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There's a trail that runs from the Mexico-U.S. border north through California, Oregon and Washington, ending at the Canadian border. A grueling test of grit and endurance, it's no surprise those that attempt some or parts of the Pacific Crest Trail are changed. Long after blisters heal over, hammies stop aching, shins come back to normal, the stories of the trail linger in the minds of hikers. Is it the hours alone? Or the silence? Or the senses that become sharper watching for shifts in weather and wildlife? Or something else, like a hitchhiking ghost, that stays with them after leaving the PCT? 

The west coast of the United States is one I know well, like the back of my hand. But as I've been learning about trail angels, trail pirates, hitchhiking, and uncovered the people that have gone missing on this stretch of trail? It's become a place I don't recognize, that fascinates and scares me.

Grab a Bobo bar and a glass of water!  

Let's get into it!

This episode covers:

Pacific Crest Trail 101

Hiker Horror Stories

Hiker Cautionary Tales

Cascadia High Strangeness

Halfway Anywhere's PCT Hiker Survey Information

A Tribute by a Father Who Lost His Son on the PCT

About that song at the end...

Quiet Storm by Alana Jordan

 Show Sources and Materials

Halfway Anywhere's Patreon (sign up for FANTASTIC outdoors content - so good in fact that Outdoors Inc. and others have been stealing his work and taking credit)

Pacific Crest Trail Horror Stories 2024, HalfwayAnywhere.com

The Cult That Lived Next Door, Jack Neath, Medium.com

Creepy Pacific Crest Trail Stories, Ranker.com

Anza Borrego's Haunted Desert, DesertUSA.com

Trevor's Eternal Trail, Doug Laher, thetrek.co

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Northern California, this stretch sand, rocks, logging roads, wineries, tiny towns and pulsing centers of culture are one of my happy places. Often when I travel here to visit family, I fly into Santa Rosa, a quaint airport that feels like a time capsule, with touches of Peanuts' cartoonist, Charles Schultz everywhere. 

Fog-nipped mornings, the sound of a distant train, a winding stretch of trees, shoulders of highway that drop off a rocky incline, this is a place best enjoyed like a glass of fine wine, one intentional sip at a time.

From a lost bit of coastline to a community that has its own dialect that's about to go extinct, which might not be a bad thing, there's lots to learn about and love in Northern California.

Let's get into it!

This episode covers The Lost Coast, B. Bryan Preserve, Bohemian Grove, Zodiac, Mount Shasta, Boontling, and more.

What to Watch, Listen to, Read, or Shop for NEXT!

CASCADIA episode on Mount Shasta, Buzzsprout (shout out to Hotes Design - that created the episode art!) 

Exploring California's Lost Coast, VisitCalifornia.com 

B. Bryan Preserve link to donate, book a tour, fall in love with a giraffe, or plan an overnight stay!

Want a Spiffy House? Acreage by the Pacific? Zebras? Here's the House for You, SF Gate 

Earth's Root Chakra: the mysticism of Mount Shasta, Backcountry Magazine

Strange, Unique Northern California, CaliforniaThroughMyLense.com

California - A List of the Weirdest Things to Ever Happen in Northern California, OnlyInYourState.com

11 Weird Facts about Northern California that Sound FAKE but are 100% TRUE, Only In Your State

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But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog.

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Last week we ventured along the East Coast, specifically Florida's famed Space Coast to share the story of a civil rights couple who was killed by the KKK. We went a few miles inland to rewrite our old school programming about ancient civilizations thanks to scientific analysis of soft tissue matter, bones, bottle gourds and fabrics preserved for from 7-9,000 years ago, and this week? Well, the east coast can't have all the spotlight, can it? I'm looking closely at some of the weirdness along California's central coast.

Let's get into it!

This episode covers the death of James Dean and his cursed Little Bastard, the history and strange UFO/UAP sightings at Vandenberg Space Force Base, the Central Valley, Hearst Castle, a Zodiac killing, La Purisma Mission, and more.

What to Read, Watch, or Listen to NEXT!

 Sister Irenita - A Very Special Halloween Episode, Curious Cat Podcast, Buzzsprout

James Dean's Obituary, LA Times

***The TV Witch Accused of Casting the Hex that Killed James Dean, FarOutMagazine.co.uk

Site Where James Dean Crashed, CaliforniaThroughMyLens.com

Unearthing The Mysteries Of 'Egypt' In The Dunes Of The California Coast

National UFO Reporting Organization

Scientists solve deep-sea ‘Octopus Garden’ mystery off California coast

Ten Commandments' Relics, Old Hollywood, Being Excavated from California Sand Dunes, LA Times

Secrets of Hearst Castle, CNN

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But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog.

Hero Organizations:

80,000 Hours

Center for Humane Technologies

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A few months back while I was researching strange history in and around the Orlando area, I found a YouTube video that stuck with me. A young man that likes to explore abandoned places went to a house in an upscale neighborhood of Orlando to see what had happened to a house whose owners were gone, the wife murdered and her husband in prison for life.

Something about their dog crates in the driveway and the gutted interior has haunted me ever since. It's a story straight off of 48 Hours or 20/20 and I feel the need to share it here.

Let's get into it.

(David Tronnes is serving life in prison for this crime)

What to Watch, Read, or Listen to NEXT

This ABANDONED Orlando House Hides a Chilling Secret, Adventuring with Trevor, YouTube

The Murder of Shanti Cooper, Millionaire Murders, YouTube

48 Hours, Home Renovation Murder,  episode on the case, YouTube 

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But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog.

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This week we are going from the East Coast. And next week to the west, because as I researched incidents of high strangeness on Florida's space coast, I found a geolocation full of weirdness in California's space pocket, and yes, I DID make that nickname up. The location in California is north of Santa Barbara, west of La Purisma Mission and near a famous spot for split pea soup. But, enough about NEXT week!

This week, our journey takes us the east coast of Florida, best known as the site of rocket launches and a space shuttle tragedy. There's more to this stretch of land than the soft sands and salty blue waters and space travel.

It's a place of a race-fueled double murder, a water-logged ancient cemetery that is rewriting how we think of prehistoric people, and much more. 

Let's get into it!

What to Watch, Read or Listen to NEXT:

Documentary, Harry T Moore (and Harriette Moore), BlackCatMedia, YouTube (take five minutes to watch this important documentary, then please share it with others)

Windover: Prehistoric Past Revealed at Pond Cemetery, Lesleyanne Drake, Orange County Regional History Center

Titusville's Great Fire of 1895, SpaceCoastDaily.com

Voices of the Past, Dr. Glen H. Doran on Windover Bog Burials, YouTube

Windover Archeology Site DNA Report, ResearchGate.net

North American Bog Burials, MiniMinuteMan, YouTube

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But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog.

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This episode began after an actor that was rumored for decades to be dead, actually died. I thought it was a lighthearted way to touch death and feel more alive than ever, a sort of auditory momento mori, but after outlining the stories, it can also serve as a cautionary tale. 

Leave instructions, pinned to your shirt front or tucked into your wallet by your ID, to have a coroner check for your pulse, then check again and again. Ask that your family grin and bears it if they are asked to identify your remains. It may just be someone that looks like you, and works at the same car wash, and if someone publishes your obit before your death day? Have a laugh and host a living wake at your local tavern.

Let's get into it.

Show Sources and Materials

Subscribe to my substack, Thoughts Scribbled in a Notebook, here! (and thank you!)

Family Was Given His Ashes, then he turned up alive in Oregon, Tacoma News-Tribune

8 People Who Were Mistakenly Pronounced Dead, Everplans

Prematurely Reported Obituaries, Wikipedia

13 People Who Faked Their Own Deaths, Readers' Digest

10 Mysterious Times People Faked Their Own Deaths, WatchMojo.com, YouTube

Supposedly Dead Celebrities who are most probably dead, CRACKED

The Lazarus Effect Surfaces Again after Woman Declared Dead Comes to Life, New York Post

Man Who Came back to Life Dies Two Weeks Later, CNN

Celebrity Death Hoaxes, Spyscape.com

150-Year-Olds ARE NOT Getting Social Security Checks, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Alicia H. Munnell

Strange Love: The Morbid Obsession of Carl, American Hauntings Ink

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But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog.

Hero Organizations:

80,000 Hours

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Why is Florida a magnet for alien encounters? Is it because Florida is sandwiched between two huge bodies of water? Or it's space activity on the east coast? Or the dynamic nature of the state with visitors, residents and tourists drawn to this slim patch of land from across the globe? 

This episode shares the data, reports from locals, and then takes a broader look at the impact seeing something supernatural can have on a person.

Let's get into it.

(And hang on after the final music for a juicy bonus tidbit!)

Show Source - What to read, watch, listen to NEXT!

Hotspots for Alien Abductions, New York Post

Have you seen a UFO? If so, you're not alone in Florida, Jacksonville.com, Cheryl McCloud

The Gulf Breeze Incident, PensacolaBeach.com

Man Claims Alien Abduction During Alleged Nude Carjacking in Florida, KFOX TV

Afraid you'll be abducted by aliens? There's an insurance policy for that, 10 Tampa Bay, YouTube

Follow up on 50 year old Florida abduction case, Troy Moon, Pensacola News Journal

Abducted by aliens? Believers tell their stories (and a support group is formed), ABC News

 

 

 

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But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog.

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Once smashed into the west side of Africa, Florida has bits of its ancient history buried nine miles beneath its sands. With a hurricane birth canal that parallels the path slave ships took long ago, what other traces of Africa still exist in Florida land, sea and lore? 

Let's get into it.

p.s. Not mentioned in the episode (because I found this out later) but the iconic African Baobab tree resides in Florida, too. Just couldn't help but share that fact.

Show Source - What to read, watch, listen to NEXT!

From Africa to Florida, an ancient connection, www.fnai.org

The SHOCKING History of Florida's African Connection Nobody Knows, OopsZoo, YouTube

The REAL Garden of Eden - is it Florida?, Anthony Talcott, Orlando News 6

Florida's Fountain of Youth, a visit with Travels with Tam!

When Florida Was Africa, ExtinctZoo, YouTube

Hurricanes, African Slave Trade, and Angry Spirits?!? My Thoughts, NOLA Chic Blog

Junetheenth, Slavery, and the Hurricane Connection, Forbes, Marshall Shepherd

African Manatee, Wikipedia

West African Mud Turtle

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But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog.

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Florida trees knit their root system into sub-sea-level sands across the state.  Dripping with Spanish moss, or what Australians call, 'Grandpa's Beard' that tricks the eye in the moonlight, making it seem the trees are emitting a smoky aura. It takes little imagination to recognize Gandolph, Dumbledore, Merlin, Green Man or Mother Earth while dwelling among Florida's trees.

I've gathered together stories of trees you must know. Some have become crossroads where hope lies in a handshake with a demon, another that became the final resting place for murder victims, and one manmade tree has become an anchor of a fantasy land visited by millions annually.

Enough teasing, let's get into it!

Show Source - What to read, watch, listen to NEXT!

The Goethe Giant at Goethe State Forest

Everything Is TOUR-able blog, Goethe State Forest

Weird Florida, Charlie Carlson

Freaky Florida, Mark Muncy and Kari Schultz

Eerie Florida, Chilling Tales from the Panhandle to the Keys, Mark Muncy and Kari Schultz

Round Cypress Demon, QuoteV.com, Daddy Bassy

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But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog.

Hero Organizations:

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If they can flood the aisles of stores with school supplies on July 5th, then I can boldly venture onto Halloween in August. This week I share some creepy, sneaky, haunting tales I've found dripping off the spanish moss across the state of Florida.

Put on your pjs, dim the lights and nestle into the pillows. When your eyes adjust to the darkness, hit and enjoy. Oh, and my favorite story? It's about a ghost at Walt Disney World. Guess what attraction this charming ghost haunts?

Let's get into it.

******The Kappa Legend episode I mention in today's show*******

Show Sources and Materials:

The Creepiest Town in America, Papa Meat, YouTube

Tour of Florida's Haunted Hotels, CrimeReads.com

Haunted Houses in Florida, FrightFind

Disney World Ghost Stories, disneyworldenthusiast.com

10 scary urban legends, haunted places to visit in Central Florida, FOX 35, Orlando

Haunted Places in Florida, howstuffworks.com

10 Paranormal Swimming Holes in Florida, backpackerverse.com

Greenwood Cemetery-Orlando, Orlando Haunts (book a tour if you're in town!)

Anxious about AI? Take two minutes to contact your local politician and ask them to tap the brakes on this technology. Still worried? Contact one of the orgs below and get involved.

But for today, hug your kid, cook food and really breathe in deep as it simmers, walk in nature, brush a cat, donate to the food bank, brew a cup of tea, or draw a five-minute portrait of your dog.

Hero Organizations:

80,000 Hours

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