Friends, Family, and Fire

Before the last festival I received a letter. The letter told me I was beautiful and what I was doing was admirable. What is most interesting is that the author of this letter met me and greeted me with a warm hug only two hours earlier. The letter had already been drafted, but it was evident that what I am doing with MyFight has been a guiding force in her life this summer. It made me proud of what I am doing and hope that I have had the impact and the power to inspire more people to follow through on their ambitions and to “be the change.” I fell upon MyFight at a coffee shop to a random visit home. After following up on my findings I was hooked and sucked in to a whirlwind of adventures that has become my life this summer. If I can do it, anyone can. I have found that the most important things are to follow through, listen to your heart, and trust.
The past few weeks have been full of comfort. After leaving some new and old friends in the cities I was greeting by a show of support in Jamestown. We held an event at Meeting Grounds with very little to it. People still showed up and bought shirts without fully knowing our cause; they just came to support me and learn about what I have been busy with. Others bought shirts when I was hanging around the coffee shop the next day and my old coworker did her fair share of promoting for us. After a long first month on the road this is exactly what I needed to get a second wind for the last push of the summer.
In Jamestown I followed my routine from the start of summer. Morning run, morning walk to the coffee shop, life chat with my dear friend Courtney, walk to the res with Lauryn, and an evening topped off with a good beer and Mac and Cheese pizza with the whole crew. It was comforting to see that life hasn’t changed much since I left, seems like the small town will still has its quirks. This time was perfect for both Craig and I to catch up with our minds.
From Jamestown we headed to the next festival in Rapid City, South Dakota. Again, I got refreshment from old faces. We stayed with my friend Quinn the first night to fully experience their downtown Summer Nights. The night was filled with random bar hopping, and meeting the whole town whom Quinn seems to play soccer with. The next morning I went on a hilly run and was reminded of what training is really like. Through this I’ve found that I really miss the feeling of exertion that used to consume my summers when training for soccer. It just means I have to start pushing for something more.

After finding a delicious local sub shop, Craig and I headed to the hills with my old soccer Coach. Ben is a new dad and loving his lifestyle since he relocated to the Black Hills. This is the fourth time I’ve stayed with him since he moved down there and he never fails to keep every moment eventful. The hike was a perfect way to top of the week. I had really been missing the great outdoors and needed the fresh air that you can only find at the summit of a hike. Something about the view at the top never fails to remind me how great life really is.

The week seemed to get us back on the right foot to make a solid showing at the hidden secret of Hills Alive. Little did we know the heat that awaited us for the weekend. The afternoon reached to over 100 degrees with an intense amount of humidity, quite a change from the rainy and cold festivals from the start of summer. I easy downed a gallon of water and never had the need to pee. One of our fellow roadies got stuck in the sun for the heat of the afternoon without any sort of covering. Poor kid had quite a week full of unlucky event, and ended up suffering from heat stroke the first day of the festival. Luckily while I was covering for him to get some shade a festival official noticed the blaring sun and got him a nice tent to keep him cool for the remainder of the festival.

Once again this festival proved to be a different atmosphere than the others. This one was a free music festival in the heart of Rapid City. The people walking around seemed to be those C and E Christians just out to enjoy a day in the park. Something that I think is needed in a religious society. Although it was healthy to see the less extreme practices of Christianity because it was a better picture of the true American society, it caused a bit more anxiety about keeping a closer eye on inventory. Yet, we all made it out alive (barely in some cases) and with a significant amount of success.

The next journey proved to be one of our tightest journeys. We had to make it the West coast (or close to) in two days. We headed to Billings and met up with Jesse for a nice treat with nachos, spinach dip, and margaritas. I’ve decided that food and drinks is one of the best ways to say thank you, even if it takes three restaurants to get the best of the best. Afterwards I got to break away to spend some time with my mini me’s. They wanted to go swimming and didn’t believe me when I went to get my swimming gear on. It was a good way to enjoy and summer weather and drop of gifts from the road. My niece Brook asked me why I got them presents, my only response was that maybe I liked them/ how could I not buy Oshkosh overalls while in Oshkosh. After our stop in Billings we went to stay at my house. My family treated us to some of my favorite pizza and “Birthday” dessert. It was a good time to be home and make a few pit stops to check in with my people.

The next morning we left bright and early and powered through the rest of Montana, Idaho, and Washington. In Idaho we stopped to see Craig’s friend (the one who wrote me the letter). I let the two of them spend some time together, while I explored one of my favorite downtowns. Later that evening we met up with the rest of our team in Enumclaw and made some hot cocoa over a warm propane stove and hit the hay to recover from the journey and rest up for the big weekend ahead of us.

Creation Northwest proved to be our best event by far. People in the Northwest were easily attracted to our booth with the best spot in the venue. Also, adding an interactive part of the booth made it easier for people to comprehend the power of micro-financing and the value one t-shirt can have. This was enlightening after struggling to get light of understanding to turn on for people all summer. At Creation, nearly every conversation you could see it click in their eyes the significance of the issue and the impact of their purchase. We even got other vendors excited and involved in the count of the number of people we were empowering. Good time all around.

What was best about the trek to the west was my day to get away. For the traveling crew of MyFight I am the only one on all summer. So when I heard that Jesse was bringing some friends out to Creation I jumped on the luxury of more people and requested a day off. I spent it in Seattle with my lifetime friend and neighbor, Katie. We explored Pikes Place, where I found cherries (my summer addiction) for an amazing price, and saw the more local atmosphere of the city. We even got our nose and ear pierces (my nose, her ear) by the best rock, paper, scissor champion there ever was.
I was extremely glad I got to see her while I was out there. Our friendship has endured a lot of changes and there is no one more deserving of a friendly visit. After telling Katie about the summer and breaking down what we do at MyFight, she told me that she could tell this is where my heart is. As much as I jump around with what I want to do with my life she keyed in on how fitting this was for my lifestyle, passions and knowledge base. Hearing that from someone who knows me so well reaffirmed the value of this summer.

After packing up from our successful weekend we met up at the bar with other roadies. For a lot of them this was there last festival, and it was fun to have a nice send of karaoke style. The next morning we headed to out after filling up our fortieth coffee stamp of the weekend. Our next destination was my families cabin on Ennis Lake. We met up with remainders of the YWAM crew and Caleb- my partner from the first part of the trip. The evening was spent with amazing conversation and reflection of the summer under the Big Sky Country. It was excited to share this with everyone, especially Andrew who got to see his first shooting star. The next morning we celebrated the start of Jesse’s birthday by going cliff jumping and rope swinging. By midday we sent the YWAMers off and greeting my friends from home for a trip to the old ghost town Virginia City, a little more cliff jumping, and a night around the fire with friend and other roadies. Jesse was impressed by my ability to unite life on the road and life at home, because of the difference of the people and lifestyles.

(c) Caleb Stumberg

We bid Ennis adieu the next morning and headed to Bozeman to see Jenn-the girl I originally traveled with last year to Creation East. The three of us wandered downtown and headed to the farmers market for all of us to learn our kidneys are off balance and livers are on edge from the acupuncture booth. Ah the life of a man needing some new customers. Jesse and I then headed to Billings where we have an event tomorrow. He and his friend Tensy, who helped at Creation, treated me to a surprise day at the spa with a nice massage, haircut, and eyebrow wax. What a treat! Appreciation and gratitude for all the work I have put in are unnecessary, but definitely make it more worth the ride and give me able to enjoy the few hours of serenity before we hit the festival life again...

Smiles for MIles

There is nothing like the expressions of amusement and complete happiness on a friends face. Nothing. It is so completely contagious that it is hard to tell if it is radiating from you or others. This is something I have come to fully embrace watching friends and families at festivals and being around my new and old friends on the road. Whether it be the simplify of a chocolate covered banana, amazing lyrics in a song, or the adrenaline rush of a water park- complete bliss is written all over peoples’ faces and is one of the most enlightening experiences I have encountered….

Lifest in Oshkosh, Wisconsin proved to an amazing reunion with old friends that we had to split ways with before our trek to and from the east. The night before the festival I was lucky enough to time a reunion with an old friend from home who happened to be in the area. It was nice to catch up and get that taste of home after missing the typical Montana Fourth of July festivities. Although it was great, it did not take relieve the chaos of the next day. With inventory and set up completed at the last minute we were running of fumes going into day one. It helped that our Visible Music College friends were just across the isle from us while our first festival neighbors, YWAM were almost directly behind us. Plus my new fair trade friend located behind our big curtain. It was easy to escape for a few minutes to share a random fact, get a rejuvenating hug or high five, or point a sneaky loaded rubber band gun in the middle of conversation. Initially, Lifest seemed like a bust, but that quickly changed when a few groups became very passionate about what we are doing and bought multiple shirts. This is more of what we are pushing for this festival anyways; people who want to keep working with us to host an event in our fall tour. So after a rough start it really picked up and people pulled through for us as usual.

The overall atmosphere of this festival was a bit skewed from that of previous festivals. It was more of a family event then a Christian event. But it was here I really started to feel my religious pull. I wasn’t as deterred from an overly strict atmosphere that surrounded the other festivals. After and amazing dinner and chat with the old friends with the group Restoring Eden I was able to fully verbalize my sentiments towards organized religion and my internal spiritual pull. Which in my experience, seem to continuously butt heads. This tour is proving to be an amazing experience in so many realms and is motivating me to really touch base with the benevolence of a higher being. Simple things, like the beauty of a smile and the joy of laughter are continuously reminding me that this life is a gift and needs to be continuously celebrated and explored. I’ve been extremely encouraged to push myself outside my comfort zone and continue learning in order to be fully able to define my connection to the divine.

Going to the biggest water park in the Country, Noah’s Ark really solidified how awesome this experience is. I went with the YWAM crew and loved every minute of it. The look of Andrews face going down the Sting Ray, the scream let out by Stephen before a straight drop on a slide, the nonstop smile of Erika, the childish nature of David, and the calm and daring nature of Rheanne. I’ve found that beyond feeding off of other peoples energy I am completely addicted to adrenaline and love the steep drops and moments of weightlessness that send your stomach into an explosion of butterflies. The park can be summarized in one word. Epic.

Speaking of adrenaline, my endorphin kick has been very much satisfied on this cross-country adventure. I’m finding amusement in running in different areas of the country, city to farmland. It keeps it from getting monotonous, and I seem to be able to find all sorts of new places.
After a relaxing drive the Twin Cities, it was refreshing to touch base with my close friend Kendra. As different as we are, we have a strange understanding and acceptance of each others lifestyle's and outlook on life. It is always good to be reminded of that comfort. Plus, I felt pretty special this morning when I got to walk her to her first day of grad school and send her off on the bus.
The rest of this week has been long anticipated and I am overly excited for tonight’s birthday celebration, my visit to Jamestown, and the festival in South Dakota. The familiarity of my second home is a perfect halfway mark for my summer long journey.

Rugged Roadie

A day in the life of a roadie is one that involves very little sleep, a lot of dirt stuck in between your toes, much talking, lots of new faces, and an overwhelming abundance of ice cream. In all, its a pretty fantastic fit for me. I have missed the comfort of familiar faces, but that void is starting to be filled with my traveling festival family whether it be at the festivals themselves or stopping in for a night in the city. It is absolutely great!

Creation was the same way. It was the one festival I had already been to so I knew my way around the place as well as the pace of the festival. I was excited to get there and see our booth buddies from last year, sadly enough this was the first year in the thirty plus years of the festival that they haven't been there. They had held down the exact same location for every festival up until this year... kinda sad. Even with that minor hiccup I found that the most comforting thing at this festival was asking people if they had heard about us and them responding in a positive note about having our shirts, loving them, and loving what our organization does. All I could do was smile at this response, because it shows our progress. I even started talking to a girl, made eye contact and blurted out "I have a picture of you on my computer!" Needless to say she had been by to visit last year too.
Overall creation was a huge success, once we got on the right page we were really rolling and sold out of a lot of gear. Which, despite how hard as it makes still selling the shirts, was awesome! Seeing and hearing about it all clicking together is the best reward ever.

Outside of the business end of things we made some great new friends with new organizations, got to know some others that we had already been traveling with a bit better, and fully embraced the camping experience. Up until this festival we had failed to have a camp fire or s'mores. For those of you who fully register this, you know that me without my marshmallows just doesn't fit. It was a much needed treat. I also learned an awesome new treat... hobo pies! Possibly the greatest camping idea ever. Two pieces of bread, pie filling, put in a sandwich skewer and cooked in the coals of the fire. Second best pie I've had, right behind the famous Randi, Griffin, Fred, and Kodee pies. Great way to top off a festival.

The festival was full of spaz moments on my part. Some classy quotes illuminating my intelligence (or lack thereof), kept everyone on their toes. So did the lovely rubber-band I shot at my own face trying to get someone across the booth. Karma. Just to be topped off with me leaving my phone in Columbus after lunch and coffee and not realizing it until we were 27 miles out. Joy.

Sunday we hit the road again and missed a possible sailing trip with the ice cream man previously mentioned to get to Indianapolis to spend some time with our Undignified family. Like I said, it is comforting to have those familiar faces that you get so excited to see. We had a blast with Joel and Sarah, meeting their friend who had just returned from a mission and summarizing all their awkward animal jokes/ funny daily sayings. There is a good chance I gained 10 pounds in a six hour period while in Indianapolis. We had to try the classic Steak & Shake milkshakes at one in the morning, and of course 6' 5" Joel had to get us all larges as an appetizer to our 6 am breakfast made up of Oreo pancakes. Absolutely delicious, totally worth every pound that may result from it!It was unfortunate that our stay had to be so short again, but at least I know I always have a place to visit.

From Indianapolis we headed to the Windy City to spend our Independence day. Here we met up with the YWAMers and got a taste of Chicago... the big silver ball, the John Hancock building, and the Navy Pier with fireworks. Not to forget the classic deep dish pizza that made me feel as if it would have been easier to roll down the street rather than walk. It may be one of those once and a lifetime experiences, because that is far too full for me.

I have come to a conclusion, after spending the past two Fourth of July holidays in New York and Chicago I have decided that cities are not for me. Too many people, too much planning. Take me to my Mountains, with my overly nice people, little traffic, and I will be set. This tour of the U.S. is showing me that more and more with every stop. I am learning a lot about myself along this trip, and I hope to continue learning and define myself more.

Wisconsin is our next stop, I am so excited to be in familiar territory close to some of my favorite people in the world!