from my RV days including separate power and lighting to make it a good travel platform. I have like 5 months to do the implementation and test out the setup prior to heading to Alaska and the associated 12,000 mile adventure.

Now, what about the blog? I have decided to actually end it this time for real. I wanted to end it sooner but I didn't want to disappoint any readers or worse yet, have them think I am "settling down". I can assure I am not giving up on this grand adventure. Rather the reasons are more to do with my lack of interest in producing public content. That is it. I do not know who reads this (if anyone) and I do not know if there is a large language model scrapping my creative content to regurgitate later and for the fawning morons to praise the "creativity" of the AI machine. My hunt for cryptids is certainly not new, but my search for cryptids in small businesses that sell brewed, distilled, fermented, or baked items is new and in this world of algorithms and predictive models, it is refreshing to find something new and creative even if the actual content isn't very good. 

The blog is ending, my endless quest for the sublime is not.

Until I see you in person,

Thor

Update - it's been a while

I have been asked many times why am I not posting on my blog anymore. The fact is my schedule for posting has always been erratic and this is no different. Please review point nine of the FAQ. You will see that I post when the spirit moves me and it hasn't moved my lately. 

I have continued my adventures since we last met up but configuring the remote home base and new travel platform took some time. I am comfortable at this point to share what I have but I do expect further refinements after my first longer term trip in a few weeks (more on that below). Here is my current setup from a road ready perspective. 

Toyota 4Runner with a roof top storage container. Ok, not much to see. 

I have taken multiple short trips with this configuration and I am comfortable with it for that purpose. I have a platform I built which allows me to have a bed in the back along with window screens and covers for stealthy sleeping. I have a power system, refrigerator, and other needed items for basic comfort. The roof top box holds other gear (tent, chairs, portable dog crate, camping equipment, et.al.) so I have the flexibility to car camp, tent camp, stealth camp, go to a hotel, or rent a unit (house/condo/cabin) all on the same trip as the need arises. I have tested out all of these modes with this configuration and it has been great.  I will make an effort to include some internal pictures next time.

I have made two trips back to Wisconsin in the last few months. The first was to celebrate B&L getting married. It was a lovely private ceremony and several great meals. Oddly enough, Big Foot failed to show up for the event but I did my best to continue my searching. 

We did check out a brewery in West Allis. It was a charming location with proper signage for controlling pests.

B and I checked out downtown Waukesha for Big Foot. 

Lucy relaxing while Ozzy looks on bewildered by her sheer laziness. 

On my second trip to Wisconsin in October, I also made my way up to the Green Bay area. I had a lovely time visiting C&D and then B&L. I also had a periodic medical procedure that is recommended for people with my years of experience. I stayed at hotel to make it less onerous for others and increased privacy. All went well but during a particularly sensitive moment of preparation, when one would not want to wander far from the place of preparation, the fire alarms went off. Thankfully I was on the first floor so evacuation, if needed, would have been easy. Needless to say, I didn't perish in a fire and it was a false alarm so no need to evacuate (the building). 

View of the Fox River in De Pere. 

I also made a trip to the Buffalo River National Park in Arkansas. I went on a lovely hike and checked out a cool cavern and a great view of the Buffalo River. Actually I made two trips as it was very pretty at two different times (for the astute viewer of tree leaves) but whatever.

View out of the cavern,. It was quite large and yet no Big Foot.

View of the river as the water levels are quite low.

I made a trip to Kentucky and visited the site of my place from last summer. I setup a tent and the dogs and I had a lovely time visiting with friends we made last year. You can see the dogs are flexible in their accommodations and as long as I am able to provide for them and spend time with them, they are happy. I am enjoying a lovely cup of coffee (utilizing the pour over method) and a pastry from a patisserie near my fortress of solitude. 

I have also experimented with other activities in case I have been wrong about Big Foot being in breweries, wineries, et. al. and that included fly fishing. I was able to catch several fish on my first time out and I had an absolute blast. If Big Foot would take up fishing, I can see how this would be a preferred method. It was all catch and release so it never got messy. I had a really nice time on what is known as one of the top trout fishing rivers in the nation and it certainly helped having a skilled guide. 

White River. No not the one in Wisconsin. 

I made a trip out east to Virginia again this year. For those keeping track (which is me), that makes the fourth year in a row I have been to Virginia in the fall. While I love the area, that seems rather excessive. For the curious, I stayed in a hotel, Airbnb, and stealth camped at a rest area and truck stop. I had planned on seeing the Blue Ridge Parkway but it was closed due to damage from excessive rains. 

Several of my brothers and their families were in the DC area to celebrate B&L's wedding. This included J&L, J&M, J&K, J&S, S&N+O, K&B+R, J, and E. Obviously B&L were there along with Lucy, and Ozzy. Once again the anonymizer has been stuck using the letter J to represent my siblings exclusively, Very confusing.

Literally the only photo I took in DC, Some building. It was pretty, I have no idea why I chose to take the pictures I do. What can I say, I'm a treat (shout out to M for stealing her line).

View of the Shenandoah Valley. Yea, yea, been there done that.

I have a few extra brewery pictures in my collection so I thought I'd include them here. They are from the last few months and in no way represents the limit of where I've been. They are just the ones I chose to take pictures of. As I mentioned, I have no rhyme or reason to what I photograph or when, 

I found a small brewery in southern Missouri (Beach Bums). Lovely outdoor space and some of the beer was excellent. The food truck outside made a nice sandwich and the dogs were relatively normal and behaved.

Another Missouri brewery - the Public House off of I-44. There is also a winery next door so prime Big Foot territory but Big Foot didn't stop by this day. Dogs slightly less well behaved but may have been a big stir crazy from the road. 

As I mentioned, I have setup my fortress of solitude where I can launch these adventures from. As you can see the dogs have settled in and are in their usual positions - Lucy on my lap and Ozzy on the leather furniture. 

Lucy wondering why I am not petting her.

Ozzy relaxing and enjoying the couch, 

Sculpture garden at a nearby college

As previously indicated, I have further travel plans ahead. I have a several week trip planned for the southwest coming up shortly. This will be a longer term test of my travel setup as I intend to see Arizona (Grand Canyon), along with Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. If there are issues I will have time to address them before my massive trip to Alaska next summer. I can either build a custom trailer (or modify an existing small trailer), or do a custom buildout of a small van if my current setup proves to be insufficient for my long awaited Alaskan adventure. I figure it will take between two and three months for the Alaska. People have asked if I will be going alone and no, I plan on bringing both dogs. I do plan on driving the roughly 12,000 round trip so it should be quite an adventure as they are unable to share driving duties.

I would like to promise to do a better job on posting updates, but I despise lying. 

Until next time, 

Thor

braxwood.com

I'm back

For those curious, yes I'm alive and well and back again. If you recall from the last posting, I indicated that my hunt has been compromised. I determined that by indicating the blog had ended, I could shake the nefarious cabal that is persecuting cryptids for their own insidious reasons. Hopefully this worked and I can once again pursue my prey without risking them to further exploitation. 

Welcome to the next phase of the adventures of Thor Braxwood. This is the entry mat to my secret lair. 

I have decided to develop a secret base of operations where I can continue my adventures without being discovered. It needed to be centrally located and a bit off the grid. It also needed close proximity to several breweries so I can be sure that I am ready for whatever happens next. After an extensive search, I have located such a place. I won't disclose my location on this site, but be assured that I am in a very natural state and it does feel like home. The timing of the acquisition for my fortress of solitude was not what I expected and I have been forced to redomesticate myself in a hurry. This means I have not been able to travel as much since my last posting but I have made multiple trips to and from Wisconsin as I had to relocate the contents of my storage unit. I have also tested out my new adventure vehicle and did a trip to Michigan with a quick test of the stealthier camping platform.

We will also be exploring the nexus of cryptid and UFO/UAP sightings in these new adventures. Shout out to M&S for the hat.

I was able to visit both northeastern and southeastern Wisconsin along with seeing lots of friends. Obviously this included seeing B&L and C&D. Since this all happened over a month (or nearly two) ago, the details are now fuzzy with all of the house and travel platform changes. To ease my cognitive burden, I will simply provide a series of captioned photos, Long time readers will recognize this format as I have had to do this in past when similar bouts of laziness occurred. I failed to take photos at a number of places so there are gaps in my timeline. To make it even more confusing, I have also not placed this in any chronological order. Truly a mess, thankfully this is all covered in the FAQ. 

Hunting hounds still alive and well and on the lookout for cryptids

Eagle Park in Muskego, WI

Ope Brewery, West Allis. Amy and I lived about 4 blocks from this location back in the day. It was not a brewery then but rather resembled Gary, Indiana. Much nicer now!

Raised Grain with a few former co-workers who also fled the workforce.  

Parlor Brewing in Mountain Home, AR. Excellent beer and a perfect pour.

Damage from a tornado. That dock is flipped upside down and the boat placed on top like a cherry on s sundae. Have to admire the power of a tornado.

Food at a brewery, I will hold off naming this place as it is close to the secret lair that I have established as a base of future travel.

Crush Wine Bar in Arkansas, Very much a lounge vibe and unexpected treat in a rural area.

Moved into the new secret lair, I have repurposed my RV and camping furniture for this space. It is very airy and casual.

The Bank in Port Austin, MI. It rained a ton whilst we (J&M) dined outside.  

Thumb Brewing, Caseville, MI. Good beer and good food plus live music on the weekends in the summer. 

Sunset over Lake Huron. Stupid pretty

Back at Thumb Brewing with J&M along with B&L. Dogs stayed back at the cottage.

Not going to lie, I love the sunsets at J&M's cottage. This was from their front yard overlooking Lake Huron, 

Fireworks over a lake near the secret lair, I'm most amazed at how the camera's image processing decides to lighten up the sky. This is why I sometimes think about carrying an actual camera so pictures can match reality. Then I decide that is too much work, If there was only a way to carry around stuff with you when you go out and about other than your pockets. Alas, they have not made such a device.

What is next for Thor? I am continuing to outfit the adventure vehicle and planning on some test trips as I finalize my configuration. I am planning for trips that will include tent camping, stealth sleeping, hotels, house rentals, cruises, and railroad. There is the possibility of a return to Hawaii and of course Alaska is in the future. That will include a boat portion in order to see everything and the hunting hounds will need to sit that out. I am still trying to figure out the optimal way to do that while still being sensitive to their needs. If you have met Ozzy and Lucy you will know how needy they really are.

Until next time,

Thor

braxwood.com