Lost Travel Log

The economy starts to diminish, and millions of people across the country lose their jobs and have nowhere else to go. Businesses close their doors for the first time in decades. A man in his early thirties named Ryan loses his comfortable computer job of ten years. There is nowhere for him to go as his industry crumbles. Ryan struggles for weeks to get back on his feet, but even with unemployment, the eviction notices pile up, and he's forced to leave his dream apartment in San Francisco and live in his car with nowhere else to go.

After a while, it's very uncomfortable sleeping in his car. One day while cleaning out his car and looking for anything he could sell online, he finds a little black notebook with "Travel Log" on the front. Curious, Ryan looks through it and finds something he had written many years ago. The notebook had some initial plans for traveling and seeing different parts of the world. Ryan gets excited for a moment but then sighs because he wonders how he would even be able to do this now. It was already getting unbearable living in his small sedan for only a week, so traveling across the country in it seemed like an exhausting effort.

Later that afternoon, Ryan is eating and watching videos online. While scrolling, a video catches Ryan's attention. It's a guy living in a school bus that he converted into a tiny home and lived in for almost a decade. Ryan starts to be inspired after watching several videos on tiny homes and converting vans into livable spaces. He evaluates his budget but starts to feel discouraged after checking how expensive it could be to convert an old van. So he thinks about it some more; meanwhile, it's getting hot outside in the middle of summer, and Ryan's car retains heat. Ryan eventually decides to sell his car and puts that money towards a van that he converts with all the basic amenities. Ryan is excited now, it's finally happening, and he begins to map out a journey for his adventure across the country.

Leaving California, Ryan decides to head East. He begins to get nervous because he has only ever traveled to a couple of states for work but never driven through state lines. Crossing past Arizona, it gets pretty late, and Ryan finds himself amongst some of the most incredible sights of the desert landscape. In awe, he decides to sketch out some of the landscape as the sunsets. Ryan parks in the middle of the desert off the road and enjoys the sounds of quiet. While in bed he hears the yipping of coyotes and other nocturnal animals that nearly startle him. After a while, the sounds begin to comfort him with a sense of not being alone and knowing that there is no real harm. The wind rustles and pushes on the van. Ryan cracks open a window to let the fresh air in as he has one of the best night's rest he has had in weeks.

Waking up before sunrise, Ryan decides to make his breakfast. He enjoys his breakfast outside his van as the sun rises over the landscape. He decides to get ready for a hike. Making his way through some brushes and rocky paths, he comes across a clearing and heads towards the foothills of the mountain. As Ryan reaches the mountain he notices an opening between some rocks. He heads in that direction and as he gets closer the opening seems to be an old mine. Ryan enters through the mine that seems safe enough to explore. He finds old mining tunnels and items. Upon more investigation, Ryan follows a tunnel towards an old elevator shaft. Curious, Ryan takes a look down, but he doesn't see much, even with the help of his one-thousand lumens flashlight that has a strong beam of light that could see pretty much as he could. Ryan yells something random down the shaft, and it echoes for a good few seconds before fading out. After exploring for a while, he doesn't have a clue on how to get back. It had been ten, maybe even as long as thirty minutes since he entered the mine. He questions if it would even be that difficult to find his way back. So he looks around and finds an old rope line that is hanging along the walls. He begins to follow the powerline back until it cuts off. Ryan starts to get scared now. He hears the sounds of creatures as they scurry around and dirt slides. He starts to panic and feels like maybe he hiked into an animal's home, possibly a mountain lion, or could there possibly be bears around. Unsure what to do, he shuts off the flashlight. Leaning against the wall in the dark he can feel himself struggling to slow down his breathing as his heart beats faster. The shuffling of feet gets closer, and he thinks this is it, it's time to make a decision. Ryan quickly turns on his light and runs full speed ahead into a body, and it sends him falling onto his back in the cold, hard mine, knocking him out.

Ryan awakes and he hears groaning that scares him but quickly realizes it's another man. They both sit up and stare at each other, breaking out in laughter. The laughter echoes through the cave, and it just makes them laugh even more. They introduce each other. The man says his name is Mark and explains that he was prospecting for some cool stones and crystals. Mark explains that he's been lost before and learned some tricks in navigating the mines safely; as he leads them out the mine. Ryan also learns that Mark lives nearby and explores often. Ryan invites him back to his van to hang out. After giving Mark the tour around his tiny home, he asks if he wants to stick around for the evening. Mark accepts but has to finish up a couple of things before. So Mark heads out, and Ryan waits.

The night gets darker, and plans begin to feel unlikely. Ryan tries to start a small campfire as Mark returns and nearly startles him. Mark jokes about Ryan's lack of fire-building skills. Mark helps Ryan start the fire, and they enjoy a night of roasted finger foods, laughs, and sharing stories about Mark's adventures and Ryan's plan to travel the country. They talk all the way into the morning. Mark and Ryan seem rather sad about saying farewell, and Mark even comments how he wishes Ryan could stay longer. Without hesitation, they exchange numbers, and Mark heads out to work. Ryan sends Mark a text later that day and lets him know that he's decided to stay at least for another day. Mark is excited to hear and after work, Mark returns to Ryan's van, and they hang out again. A week goes by, and their bond gets tighter. Towards the end thou, Mark begins to tell Ryan that he couldn't hang out as much anymore because his father was getting really sick, and he was going to have to spend a lot of time now taking care of him from home. Ryan is a little heartbroken and sad they have to stop hanging out, but he understands. They promise to stay in contact and reach out now and then. Ryan continues on his journey as he ventures across state lines from state to state. Ryan still thinks about Mark and wonders how he is doing, but he doesn't have the courage to text or calls him. He doesn't hear anything from Mark for about a month of traveling, not even a response from some photos. So Ryan decides not to let it bother him anymore and continues to explore the landmarks and landscapes America offers.

On his way into a rural town somewhere in the Midwest, Ryan leaves his van parked at a mall and decides to eat something nearby. He heads to a restaurant and orders some food to dine in. The waitress comments about him traveling after he makes no mention of it. The comment makes him realize that it's been a while, and he's started to not care so much about his appearance. The embarrassment makes him paranoid about other people in the restaurant looking at him strangely. It seems to be a while before he gets his food, and when it finally arrives, he devours it like he hasn't eaten that well in a long time. After he finishes, the waitress comes over and clears his table. He waits for the bill, and the waitress comes back and excuses him, letting him know in a friendly way that it's been paid for by the manager. Ryan feels a warm feeling inside from the kindness and heads out. He comes back to his van and notices something is out of place as he feels a big draft of wind from behind him. The van door is open. Ryan quickly looks around and sees no one nearby. He checks his van and notices a few missing valuables. Ryan is crushed and starts to meditate about what to do now.

Deciding to find work Ryan searches for a place to stay. He finds a generously priced place in the area. After a couple of days of searching, he finds a job that allows him to work from home. He gets rather busy and begins to spend less time in the van exploring. One night he comes home and leaves his wallet in the van. The next day his van is broken in again, and his wallet is stolen along with the little black notebook that he has been journaling his adventure. Ryan is sad about it but knows that he will have his memories of an adventure that has though him a lot about himself and life.

It's been over a month now, and Ryan has adapted to his new town really well. He receives a random phone call but lets it go to voicemail. A man named Dean mentions that he has found his notebook and would like to meet. Ryan is nervous because he doesn't know what this man's intentions are. He eventually decides to call back, and they arrange a meeting place at a cafe downtown. Ryan meets Dean, and right away, Dean expresses how he is in awe of reading some of Ryan's experiences in his notebook. Ryan is bashful at first but shares more with Dean. After about an hour, Dean mentions something about getting his story published and making some money off it. Ryan is intrigued, but after hearing that Dean seems like he's more interested in his pay cut for helping to get it published, Ryan kindly declines. After a while, Ryan thinks about it again and decides to put his story out there. He does some research and finds a few promising companies for publication. Ryan ends up getting contracted with a major publisher, and after about a month, Ryan receives a check. He doesn't expect much from it but it helps his income. Within a year Ryan receives an offer from a production company that wants to produce his story into a series. The company pays twenty-thousand dollars to Ryan and his little black notebook of adventures across the country is turned into a screenplay. After watching his story on screen he is inspired to continue traveling and become a professional writer.