Feb
5

Roll The Dice

Roll The Dice

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But how do you find that kind of serendipity when you only have a week? Fil created a game. Each morning, he and his friend would wake up and roll a single dice. A one meant go north. 2 = east, 3 = south, 4 = west, 5 = stay put and 6 meant to cross the nearest state border. The only rule? No backtracking.

Today, we follow Fil as he and his friend Brian figuratively and literally roll the dice, and see where they land. And which side is facing up.

 

This episode originally aired as a six-part series on Fil’s awesome podcast, Van Sounds. We cut quite a bit of material to turn it into a single piece. You can listen to the full version of the Dice series as well as other awesome travel stories, like the Freight Train episode, at: http://vansounds.org/

 

Music: 36th Parallel by Coastwest Unrest    •    Singular vs Plural by Yclept Insan    •    Unnamed by Fil Corbitt    •    Time Bandit by Yclept Insan    •    Italics by Porteur    •    Dying Sun by Southnorth (a solo project by Kent Irwin of the band People With Bodies)    •    Give’er It by Gabriel Graham    •    Cause I Can’t Find by A Paper Cup Band (a project by Andrew Jansen)    •    Unnamed by Arthur Howls (aka Kent Irwin of the band People With Bodies) and Andrew Martin of Up is the Down is the    •    Camelback Blues by A Paper Cup Band (a project by Andrew Jansen)

All tracks were used with direct permission from the artists.

Jan
22

Paul’s Boots

Paul’s Boots

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/242983999?secret_token=s-8soOq” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]We got a call from Australia. M’Lynn’s husband, Paul, passed away this past July. He left behind three pairs of polished hiking boots and a backpack packed for his dream hike: the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail.

She had an idea for one final gift for her husband. “How good would it be,” she asked, “for his boots to make the journey even if Paul could not?” We want to make it happen. Give a listen. We need your help.

Want to help? To learn more, visit: http://www.ducttapethenbeer.com/paulsboots

Music: Original score by our friend Amy Stolzenbach.

Jan
8

The Shorts — If The Shoe Fits

If The Shoe Fits

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“I followed my friend through the small, dark weight room in a crusty garage-like building left over from the station’s army days and up a narrow, twisted staircase,” remembers Hilary Oliver. “Behind the door at the top of those stairs hid a magical place.”

Drudgery and boredom ruled most of Hilary’s season at Antarctica’s McMurdo Station, but she also got an unlikely introduction–one that opened up a whole different world.

 

You can find more of Hilary’s writing at thegription.com

 

Music: Mad Scientist by Fog Lake    •    Orater General by The King in Yellow    •    Little Black Balloon by Fog Lake    •    Circuit Rider by Fog Lake

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley and Free Music Archive.

Dec
10

Everybody Loves LeeRoy

Everybody Loves LeeRoy

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/236870110?secret_token=s-2NGgH” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /] God told Steve Wescott to walk from the Space Needle to Times Square, NYC, with a goat named LeeRoy, to raise $200,000 for an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. Or at least that’s the elevator pitch. In truth, when Steve started out of Seattle in 2011, it had much less to do with God, and much more to do with running away from himself and the mistakes he had made as a Christian rock star and sex-and-love-aholic. You probably don’t want to listen to this one with your kids.

To learn more about Steve’s project and the orphanage, Uzima Outreach, visit: http://www.needle2square.com/

 

Music: The Walk by Nony Zero    •    Slow Burn by Black Pistol Fire    •    Original Score by Amy Stolzenbach    •    Pilgrim’s Progress by Jason Tyler Burton    •    Destination by Jason Tyler Burton

 

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley, and our friends Amy Stolzenbach and Jason Tyler Burton.

 

Nov
20

The Shorts — Powder and Hookah Smoke

Powder and Hookah Smoke

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Want to travel like a local? Check out Greg’s new travel start up: www.viahero.com

 

Music: Orater General by The King in Yellow    •    Please Don’t Ask Me to Explain by The Walthall Tango    •    Wake Me Up by Publish the Quest    •    A Language of Its Own by Publish the Quest

Tracks provided by Mevio’s Music Alley and, friends of the Diaries, Publish the Quest.