I think we live in a country that encourages suspicion and isolation, so I fight the man by being generous and friendly. I love good conversation and weird-colored hair. I need somebody to teach me how to ride a horse.

PHILOSOPHY

Life is hard, and there are lots of people who will try to make it harder, so we've all got to do what we can for one another to ease the journey.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've hosted and been hosted. Come by and I'll make dinner!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have found Couchsurfing to be the best way to experience a new place. How much a sense of a place can you derive while staying in some sterile, prepackaged chain hotel? I love the quirky, fun people I've stayed with around the country.

Interests

Barbecues, reconstructed pioneer forts, tinsmithing, sushi, 19th century explorers, the Great Plains, abandoned buildings, decent sleeping bags, compiling atmosphere-appropriate soundtracks, freight trains, swimming in rivers, nostalgia, poetry, mess kits, kerosene lanterns, being the only person who still listens to grunge, waterfalls, payphones, wishing I knew how to garden, wishing I knew how to fish, wishing I played an instrument, sharp-lookin' neckties, wood stoves, field guides...

• fish
• books
• poetry
• gardening
• fishing
• swimming
• rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: Anything by Cormac McCarthy, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, or Howard Zinn. Explorers' journals. Lots and lots of creative historical non-fiction.

Music: Boards of Canada, Blockhead, Bonobo, Neil Young, Polaris, Radiohead, the Brian Jonestown Massacre...

Movies: Badlands, Koyaanisqatsi, Idiocracy, Werner Herzog stuff, Coen brothers...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Over the last several years, I've explored a lot of abandoned Dust Bowl-era homesteads on the Great Plains. It's a profound and humbling experience to come across homes, still filled with the accoutrements of life, untouched for decades. This is my jam: http://imgur.com/a/tZjxn?gallery

Teach, Learn, Share

I spent three years learning how to clean, repair, and preserve books. With an average amount of everyday office supplies, I can show you how to keep your books in good shape for decades to come. Also, I can make hand-dipped candles, hardtack, panbread, and I'm decent at restoring kerosene lanterns. I might even let you in on some of my carefully acquired list of Awesome Secret Wilderness Campsites.

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