7 ft skeleton?? - meet Raptortunities and Lola the Raptor

Lola of Raptortunities - and her love of people...no, their love of her. She has no heart 

While we travel around the country we have a mascot that goes with us and she is POPULAR!!

People gather and take pictures and ask questions and smile, laugh, take more pictures. What a show-stopper she is. 

She is the face of Raptortunities, LLC and together they provide happy outings and interactions. Primarily we assemble people that own and drive Raptors and take them to various terrain around the area to experience their trucks and the beauty that Oregon has to offer. We call Raptor opportunities ‘Raptortunities’. If you ever see her, stop us and get pictures! She has a generous heart. 

Lola has been across the US and has been requested for and appeared with over 100 trucks and many more people. When we decided to buy our truck we did some networking with some other Raptor owners and discovered something. We discovered helpful people and a location that was NOT tacking on $10,000-$20,000 for the ‘dealer mark up’ for a ‘premium vehicle’. So, one way tickets to Louisiana to pick up our truck that we ordered after 5 months of waiting. 

On our way home to Oregon we stopped to see my friend in Texas. I remembered she had this skeleton in her closet of skeletons (Halloween decor, not shameful secrets). So we took her out to get a few pictures and decided to let the truck keep her. Now most people think she drives the truck because she is in all the outing pictures. But I drive, and my husband navigates. Here is my good friend and Raptor buddy Kimarie. She is the most supportive woman I know. 

    If you have been playing hard and have unwanted pinstripes in your clear coat…

Want to feel good? - Try this...

 Create friendships and foster intrinsic rewards - try it!

One of the most rewarding feelings are the ones you feel inside. Intrinsic rewards. They can last indefinitely and be tapped into any time for a dose of dopamine feel good stuff!

A deeply distraught man told me one time, that he decided to call for help because there was a lady passing him in the store and she smiled and said ‘I hope you have a good day’. He was there to get alcohol to mix with his pills to end his pain. He felt support and happiness for a moment and it was just enough intrinsic anchor to get him the help he needed.

Think back to a time that you walked through a door and someone was smiling at you and you couldn’t help but to smile back, no matter what the day had been like. There is a tiny dose of dopamine that you get from that little spark of joy. 

Now, imagine multiplying that by 1,000. Do something good and take note of how you feel. There is a little reward that exists inside and when you think back on that good feeling, your body reacts to some degree in the same way. Little dose of joy through your veins. 

 

I have the absolute pleasure of knowing this man. Smiles most of the time (try not to mess up his food order after a very long day), is the FIRST to help and the last to complain. Jon Kilbourne works hard, plays harder and is the most supportive and passive guy I know, besides the one up in the bed of the truck. 

You may never know what kind of impact you have on someone - try to make those impacts positive and up-lifting. Remember - no matter whom you are dealing with or your feelings for them, they have been precious to someone at some time. There are, of course, people that have wronged others, feel not any negativity, it is a drain on your good feelings. Stay the course. 

I suggest this book if you want to learn more about the “Vagabonding” art:

Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel

Rules and advice - Count on being seen. You are

Live like your actions are seen by all...or by one.

In all of your existence, live like someone you care about is watching. Improve the scenery and surroundings with your beauty. 

The chances of someone watching you are significant. Trail cams, people...higher powers...

When you come across signs, read them, abide by them, never violate them. Even if you don’t see anyone or anything around...live honestly.

Rules to consider:

1 - Stay on the ‘trail’ or road and only veer if the need is critical

    Sometimes you have to leave the trail to be safe. 

I had to make my own road to get this truck out of this wash. We would have both ended up in it if I had tried the recovery from the road. 

2 - If you come across a gate with a sign that says ‘Close gate’ or ‘Keep gate closed’ - Close the gate. 

If we all respect the environment, terrain, property and people, we will continue to have access to the most beautiful natural areas in the country. 

3 - Mind the lines and signs on private property. DO NOT trespass! Trespassing is a risk to you, your property, the owners and their property. Do not cross a questionable line, do not go beyond a marked line. If you have doubts, consult the appropriate maps to see if it is public or private land. Responses to trespassers vary from passive to extreme, do NOT take chances! 

We have backtracked 40 miles to go around unexpected private property. 

4 - Plan for tire issues. Have a spare tire with you when going off pavement. 2 spares double your chances to get home. With spares the saying is ‘Two is one and one is none”. Once you have to use one spare, it gets sketchy, what will you do if you need another? In addition, have a patch and repair option. 

Both of these tires are useless. The one on the left barely held up with 2 air-ups for the last 8 miles of our day. The tire on the right had been repaired by a shop down in Mexico but didn’t hold air. It was a VERY uneasy feeling to be down to ZERO spares. Lucky for us we were with several others that had spares, just in case. Still, I drove with caution for the rest of the event. 

5 - Have the tools that are suitable for the outing. Food, water, basic tools, clothing, battery chargers for phones, appropriate clothing, radio, map.

 And my final piece of advice - Seek beauty. You will find what you look for. 

Lava rock is unpredictable. Sometimes you get lucky and learn with ‘best case scenario’!

Groundhog OHV 

Some people name their trucks, I certainly did: Ailith/Alyth (Scottish for seasoned warrior/Gaelic for ‘ascending/rising’.

The moment we got our truck we found the first available off-pavement detour on our way home. We had been to many off-pavement trails and 4wd routes found on various mapping programs. This was different...as we were crawling around this rock area, getting to explore some of the limits to this truck was very fun. We got so distracted with the fun, that we forgot how quickly things can fall away. Lava rocks and the resulting cinders can be unpredictable and dangerous as they crumble away without warning. This first picture was a significant incline on loose cinders. Truck did just fine going up it and perching there for a few pictures so we pushed it a little more.

This was a quick off-pavement excursion that landed us at the OHV rock-climbing area that was definitely intended for ATV, dirt bike, UTV type vehicles. The big lesson learned here - check the terrain if you aren’t already familiar with the route ahead of you!! Look at the overhang that Ailith and I are perched upon! The underside of that has eroded away and we have NO BUSINESS parking there. I had no idea that there was no support under these rocks. I want to do my part to preserve these areas and this was not our best form. Not to mention we could have lost the truck and I both here. We got out just fine, not even a single cinder crumbled. Lesson learned without damage. Best case scenario for learning lessons. 

 

Leave it better than you found it!

We pick up trash, and put out fires when we find them.