A Stressful, Not Fun Day

Moving the Scamp to a new location goes one of two ways. It’s either simple and fun or stressful and not fun. The chances for a good moving day tend to be better when I wake Barron up with a kiss on the cheek (this is real, it’s an act of love as well as tact), however on this day that was not the case.

It was an unusually hot morning. Barron packs up outside as I pack up inside and the heat seemed to stress him out, not to mention he dropped the tongue of the Scamp on his foot. I worked very hard to not mirror his energy, which often tends to happen with just the two of us in this tiny space during stressful situations and only makes matters worse. I gave him a hug, offered him some CBD (my go-to anxiety cure) and after pulling the Scamp out of our bumpy, rocky spot and up the steep hill to the main road, we were finally able to laugh it off and enjoy ourselves, road trips with the Scamp are quite enjoyable, that is until we came to a stop and the solar panel in the back slid off the storage bins and into the Berkey, snapping in half one of its very expensive water filter elements. (We’ve not yet decided if we will replace the filter or find a new water filtration system.)

Road trips with the Scamp are enjoyable because we have the freedom to go anywhere with our home on our tail. It’s like backpacking, but with far more luxuries. We drove up into the mountains and past Lake Gunnison, absolutely gorgeous and undisturbed terrain, but our car was working over time with the temperature gauge rising on every hill. Barron long ago learned from his dad that when the temperature gauge begins to climb, to blast the internal heat so as to pull heat off the engine, a myth that has been 100% confirmed by our Subaru on more than one occasion. Thankfully the mountains are still very cool this time of year so we drove with the windows down and the air vents pointed away from us.

I don’t often tow the Scamp. In fact, I never tow the Scamp. I am the copilot and navigator so I am usually unaware of the stress going through Barron’s mind as he monitors the various nuances of the Subaru. While he’s paying close attention to sounds and the feel of the car, I’m blasting the music and putting my feet out the window.

The road to our new location was top 5 most treacherous we’ve ever driven. It’s very hard for me to assess the road conditions when looking for campsites online. Nothing broke, the back window of the Scamp didn’t show up with any additional cracks than the 7 already existing, but the screws of the Scamp’s door handle managed to rattle out of their homes and I found the handle sitting in my hand after fully opening the door.

After officially landing and unpacking, we both went on walks separately to clear our heads. We weren’t mad at each other, but because nearly every hour of our days are spent within 10 feet of one another, time alone is an unsurprisingly efficient way to recollect ourselves. We were lucky enough to find a private, desolate spot to camp that still has great service, so we pulled up Game of Thrones on my iPad and closed out our day watching our long-time favorite character tyrannically burn down a city.

The following day was sunny, warm and lovely.

A Journal Entry

September 25, 2018

This morning was so wonderful waking up in the Scamp. The moon was bright AF as we went to sleep and the sun was bright AF as we woke up. Why is the full moon so special? Why not all moons? It’s only one moon anyway.

A Dude and His Dog

Pretty Girls of Utah

Medicinal Mushrooms & Other Nutrients I Consume Daily

Barron and I love using vitamins, minerals and supplements to increase various areas of our health. We use vitamins and supplements in addition to a healthy, well balanced, whole-food diet, trying to get most of our vitamins from foods themselves. In some areas though, supplementation is beneficial.

Our latest favorite supplements have been medicinal mushrooms. I am fascinated by mushrooms of all sorts. Fungi like mushrooms have now been revealed as being structurally and genetically closer to humans than to plants.

A few of my favorite podcasts discussing the use and benefits of medicinal and psychedelic mushrooms include the Kevin Rose Podcast ft. Dr. Andrew Weil, Paul Stamets on Joe Rogan and Michael Pollan on Tim Ferriss.

Mushrooms we take:

Turkey Tail - Immune booster, excellent for patients on chemo or people struggling with depleted immune systems (Like I was last month in Guatemala after a serious bacterial/parasite infection) 

Turkey Tail Mushroom

Lions Mane - Nerve repair and neuro-regenerative. Serious brain food increasing memory, concentration and alleviating anxiety. Because Lion’s Mane is so good for nerve repair, I take it near daily for my Raynauds symptoms, hoping it will repair any damage in the nerves of my fingers and toes from being continuously numb.

Lion’s Mane Mushroom

Chaga - An antioxidant powerhouse, fighting free radicals and inflammation. Tastes roasted and goes well with coffee.

Chaga Mushroom

Reishi - Anti-inflammatory effects similar to those found in turmeric. Also adaptogenic, making them a mood boosting, natural remedy for anxiety. 

Reishi Mushroom

Cordyceps - Boosts energy, a natural anti-aging and a natural cancer remedy by inhibiting cancer cell division and growth.

Cordyceps Mushroom

There are many different ways to source medicinal mushrooms. They can be found in tincture form, powder and capsule. 

One of the more popular mushroom products people are raving about are Four Sigmatic drink packets. I don’t personally like Four Sigmatic. It’s an expensive pack of instant coffee with a sprinkle of mushrooms that may only be mycileated grain at best. You’re better off buying the mushrooms themselves in whatever form is available to you, then putting them in a real, quality cup of coffee. 

Paul Stamets’ brand, Host Defense is one of the most popular medicinal mushroom manufacturers and can be found in most health food stores, but there is some controversy over the way these mushrooms are grown. Myciliated grain is produced by growing mycelium, the root like structure of the mushrooms, on a grain substrate. The grain is then ground and dehydrated with the mycelium and included in the final product you buy at the store. Find more information on mycileated grain here.

Other sources of mushrooms I’ve worked with that use pure fruiting body mushroom extracts in their supplements are FreshCaps Mushrooms from Canada. Extremely kind people with lots of access to mushroom info on their website, where you can find all their products and even learn how you can grow your own mushrooms! (Coming here a month later with a coupon from Freshcaps for free shipping! Use code “ELSA” at check out!)

Other supplements I most commonly use:

Salt - We use lots of salt in our foods and lately I’ve put it in my water to boost the mineral content in my body after being so nutritionally depleted from my infection in Guatemala. In our “Own the Day Chapter 1” video made last April, we talk about how beneficial it is to add salt to your water in the mornings after long hours of sleep where we intake no water at all.

Cayenne Pepper - A circulation booster that opens capillaries, allowing for easier absorption of nutrients into the body. After learning of it’s supposed benefits in the treatment of Raynauds, I began using cayenne pepper any chance I could. I use it in nearly all of my food and in most of my drinks like cacao, teas and even coffee. I don’t much notice the taste any longer and now miss the slight kick of heat when I forget to add it.

Turmeric - Anti inflammatory who’s effects are paralleled to pharmaceuticals like ibuprofen. I slip this with a little black pepper in as many drinks, soups and foods I can and really enjoy the taste. It can be found in tincture form, capsule, ground and in root form.

I hope this short blog post could be of use to you! Leave a comment with questions or with comments on the supplements and health foods you love to include in your own diets!

Don’t forget to check out the video where we include several recipes with medicinal mushrooms as well as a brief update on our stay in Utah!

A Journal Entry

April 9, 2019 - Near Escalante, Utah

Service is incredibly sparse out here. We kept the WeBoost on and my laptop uploading/charging all night long, waking up at 7am with only 32% of the video uploaded and only 28% of our battery left. Around 9:30am we arrived in Boulder, UT, 30 mins north of the Scamp, and stumbled upon a great little coffee shop called Outpost. I needed to find some reliable WiFi to get my video up and now that we have a new alternator in the Subaru, there’s more current to charge the Goal Zero batteries in the car when we drive, so long distance trips are of benefit to us.

It was a little stressful to get any work done at the coffee shop with Kamp itching his allergy ridden, manic face off, Barron making friends with the local old men, trying to get my video to upload on a network with a 0mb upload speed and a girl named River, knowing us from YouTube, sitting down at our table with a wiggling baby and an outgoing 4 year old who insisted on sitting on my lap as I created the thumbnail of my video.

River was really cool, I later learned that this is not her real name, but I believe that choosing to identify under a different name is a very brave and empowering thing to do, and so I respect River with even more sincerity. She gave us wire wraps she made and a hand-etched piece of selenite from the local area. She talked about her past as a vegan and how she severely needed to switch back to meat for her mental and physical well being.

Barron and River’s 4 year old daughter, Asha

We left and followed one of Barron’s new old friends up a steep hill to his house on a mesa. His name was Anselm, a German artist who’s biggest project at the moment is working with naked barbies to depict the divine feminine. They were all over the yard, on the walls, wearing trout heads and bird legs, he’d photographed them covered in bubbles, decapitated them, separated limbs and organized them into art pieces with quite passionate meanings. One of his most memorable pieces was a shrine of a Ken doll who’s head was replaced with the head of a penis, seated next a naked barbie and stress balls that look like boobs, all of which were surrounding a large dildo, intent being to de-mistify and relinquish the taboo of genitalia. He was a very kind, unique man, “trying to find his place in the universe”.

Owl wings hanging beneath bird cages in Anselm’s work room

Anselm had a guest staying with him, a German practitioner of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. He came to say hello to us at our table in the coffee shop having 5 acupuncture needles sticking out of his balding head like the antennae of a bug. Being a healer, I told him of the pain I’ve been having in my back, wondering if I may be developing gallstones or kidney stones. “No, everyone assumes they have gallstones and your kidneys are down here, not where the pain is.” He quickly assessed the energy of my back, looked at my hands and feet and told me the pain is from my liver and not to worry about it, it’s only slight damage that will heal and to instead focus my attention on the weak areas of my torso that have been drained of energy from the overload on my liver. I am advised to use a small hot water bottle to heat my upper abdomen and lower back. 

The back of the German acupuncturists head, sporting 4 acupuncture needles

Our parting experience with the Chinese doctor occurred after a windy walk in Anselm’s garden. His antennae needles kept blowing out of his head and onto his sweater. He only had 4 at this time and re-pinned them into his head after they’d fallen. We walked to our car to say goodbye. He had only two needles left and removed them so as to give 2 less opportunities for Anselm’s bare feet to encounter them later, and as he removed the last needle, his head began to bleed, turning his fine tuft of white hair into a soggy red mess that he tended to by touching with his four finger tips and putting said fingers into his mouth repeatedly. “In other cultures,” he said, “it is forbidden to eat one’s own blood.” He said goodbye with red lips and teeth and we drove down the hill back south toward Escalante, UT.

Anselm, playing us a song about his 30 year old mistress below his gourd art work

We grabbed groceries in Escalante from the limited selection of gas-station quality food at one store and extremely over priced health food at the other. Winds were at their highest speeds of the day (33mph) when we arrived back at the Scamp. I moved the propane and stove inside so I could boil water for the German acupuncturist’s recommended heat treatment. I need to pee, but every time I try, it sprays everywhere in the wind that can’t make up its mind on a direction to blow. For some reason the WeBoost still isn’t working and we have had no service in the Scamp all evening, providing ample time to reflect on our memorable day and for me to write this detailed journal entry.