Our new street marker for the family cabin in Willow, Alaska

(1/4” plasma-cut mild steel, approx. 30” x 19.25”)

Merry Christmas, Mom & Dad!

Custom Beer Tap, a collaboration with TJ McKillop (who shaped and finished the handle) for his brother’s Christmas present.

Plasma CNCs are too much fun.

You know you’ve got a cool job when you make a pile of spearheads before lunch.

BootsnAll’s 30 Days of Indie Travel Project

Prompt: One Word

What does travel mean to you in one word?  

I realize that the word I chose was already a prompt for the month-long project, but lately I’ve been toying with contrast between lust and love and decided to bring this concept back around.

I think the type treatment speaks for itself :)

BootsnAll’s 30 Days of Indie Travel Project

Prompt: Gear

The right gear can make or break your trip. What is your favorite/must-have gear item?

Answer: Backpacker’s Hammock and two 10-ft. segments of rope! 

I’ve posted this same picture on an earlier post on this site, but still found it entirely appropriate for this prompt, as it consistently tops my list of essentials when traveling. I’ve used it for camping trips, long road hauls, overseas journeys, airports, and catching a quick nap at Disneyland during Grad Night (I was a chaperone, and yes, they caught me and made me take it down. Mickey P.D. is hardcore, man.).

You can’t go wrong with a backpacker’s hammock. Even if you never use it, it takes up about the same amount of space as a can of soda.

And let’s be honest: if you’re really serious about backpacking, you’ll be packing rope anyways…you might as well throw in another excuse to use it.

Save the Date Postcard for my sister Ally :)

Congratulations, you two!! I can’t wait to have you as a brother, Nick.

Disposable Camera Series | Plitvicka Jezera, Croatia. Quote by Henry David Thoreau

BootsnAll’s 30 Days of Indie Travel Project

Prompt: Photo

Post a photo of your favorite place and tell us what you love about it.

I was quietly, slowly humbled as I trekked the wooden platforms around Plitvicka Jezera National Park, where the waterfalls between the lakes eroded—like the limestone they cut through—my urge to hurry north, towards Zagreb, towards rest and a place to sleep.

We remained in the park as long as daylight would allow, but when the sun set we still did not have a place to stay for the night, and we had missed the last bus by hours. There were seven of us. After a short trek to the nearby village, Ana spoke with a woman out on her evening walk, and in thirty minutes’ time we arrived at our new apartment and crashed across beds, couches, cots, and floor mats covered by chair pads.

We slept like children.