41-50
The Crop Circle Video! Finally!!!
Dec 31st
Hey Team,
Enjoy the New Year’s Eve shenanigans! Here’s my gift to you (inspired by a desire to vindicate myself in the face of that crazy SOB William Shatner).
“Amtrekker travels to Beulah, MI to create a crop circle!
Failures and ethnically insensitive impressions ensue.”
I’m done.
Brett.
AKPC_IDS += "818,";Crop Circling
Sep 24th
Hey Team,
Here’s the rest of the crop circle adventure.
On day two Amber and I spent a little over an hour outlining the crop circle design using stakes and 1000 ft of cheap twine I picked up at the local dollar store. After the entire thing was laid out and the string pulled tight it was clear that there was NO WAY we were going to be able to tell if we made what we were shooting for or not.
It was so big that we couldn’t see one end of the design from the other so even trying to tell if the lines were straight was impossible…much less whether or not the proportions looked right. Even after another four hours of fighting to the death “mano a Russian Knapweed” I was convinced we had just spent two days and nearly 24 man-hours making a pretty mediocre looking “crop circle.”
By the time we were finished and pulled up all of our lines darkness was creeping up again and there wasn’t going to be enough time to try to figure out how we were going to get a picture to confirm our mediocrity. Instead we got up early the next morning and hit More >
Pinko Commie Crops
Sep 21st
Hey Team,
Sorry for keeping you guys in the dark during the whole crop circle adventure. I’ve been living life without the internet all week and let me just be the first to say, “A life without the internet is no life at all.”
Now I’m in the backseat of a Subaru with two spaniels named Bo and Carl jockeying for lap position with Charley. More importantly…I have an internet connection!
Here’s the short version and I’ll give you an update with pictures later tonight or tomorrow morning:
I spent the week in Beulah, MI where I had permission to destroy 80 acres of cover crop (Russian Knapweed) in an effort to “create a crop circle.” I checked out the field in the daylight the first full day I was in town and was super pumped about the prospect of creating my own hundred foot high design in plant life. The crop was waist high and on the dying side and looked like it was going to be perfect! AND, when I walked off the field I discovered it was about 250 ft wide by 2100 ft long so there was plenty of room to do whatever I wanted.
Which was the first problem. When More >
#42 Ride an Ostrich! [podcast]
Sep 9th
Hey Team,
If you like watching me do stupid things (and I know you do) then you’re going to like this one…
“Amtrekker travels to Virginia City, NV to take part in the 49th Annual International Camel Races (Specifically the ostrich racing portion of the weekend)!
Watch as a terrified Brett mans up and falls down.”
Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player. var WT1_1 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowscriptaccess : "always", allownetworking : "all", allowfullscreen : "true"}, flashvars : { file : "http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amtrekker.com%2Findex.php%3Fxspf%3Dtrue%26id%3D5", volume : "80", bufferlength : "5", controlbar : "over", 'logo.hide' : "false", shuffle : "false", playlist : "bottom"}, attr : { id : "WT1", name : "WT1"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.amtrekker.com/wp-content/uploads/player.swf", "WT1_1", "437", "522", "9.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } WT1_1.start();AND, as usual…here’s the external video link.
Thanks!
I’m done.
Brett.
Just for the record. Bookingbuddy really is a pretty rad website if you’re looking to plan a trip. It actually allows you to search most of the top website from one location. Pretty handy! But more importantly…our new affiliation with bookingbuddy.com means all you have to do to help out Amtrekker is click on one of their ads and sign up for More >
I Crashed an Ostrich
Sep 7th
Hey Team,
Let me tell you a few things I recently learned about ostriches…but first I should put things in a little bit of context.
July 4th of 2007 I left home on this little Amtrekker adventure of mine thinking, “Remember Swiss Family Robinson? Man, that kid on the ostrich looked like he was having a blast!”
Fast-forward eight months to the first time I ever got a close look at an ostrich…or as I like to call them, “Giant feathered dinosaurs.” Suddenly, I was thinking, “Huh, I don’t remember seeing that kid in any other movies. I wonder if he survived the filming.”
Now that I had let fear into my heart it became VERY important to me that I find an ostrich that was used to being ridden. Preferably one that REALLY enjoyed being ridden. Maybe an ostrich somewhere that loved having people on its back so much that it would seek out interaction, softly cooing and nuzzling you until you gave in and jumped on his back making him the happiest ostrich in all the land.
I found the next best thing. Joe Hedrick makes his living raising exotic animals and traveling the country doing shows and setting up ostrich and camel More >
#50 Hike to the Bottom of the Grand Canyon! [podcast]
Aug 1st
Hey Team,
Obviously my self imposed deadlines have been a joke since I bought the Greyhound bus pass. BUT, never fear…the videos are still coming. I just get fewer opportunities to team up with Charley and get them done lately.
Oh, look! Here’s one right here! Handy.
“Team Amtrekker travels to the Grand Canyon National Park on a three day journey to the world’s most famous hole in the ground!
Immense beauty and heavy breathing ensues.”
Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player. var WT2_2 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowscriptaccess : "always", allownetworking : "all", allowfullscreen : "true"}, flashvars : { file : "http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amtrekker.com%2Findex.php%3Fxspf%3Dtrue%26id%3D7", volume : "80", bufferlength : "5", controlbar : "over", 'logo.hide' : "false", shuffle : "false", playlist : "bottom"}, attr : { id : "WT2", name : "WT2"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.amtrekker.com/wp-content/uploads/player.swf", "WT2_2", "437", "522", "9.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } WT2_2.start();AND, as usual…here’s the youtube link.
Thanks!
I’m done.
Brett.
If you enjoy the podcasts…why not donate?
Don’t let me stop you.
AKPC_IDS += "350,";
The Grandest of Holes in the Ground
Jul 9th
Hey Team,
I’m back! Long story short: The Grand Canyon hike was incredible. Period.
Long story long (You guys didn’t actually think you’d get away with a short story did you?):
First of all, the permits for the Grand Canyon campgrounds only allow for up to eleven people in a group so I’m sorry to anyone that really wanted to go. Originally I was hoping to make it a much bigger meet-up but it just wasn’t possible. I guess we’ll have to make the end of Amtrekker extravaganza that much bigger!!!
The permit was filled quickly with friends and family that I hadn’t seen much of in the last year. Besides myself, Mom and Popamtrekker both made it out to the most famous of holes in the ground. Nate, Saadia, Erica, Cody and Rebecca (All of whom you saw in the sandboarding video!) were there. Spence (the dude that gave me the green Captain America shirt and another of my best friends) and Jaime (a good friend that just recently made it back to the US after a four year stint with the army in Germany) and Katy Moe (a friend from high school that I literally hadn’t seen in eight years but was More >
#44 Fly-Fishing! [podcast]
Apr 3rd
Hey Team,
Welcome back to Wednesday! Nothing to say here except to warn you that I am kind of a fly-fishing stud now. Take a look at my first pond based lesson!
Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player. var WT3_3 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowscriptaccess : "always", allownetworking : "all", allowfullscreen : "true"}, flashvars : { file : "http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amtrekker.com%2Findex.php%3Fxspf%3Dtrue%26id%3D18", volume : "80", bufferlength : "5", controlbar : "over", 'logo.hide' : "false", shuffle : "false", playlist : "bottom"}, attr : { id : "WT3", name : "WT3"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.amtrekker.com/wp-content/uploads/player.swf", "WT3_3", "437", "522", "9.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } WT3_3.start();And here’s the youtube link!
Thanks for watching everyone!
I’m done.
Brett.
Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll make a podcast. Donate to a man for fishing and he can make even more!
Thanks!
AKPC_IDS += "261,";
