Outskirts Overland Podcast
Welcome to the Outskirts Overland Podcast, your go-to source for all things overlanding! Hosted by a seasoned adventurer with over 15 years of experience, this podcast offers a genuine and down-to-earth exploration of the overlanding lifestyle. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just starting out, join us as we delve into the essentials of gear and equipment, share captivating stories from the road, and provide practical tips for your next adventure. Tune in for insightful interviews, expert advice, and a community of like-minded explorers who share a passion for discovering the world beyond the beaten path. Get ready to fuel your wanderlust and embark on unforgettable journeys with the Outskirts Overland Podcast!
Outskirts Overland Podcast
Balancing Parenting, Camping, and the Unexpected: A Glimpse Into an Overlander's Life
Dive into the refreshingly honest reality of balancing outdoor adventures with family life in this candid episode that captures the beautiful chaos behind the Instagram-perfect overlanding photos.
Ever tried to negotiate sleeping arrangements between three kids who all want the prime spot in your rooftop tent? That's just one of the diplomatic challenges I'm navigating as I prepare for a family camping weekend. The rooftop tent versus ground tent debate has already sparked sibling rivalry a week before departure, highlighting how overlanding with children requires an entirely different planning approach than solo adventures.
Between studying for surprisingly complex drone certification exams (who knew flying a small remote-controlled device legally required understanding aviation maps and regulations rivaling pilot training?), dealing with a half-shaved Aussiedoodle after my clippers broke mid-grooming, and researching child-sized camping cots, this episode captures the behind-the-scenes reality of family adventure planning. I share insights on transitioning camping setups as children grow, adapting to unexpected challenges, and finding moments of joy amidst exhaustion.
What makes this conversation especially valuable is the reminder to frame our challenges as "good problems" - signs of a life rich with opportunities and relationships. Even on four hours of sleep with an overwhelming to-do list, there's profound gratitude for the privilege of sharing outdoor experiences with family. As outdoor enthusiasts, we sometimes need this reminder that the messy, imperfect adventures often create the most authentic memories and strongest family bonds.
Ready to join the overlanding community in person? Use code OUSKIRSTEN to save 10% on your Overland of America tickets, and share your own family adventure challenges in the comments. What unexpected problems have turned into your favorite adventure memories?
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Outskirts Overland. I'm on completely different stuff now, so hopefully that turns out to be fantastic. I will have to figure out adding my intro and all that stuff. It has been, um, let's say it's been frustrating, and it has been frustrating to try and get everything, to try and get everything going as it should. So I had to find something. I had to go a whole different direction, down a rabbit hole of stuff I wasn't even aware of its existence. So that was a bit of a, a bit of a. I don't know it's a lot. It's a bit of a, uh, a bit of a. I don't know it's a lot. It's a bit of a.
Speaker 1:Outside of my normal comfortability place. I don't know what day to day is and I'm way late on the podcast because I was giving my dog, marvin those of you guys that have been here for a while, you know about Marvin. I was giving Marvin a haircut and the clippers broke and so I have like a half shaved Marvin and he's a Aussie doodle, for those of you that don't know. So I have like a half shaved dog and that's not ideal. That's not ideal at all. So I'm like way later getting this thing out, and I haven't I haven't even tried the software yet, so it's uh, yes, that kind of all of the above sucks. I mean, excuse me, I've got like Marvin hairballs in my throat right now. It's kind of gross. But so I am literally driving back home right this moment at 1.30 in the afternoon with exchanged clippers to hopefully finish Marwan, I would have liked to have it done yesterday, but whatever, whatever, whatever. I um, my new mattress is showing up today, so that's freaking exciting. I'm very, very thrilled about that. I got, I've got my lifesaver. Jerry can't just show up here in the next couple of days too.
Speaker 1:I've been going through and looking at, um, what I've been looking at randomly I guess it's overlandish, but overlandish, that's a word but I have been looking at remote control rock crawlers. I think that might be something that I just think is cool. I randomly I don't know what I was watching I was watching something YouTube, and I saw a bunch of guys around a, uh, like they made their own rock pile and they were just doing like remote control rock crawling. So I started to look into that and I was like man, that's a whole, nother expensive hobby. That's kind of unnecessary Really. Let's be honest with you, I was like, holy crap, that's super expensive. Like like really, really, really, really expensive. I was not prepared for how much those things are, but me being me, I was like, okay, I might have spent this much money on that pretty remote control garth that my truck is the cool thing. I don't need a super amazing remote control rock crawler.
Speaker 1:So first thing I did was look on Amazon and then I found someone on Amazon for relatively inexpensive, like relatively cheap, which was promising but which was promising. But I looked at the reviews and was like so I got a Facebook marketplace and it's kind of like modifying cars from my experience on Facebook marketplace, and maybe it's popular here, so maybe your Facebook marketplace is going. It's popular here, so maybe your Facebook marketplace isn't going to be like hopping. But there was like a bunch of you know three $400 ones that were even upgraded, that you know are used, so I could pick them up for, like I don't know, anywhere between 80 and 150 bucks. I mean I don't know what I'm looking at and I don't know what I'm doing at all, but I thought maybe. I thought maybe potentially that's good. You know, I don't know, is that good? I think so. So I started looking at that. I'm not by any means buying anything right now. I just got an ultra hook and a mattress and a freaking expensive filter, jerry can and gas is not going down like I wish it would and travel and just I'm ready for. I'm ready for all these promises of cheaper goods to uh to exist like ever, because all that's happened is stuff's gotten even more expensive yet and I can't be. I can't be having that. That's happened is stuff's gotten even more expensive yet and I can't be having that. That's no good for me, that's not good for me. So, yeah, that was been. It's kind of where I'm at.
Speaker 1:I have been looking at some gear and one thing that I saw that was really freaky cool and I might be like way behind the times on this, not an overlanding specific thing, but it's like a bug bite neutralizer and it plugs into your. It like plug. It just plugs into your phone, like this thing plugs into your phone and like you hold it over the bug bite and it like neutralizes it. I don't know if it's like UV or heat or what, but like kind of blew my freaking mind. I was like this is freaking sick. Did I buy one. No, if you guys have one, let me know. Looked like something that I need to have, though, between that and a potentially like a bug zapper, those are things that I've been looking at. I have a thermosel it actually.
Speaker 1:I'm actually yawning because I'm tired this time. Guys, I'll get into that in a minute, the yawning. So I actually went close to the water a few weeks ago and the mosquitoes were so bad the thermos didn't even touch it. Usually it will, but those mosquitoes were like hybrid Jurassic Park mosquitoes, so that didn't work. So I was like maybe I need a bug zap or something, maybe I to mosquitoes. So that didn't work. So I was like maybe I get bug zamp or something. Maybe I and sometimes I do the like the uh like put a little extra sugar in a gatorade and cut the top off and flip it upside down so they like go in to get the sugar and then they're stuck. That sometimes works too. I don't know if you guys ever even heard of that trick, but well, that's a trick.
Speaker 1:Yawning, I'm actually tired today because I had a final for my like my part 107 class college course yesterday. I got to go take the test, but I had my college course final yesterday and it was really really, really, really long and I didn't get to bed until like 2 in the morning and it was due. It was due at midnight in my my college is in arizona, which is lucky for me and um, so it was due at midnight in arizona, which was two in the morning, but I got done. I I got done at like 1 15 in the morning with my final. I got the kids to bed and I got the kids to bed at like 9. And then started on it and got done about 1.15.
Speaker 1:For those of you guys that are like that, maybe you guys do do commercial drone, but like in order to get your like, in order to fly a DJI drone Not hard, like easy, super easy drone, not hard, like easy, super easy, in order to fly a drone legally, commercially. There is so freaking much like it's like I am not a pilot, nor have I ever been a pilot, so like these maps, like looking at maps and, like you know, you're looking at knots and different there's different classifications of like ways you can see mileage in front of you, and then there's like a whole bunch of rules on, like you know, what's the max distance looking at this object or near this airport, or what class is this air for? A class A, b, c, d, e, f, g, f, f, d, m? You know, and and based on all those determinations, what you know, what does that mean for your maximum? Like proximity, you can get to it if you get.
Speaker 1:If you hear a plane call in through traffic control and it says this that the next day, do you know to fly? Only you know the only fly to the left, like fly a pattern. Do you know to fly only you know the only fly to the left, like fly a pattern? Only you know turning left, or do you know to fly a pattern, only turning right? Or do you know to ground it? Because that aircraft has priority, depending on what you're doing. So it's like flying a drone with your cell phone, you and the remote, super easy, even taking pictures, pretty freaking easy. Like got a lot of hours on that. Now doing it legally, like getting your part 107 kind of a deal, dude.
Speaker 1:And and again, I'm not been studying for like ever I took this course. So like I'm going for unmanned aerial systems and not that I want to talk about freaking drones the whole way home, but like I'm going for unmanned aerial systems and not that I want to talk about freaking drones the whole way home, but like I'm going for unmanned aerial systems, so like it's more than just part one, oh, seven, like it's. I'm going to learn Python, which is like AI based, you know, um, flight planning, like a bunch of different stuff. But before I can even mess with some of the stuff I'm going to learn, I have to be licensed, which means I have to get my part 107. So literally my first course in school was like intro to drones. Second course is like part 107 course. Four weeks. It was like three and a half weeks long, which is a ton of info to throw at a dude that knows jack nothing about drop, like anything.
Speaker 1:So it's, it, was it. It's old, it's been a lot, and looking at a map that's a circle has been a lot too. Like aerial, like not aerial maps, like topographic, like flat land maps, like when you look at these, uh, look you look at these. I keep on saying nautical, but that's not right. These, and I keep on to say aerial, but that has come up right, I don't remember. I'm kind of jumbled, guys, I haven't got much sleep and I'm kind of jumbled, but anyways, these maps are circles and you can look at obstacles through the map and like what, what, like kind of what parameters you're under, based on where you're flying. Dgi software also has that inputted into it, but it'll help you kind of understand, like a number of different things.
Speaker 1:I am freaking, I am tired. See, I was up. There was just a late night. Nope, any of those grenadiers just passed me Don't know nothing about this submarine, what's that? Yeah, yeah. So it's just a late night. A lot of stuff going on with the drone stuff. Man, it's like half pilot, half meteorologist, half something I don't even know. Like is a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff, and yeah, it's lot. The size of your drone matters and like how much it weighs, like matters, and what you're in, yeah, it all matters, it all matters, it all matters. So, hey, let's do a touch on the yawning.
Speaker 1:I got a comment on the podcast and at the long row, like God, this guy yawns all the time. I actually was on a medication and I brought it up to my doctor. I was like dude, I am not tired. I mean, today I'm yawning, but I just am actually tired. I got my kids to school, I mean I was up at six, I went to sleep at two, like I got four hours of sleep and I was outside all weekend with the kids. So like I just didn't get enough sleep. I'm just, I'm sexually tired. I'll stop and get an energy drink here in a little bit, but you just, I'm just actually tired. Um, but yeah, I was on this medicine and so I finally says to my doctor I was like I feel like I yawn a lot, like I'm yawning a ton, and they were like, oh, that's a side effect of your medicine, like chronic yawning, and I was like, yeah, that's like not cool anymore, like I feel like all I do is yawn, but like cause I'd yawn like dude, like I don't even know, a hundred times a day, like it was insane so to have an individual that was like this.
Speaker 1:I've never heard somebody yawn so much. It was a medicine. To that individual that was like this I've never heard somebody yawn so much. It was a medicine, it was medication I was on randomly. I feel like I should address it because I'm like I'm not tired and I'm not bored today. I'm tired, but yeah, it was just a medication thing. I didn't even know chronic yawning was like a thing thing, but it turns out that it is. So I'm off that medication now and I hope it kind of side effects, the replacement, so whatever.
Speaker 1:You know, when in Rome do as the Romans do. Or the doctors give you medicines Whatever, so yeah, so I have been. Or the doctors give you medicines for whatever, so yeah, so I have been. I mean, that's what I've been doing. I'm waiting on my mattress to get here so I can put it in the tent and kind of screw around with it. But, dude, this is 95 degrees here today. Like the weather went zero to a hundred, literally, like actually. So that sucked, sucks hundred. Literally Like actually. So that sucked, sucks, sucks, sucks, whatever. Not cool, so it's like actually really hot. And yeah, that just happened.
Speaker 1:Like Friday we weren't dealing with that as well, doing all the like household things that go along with like kind of changing furnace filters and you know you're changing from winter to summer, just like putting. I have a fireplace in my house so I've been like put insulation up the up the dude, I'm so tired I'm going to lost for words up the chimney thing. Like fill it with wool insulation so that I'm not drafting in hot air through the fireplace. You can close it guys. Yes, you can close it, but anybody that has a fireplace knows it's not like it's a freaking, it's not like a fun door to a house. It's not got a seal or anything like that. Work that way because it's so gets so hot, so it just is what it is.
Speaker 1:We've been dealing with that, going through kids clothes and stuff. We went to a pool all day yesterday so naturally it's like you know they're, you know, as kids are, everybody's grown out of swimsuits, so we're in, you know we're in swimsuits that are too tight or new ones or whatever. And I wasn't prepared with sunscreen Like it got hot and nice, and I wasn't ready with sunscreen, like sunscreen chapstick, and I feel like sunscreen, chapstick and fingernail clippers are things that I keep in my car, like every car, always camping, not camping kids, whatever. Like chapstick, sunscreen and fingernail clippers are like a must. But it's about to be that freaking bug by killer thing. I don't even know what that does it. I should probably look into what it does, but sometimes I get so much like I learn so much about gear, like I'm just sick of learning about it myself. To be completely honest, like they say it does a thing. I read reviews and other people said it also does that thing. I'm gonna probably trust them and just leave it at that, like I don't wanna. I don't want to learn about bug zappers. I'm already in the middle of learning about dog hair clippers, because these ones I had crapped halfway through my dog being having his hair cut. Talk about a bummer dude, and I don't live in town. Anyways, I'm just complaining now. But so that's what's going on. That's what's been going on. Man, I'm looking forward to Overland of America. I haven't got a time lockdown with those guys but yesterday, like with it being so hot, made me think like man, no laser rivers and he's so nice, like I just got done mowing the grass and like I was full of grass and you'll see where I'm going with this. But that makes made me kind of feel like it makes your skin kind of feel like it does when you get off the trail and it's just got that layer of dirt on you, sweat and dirt and whatnot, and I was like man, that's going to be so nice. It's going to be so nice. I'm very much looking forward to that. It's like months away.
Speaker 1:I'm going camping this weekend with all the kids all three kids weekend going camping. So it was quite the discussion with them. I have three kids and my girlfriend's coming, so there'll be five of us. We'll have a two-person reef top 10 so and I have kids that all want to be part of. You know what'm doing, so we'll see how that goes. I'm bringing the gazelle and the truck.
Speaker 1:I don't think any of the kids will sleep in the rooftop tent without me. I think they're all a little skeptical of that, but I'd let them. I mean that'd be fine and I could sleep in the in the uh, uh, yeah gazelle. I mean I have an ex bed for that too, like a big queen size one that I have had for a long time. But we'll see. We may all five be in the. We may all five be in the yeah gazelle, because there's no way one kid's letting the other kid like sleep in the rooftop down with me.
Speaker 1:Plus, if anybody's sleeping up in the rooftop tent with me assuming my girlfriend, I'm not going to set her like, I'm not going to split her away from me to sleep with my kids too, so that one of my kids could sleep with me in the rooftop tent. I'd let one of my kids sleep up there with her in the rooftop tent and I could sleep in the gazelle. That's just me being like, maybe old fashioned, I don't know. I'm not going to make her sleep with more kids than well. I'm not going to make her sleep with any of my kids, period. But if the event occurred where one of the kids wanted to be in the rooftop tent with her, that's an option. But I'm not going to put her down with the other two in the gazelle. But if all three of them wanted to sleep in the rooftop tent, I'm fine with that too. All three kids could fit in the rooftop tent. They're little. I just want to be up there with them and I feel like if anybody needs to go pee or anything, I'm just setting them up for failure. Really Okay, because the rooftop tent's like kind of requires an adult. My son's, two over my daughter, my middle daughter's four. My oldest is nine, she's fine, but she ain't getting up to go pee and she's not getting. She probably not waking up to help them either.
Speaker 1:Oh the uh struggles of camping with children. Just see the struggles of camping with children. So I gotta figure all that out. But I have been looking at little kid cots. I'm going to camp this weekend it's monday. I don't have cots for them, they usually sleep on mattresses. But I've been looking at cots and I think that might be the way to go because I can have a fan going in there and it'll kind of put hair over and under them like, which is a lot like the rooftop tent. So I'm like they make little kid like camping cots that sit off the ground, you know like six inches. I think that's the way to go. I think that's the cast me out for that scenario. So I'll be looking at those.
Speaker 1:If you guys any of you guys go like floating or you guys may be more experienced than me with the kids too Like I had my truck built out to where kids slept in the back. I had a camper shell on it and kids slept in the back. But I went the most with my oldest daughter and she doesn't want to go as much anymore. So I mean the camper shell is cool and all but like, given that she doesn't want to go that much anymore. So I mean the camper shell is cool and all but like, given that she doesn't want to go that much anymore. The bed rack is way more versatile, so when I had the opportunity to switch after I wrecked the truck last year, I put a bed rack on.
Speaker 1:So for this one specific weekend where I'll have all three of them and my girlfriend all five of us it's going to be a little bit like touch and go on who sleeps where, but that's legitimately like. This will be the first time all five of us simply camping at the same time. There's always another kid here or a kid there or you know whatever. Me and just me and one of the children, just two of the kids. Like. There's a lot of scenarios that occur with the kids that aren't literally all of us and I have the gazelle for this, but it just turned into a thing this weekend where, like really my youngest daughter, my middle child, he's like extremely bummed that she wouldn't be able to sleep in the rooftop town with me because she loves it. But my son, my youngest son, has never slept in the rooftop town. So he was like I want to do it. And I was like, oh boy, they were already fighting, it's a week away, they're fighting. Yesterday I was like, oh jesus, so the rooftop tent might just be off the table for everybody, just to, for sake of everyone's sanity, I guess. So we'll see how that goes, you know, whatever. Um, but yeah, that's what's going on.
Speaker 1:So I'm just getting ready for the that with the, with the children, with the children this weekend. I gotta get those cots and do that thing and get ready for that. And uh, yeah, I got a lot of stuff. No, I didn't have a lot of stuff, but I had some subjects to run. Guys, I'm just too tired to even I don't even know what's up or down or sideways right now. Like I gotta go home and finish cutting this dog's hair that's not done. And then I gotta pretty much shower and then run back to town to pick up my daughter so that I can get her go register at church camp, and then after that I'm going to my girlfriend's son's soccer game, like right after that.
Speaker 1:Just a pretty concentrated busyness all at once with my 107 final. Just had I got some sleep. This is like a normal summer day, but on four hours sleep I'm hurting, hurting, pretty good. Uh, I don't, I don't know that I've got 10 hours of sleep since thursday, really just trying to study and dude, just been a lot. I'm just I'm too old. It's like one of those things. I'm just too old for this like the podcast, podcast, the I mean just the house, school work, all of it.
Speaker 1:So, anyways, guys, I will catch you tomorrow. I'll have a topic. I mean, I have a topic. I even got new pens today and my notebook was out of paper so I can write stuff down. You know that new revolutionary piece of technology called writing yourself a note, taking notes. Yeah, I got that going, so we'll see how this turns out.
Speaker 1:You guys may never. I mean, I'm hoping you guys hear this. I hope this works. I didn't get a chance to test it, so I'm just sending it Like I'm not even playing with nothing, like this either is going to be okay or it's not. So that's where it's at, but, uh, we'll figure it out. But yeah, I'll catch you guys tomorrow. I will have like something more curated for sure and ready and uh, I'll see you guys then. Have a great Monday. It is June and if you guys want to get tickets to Overland of Amerifilm, go ahead and use code OUSKIRSTEN Save you 10%. Other than that, guys, keep enjoying it, get outside. Try to have you know, try to look at all your problems as course, world problems, because even as busy and as tired as I am, it's all good stuff. You know, like, none of it's like it's not a bad day. None of it's a bad day, it's all a good day. It's just I'm tired, that's all. But try and stay positive, guys, and I'll catch you tomorrow Later.
