An Itinerary Written in Pencil



There's 6'7" Todd on the right.

Recently I was asked to come speak on social media and grassroots-style marketing to a group of insurance agents in Spokane, Washington. Cara and I decided to turn it into a working vacation-I'd speak Friday morning from 9-1030 and then we'd use the rest of the weekend for some family time.

After the meeting we headed down to Riverfront Park and let the kids play in the fountain there. We grabbed a park bench and kicked back to watch the kids. A bit later a tall white guy with a long pony tail and large backpack sat down on the bench next to us. He was clean and dressed like he shopped exclusively at REI. After a few minutes I asked, "So, you trekking across the US on foot?"

Turns out he's a professional photographer, named Todd Erickson, that had thumbed rides all the way from Snoqualmie Pass where he lives. He had three photo shoots lined up and was just relaxing a bit in the park before his first appointment. Turns out in that expedition pack of his he had three lights and a bunch of other camera gear.

This trip wasn't a random experience for him. He's managed to get to age 41 without ever owning a car. He hand built his home in the pass over several years and functions entirely off the grid, relying on his iPhone for all Internet and phone communications. During the winter, he often has to ski 3 or 4 miles just to get to a road where he can put his thumb out to get further. Oh, and when he gets back from this working weekend, he's putting in a hydro electric system on a waterfall that's near his home. Quite the interesting guy. And because his home is paid off and he has no debt, sometimes he'll charge $1000 for a portrait shoot, and other times he'll do them for free if he likes the subject.

Before we parted ways, Todd suggested if we have time the next day, give him a call and we could shoot some family pictures in between his scheduled shoots. We got his card and planned on taking him up on it.

Later in the evening we exchanged some text messages to plan a shoot for the next day. The charge would be $100 and include all our edited images. Pretty reasonable we figured.

The next day we met him in the park and had a rad time. The guy is a genius with kids- they had a great time and we came away with some fun family shots too. He made the whole experience so relaxing and fun. I actually think we may try to connect with Todd again in the future.

Crazy to think such a cool experience happened without any planning at all. When have you scrapped your agenda to make a memory on a vacation?