Galactic Adventures

Hello, STORYTELLERS! Welcome to the 28th issue of Galactic Adventures -- our community-focused, community-informed newsletter. 

This issue's featured photo comes to us from MODE Owner, John Kelly. 

If you would like to see your photo or story featured in Galactic Adventures, please send an email to emma.walsmith@storytelleroverland.com. I love to hear from you! 

I think a lot about how living like we do; traveling, waking up somewhere new everyday, constantly changes who we are - it forces us to grow and find ourselves again and again. If I hadn’t taken the plunge to living in my van, the world would be small and I would be small along with it. It’s hard to imagine a “me” that could exist confined to one corner of this world.

So recently I thought I’d up that ante, because you all know I like a good challenge!

July 26th, after weeks of training, I flew to Geneva, Switzerland and 3 days later walked out of Chamonix, France, to start hiking the Tour Du Mont Blanc.

The Tour Du Mont Blanc is an epic 100 miles around Mont Blanc, the tallest peak in the Alps. It’s a hut to hut hike with each night spent in chalets high in the mountains that provide dinner, a bunk room, a simple breakfast and a baguette sandwich sack lunch to head out with. The trail is some of the most challenging terrain I’ve spent a week on; an average day of 10 to 13 miles with a lovely 3900 feet up, 3600 feet down or vice versa, a stroll 3400 feet up and 3900 feet down.

There’s something special that happens when your only job is to hike all day every day; when your body stops balking at the endless trek uphill and the only thing you hear for hours is your own breathing ringing in your ears. When I was younger, I always steamed uphill as fast as possible, taking frequent short breaks to catch my breath. The Alps taught me to go slow and steady for hours on end, to control my breathing in rhythm with my slow, steep foot steps. To stop for mid-morning cappuccinos in remote mountain huts and take long lunch breaks on top of mountain passes, watching the world below and catching a cat nap.

I am different now than I was before; I’ve listened to cow bells echoing in the evening, I’ve eaten the best homemade soft serve ice cream of my life, carried countless cheese baguettes in my backpack and I’ve been reminded how much I missed pushing myself beyond my limits. In this new life I’m constantly grateful for the community I’ve become part of. Leaving my MODE and Kody dog, aka the best golden retriever in the world, behind for 3 weeks was a challenge and one that my Storyteller VanFam rose to once again. Thanks Tara Hall and everyone at Dolly and Gordy’s Days of Wine and STOs - it’s crazy that my dog and my van seem to have adventurous lives of their own.

Evelyn Mendoza: On a recent trip, my husband (Peter Esparza) and I along with fellow MODE owner (Brain Yamanaka), were camping out in a remote part of the Tahoe National Forest. While enjoying the lake, we saw smoke coming from across the lake. We noticed it grew in size and wondered if it was a campfire or an actual forest fire. Moments later, far across the lake, we saw a woman running down the side of the hill. She yelled loudly and clearly, “Evelyn! Peter! There’s a fire! Call the fire department!”

We soon realized it was a woman we had met the day before. She had an issue with her camper truck and asked if she could use our Starlink. Come to find out, two kayakers saw the fire from the water and asked this woman who was camping near if she had Starlink. She knew we had Starlink and was quick to alert us from across the lake. Peter acted quickly and dialed 911.

I thought maybe the fire extinguishers we had could help. Peter gave the phone to Brian and I. While we were on the phone giving our coordinates and location of the fire, we lost contact with 911 as they were connecting us to the Tahoe Forest Services. I dialed back and handed the phone off to Brian while I ran around to alert other campers about the fire. A camper offered to take people in their 4Runner over to help put out the fire.

Peter went with two others while Brian and I packed up our vans and stood on standby in case we needed to evacuate.

With no way to contact Peter, I was so worried about him and the status of the fire. With wildfires there’s no knowing what could happen and things could get out of control rather quickly.

Peter Esparza: After handing the phone over to Eve and Brian, I ran to the vans to grab my Element fire extinguisher and Brian’s stock fire extinguisher. I rushed over to a group of Toyotas to see if they had more fire extinguishers, they did not but one of them offered to drive people over to where the smoke was coming from. We located the fire, we had to hike up through the forest and rocky terrain to get to the fire. We immediately used up both fire extinguishers and worked as a team to bring water from the lake up the cliff to help keep the fire from spreading. Six strangers in bathing suits and sandals united to help control the fire until the professionals came. Unfortunately, one of the campers helping tripped on the rocky terrain and twisted his ankle. I picked him up and made sure he was okay. What felt like an hour but in reality was more like 20 minutes, we heard two planes and one helicopter fly over the fire. They monitored the fire and found it to be mild and under control, so the planes were deemed unnecessary and departed.

The helicopter stayed and landed near the lake, we went down to meet up with the Tahoe Forest Services and guided them to the fire. After that we all headed back to camp and watched the helicopter pull water from the lake and dump it over the fire. We were all relieved to see the fire was put out within a half hour. Starlink definitely saved the day. Once the fire was out, we all shared a beer together. We were grateful for the teamwork it took to put out the fire and even more thankful we didn’t have to evacuate and could stay and enjoy this beautiful place.

On our way back into town, Brian and I stopped to purchase two new Element Fire Extinguishers for the van, a replacement and a backup.

This is a friendly reminder to check your stock fire extinguishers monthly and replace if needed. We totally recommend a second fire extinguisher. Turns out, the Element Fire Extinguisher lasted longer than the standard stock fire extinguisher. We highly recommend the Element Fire Extinguisher and having a backup in the van.
Stay safe, stay prepared, and keep the good vibes rolling.