WELCOME TO OUR BACKCOUNTRY ODYSSEY
Us and Our Mission
Welcome to our corner of the great outdoors! We are the Cramers—a family of adventure seekers out of eastern Idaho with a passion for exploring the wild and embracing the beauty of nature. We love participating in all the adventures this earth has to offer. You'll find us doing everything from hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing, to simply going on walks in the park and drives through the mountains. By no means are we the most skilled and experienced outdoorsmen you'll come across... yet; however, we are striving to provide our family with memorable experiences in some of the most amazing places Mother Nature has to offer. Our journey, which we like to call our Odyssey, will take us on journeys through breathtaking landscapes, under star-studded skies, and through the rugged outdoors as we continually work our way deeper and deeper into the wild lands not as far from home as one may think.
We are excited to prove that anyone can make their own adventures; no matter their situation and no matter the scope of that adventure. As a growing family, we understand the challenges that children, family life, and work can bring to anyone's goals of getting out and experiencing what this beautiful earth has to offer. We simply want to show others by our own example that you don't need be in the best physical shape, have a lot of money, have an unburdened schedule, or have kids at the most ideal age in order to still get out and see some of the most beautiful scenes and make even more beautiful memories! Like us, anyone can start from right where they are and work towards bigger and grander adventures. Along the way, we hope to provide useful advice, opportunities, insights, and products to help inspire everyone to take action and get out there so they can make every outing in nature a memorable one.
Join us as we explore new lands, discover new places, and triumph over the many challenges thrown at us by the outdoors. Whether you're a seasoned explorer, just starting your journey into nature, or even if you're somewhere in between, like us, we hope our stories and recommendations inspire and prepare you to embark on your own adventures with confidence and excitement.
Why an Odyssey?
Many, maybe all, of us read Homer's Odyssey in a literature class at some point in our years of schooling. Unfortunately, most of us have probably forgotten most of it. It is a thrilling adventure story of the ancient Greek king of Ithaca, Odysseus, as he overcame amazing challenges during his travel home from the Trojan War. He and his crew sailed the Greek world battling the sea, beasts, and even the gods in order to make it back to his wife Penelope. This, and many stories like it, inspired many explorers and adventurers to dream and strive for similar hero making journeys of their own, not just in Ancient Greece, but throughout the rest of the world for thousands of years to come. That sense of adventure drove many to accomplish the impossible. It was an essential component to all the major discoveries, and advances that we take for granted in our modern day.
There seems to be huge a lack of this sense of adventure in today's society. In our opinion, it is a major contributor to many of our societies struggles. As humans, we innately want to explore new places, discover new things, and triumph over hero-worthy challenges. Despite this natural craving, now-a-days it is very easy to assume that there's no more to discover and explore on Earth because of incredible amount of technology and instant information we have at our finger tips. Thus, we struggle to find modern-day equivalents to Odysseus' journey. We struggle to take action in making our own adventures. However, we venture to change that. We want to show everyone that it is more than possible to create your own adventure, your own Odyssey no matter where you may be.
What's amazing about the story of The Odyssey, is that yes, it's an epic adventure story, but what was the destination of his journey? Home! There's no point to going and exploring the world, if you have nothing at home to come back to. So there's no shame in staying close to home when seeking adventure. Interestingly enough, most of us probably don't realize how close to home some of the greatest adventures available can be found. Thank you for joining us on our Odyssey, and we hope to help you create your very own Odyssey somewhere close to home.