three years and one globe. @expoportal #overland #family #travel

All too often we hear about unrealized overland ambitions. For many, family obligations conspire to postpone prolonged travels, but this is not the case for the Snaith family.

Starting last summer, the Snaiths from the beautiful city of Prague, embarked on a three year lap of the world with their two young girls in tow. Starting in Halifax, Canada, the team’s first target destination was determined by the girls - Disney Land.

the Snaiths Man 4x4 is prepped with luxuries similar to an RV but capable of word travel

a look at the living quarters of the Snaiths home away from home

Central to their travels is their impressive overland home, a custom-built Man 4x4. After spending hundreds of hours researching which platform to build upon, and a visit to the Abenteur and Allrad show in Germany, a plan started to take shape. The build-out was extensive, but the end result is undeniably perfect for a family of four.

The Snaiths are currently in Columbia and with plans to head deeper into South America before shipping themselves across the Pacific into Australia; follow their journey at Overlanding Family.

Referenced from Expedition Portal and Overlanding Family.

second solar array online. @Enphase #SolarEnergy

After a trail run this morning, the young ones and I wrapped up our sub array of (10) 230Watt Perlight Solar panels, Enphase m215 inverters and integrated grounding system (super sweet inverter).  Very excited to see my meter spinning backwards at twice the speed today.  

This system add on (10 panels and inverters) costed me about $1800 for the panels, $1270 for the inverters, $680 for the mounting hardware, and probably $600-800 for additional materials (lumber, wiring, added a sub panel outside etc).  I did all the work myself except for adding the sub panel; I hired a local electrician to finish that up.  Click here to see the Enphase Enlighten system in action.   

The arrow pointing to the left means we are feeding power into the grid and up to the neighbors.

I can't recommend Emmett and Civic Solar (San Francisco, CA) enough for incredible customer service and the absolute best prices I could find.  I did a lot of searching and quote comparisons and they were untouchable.  Shipping was fast and professional.  

Time for a Widmer Brothers Upheaval IPA (eggs are en route to fridge from chicken coop) and continuing to plan for Episode 5 production coming in May. Stay tuned!!!

weekly video I - spirit canoe. @natkendallmusic @heliocollective #explore #canoe #rivers

weekly video I: "Spirit Canoe" - a Helio Collective film

Capturing the essence of self reflection, "Spirit Canoe" takes you down a river of memories as one man searches for his soul.  

greening of the parkway. @asheville #family #adventure

When you hear the word adventure, you probably think about guys that jump in their 4x4 vehicles and head for those roads less traveled, hoping to meet someone interesting enough to put on camera all the while filming the entire event. You may also think of those weekend warriors who are out hiking, biking and boating, just to name a few. Then there are those who are seeking family friendly adventure. This may be a good option for them!

Welcome to The Greening of the Parkway celebration:

Earth Day was held on Tuesday the 22nd of April this week, National Junior Ranger Day is on Saturday the 26th, and its National Park Week as well. In honor of all of this the Blue Ridge Parkway officials are welcoming the return of the warm weather with a family friendly celebration. There will be a range of activities, two red tailed hawks will be on display as well as a variety of baby animals that are native to the parkway.

“We’ll cover the common ones, when they’d be expected to emerge and how long they’d stay with their mothers. The rearing process could be longer or shorter, depending on the animal,” said Gail Fox, park ranger with the Blue Ridge Parkway."

So take the kids and get out of the house, there will be opportunities to learn about springtime flowers, go on a 1.3 mile hike, and there's even an Energy Carnival. You will have the opportunity to learn about sustainability and green building practices, there are challenges and games where "Energy Bucks" can be earned and later exchanged for green themed prizes. I don't know about you but I want to go!

If you happen to be in the Asheville area hit The Greening of the Parkway celebration. It is from 10am-2pm on Saturday the 26th at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center, Milepost 384, Asheville. The cost is free, and I bet that it will be an adventure that everybody talks about for quite some time.

Referenced by The Citizen Times

honda net zero "smart home" concept. @honda #greenhome #electricvehicle

Imagine coming home from work after a long day in the office and pulling into a house where you know all of the energy needs required are generated on sight.  Engineers with Honda have apparently had their minds wrapped around this concept for awhile now...with origins in Japan back in 2012, welcome Smart Home.  

An electric vehicle can pull double duty and act as a home generator during power outages

This house has been designed from the ground up (literally) to be as efficient as possible while still maintaing the comfort and amenities we are all accustomed to having.  Heating and cooling has been optimized with the use of geothermal (ground source) technology in combination with some very intuitive thinking in using grey water from showers to preheat cool water coming in from the city, or well, supply line.  

Not only is the house self sufficient energy wise, it is beautiful both inside and out.  

LED lighting is used throughout, and I'm not talking about an average LED bulb from your local Lowes or Home Depot. "Honda worked in collaboration with the California Lighting Technology Center at UC Davis to explore a new form of circadian color control lighting.  Its lighting solution mimics shifts in natural lighting throughout the day and night. Using bright blue-rich light in the daytime, the lights are designed to optimize alertness and energy, while using an amber tone creates a more relaxed atmosphere after the sun goes down."  While all of these technologies and concepts may seem far fetched and surely to be over the top expensive, it is these concepts, that when put into play in the mainstream, can begin to have lasting effects in how we live and interact with our environment...and ultimately become more cost effective (look at Solar Panel prices) and appropriate to a broader range of people.  

Sourced from Gizmag