Hourless Life: Documenting Our Global Overland Adventure

Hourless Life

Well-known member
(Post Updated 11/20/22 to reflect current milestone achievements and position)

Hello Expedition Portal!

We are on an overland Journey around the world. We are hoping to do all 6 habitable continents over the next 10-15 years.

A lot of details below but here is the TL;DR

October 9, 2021 - Crossed the border from USA to Mexico to begin the global journey
March 24, 2022 - Crossed the border from Mexico to Belize entering Central America.
November 1, 2022 - Loaded our Jeep Gladiator into a container for South America.
November 18, 2022 - Cleared the port in Cartagena, Colombia to start our 2nd continent.

Current location: Colombia


For those interested in the full story, we want to share (uncensored) the journey with our fellow like-minded adventurers. As we add to this thread, we hope to share all of the victories as well as the trials and tribulations of the journey. The actual journey started on October 9, 2021.

Hourless Life.png
(Photo credit: Amber Baldwin / Story Chasing)

Who we are:
We are an American family of 3 who are currently attempting to drive around the world. We entered the overland community in 2018.

Now we are on a long-term, full-time, global overland journey.

A quick video intro:


For those that have attended Overland Expo events, you may have attended some of the classes or panels we've participated in and have heard some of our story. For those that don't know us...

A little bit more about us:
We're Eric, Brittany, and Caspian Highland. We've been traveling full-time throughout North America since February 2014 owning no home or property. Our son Caspian joined the adventure in 2016 by going straight from the birthing room of the hospital to the Jeep.

I (Eric) am a 20 year veteran of the United States Coast Guard, also worked at the King County Sheriff's Office (Seattle, WA) and Texas Department of Public Safety (Austin, TX) before retiring fully in 2011. And by retired I mean that after my "retirement" my wife and I started our own company and have been self-employed for nearly a decade to help keep the wheels turning.

My wife @BrittanyHighland is an incredible woman, an insatiable adventurer, an avid writer, and actively writes articles for various companies and brands. Incidentally, she has started contributing articles to Expedition Portal and Overland Journal.

Our family motto:
L.E.S.S. Which stands for Love, Explore, Study, Share. It is what we hope to do with our journey. Love on others, Explore the world around us, Study voraciously the culture and history of the people and places we visit, and Share what we've learned with those who have interest.

Our philosophy:
I tell people all the time, "We're not independently wealthy, but we're incredibly rich." These past years of full-time travel have really opened our eyes to the enormity of the world around us, and the beauty of the people within it. We've been blessed to experience many astounding things during our years of travel, and we look forward to much more on a global scale. To us, this is the definition of being "rich." We can always make more money, but we can never make more time.

How our journey has unfolded (a brief chronology):
February 2014 - Lived in Austin, Texas, sold pretty much everything we owned and moved into an RV.
February 2014 - Started an RV Blog to document that journey called RV Wanderlust.
June 2016 - Purchased a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon we dubbed "GUARDIAN."
June 2016 - Started a Jeep blog to document that journey called Jeepsies.
December 2016 - Our son Caspian joined the party.
June 2018 - Brittany tells me she wants to overland around the world. Yes this was her idea.
December 2018 - Sold our RV and moved into our Jeep.
January 2019 - Made our first international overland journey, 2000 miles through the interior of Mexico.
March 2019 - Purchased another, smaller RV we dubbed "BASECAMP"
January 2020 - Made the decision to drive around the world and began planning for this adventure.
February 2020 - Made our second international overland journey 2000 miles through Baja Mexico.
July 2020 - Sold most of our business holdings and dropped our income significantly to free ourselves up.
November 2020 - Launched our (hopefully final brand) Hourless Life to document our global journey.
February 2021 - Sold our RV. Put the deposit down to start building our Jeep Gladiator. Became full-time overlanders on February 5, 2021.

Dauntless-Night-1.jpeg
An unorganized first night in our unfinished build. This was just west of Santa Fe, NM on the night of June 25, 2021.

Our preparation period:
January 2021 - Purchase our global overlanding vehicle. (COMPLETED: February 2, 2021) (Picked up the Gladiator May 31, 2021)
February 2021 - Launch our YouTube Channel for the global journey. (First video released February 24, 2021)
May to July 2021 - Finish the buildout of our global vehicle and field test in the USA. (Starting Build June 1, 2021)
June 2021 - Leave our current overland vehicle "GUARDIAN" stored in the Denver, CO area. (Stored June 25, 2021)
August 2021 - Showcase the Gladiator build and speak at Overland Expo Mountain West in Loveland, Colorado. (Completed August 29, 2021)
September 2021 - Showcase the Gladiator build and speak at Overland Expo West in Flagstaff, Arizona. (Completed September 26, 2021)

The Big Picture View:

The plan as it stands now, is that once we've enjoyed Central and South America, that we'll ship our vehicle to South Africa and drive up the continent of Africa. From there, into Europe and then across to Asia. Then we'll probably ship the vehicle back to the States, and fly to Australia and either buy, rent, or borrow a vehicle in Australia to enjoy that continent. Then we'll return home having driven through all 6 habitable continents. We anticipate this journey will take 10-15 years.

Our Hearts:
We have been inspired by those that have gone before us, and we hope to be inspiring, empowering, and encouraging to others. We don't do this for recognition, we do this because we choose this life. We all get one shot at this wild and precious life, and we hope to experience the world for all that we can.

We hope to get to know some of the members of this community, and to share a day or two with you along our journey should our paths cross.

Follow:
If you'd like to get to know us, you can follow here on the platform of your choice:

Website: hourlesslife.com
Patreon: Hourless Life Patreon
Instagram: @hourlesslife
YouTube: Hourless Life
Facebook: Hourless Life
Twitter: @hourlesslife
Pinterest: Hourless Life

Our Jeep Gladiator Overlanding Build Video Series:
Here is the introduction video to our overlanding build. The vehicle will be on display at Overland Expo Mountain West and Overland Expo West 2021:


Our Sponsors:
In the interest of transparency with the Expedition Portal community, I want to share that we have been gear sponsored by several companies for our global journey:
  1. Goose Gear
  2. RedArc Electronics
  3. Alu-Cab
  4. WARN Industries
  5. Rigid Industries
  6. EQUIPT Expedition Outfitters
  7. Kuhl Clothing
  8. Juniper Overland
  9. Red Oxx
  10. Lifesaver
  11. Midland USA
  12. Cascadia 4x4
  13. Blue Ridge Overland Gear
  14. GoTreads
  15. Just Jeeps of Austin Texas
  16. Thunderbox USA
  17. Renogy Solar
  18. DMOS Collective
  19. Sonoran Expedition Collective
  20. Long Range America
  21. TeraFlex
  22. MaxTrax / Adventure Imports
  23. 67 Designs
  24. OK4WD
  25. GP Factor
  26. Dobinsons Suspension
  27. GAIA GPS
Our Thread Updates Made Easy to Find:
Here is where I'll link various entries we've made in this thread so you can navigate right to them.

The Vehicle we'll be driving around the world.
The Map of our general route around the world.
Selling our RV and becoming full-time overlanders.

Thought Journal 001 - 11/20/20
Thought Journal 002 - 02/17/21
Thought Journal 003 - 04/08/21

Final Thoughts On Our Initial In Progress Adventures Thread:
This is really happening! We're so excited to be on this journey.

Our first video from this journey was published on October 14, 2021:



If you have any questions for us, please comment below. We love getting to know others with similar passions and we hope you'll come along for the ride.
 
Last edited:

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Welcome, can't wait to catch up. We are buying and building a new Gladiator with some of the same travels in mind only with a trailer in tow.
Thanks for the welcome. Have you started a build thread? Would love to see your build.

Sounds like you also plan to drive the world? Do you have a general route or timeline?

Eric
 

sg1

Adventurer
Have fun and safe travels. Welcome to the community of international travelers. You will be surprised how many are on the road. They are mostly Europeans though.
We have been doing essentially what you are planing to do since 2010 to March 2020. Right now we are kind of stuck for obvious reasons. We have been traveling about 8 months a year in Southern Africa up to Zimbabwe, Latin America and Europe (all that with a Ford Transit AWD), North America with a F 150 with CampX pop up and New Zealand with a rented Sprinter. Once the Covid situation permits it we will continue with Australia, Asia ans Eastern Africa and selected parts of Asia. I have been the West Africa on business and have absolutely no intention to go there for fun.
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Have fun and safe travels. Welcome to the community of international travelers. You will be surprised how many are on the road. They are mostly Europeans though.
We have been doing essentially what you are planing to do since 2010 to March 2020. Right now we are kind of stuck for obvious reasons. We have been traveling about 8 months a year in Southern Africa up to Zimbabwe, Latin America and Europe (all that with a Ford Transit AWD), North America with a F 150 with CampX pop up and New Zealand with a rented Sprinter. Once the Covid situation permits it we will continue with Australia, Asia ans Eastern Africa and selected parts of Asia. I have been the West Africa on business and have absolutely no intention to go there for fun.
Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Instantly followed you here on Expedition Portal and would love to follow your adventures anywhere else you may be posting. Please do let me know if you have anywhere else online I can follow details about your journey.

We know that there are many others who have gone before us and this is exactly what we are hoping to do here in finding those with like-minded passions.

We aren’t married to West Africa and would be very interested in your advice, wisdom, and experience from your journeys throughout that continent and any other thoughts you’d offer.

Again. Thank you for taking the time to comment. And continued enjoyment on your adventure!

Eric
 

Korey H

Well-known member
Hello Expedition Portal!

We're getting ready to drive around the world, and wanted to share (uncensored) the journey with our fellow like-minded adventurers. As we add to this thread, we hope to share all of the victories as well as the trials and tribulations of the journey.

View attachment 625281
(Photo credit: Amber Baldwin / Story Chasing)

Who we are:
We are an American family of 3 who are currently preparing to drive around the world. We entered the overland community in 2018. We have completed numerous loops around the United States. We've also ventured 2000 miles into the interior of Mexico, and 2000 miles throughout the Baja peninsula.

We are ready for the next step in our adventure, a long-term, full-time, global overland journey.

For those that have attended Overland Expo events, you may have attended some of the classes or panels we've participated in and have heard some of our story. For those that don't know us...

A little bit more about us:
We're Eric, Brittany, and Caspian Highland. We've been traveling full-time throughout North America since February 2014 (as of this writing nearly 7 years) owning no home or property. Our son Caspian joined the adventure in 2016 by going straight from the birthing room of the hospital to the Jeep.

I (Eric) am a 20 year veteran of the United States Coast Guard, also worked at the King County Sheriff's Office (Seattle, WA) and Texas Department of Public Safety (Austin, TX) before retiring fully in 2011. And by retired I mean that after my "retirement" my wife and I started our own company and have been self-employed for nearly a decade to help keep the wheels turning.

My wife @BrittanyHighland is an incredible woman, an insatiable adventurer, an avid writer, and actively writes articles for various companies and brands. Incidentally, she has started contributing articles to Expedition Portal.

Our family motto:
L.E.S.S. Which stands for Love, Explore, Study, Share. It is what we hope to do with our journey. Love on others, Explore the world around us, Study voraciously the culture and history of the people and places we visit, and Share what we've learned with those who have interest.

Our philosophy:
I tell people all the time, "We're not independently wealthy, but we're incredibly rich." These past 7 years of full-time travel have really opened our eyes to the enormity of the world around us, and the beauty of the people within it. We've been blessed to experience many astounding things during our years of travel, and we look forward to much more on a global scale. To us, this is the definition of being "rich." We can always make more money, but we can never make more time.

How our journey has unfolded (a brief chronology):
February 2014 - Lived in Austin, Texas, sold pretty much everything we owned and moved into an RV.
February 2014 - Started an RV Blog to document that journey called RV Wanderlust.
June 2016 - Purchased a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon we dubbed "GUARDIAN."
June 2016 - Started a Jeep blog to document that journey called Jeepsies.
December 2016 - Our son Caspian joined the party.
June 2018 - Brittany tells me she wants to overland around the world. Yes this was her idea.
December 2018 - Sold our RV and moved into our Jeep.
January 2019 - Made our first international overland journey, 2000 miles through the interior of Mexico.
March 2019 - Purchased another, smaller RV we dubbed "BASECAMP"
January 2020 - Made the decision to drive around the world and began planning for this adventure.
February 2020 - Made our second international overland journey 2000 miles through Baja Mexico.
July 2020 - Sold most of our business holdings and dropped our income significantly to free ourselves up.
November 2020 - Launched our (hopefully final brand) Hourless Life to document our global journey.

Our immediate plans for the future:
January 2021 - Purchase our global overlanding vehicle.
May to July 2021 - Finish the buildout of our global vehicle and field test in the USA.
June 2021 - Leave our current overland vehicle "GUARDIAN" stored in the Denver, CO area.
August 2021 - Cross the border into Mexico Interior.
August 2021 to January 2022 - Live in the interior of Mexico, preparing for our journey through Central and South America.
February 2022 - Begin our journey around the world as we head into Central and South America.

The Plan After South America:
The plan as it stands now, is that once we've enjoyed Central and South America, that we'll ship our vehicle to South Africa and drive up the West Coast of Africa. From there into Europe and then across the Old Silk Road to Asia. Then we'll probably ship the vehicle back to the States, and fly to Australia and either buy, rent, or borrow a vehicle in Australia to enjoy that continent. Then we'll return home having driven through all 6 habitable continents. We anticipate this journey will take 10-15 years.

Our Hearts:
We have been inspired by those that have gone before us, and we hope to be inspiring, empowering, and encouraging to others. We don't do this for recognition, we do this because we choose this life. We all get one shot at this wild and precious life, and we hope to experience the world for all that we can.

We hope to get to know some of the members of this community, and to share a day or two with you along our journey should our paths cross.

Follow:
If you'd like to get to know us, you can follow here on the platform of your choice:

Website: hourlesslife.com
Instagram: @hourlesslife
Facebook: Hourless Life
Twitter: @hourlesslife
Pinterest: Hourless Life

Our Sponsors:
In the interest of transparency with the Expedition Portal community, I want to share that we have been gear sponsored by several companies on our travels thus far. I will list them below:

Kuhl Clothing
TeraFlex
Rhino Rack
Midland USA
Red Oxx
Helinox
Blue Ridge Overland Gear
DMOS Collective
GoTreads
Safe Jack
Just Jeeps of Austin Texas
Altitude Industries
AimTom Power
Burnt Customs
Thunderbox USA

Final Thoughts On Our Initial In Progress Adventures Thread:
This is really happening! We're so excited to start this journey.

Obviously the elephant in the room is COVID-19. But since we don't know how things will progress, we'll have to re-evaluate as we come closer to crossing back into Mexico. Having said that, we must move forward. So worst case scenario, we'll have a pretty nice rig to tool around the USA; best case scenario, we fulfill our global overlanding dream.

If you have any questions for us, please comment below. We love getting to know others with similar passions and we hope you'll come along for the ride.

Looking forward to following along. We’re a family of six just beginning our build out on an 08 C5500 4x4. No build thread yet but soon. Currently on IG @farmandtravelfam and @wehartstravel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Korey H

Well-known member
Looking forward to following along. We’re a family of six just beginning our build out on an 08 C5500 4x4. No build thread yet but soon. Currently on IG @farmandtravelfam and @wehartstravel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Also, if you’re ever in MO we have boondocking space for you here at Farwig Farm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
I look forward to following your adventure here. Good luck and I hope you are able to proceed with your plans per the schedule. Stay safe out there.
Thank you. If fulltiming has taught us anything it is that you make plans and do your best to keep them, but life always throws curveballs. You just need to learn to handle them and keep moving forward. Appreciate the encouragement and hope to continue to provide real time updates on our journey.

Eric
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Looking forward to following along. We’re a family of six just beginning our build out on an 08 C5500 4x4. No build thread yet but soon. Currently on IG @farmandtravelfam and @wehartstravel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wow a family of six! That’s awesome. We love meeting other families on the road. Wish you the best on your build and more importantly your adventures.

Eric
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Also, if you’re ever in MO we have boondocking space for you here at Farwig Farm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Appreciate that. For years we’ve actually kept a password protected spreadsheet of folks who have offered us a place to camp in the United States. It is a HUGE spreadsheet now and we’ve met some incredible like-minded people and made amazing friends as a result. Definitely thankful for the invite to your property. We’d love to add you to the spreadsheet if you’d like to send us details via a private message. However, our time in the USA is likely coming to a close before we return again to MO. But you never know!

Eric
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Welcome, can't wait to catch up. We are buying and building a new Gladiator with some of the same travels in mind only with a trailer in tow.
Would love to watch your build thread if you have one, please let us know. Thank you for the welcome!

Eric
 

sg1

Adventurer
Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Instantly followed you here on Expedition Portal and would love to follow your adventures anywhere else you may be posting. Please do let me know if you have anywhere else online I can follow details about your journey.

We know that there are many others who have gone before us and this is exactly what we are hoping to do here in finding those with like-minded passions.

We aren’t married to West Africa and would be very interested in your advice, wisdom, and experience from your journeys throughout that continent and any other thoughts you’d offer.

Again. Thank you for taking the time to comment. And continued enjoyment on your adventure!

Eric
Hi Eric,
We haven't really posted any blogs in the last years. Just pictures on Facebook. Right now we travel a little in the neighborhood until more destinations open up. Central and South America is fairly easy and beautiful in normal times. There is a lot of information online. My only advice is to learn Spanish if you don't speak it already and to get a simple and reliable vehicle where you can live comfortably even in bad weather.
Africa north of Namibia and Botswana is a bit more challenging. But this is a a few years down the road and you will be very experienced by then and have lots of contacts to get up to date information. No need to worry about that right now.
Stefan
 

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