Changing Roads Podcast
Changing Roads Podcast unveils the profound essence of travel, exploring not just the destinations, but the personal transformations within. We unravel the various themes, aspects and narratives of travel that define us, shape us, and lead us to the heart of our own stories.
Changing Roads Podcast
The Passenger Seat
Ever wondered what it's like to truly let go and let someone else take the wheel? This season opener of Changing Roads flips the script as I hand over hosting duties for the episode to my best friend of 15 years, Christine Evans. Sometimes the passenger seat is exactly where one needs to be.....
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Welcome wanderers, dreamers and fellow seekers of the open road. This is Changing Roads, a sanctuary for explorers of the world and the self. You know there's something powerful about the passenger seat it's the place where you learn to trust, to let go. It's not easy, is it, to sit there, hands free, no control, just watching the road unfold in front of you. Every bump, every turn, every unexpected stop is all in somebody else's hands. We spend so much time behind the wheel steering our lives where we think they should go. It's comforting being in control, knowing that wherever you're headed, you're the one making it happen. But there's a danger in that too. It's easy to get tunnel vision, to miss the scenery, to forget that maybe, just maybe, someone else might know a better way. Taking the passenger seat isn't about giving up. It's about trust, trusting that the person next to you sees the road just as clearly as you do, maybe clearer. It's about recognizing that you don't always have to be the one in control to get where you're going. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to let go of the wheel, lean back and watch the world from a different angle, and you know what. It's okay to let someone else drive. It's okay to admit that you don't have all the answers, that maybe you're not the best navigator this time around. There's strength in that in knowing when to hand over the keys, in allowing someone else to take the lead. You're not just giving them control, you're giving them your trust. So take a breath, open the door and slide over to the passenger seat. Let someone else steer for a while. You might just find that the view from here is exactly what you needed all along.
Speaker 1:Hi, welcome to Changing Roads, Season 2, episode 1. I am your host, brad, joined here by my co-host, ranger, and I have a very special way to kick off this season. It was not planned. I had another episode that I had done and unfortunately my computer did not record it, so we will have to return to that. Some things are blessings and disguises, and I think that's part of what Changing Roads is.
Speaker 1:Changing Roads is about the roads you travel in life, and sometimes you choose those roads and sometimes those roads choose you. So this is the road that the universe has chosen for season two, episode one, and we're going to switch it up a little bit. This time. I have my very best friend on today. She is actually going to be taking over as the host of this entire episode. You may have heard some of my story in my previous episodes in season one, but my story really hasn't been told and I think that is important for you guys to hear. So you have some background and understanding of the person that is sitting here talking to you every week and talking to other people. It's good for me to take a step back and not be the person talking, so I'm going to switch roles today. I'm going to hand the reins over to my very best friend, christina Aguilera. Did I say that right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right. I'm just a genie in a bottle.
Speaker 1:Just genie in the bottle. God, I knew that you were the real Christina Aguilera.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you rubbed me the right way to get me on your podcast right now, so you know what I mean For real.
Speaker 1:What is your full name?
Speaker 2:It's Christine Evans.
Speaker 1:That's a pretty cool sounding name.
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 1:I think I'd rather be friends with you over Christina Aguilera.
Speaker 2:to be quite honest, yeah, I think I have a little more depth.
Speaker 1:I would agree with that. She got canceled and you have not, so Not yet. Sure, not yet Fair enough. I haven't been canceled yet either, so these are all good things. How long have we known each other?
Speaker 2:Oh goodness, Brian, I think it's like 13 or 14 years now.
Speaker 1:I thought it was 15.
Speaker 2:It might be 15.
Speaker 1:It's been a long time.
Speaker 2:It's been a long time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's probably about 15. You're right, it's been 15. You are indeed my very best friend in the world, my oldest friend, my truest friend, and it's an honor to have you on doing this with me.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I would like to preface it with this because this is a very important part of the entire podcast. When I started the Changing Roads podcast and I was trying to figure out what we were going to do with it and what direction it was going to go, I was still in the infancy stages, still trying to learn all of this, and my very first episode was supposed to be Christine and we were going to do an episode on the sociology of travel, because you studied sociology in school, colorado State University Yep, that's pretty cool. So what I intended at the beginning was to have these specific episodes and topics laid out, and I was going to do the sociology of travel, then the philosophy of travel, the psychology of travel, and it wasn't what the true vision was supposed to be. We did an entire episode together and it's great. It's really great. It's not in the trash can on my computer, it's saved. I learned a lot from it and I didn't end up releasing it as episode one, because it really helped me work through the kinks and really define what Changing Roads is.
Speaker 1:What I realized is that this podcast is about telling other people's stories and once again, christine, before I throw you into the fire. I will remind you, changing Roads is about this. This is our mantra, our mission statement. Our roads are always changing in life. Sometimes we choose those roads, sometimes those roads choose us beyond our control, and, either way, those roads are what define us in life and bring us to the places that we are now.
Speaker 1:So, 15 years later since the day that I met this crazy woman, here we are doing season two, episode one, redefined, and the answer is for me to take a back and sit on my butt and allow somebody else to talk to me and interview me and tell my story. So I'm really excited. I think I've talked too much at this point, so I would like to once again introduce you to Christine Evans. She is not my guest today. She is the host of Changing Roads, season two, episode one, and I am your guest. Brad Saylor Ranger is still the co-host, but Christine is taking the reins. So, that being said, I am going to shut up and turn this over to my new host.
Speaker 2:Well, I am honored and we are going to travel back 15 years to start this out Long time. I know, can you remember that far back?
Speaker 1:Well, no, I don't even remember how we met.
Speaker 2:honestly, I was just going to ask you do you remember how we met? Honestly, I was just gonna ask you do you remember how we met? No, I don't actually like, honestly you don't okay, civil karaoke oh yeah, karaoke and we met at a little sports bar in fort collins it was pitchers.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Yes, and I met you and you blew my mind and just captivated me from the second we started talking.
Speaker 1:You remember what song I was singing?
Speaker 2:You sang Kryptonite.
Speaker 1:Three doors down.
Speaker 2:So obviously music is a passion of yours, so we're going to circle back to that. Okay, so back 15 years and a little prior, like back to Youngbrad.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Where did you grow up?
Speaker 1:I grew up all over the country. I was born in Colorado, my whole family's from Colorado and I grew up there throughout my life, but we moved every three years. My dad retired in San Antonio, Texas, from the military and that's where I got stuck in middle school and high school and from there I've been bouncing back and forth between Texas and Colorado my entire life, traveling all over the country. So I don't know where home is. Home is where I'm at the moment, and at the moment I'm at the Hyatt Regency in Bastrop, Texas, with a very bare-bones studio set up.
Speaker 2:But it works. So you have a nomadic lifestyle is, I think, the best way to describe that.
Speaker 1:As nomadic as it can get. I think yes, right.
Speaker 2:You've had a lot of adventures. I know touch on some more of those in a little bit. You've had a lot of adventures, but let's talk a little bit more about like childhood, like childhood, so growing up, and the stresses that it had on you being in a military lifestyle and the different roads you had to take all the time and the constant moving and how hard was that on you as far as friendships and development and even like your mental health, like just let's talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 1:I think it was extremely hard on me. I never really had a chance to make solid friends. Throughout my life I moved every three years. That absence of consistent stability it did affect me in pretty large ways. It's probably what led me to choosing a life of travel and nomadism, I think as I became an adult at that point I was so man. I'm not a psychologist whatsoever, but I think when I got older it was an attempt to break away from. Actually it's weird, because I was nomadic growing up. Do you hear what I'm saying?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, it was like a different type, though, right, you had to do what they needed you to do, but this is like a freedom for you you get to choose where you're going.
Speaker 1:I sought freedom and I wanted to choose my people and where I went, when I wanted, where I wanted, and that just became my life.
Speaker 2:What is the most interesting and happiest place you've lived, that you were like this is amazing.
Speaker 1:Montana.
Speaker 2:Montana.
Speaker 1:That's where I wanted to end up. Montana, that's where I wanted to end up. That's where I ended up, and I didn't get to stay in Montana very long because that's when my late onset epilepsy started and cascading down from there. I just wasn't able to live in Missoula anymore and I had to come back down to Colorado. I still want to live in Missoula someday. I still want to end up in Montana, but that's the most amazing place I've ever lived.
Speaker 1:I would have put down roots there and never left. That was my end place.
Speaker 2:So you talk a little bit about the onset epilepsy which we're going to talk about later, because that's later in your life. I want to stick to like the younger years and you know, like high school and to graduating and becoming an adult and then making your choices to move around on your own. Do you feel like if you were to do it all again, you would continue that lifestyle? Or do you feel like you would have gone back and maybe said you know what? I just want to set some roots, start a life and a family, and all of that in this one spot?
Speaker 2:Like if I didn't grow up in a military family or if I or just you know, just in general, like, do you feel the path you took is the one that you are happy with and every choice you've made you're like this is where I should be. Do you have any regrets?
Speaker 1:No, I don't regret anything in my life. Some of it was painful and hard, but you know why I'm here. But you know why I'm here. Our roads change in life. I've chosen to build from it and structure my life around things that may have been out of my control, but right now I'm happy and I'm happy with the life that I've lived. I'm happy where I am now and I don't regret I would take some things back, but I don't regret where I am now. I don't regret I would take some things back, but I don't regret where I am now.
Speaker 2:I am happy you would take some things back. Is that like actions or like places you've been or lifestyles you've chosen? What kind of things would you say are?
Speaker 1:mistakes I've made that have affected other people.
Speaker 2:Okay, but you feel like you've learned from those and grown from that, which is good, yes, and then? So, growing up in the military lifestyle, did you have mom and dad together, were they married or?
Speaker 1:They got divorced when I was in high school. It did split up my family. It did split up me and my brother from my little sister. Yeah, that did change my life. It did alter my roads in quite a big way.
Speaker 2:I'm sure it did. Did it also alter your perception of relationships and that in your life, like pursuing anybody romantically and having connections?
Speaker 1:I'm sure that it affected all of that. Like I said, I'm not a psychologist, but I'm sure my upbringing in a military family and where I ended up and my parents separating I think that has affected every aspect of my life Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And where, in your status today, like with your dad, your mom and all your siblings, where do you guys all stand today?
Speaker 1:We all get along, hang out with no, no problem. I just officiated over my little sister's wedding yesterday, which was really neat, and I'm I think I'm closer at this time in my life and at our ages than we ever were, and I I think that was because of that, but the time it wasn't so fun. I think that at some point it cuts you, it defines who you are and, like I said, what you do with that is what matters. And at this point in all of our lives, I think that we're in a very good spot.
Speaker 2:That's good. It's hard for a lot of split families to share in joyous occasions, you know, weddings and graduations and all those things.
Speaker 2:So good to hear that you guys can like all come together and enjoy those and be supportive of each other and all those things. So good to hear that you guys can all come together and enjoy those and be supportive of each other and all of that. So then let's fast forward a little bit. Let's talk about mid-20s. Brad, Like nomadic lifestyle. You've moved out. Where's the first place you moved to on your own?
Speaker 1:On my own. I think it was Austin. I think I got a tiny studio on the lake that was filled with bugs biting bugs. That was fine with me at the time. I believe it was Austin.
Speaker 2:Okay, and did you work throughout that time? Or what were you like school? What were you doing throughout the 20s?
Speaker 1:I had just become a EMT a few years prior, so I was focusing on that.
Speaker 2:Okay, and were you an EMT firefighter or just paramedic? Where did you work with that career?
Speaker 1:Well, I started as just an EMT and then I went to Knolllls National Outdoor Leadership School and got my wilderness EMT, which I love the wilderness as part of what I love about travel and I was working in Boverdy for a fire department and then from there it just exploded outwards because I knew that I didn't just want to do EMT basic, I wanted to do other crazy things. So I immediately at that point got into disaster response.
Speaker 2:That's cool.
Speaker 1:Starting with Hurricane Katrina, like literally right out of school. That was pretty much the first thing I ever did in this field.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, so you were down there like one of the first responders on scene to Katrina.
Speaker 1:Like a week after. Like a week after.
Speaker 2:What was that experience like for you?
Speaker 1:Life altering. I don't think that I had ever seen pain and I don't think I'd ever seen disaster to that extent. It opened my eyes up, I think, to the true reality of the world, and I think that my eyes were closed to that for a long time. But yeah, it was pretty rough. I saw some things that I wish to this day that I had never seen.
Speaker 2:I imagine. Did you have any mental preparation going into that situation, like what am I going to do if I come across a dead body, or what am I going to do when I come across X, y? Did you have this plan or was it just?
Speaker 1:Not at all.
Speaker 2:I don't know what I'm getting into, and it is what it is.
Speaker 1:I jumped in a car and went blind. I didn't know what was ahead of me.
Speaker 2:What was the most horrific part of that for you? Was it just the devastation of the community, or was it actually seeing the people? What part of that really resonated with you?
Speaker 1:as far as full deployment, Deeper things that I actually would prefer to not talk about or think about.
Speaker 2:That's okay.
Speaker 1:It definitely had to do with people and not property.
Speaker 2:Right, I know my husband was out there as well with National Guard, and so I've heard some of his stories as well, and thank you for going out there and doing that, because those are things that are going to be in your mind forever and memories you can't erase.
Speaker 1:It's true All we can do is spend my life Mantra.
Speaker 2:But you've definitely gone out and you've always been one to help people and put yourself in the line of fire. That's one of the things I just love about you the most is, you're always ready to go. No matter what the problem is, you are ready to step in and go help.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 2:You're welcome. Yeah, it's awesome. And then you got into wild land firefighting, is that right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, quite a few years later yeah like I said, I always wanted to push forward and expand and make this career into something that would allow me to travel and go different places and make every day different. But yeah, at some point I decided to go into wildland fire and try something new. Like I usually do, I'm always looking for the next thing.
Speaker 2:You definitely are. That's why you are the Changing Roads King. All right, so you moved on and I know you probably had many relationships throughout, but you did in fact end up with the mother of your children, correct?
Speaker 1:I did.
Speaker 2:And you had them. What was the first year that you had the first one, akira? Was it Akira?
Speaker 1:No, it was Ashlyn.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, ashlyn. What year were they born?
Speaker 1:No, it was Ashlyn. Oh yeah, ashlyn. What year were they born? Ashlyn was 2012, and Kira was a couple days or a couple years later. They were back-to-back. They're not quite Irish twins, but they almost were, so 2012.
Speaker 2:And how did becoming a dad change your way of thinking of life and, like the traveling and wanting to continue on that path, did you feel like maybe at any point, you were ready to settle down and put the roots down? Or do you always feel like you know, I love my kids, but I still want to do what I do?
Speaker 1:I tried many times to put roots down and there's just something in me that can't stand still and I know that's affected their lives. It did make me quit wildland firefighting because of the danger involved and I didn't want them to lose their dad in a situation like that. But it has got to the point where I would like to just show my daughters that this life is possible and that traveling and seeing the world and experiencing the world is one of the most important things that you can do with your life. So I have continued to do that because I feel like that is a lesson that I need to, as a father, give to them.
Speaker 2:What was the first trip you took them on?
Speaker 1:The first trip I took them. On what scale of a trip?
Speaker 2:Just out of state. You know any like new experience for them. I know you went to New York once, but like, was that the first time you took them out of state?
Speaker 1:As far as a big trip, I have a very bad memory Not the last total solar eclipse. Bad memory Not the last total solar eclipse, Full total solar eclipse. That happened before that and we went up to Casper Wyoming and camped on BLM land so they could see that.
Speaker 2:And do they have the passion for like travel and seeing new things like you do? Do they share that?
Speaker 1:They love it more than anything else, and that is one aspect of being a father that I feel that I'm accomplished in, or that I've been successful in giving them. My daughters love to travel and it lights them up and they're very well-traveled children at this point.
Speaker 2:So you said that's like your most successful point. What would you maybe say is like your most failed point in parenthood? Do you feel like you have things that you wish were better? All of us parents do Like I know I sure do for every day of my life, but do you feel like there's any aspects that you need to improve upon to create a better life and future for them?
Speaker 1:on important days of their lives that I wish that I could have, and to this day. You know, like a few days ago, my daughters started school again this year and my oldest is going into sixth grade, and I wish I was there to see my oldest daughter walk through the doors of sixth grade. And that's just an example. But there are many things that I've missed out on their lives, that I even their daily lives. I wish I could help them with their homework every night. I wish I could pick them up from school every day, and that's just not how everything turned out. So yeah, my lifestyle out. So yeah, my lifestyle. Having children comes with a cost, and I have, to some degree, accepted that cost, because I believe that the lesson that I have to give to them supersedes that. And I might be wrong, I don't know if I'm right or wrong, but that's how I feel is that I have something to give to them, and in order for that to happen, I'm going to have to miss days of their lives.
Speaker 2:Which I feel like they probably understand right. You probably had the conversations with them and they understand you and they know that you love them, just have a different lifestyle, and you know at this age.
Speaker 1:I think that they do. I think they completely get it in a few years. I don't know how they will feel as they get older, but at this point they love that daddy travels. I will feel as they get older, but at this point they love that daddy travels and I think that it inspires them and they love when I take them on trips. But I don't know, someday I think that they might be pissed off at me for not being there on a daily basis.
Speaker 2:Does that kind of put a fear in you that someday they may have resentment towards you for not being there on certain points in their life and like? Does that play any role in like it's more than a fear.
Speaker 1:I almost feel like I know that there's going to be resentment, but I think that at the end of the day, once they get old enough, I I hope that they can look back and as mature adults and understand. I hope I'm just doing what I believe to be true and what I think that my daughters need to know about the world in life, and that's all I can do. It's really all I can do.
Speaker 2:It's really all I can do that you know you're staying true to yourself, which I think is actually really an amazing thing, because a lot of people wouldn't be able to stay true to themselves and their lifestyle right, like they would change everything and that's just not you. So like you are the changing roads and you are the constant nomadic lifestyle of making you know new roads for yourself and finding new passions and traveling. So I think it's actually pretty amazing that, even through fatherhood, you've been able to keep that relationship with them, but also that relationship to yourself and your lifestyle, and stay true to you.
Speaker 1:I hope that they see that and I hope that they take that into their own lives and that it's a positive thing and not a negative thing.
Speaker 2:I think it will be. I absolutely do. I do so let's go a little bit off that. That's a deep topic. I love you girls. They're adorable. So currently you have been going through some health issues, and when was the onset of the seizures? And all Give me the story about that. How did this happen?
Speaker 1:I'm going to cut this out. Let's not go deep into that.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, let's go back. Okay, so let's go to this big adventure that you just recently took. You decided to go to all of the national parks yes, with my dog with your dog. So ranger became the first dog to visit all of the national parks. Is that correct? Yes, world records awesome and let's talk a little bit about some of the challenges that you faced on that journey every day was a challenge.
Speaker 1:Besides, you know the logistics of getting a dog to the arctic circle or to the american samoas or like hawaii, or logistically it's insane nightmare. And living on the road full time literally, we did it in 11 months. So living on the road full time is as hard as it is adventurous and fun. But every day was a challenge.
Speaker 2:Right, you'd wake up and every day. Did you have a plan going into it? Or did you just be like, okay, today we are here and wherever I end up today is where I end up, or did you have some kind of like a structure to that?
Speaker 1:no, I had a. I had a calendar, a physical calendar that I wrote the national parks down on, whatever days that I intended to be there and the travel in between. But one of the things about travel is that you can't lay down a long-term plan that gets absolutely executed. There are so many things that can happen and alter your original plans that it's a framework and that's about it. You might as well throw your plans out the window. You can plan all you want, but at the end of the day, the road decides what happens. The mercy of the road.
Speaker 2:Right, so you had taken how long to actually plan that trip before you went on it.
Speaker 1:Three weeks.
Speaker 2:Only three weeks.
Speaker 1:From the day that I, for three or four weeks, from the day I decided to do it, to the day I actually did mile number one. Yeah, it was probably like three, four weeks.
Speaker 2:Holy crap. So that's a lot of planning and preparation and a short amount of time. Do you feel like I?
Speaker 1:thought I knew what I was doing. I I wrote down all the mileage and the dates and the cost of gas and I had my spreadsheets. I thought that I had it figured out. And you can throw some curveballs in there too, like I don't know we're out. And you can throw some curveballs in there too, like I don't know we're not going to. You can throw some curveballs in there too. But that's what I learned really early on is make as many plans as you want, but you might as well crumple them up on a ball and throw them out the window, and at that point you just have to have a loose structure and the ability to be flexible, no matter what happens, and be willing to adjust and change your plans accordingly.
Speaker 2:Did you take into account, like the weather and all of that stuff, like when you mapped out which ones you were going to go to, or did you just no, I chased the weather.
Speaker 1:The weather was one of the biggest things, the biggest aspects of how I planned it, and actually I nailed the weather part. Oh yeah, I executed the weather part almost perfectly. I had a couple days where I got some snow, like one day I drove through like a blizzard and then it went away and it was dry. I I had a few days of rain, but other than that, I honestly completely nailed the weather chasing, which is statistically improbable, but it turned out okay, turned out better than okay.
Speaker 2:What would you say are your top three perks in?
Speaker 1:like parks or experiences.
Speaker 2:Let's go parks first.
Speaker 1:I would say that Zion is probably my very favorite. I've always had a special relationship with Zion National Park. Before I even went on this journey, I think Zion Crater Lake was the national park that I had wanted to go to since I was a little kid. I think that it probably played a part in this whole journey and definitely my interest in national parks. So finally getting to Crater Lake was a very special experience and definitely at the top of my list. And then I would say Glacier, because I worked there and I lived in Montana, and it's Glacier, it's the crown of the continent. It's absolutely gorgeous and wonderful and beautiful and I love all the bears.
Speaker 2:Just don't feed them.
Speaker 1:Just don't feed the bears, yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, so your top three parks. Now, they're probably different from experiences, so what was like your top three most memorable experiences along the way, whether it's people or the community?
Speaker 1:or my most memorable and favorite experiences or experience was when Ranger and I almost died on Isle Royale in Lake Superior believe it or not. Miserable, and I won't get into the details, but we were getting hypothermic, we weren't prepared for unforeseen circumstances and it almost turned out like very bad. But it was also the experience I had that reminded me halfway through the trip of why I was doing it in the first place and when I was about to give up. It set me back on track and that was very special. The night I got home from that experience or not home, but back to Copper Harbor where I was staying on Lake was the first night that I ever saw the Northern Lights. So I think that was my favorite experience. There were some lessons learned, big lessons learned, and there were some signs from the universe. I feel like that.
Speaker 2:I was going to say do you feel like seeing the Northern Lights, like that was some kind of a sign from the universe that you're on the right path?
Speaker 1:and this is where you should be, and I went from the edge of death and one of the most miserable experiences of my entire life to seeing the one thing that I've always wanted to see in life before I die, within hours. So, yeah, I think that is pretty special.
Speaker 2:I think that was a pretty defining moment, for sure. It wasn't little Northern Lights, it was big the fold yeah not like what I saw here in Colorado, for sure, like that was beautiful, but it's not.
Speaker 1:It was a sign.
Speaker 2:And what about your like?
Speaker 1:second experience Diving deep here. There's no script here, by the way. Christine's just throwing these at me and I'm just answering them. Our second national park was Joshua Tree. It was the very beginning of our journey and it was just so cool, making it from Colorado all the way to California and starting this journey and there was nobody at the park and we had this camping spot. There were no tents. I set up my hammock and we just listened to the coyotes howling all night and looking at the stars. It was just one of the most peaceful moments of my entire life. It was a really wonderful place, joshua Tree, but it was a big moment in that journey.
Speaker 2:And let's do one your last major experience. That just sticks out, but it's not like three and three.
Speaker 1:Getting taking Ranger to the Arctic Circle, to Gates of the Arctic national park and getting medevaced out.
Speaker 2:You got medevaced out.
Speaker 1:You didn't know that.
Speaker 2:No, Do tell oh.
Speaker 1:I was in a tiny village in the Arctic circle and it too big, and I had gotten into a car wreck on the Alaskan Highway a few weeks prior and I cracked a rib and I didn't know about it at the time and then I guess my muscles relaxed and they started seizing around the bone Worst pain of my life. I thought my spleen had ruptured or something and it ended up just being some hairline fractures in my ribs. But yes, I had to get medevaced out.
Speaker 2:It was like never a dull moment on your road. Moment in my entire life, no, along your journey through all of the parks and all of the states, I imagine you met a lot of people along the way. Were there some that you still talk to today and like have any rapport with still.
Speaker 1:Most of them, and in fact, some of those people, have been guests on this podcast in season one. It's my favorite part of traveling, more than anything else is meeting people and learning how people live and learning about their places. So that's something I'm very good at is connecting with people and, yes, I have friends all over the country and, in fact, all over the world.
Speaker 2:What is the farthest you have traveled?
Speaker 1:by miles, I don't know. Probably. I don't know, I haven't counted them out either american samoas near new zealand or europe I, germany, czech republic. That's actually an question. I'm going to go to the map.
Speaker 2:What's your favorite place you've traveled to today? Prague In-country, out-of-country Prague.
Speaker 1:Prague, prague, czech Republic.
Speaker 2:Really 100%. Okay, why.
Speaker 1:Live there.
Speaker 2:What was so memorable about that one?
Speaker 1:It's just old, very old, very beautiful. The castle there is immaculately built. It's just one of the most gorgeous, oldest places I've ever been. And American history is very young, Like when you think about it. We're a very young country. So to go to a place as old as that really puts into perspective how young we are here in America. But Prague is just everybody's kind and it's beautiful and they still have the cobblestone roads and there is off the chain. They know how to do food Prague.
Speaker 2:Oh, we need your listeners to put Prague on their list of places to travel.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's the deal.
Speaker 2:I'm putting that on my list.
Speaker 1:It's not going in nightlife in Prague. They can go find out about the nightlife themselves.
Speaker 2:You know, Brad, you have the most interesting nightlifes, I'm sure. So we won't touch base on that tonight. That's a whole nother podcast. That's like the nightlife of Brad.
Speaker 1:You and I are up at five in the morning right now doing this podcast episode, like 10 hours before this episode releases.
Speaker 2:That's awesome Well you know, I think that we've learned a lot about you, but let's just sum things up with like where do you see things going, what's in your future and you know where are you living now, and just a quick wrap up of today and move forward.
Speaker 1:That is the big question Right now. I live up in the mountains in Colorado, past Red Rocks about 30 minutes. It's very beautiful, very quiet. I'm doing this podcast. I'm doing this podcast because I want to share what I've experienced and learned in my experiences through other people's experiences, because it's changed who I am and made who I am as a person and what inspires me to keep doing it.
Speaker 1:So where we travel to next, I don't know, I think that on the grand, the grand, grand grand list, I would like to take Ranger to all seven continents and get him another world record, that would be so cool, and you're going to take us along that journey, right. Trying to figure out how to get them to Antarctica, but yes, Wonderful.
Speaker 2:It's always nice to learn a little bit more about you and who you are and where you came from, and I hope that the listeners learned a lot more about you through this interview with you. Is there anything else that I didn't touch on that you want them to know? I?
Speaker 1:don't think so. You did a pretty good job here. You cut pretty deep into some places and really made me think and answer. Honestly, I'm not the fun podcast host that I usually am here, because I'm I don't know. It's. Being in the spotlight is not easy and maybe I feel now how some of my guests feel when they're on and their nervousness and anxiety and I don't know. I think that you guys have heard enough. This podcast is not about me. It's about you guys, it's about my guests. It's about all of the stories that are not me. I I just think that part of me needed to be touched, just so that you had some background as my listener.
Speaker 2:I think it was absolutely perfect and you shared just enough to give us a little perspective and I hope that it helps the listeners understand the meaning behind your podcast, why you do it, what your purpose is, and that everyone can continue to follow you on your journeys and be a part of your great life on this road.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm either going to gain listeners or lose them here on the show, so we'll see. But thank you, I think you'll gain some.
Speaker 2:You're actually one of the most inspiring people that I know and I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart. Like you and I have always had the most amazing conversations. You are not afraid to go deep and you always have some kind of input and value to a conversation.
Speaker 1:I appreciate that I try.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm sure anybody that is so wonderful to be a guest on your podcast will learn that as well, and I hope that you continue to have good success and meet a lot of people and travel a lot of those roads and learn new things.
Speaker 1:Appreciate that.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Thank you, christine, for being my friend for life, and for putting up with me and watching my journey. You're like a, you're like a sister to me, and I love you very much.
Speaker 2:I love you very much and you just keep us on your travels and keep us in the loop.
Speaker 1:Certainly will.
Speaker 2:Awesome, all right. What was my pleasure to interview you today.
Speaker 1:It was an absolute pleasure for myself, as well as nerve wracking as it has been. It is a pleasure, I'm glad you came. You want to tell it was an absolute pleasure for myself, as well as nerve-wracking as it has been. Yeah, it was a pleasure, I'm glad you came. You want to tell everyone the weird thing about coming up with this episode.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's right, I was going to mention that. So I was hosting a karaoke show tonight and he sent me a message and said I got to do a podcast and I don't know what I'm going to do and I was busy so I didn't have time to reply and in my mind I was thinking what if I just interviewed him, like just turn the tables on it and never put that out there because I was busy? And then I called him on my way home and he tells me he's got this grand idea for the podcast and that it was, I would interview him and I was like.
Speaker 2:Are you fucking kidding me? How did we literally have the same idea?
Speaker 1:Me on the level.
Speaker 2:So this podcast was meant to be on so many levels, and I think people will get a lot out of it from it.
Speaker 1:So I hope so.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you, Christine. I'm going to take the reins back here for a second.
Speaker 2:You go, thank you.
Speaker 1:I'm going to thank my listeners for sticking with us and hopefully you learned a little bit more about me. Like I said, please follow me and not delete me. That would be wonderful. We only speak the truth here. I only speak the truth, and my only intention is to share things about travel and my life and other people's lives in a way that inspires you to go out into the world and see it and experience it for yourself. So thank you, christine, for putting me on blast. Absolutely, it was my pleasure. Appreciate it. You can find us at wwwchangingroadscom. Our links to Spotify and Apple Podcasts are there, or you can just search Changing Roads on either, and we'll pop right up, because we're doing really well as a podcast and that is thanks to you, my listeners. We're all over the world now and all over the country, and that's pretty amazing. So thank all of you and we will see you next time. Next week, we'll have a great episode for you, christine, christine.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Would you like to say goodbye?
Speaker 2:I would love to say goodbye, thank you so much, and goodbye listeners. I hope to be on again and, you know, make sure you follow him on Facebook as well, changing Roads. You'll get to see some really good pictures of Brad and Ranger and their journey, so go follow them there too.
Speaker 1:Thanks, Christine.
Speaker 2:You're welcome.
Speaker 1:I love you, lady. I love you, love all of you guys, my listeners, and we will see you next time. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Bye, bye, thank you.