About

G’Day,

We appreciate you checking out our site. It’s clear that since you accessed this part, you want to know a little bit more about us. Well, for one thing we are not your typical couple. We actually tend to enjoy each other’s company even after being married for 10 years. As each year progresses, we actually get closer. We were introduced by Raven’s supervisor on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. At the time Raven was a ranger and Weifarer a graduate student studying insects for the University of Maine in Orono in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy. We both were at a difficult time in life and enjoyed spending time with each other, if nothing more than to serve as a distraction from real life.

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We eventually went our separate ways after the summer ended and managed to stay apart an entire month. Eventually Raven transferred out of his school in Canada to join Weifarer at the University of Maine. We moved in together, then had a shotgun wedding with the town clerk marrying us. The code enforcement officer and the plumbing inspector served as witnesses. Since then, we bought and sold two houses, and have had many different jobs. Finally, it hit us: modern society does not fit our personalities so lets do something different. The rest is history (some of it yet to be written).

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Today we are in the transition between dreaming and doing. For the past several years we have taken trips all over and have grown to love the varying cultures, environment, and geology.  Following the last trip to Costa Rica, we stopped and considered how to travel full time and, more importantly, what was preventing us from doing so. We found that debt, “stuff”, and insecurity were the answers. In the last several months we have sold the house, tossed four – ten yard dumpsters worth of stuff, donated over $30,000 worth of our possessions to charity, and bought and currently live in a yurt on family land. In the end, we have gotten rid of about 95% of what we once owned. We are still culling through the rest and plan on getting rid of most of that as well.

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Having done all this we managed to eliminate most of our debt, not including the student loans. They are very small payments, so will be paid off very soon.

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How we travel

Motorcycle

We both are avid motorcyclists. Not the typical riders you see in the states who ride for the freedom of the road, but rather for the ability to experience the culture and the environment we travel through.  Having ridden for the past several years and gaining motivation through several online motorcycle groups, we both became enchanted by the idea of traveling the world on motorbike.

Raven rides a classic BMW, a 1981 R80g/s. The R80g/s is the beginning of the dual sport adventure bikes. It allowed good street manners and excellent off road handling. BWW only produced 4000 for the US market and only 775 or so were brought to the US in 1981. The bike is well known world wide for being a basically simple machine that some bailing wire and a duct tape can fix.

The bike has attained a cult following and typically if you are lucky enough to find one, the owner will not sell. There is currently no bike offered by any manufacturer today with the balance of size, weight, part availability, reliability and downright simplicity of the R80G/S.  Raven’s former bike is Weifarer’s KLR650

Weifarer’s 2006 Kawasaki KLR650 is considered by some to be the Swiss army knife of the motorcycle world. It’s not fast, not great off road, the brakes suck, acceleration suck, power sucks, but it does everything about the same so it’s actually rather balanced in suckiness, which makes it a worthy backcountry adventure tourer. Produced from 1989 until 2007 before a cosmetic makeover, the design has been tried and is true. The KLR gets the job done, just not in style.

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Sailboat

We are both sailors. Having spent our second summer together aboard a 26 foot Macgregor on Martha’s Vineyard, we have both earned our sea legs by trial and error. Sailing is not Raven’s most favored method of travel, but Weifarer adores it. We will someday tour Southeast Asia, the South Pacific and the Caribbean via boat as it’s the most economical and practical way to see it.

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Overland Jeep

We own a 1997 Jeep Wrangler and it provides us the ability to explore the furthest reaches of our far northern borders. The jeep actually came to us via Weifarer. Raven was working one day and this strawberry blond pulled up in this green Jeep. Had she been driving a Jetta, they may not be together. Over the years, Raven has gotten to be pretty good at fixing it.  He claims it to be his by blood letting. However, legally the title is still in Weifarer’s name. In any case we both enjoy driving it, including things we really have no business thinking of doing in it like pulling our 3000 pound sailboat.

The jeep is a great vehicle and will remain in our possession until it rots away. There are not too many other vehicles that can pull stumps one hour and get groceries the next.

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Hiking

We have both put several thousand miles on our boots hiking sections of the Appalachian trail, Acadia, as well as several parks and reserve lands in the western US. Weifarer had hiked trails from Virginia to Pennsylvania before she meet Raven. Having met on an island, one of their first “dates” back on the mainland was a several day camping trip to the Black Forest campground in Acadia NP along with a hike to the summit of Mount Cadillac. Raven was hooked. Of course, it helped that Weifarer bought him his first pair of hiking boots beforehand!  Hiking and backpacking are now a part of every trip from Maine to South America with many more planned in the future!

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Flying

Raven is an accomplished backcountry tailwheel pilot. He once owned a Cessna 140 and rented several other planes including float planes. Not one to like any oversight including the FAA, he always preferred to fly rather low and slow. He hopes to someday find an outfit that will pay him to fly for them. Although not a commercially licensed pilot, he feels that his unique set of skills makes him valuable to anyone who needs backcountry flying done. Though a rebel at heart, he has been also involved with the anti-drug and immigration section of the Civil Air Patrol assisting in drug eradication and border flights of the northern US border

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The Rolling Stick of Butter 

The Rolling stick of Butter is a 1985 VW Vanagon. It’s a rear engined, water cooled, 1.9 engine with a 4 speed transmission. It sleeps 4, has a fridge, two burner gas stove, and even a fancy 3 LED voltmeter. It is old school. First seen in Quebec SLOOOWLY climbing a hill in the Gaspe as we cursed them while passing. We eventually saw how cool they were and how we would be able to travel more cheaply while piloting one. Future plans are to install a solar panel and bigger wheels, but for now…it’s just so smooth and creamy…just like butter

 

 

 

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There is more to say, but that’s it for now…check back often