The basics about me:
As you might have assumed, my name is Ramey. I am a compulsive traveler, both at home and abroad. I am 35 years in chronological age. To earn a living, I take photographs for a wide variety of clients and purposes, and I am also a graphic designer of equal diversity. I also make short films, which have screened in festivals and won awards around the world. You can check out my photo and film work here: www.rameynewell.com. I’m a rock climber, backpacker, dog-mom and tennis player. I love being active and exploring the world around me.
About the blog:
It seems these days I live two lives: one settled, domestic, content; the other restless, wandering, ambitious. Most of the time, my port of call is the rainy shores of British Columbia, Canada. But from time to time I hit the road for the deserts of the American Southwest, the Rocky Mountains, or the back roads of New England. Or sometimes further afield. I suppose I have always had a restless spirit, and it whispers in my ear a little more loudly these days than it used to.
In 2011 I spent 3 months on the road. In 2012, six months. In 2013, four months. In 2014, two months plus a relocation to Colorado. 2015 saw another month on the road and a month abroad in SE Asia. In 2016, I spent another month on the road in the West, and a couple weeks in the Northeast US. In 2017, a couple months on the road in Canada and Oregon, plus yet another relocation — this time to British Columbia. 2018 will include a trip to NYC, a couple weeks in Scotland and England, and two months in the RV across the American West again. Phew!
My partner of 13 years, Ben, and I are planning an overland journey to South America in the coming years. We have a few things to wrap up at home, but we plan to (eventually) liquidate most of our belongings, pack up what we need (including our dogs), and hit the road in a serious way. The Long Road. Our 1988 Toyota Sunrader 4×4 RV will be our chariot, and our destination will be unknown. After all, a trip like that isn’t about the destination.
Until then, we’ll be taking the RV out and about in the western portions of North America whenever we can, and also embracing the roadless backcountry from time to time. We’ll probably make a couple more journeys abroad, too.
So here you can find my musings from both home and away as they pertain to travel, life in motion, and the omnipresent Conundrum (which may or may not be fueling such adventures). And you will be able to follow along, in words and pictures, as we launch each new chapter of our lives.
Bien viaje!
Ramey on the Road
Ramey on the Road 
Hi. My name is Lee Jampolsky. My wife and I have traveled a great deal as well. We had a trip planned in our Mitusubish Fuso FG through South America, but had an opportunity arrise to buy a large ranch. We sold the Fuso, and have rebuilt the ranch. Now we may be sellling the ranch and resuming the journey, not sure yet. Anyway, I have thought of a Sunrader a few times, and researched many. How has yours been? Full floating rear axel that is 1 ton? That is important, as I am sure you know. Just wanted to say hi, and wish you all the best on your journey. Your writing is lovely as well.
Lee
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Hi Lee – thanks for stopping by!
Oh, your Fuso would make us jealous. Our first plan was to buy a Fuso and mount our trailer on the bed. That was proving to be too expensive for our budget, however. So we decided on the Sunrader. We’re not sure yet how she’ll treat us, but we’re optimistic. The axle has been replaced, and the wheel ratio is correct. Her maiden test voyage will be next month for a trip to Utah. We’ll post about how she fares, what upgrades we make, etc.
Hope you do get to complete your trip. Maybe we’ll see you on the road. 😉
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Hi, I’m glad to have stumbled upon your blog, your story sounded rather familiar to me. (Aside from being a graphic designer and keen photographer myself) My partner Ben and I are selling all our stuff, packing ourselves up and will be flying to the USA from New Zealand in May this year to start a road trip down the PanAmerican Highway (Starting in Alaska).
Perhaps we will see you on the road!
If not we can at least follow your journey via your blog. So good luck with your final preparations 🙂
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Hi Emma! Very excited for you and Ben. We must be bizarro-twins from opposite hemispheres–a Yank and a Kiwi of a similar feather. 😉 How long do you reckon you’ll be on the road? Hopefully our Toyota will run across your Toyota!
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I don’t know that our Toyota will be quite as well kitted out as yours, but we’ll see how we go. We’re planning on taking about 18-24 months for our trip, budget permitting… so with a bit of luck somewhere along the 40,000+ km our paths will cross 😀
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We may well indeed cross paths, then! We’ll likely leave next winter (about a year from now), but we will be starting in Mexico and skipping parts of Central America, so the bulk of our time will be in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina (maybe Uruguay/Paraguay too).
Stay in touch, and perhaps we can go for a trek in the Andes in 2015! I’ll bookmark your blog as well.
Bien viaje, fellow Pan American journeyers!
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