Kathleen and her daughter Kendra share the story behind Leave ‘Em Wild—born from an idea during a lightning-storm hike—and how it evolved into an annual, family-driven off-road and camping adventure series. They cover their content platforms (instagram, blog, growing youtube), why they invite others to join, and the “plan but stay flexible” approach to exploring. The conversation also highlights community connections across the Subaru world, their upcoming cross-country plans, and memorable trip moments like near-lightning danger and a creepy campground encounter.
"It was so cool to have met Kathleen last year at Overland Expo at a couple of the locations. So I always enjoy being able to meet my guests in person."
Overland Expo is an event where people who like camping and driving off-road for long trips get together. It’s a place to see gear and meet other drivers who build their vehicles for adventure.
Overland Expo is a large off-road and overlanding event series focused on long-distance, self-supported travel. It’s a common place for Subaru and other AWD-focused owners to meet, compare setups, and talk gear and routes.
"be sure to go check out SubaruGear.com. Get all of your Subaru branded merchandise as well as Subaru Motorsports USA and other collections that they have."
Subaru is a car brand (from Japan) that’s especially popular with people who like all-wheel drive. They also race and have a big enthusiast community, so you’ll see lots of Subaru-themed products.
Subaru is a Japanese automaker known for its boxer engines and standard all-wheel drive on many models. In enthusiast circles, Subaru also has a strong motorsports presence, which is why you’ll often see Subaru-branded gear tied to racing and events.
"And if your total is over $50 after the 20% discount, you'll automatically get free shipping, which I think is really nice."
The sponsor offer includes free shipping once the cart total exceeds a threshold after the discount. This is useful for listeners planning purchases so they can hit the minimum for shipping savings.
"I, I've never done like Premiere Pro. So that video that I put out there, I just was like, I need to put something together."
Premiere Pro is a program for editing videos on a computer. It helps you cut and arrange clips and make the final video look better before you post it online.
Premiere Pro is Adobe’s professional video-editing software. People use it to cut clips, add transitions, color-correct footage, and export videos in different formats for platforms like YouTube.
"We did the salt flats with them. And we just kind of, you know, diddled around, got some off road time with everybody kind of got to know each other."
Salt flats are huge, flat areas covered with salt. People go there to drive fast because the ground is very hard and smooth, but you still have to be careful with traction and tires.
“Salt flats” refers to large, flat salt crust areas that are popular for high-speed driving and motorsport-style events. The surface is extremely hard and low-friction, so traction and tire choice matter a lot.
"And we just kind of, you know, diddled around, got some off road time with everybody kind of got to know each other."
Off-road time means driving on dirt, sand, or rough ground instead of regular roads. It usually requires different tires and a bit more careful driving because grip and bumps are different.
“Off road time” implies driving on unpaved or uneven terrain, which changes how a vehicle handles compared to pavement. It typically increases demands on tires, suspension travel, and driver technique for traction and control.
"[737.8s] And people that know me, it's like, Oh, I see a dirt road.
[741.3s] Guess what?
[741.9s] We're going down that instead kind of thing."
A “dirt road” is unpaved terrain that can be rough, dusty, and sometimes rutted. It’s a different driving environment than pavement, so tires, suspension travel, and ground clearance matter for staying comfortable and avoiding damage.
"[756.5s] We're always going to have camp at night.
[758.0s] And I think that's like the biggest thing is like, you don't have to worry
[761.3s] about anything crazy."
It sounds like they’re planning to stay overnight, not just drive around all day. That changes the trip planning—where you park, what you bring, and how you handle the car when you’re off the road.
“Camp at night” implies the trip includes overnight stops rather than just day driving. For car people, that usually means planning for vehicle comfort, storage, and how you’ll park and secure the car on uneven or remote ground.
"Offroading the outback is got a little camping group together out there on the Cape and I'm going to go camp with them for a few days, hang out with him."
Offroading means driving on dirt, rocks, or rough ground instead of normal roads. It usually requires the right tires and careful driving so you don’t get stuck or damage the car.
Offroading is driving a vehicle on unpaved or rough terrain where traction and ground clearance matter more than on-road grip. It often changes how you choose tires, suspension setup, and how you manage speed and tire pressure.
"Like I would love to be able to be, I don't want to like compare it to anyone else on YouTube, but you see all these, these trucks all the time that are doing overlanding. [1392.1s] Yeah. [1394.4s] I want a Subaru group on YouTube that can do that stuff."
Overlanding is basically road-tripping in a more adventurous way. People plan routes, bring supplies, and use their vehicles to explore places that are harder to reach.
Overlanding is long-distance, self-reliant travel—usually with an emphasis on exploring remote areas rather than racing to a destination. It often involves planning routes, carrying supplies, and using a vehicle setup that can handle rough roads.
"We got rained out, almost hit by lightning in Colorado. What else?"
Lightning is dangerous during thunderstorms. If you hear thunder or see lightning, you should get to shelter quickly and wait it out rather than staying outside.
Lightning is a major safety risk during storms, especially in open areas like roads, fields, or campsites. If you’re near vehicles, the safest move is usually to seek proper shelter and avoid staying exposed outdoors until the storm passes.
"And I had my tent, which is a rooftop tent with the opening aiming towards inland away from the river."
A rooftop tent is a tent that sits on top of your car or SUV. When you park, you open it up so you can sleep up off the ground.
A rooftop tent is a tent mounted on top of a vehicle, typically using a rack system. It’s popular for camping because it keeps you off the ground and can be quicker to set up once you’re parked.
"Yeah, I almost got hit by lightning at one time. [1775.6s] It's going to change the plans now."
Lightning storms are dangerous, especially when you’re outside camping. It’s smart to change plans and get to safer shelter instead of staying put.
Lightning storms are a serious safety hazard for anyone camping or spending time outdoors. If you’re in a tent or near vehicles, the safest move is usually to get away from tall objects and avoid staying in open areas when lightning is active.
"I'm watching on the radar. Okay, the storms are done. We're good."
“Radar” here means a weather map that shows storms—like where the rain or lightning activity is. People use it to see if a storm is coming toward them.
In weather apps and navigation systems, “radar” usually refers to precipitation/ storm radar that shows where rain or storms are right now and where they’re moving. It’s commonly used to decide whether to stay put or move to safer ground during severe weather.
"...let us know like what your Subaru's are, like what you actually drive, like what you're in model and like trim level."
A car’s “model” is the main name (like Outback), and the “trim level” is the specific version (like what features and options it has). Two cars can be the same model but feel very different depending on trim.
“Model” and “trim level” describe which specific version of a car you have. Trim level affects things like available features, engine options, and sometimes drivetrain configuration.
"...the only modifications I really have on it are the Ironman lift. I've switched everything back to OEM as far as arms and all that..."
An “Ironman lift” is a suspension upgrade that raises the car a bit. That gives you more clearance for rough roads and trails.
An “Ironman lift” refers to a suspension lift kit from Ironman 4x4, used to raise ride height for more ground clearance. On a Subaru Crosstrek, this typically supports off-road tires and improves approach/departure angles.
"I've switched everything back to OEM as far as arms and all that, just to see what's going to happen."
OEM means the original factory parts the car came with. They put the factory suspension pieces back in to see what changes when the car is stock again.
OEM means “original equipment manufacturer,” i.e., factory parts. The speaker switched suspension components back to OEM (including control arms) to compare how the car behaves versus the modified setup.
"He's got, he likes it cause it's got heated seats and everything. It's definitely much faster than my cross track."
Heated seats warm up the seats with built-in heat. It’s a comfort feature that makes cold mornings much nicer.
Heated seats use electric heating elements in the seat cushions and backs to warm you up quickly. They’re a common comfort feature on higher-trim Subaru models and are specifically called out as a reason the son likes the Outback.
"But I mean, he, he's had some issues with it cause it's got over 200,000 miles. But I mean, it's still, drives great."
That’s a lot of miles for a car. Usually, things start wearing out more, but if it still drives well, it likely means it’s been maintained.
“Over 200,000 miles” is a high-mileage threshold that often signals increased wear items and more frequent maintenance. If the car still “drives great,” it suggests the owner has kept up with maintenance despite the mileage.
"And I think you and I roffer about the same on mileage, but you've got the manual, right? Yeah."
A manual is a car where you shift gears yourself with a clutch. Some people like it because it feels more hands-on and fun to drive.
A “manual” transmission means the driver shifts gears using a clutch pedal and gear lever. Enthusiasts often prefer manuals for engagement and control, and they can feel more connected than automatic gearboxes.
"And I think you and I roffer about the same on mileage, but you've got the manual, right? Yeah. I'm at, I'm at, I'm just over a 142."
Mileage is basically how far the car has been driven. Higher mileage usually means more wear, but how well it was maintained is also a big deal.
“Mileage” refers to how many miles the car has been driven, usually tracked on the odometer. Mileage is one of the biggest indicators of wear, but maintenance history matters just as much.
"I'm going to add another 8,000 to it. So I'm at 147 right now."
They’re saying they expect to drive about 8,000 more miles soon. That affects how soon you might need maintenance as the car racks up miles.
“Add another 8,000” indicates planned near-term mileage growth, which matters for budgeting maintenance and wear items. It also frames how quickly the car’s odometer will move into the next high-mileage band.
Select text to request an explanation
Well, hello everybody.
It has been a very long time since I have done one of these, but I've got a bonus episode.
Obviously, if you're listening to this, you're looking at what it is.
So you know who's on this bonus episode.
This is Leave Him Wild, that is Kathleen and her daughter, Kendra.
So they're here to talk about what Leave Him Wild is, why they're doing it, and just
some of the places that they have been and places that they're going to be going.
So we had a really good conversation.
It was so cool to have met Kathleen last year at Overland Expo at a couple of the locations.
So I always enjoy being able to meet my guests in person.
And they're just both awesome and it was really fun talking to them.
So because this is a bonus episode, I'm not going to have a super long intro, but I will say be
sure to go check out SubaruGear.com.
Get all of your Subaru branded merchandise as well as Subaru Motorsports USA and other
collections that they have.
There are so many great products in there.
Apparel, stuff for your home, drinkware, your kids, your pets.
So so much stuff to explore and so many things to see.
Also check out the new tab because there's a lot of great new items in there for the
spring lineup.
There's also the sale tab.
Be sure to go check that out because there's some items in there that are pretty good.
And if you see it in the sale tab or even if you're browsing anywhere else on the site
and you see something that says sale, that means it's going away.
So if you see something that you really like and it says sale, get it now because if you
go back and check in a couple of weeks, it might not be there.
So just note that.
Anyway, go check it out.
Use the code SUBIENU2026 at checkout to get 20% off your purchase.
And if your total is over $50 after the 20% discount, you'll automatically get free
shipping, which I think is really nice.
So go save some money by getting your total over $50 and save on shipping.
Thank you so much Subaru Gear for sponsoring the SUBIENU podcast and bringing this great
offer to our listeners.
I really appreciate it and I know they do too.
All right, so now we're going to get into this episode, this conversation, this bonus
episode with Kathleen and her daughter Kendra and hear all about Leave them What.
So this is a bonus episode.
I'm talking to a couple of people that are pretty awesome and that are out there getting
a lot of stuff done.
But why don't you go ahead and introduce yourselves and then we'll get into all of this.
I'm Kendra.
I go as trashpanda underscore OB or also leave a mild on Instagram.
And we kind of just do a lot of outdoor, off-roading, exploring with our family and we just started
to make a blog out of it.
That's where we ended up.
Very nice.
And I'm Kathleen, the O.G. Oma, Kendra's mom at Autrack It's Yagi.
A lot of you people already know me.
Just trying to help her out to get this thing going so we can maybe make a little money
off of it and definitely have fun while we're doing it.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, that's kind of what the, well, that's what a lot of people are trying to do right
now.
We were just talking about that before we started recording, but it's great to have both of
you on.
I haven't met you, Kendra, of course, but Kathleen, I've seen you.
I saw you a couple of times, right?
At two different Overland Expos.
Yeah, yeah, quite a few actually.
I think we flagstaff and then we did, gosh, where was the other one?
Oh, up in Redmond.
E and W.
You're handing it out up there, yeah.
Yeah, that was a lot of fun.
So that was a nice one up there.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to that again.
But so, like, what is the purpose of Leave them Wild?
Like, why are you doing this?
What is your, like, what is your mission and why did you start it?
Yeah, so Leave them Wild, oddly enough, it started as a, it was a podcast that me and
my friend were going to do.
We were up hiking during a lightning storm.
And for what a reason, that was when the idea happened.
It was like, hey, let's, let's start telling a podcast about all the stupid
stuff we do all the time.
And we recorded three podcasts and never put them out and the account just sat
there and it was like, I really want to do something with Leave them Wild.
It's, it was calling to me.
It needed something and I was, you know, single mom, I had my son and we just
always did adventures together.
So like, okay, let's, let's put that into Leave them Wild because that's what
that made sense to me.
Um, so we started with, you know, just doing basic blogs and then probably
that was in 2020.
I'm kind of thinking of when we did our first, like, big trip under Leave them
Wild.
It was at 2021, 2022, mom.
Oh gosh, I can't, I mean, it was in Colorado.
So maybe 21?
I was during COVID.
So yeah, we, yeah.
We decided, we were like, oh, let's, let's make this a bigger thing.
Um, so we put a Leave them Wild annual trip together.
It's like nine, 10 days just over spring break since my son was in school.
And we were like, Hey, let's, let's show what we're doing on these trips because
people always wanted to join our trips, but they never actually understood
like the chaos that is Leave them Wild or just our family in general.
And so I was like, okay, let's put something together.
Let's film it and try to do something with that.
So it just kind of became a yearly thing we started doing.
So the first year we did Colorado for 10 days, we did some back roads,
went and saw some mining, old mining areas and hot springs and stuff like that.
And then we've added on, we've done Tucson, Arizona, New Mexico area.
We've done the Oregon coast.
And then this year actually this weekend, we're heading off to Arizona again.
We're going to do Phoenix Arizona area and we're trying to, we have a few people,
hopefully meeting up with us now, which is really cool.
Yeah, that's awesome.
Yeah.
So that's kind of what we've grown to.
So where did you come up with the name Leave them Wild?
Uh, I actually don't know.
I kind of just was one of those, like as we were, we were chatting up on the hill.
It was like, okay, what can we, what can we name this podcast at the time?
And we're like, I don't know.
Like, I think it was like Leave it Wild was the first thing that we came out,
like trying to be like, oh, just, you know, leave those, those blondes wild.
And don't, don't talk to them over there type thing.
And it was like, oh, it's like flew better, flow better, flowed, flowed better.
Yeah.
Not like that, but I don't know.
That's just kind of, it just kind of, as we were chit chatting there, it, that's
where we came up with the idea.
So nothing super crazy other than it was, Hey, let's, let's figure out how to get
this wilderness thing into a name.
Yeah.
So are you, how are you putting out content?
Cause I know you obviously have an Instagram page and then you talked about a blog.
Do you have any other media, like are you doing YouTube or TikTok or anything else?
Yeah.
So I was doing TikTok.
I'm not great at posting on both there.
I had to choose one platform to really focus on.
So I focused on Instagram and every now and then remember, I have a TikTok that I
should put on, but then we also, when we started, I put out a few like of those
cheesy GoPro edits of on YouTube.
And then we just started what last week I just put out an official like start of our
YouTube.
Nice.
My goal hopefully with this next trip is I really want to focus on putting more like
cinematography into it versus just like, Hey, this is a whole bunch of clips.
Let's just throw it together.
Like I actually want to take the time to like put together a story.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's, it's fun when you can start putting things together, like in, and find new creative
ways to do it.
Cause like I'm always doing that.
Like I'll, I'll be doing whatever it is.
And, and like the next time I'm like, let me do it a little bit different.
And I'm just doing like shorter clips and stuff.
But yeah, I mean, you just, you grow over time.
You start doing something and you're like, okay, that was cool, but let me try
something else.
And so it'll be exciting to see what you come up with and, you know, watch
your YouTube channel grow.
So we'll see.
I, I've never done like Premiere Pro.
So that video that I put out there, I just was like, I need to put something
together.
I had one day to do it and I was like, okay, let's do Premiere Pro because that's
what everyone's supposedly used.
And I was like, okay, I know how to put it on Instagram and know how to do it on
TikTok.
I have no clue how to use this editing software.
So I've like over on the computer until I think it was like one o'clock at
night, just like trying to figure out how to make it so that it looked somewhat
okay before I posted it.
Yeah.
And the more you start using it, the easier it'll get, the faster you'll get.
Oh yeah.
It's, it's getting the image from my head, like onto the computer.
I think that's like the, I see, I can look at something and be like, oh, yes,
this is how I want to see it.
Like I'm seeing the movie is just trying to figure out that connection between
the two, I don't know, it'll get there.
Yeah.
So our, I know the two of you are always going on these trips and you said
you're trying to get more people.
How many have you had other trips where you've had other people go yet?
Yeah.
Yes.
So it was that 2024 was the first year we actually started truly trying to
push to invite people with us in March, April and a March beginning of April.
We had our first person join us.
He came out to Hanksville with us and we did a really cool trip.
He ended up, uh, he's now part of the family.
He's my partner, um, but we started there, um, we were good friends for a while
and he had some connections with people up here.
So he got more people out with us.
He really wanted, he was really behind that idea as well.
So then in, let's see, was it been May, we did our second like invite for
everyone to join us, um, and we had three other people join us, um, out camping
in the West desert, which is like, if you go to my Instagram, you see like
the really cool shot of the like sunset behind us with the tents.
Um, that was that trip.
We did the salt flats with them.
And we just kind of, you know, diddled around, got some off road time with everybody
kind of got to know each other.
Um, and then at the end of that summer, we also had a father and son join us
down at the swell area in Utah.
Yeah.
So slowly getting there.
Yeah.
So when you're going out and doing these trips, is it mostly just like camping
and exploring?
Yeah, it's a lot of, I mean, we're basically just doing what I did growing up
with, uh, with mom, where we just did, we did trips all the time.
Um, we did them often down to Canab or out to the coast.
And it was a lot of, you know, let's, let's drive to this general area and
hang out here for a few days, figure out what's in the area.
Um, with these trips that we've been doing with other people is like, Hey,
let's all meet up in this general location and we may be doing this because
that's the plan, but we may be doing all this other stuff.
If we find that, you know, a road off to there and it's really just kind of
getting out and exploring together.
Yeah.
So kind of having a plan, but then also like, Hey, whatever we can do while
we're here.
Yeah, that's something I get asked a lot because people are constantly asking me.
So you're going here.
I'm like, yes and no.
Um, we're heading that direction, but you never know what's going to happen.
Whether it might change things, people might decide to do something else.
And people that know me, it's like, Oh, I see a dirt road.
Guess what?
We're going down that instead kind of thing.
So yeah, yeah, we just try to tell people a general area of where we're
going to be.
And then hopefully they're, they're flexible enough to go wherever we end up
going, but yeah, it's always going to be a fun time.
We're always going to have camp at night.
And I think that's like the biggest thing is like, you don't have to worry
about anything crazy.
Yeah.
So how is it for you, Kathleen?
Like, you know, you were traveling and doing stuff with Kendra as a kid and now
she's an adult and has her own kid.
So what is it like for you kind of experiencing this with her as an adult
and then also seeing her build this and, and try to really grow this into
something pretty cool?
Oh, I absolutely love this.
Um, this is, this is my wheelhouse.
She, she is kind of, she's in charge of everything above and just kind of
designates who does what.
And she always gives me a location or an area she wants to do.
And I handle logistics for that.
And I absolutely love that planning the trips and stuff.
And that's what I do.
And then having the grandkids and everybody, cause I know that I've got
a plan for that, just like I was planning for my kids.
So it's just continuing right down that line, which is really nice.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And Kendra, what about you?
Like going from being a kid and exploring with your mom and going on these
trips and stuff to now being an adult and still getting to do with your mom,
but your kids?
I mean, it's really cool to see.
It was, I think the biggest part with like leave a mile to me, um, was we did
do this as kids and I didn't realize how much work and went into it as kids.
You know, you just, it's going up to the lake.
What's the big deal?
Um, it's cool to kind of see like the difference now.
I know our economy is a little bit different now.
And it's like, my biggest thing is I don't make, I did make a lot of money
when I started this.
Um, and so I wanted to way to show people like, you don't have to make a lot.
You just have to make enough to go do things.
And if, you know, that means just going up into the mountains an hour from your
house or 30 minutes from your house, that's something that you can do with your
kid, you don't have to be stuck because you don't have the resources.
You know what I mean?
Like that was kind of where it was kind of cool to see that transition.
So being able to take my set out in places like this, it's like, oh, yeah,
I can do this.
This is awesome.
And he loves it.
So yeah, yeah, I'm sure he does.
Yeah, that's gotta be awesome to be, and y'all, I mean, y'all live in a good spot.
You live in like a great spot to be able to go do some exploring.
And I know y'all go to some spots that are kind of far off, but I'm sure you
have stuff like pretty close around you that is nice to hit, hit up, you know.
Yeah, I would say one of our favorite spots is that Farmington Canyon, which is
less than 30 minutes away from us that we can go camp and.
Oh, that's nice.
That's nice.
So what is like the furthest distance you've traveled to do any of these trips?
Oh, I mean, probably the California coast would be the farthest.
Yeah.
Yeah, California.
Yeah, we watched the California and all the way up the Oregon, halfway up
Oregon coast and then came back.
That was probably the furthest away that we had to go.
And let us know where you are coming from.
So it'd be from, that trip would have been, I was in Salt Lake.
Okay.
Yeah, for her Salt Lake, for me, it was Cannab still, but yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
So what's on the other than this weekend coming up, do y'all have any big trips for this year?
Yeah.
Mom is doing a major leave a mile trip across the country for a month.
Oh, nice.
You want to tell them?
Yeah, I'm headed to the, I'm going to leave them at the, basically on the last day
they're going to head back up this way to Utah and I'm going to head east.
So I'm going to be crossing Texas and some other states going out to North Carolina.
Offroading the outback is got a little camping group together out there on the
Cape and I'm going to go camp with them for a few days, hang out with him.
I've talked to him every day for three years now and I've never actually met him.
So that's going to be really cool.
Yeah, I remember you telling me that you've talked to him.
I didn't realize you hadn't met him yet.
So that's, that's going to be awesome.
No, I have not met him yet.
We, we talk every single day and this is going to be really weird to actually
see him for a change.
So I'll spend about six days with him and then I'm going to just work my way up
the coast.
I'm not sure.
I mean, it's been a long time since I've been on these coasts.
I still live out there.
It is very crowded and trying to find safe camping is going to be interesting.
So I may stay in hotels.
I may be camping.
I'm not sure yet, but then I'm going to meet another group.
PYP dad, wagon and extra Matt and all those guys.
I'm going to go meet up with them and go camping a couple of weeks after that.
So yeah, they're all going to keep me busy out there.
So I'll be, I'll be busy for a while.
Just running around camping with everybody.
It's going to be so much fun.
And just you, right?
Yep.
Just me.
Okay.
That'll be fine.
My husband can't get that much time off yet.
He's not retired yet.
He hasn't been fired.
He hasn't been to quit.
He hasn't done anything yet.
So yeah, no, that'll be a really good trip.
And you'll get to meet a lot of people that you, and I mean, that's like, that's
one of the coolest things about this, this whole community and, and just doing
what you do and, you know, what other people do when, when you have the ability
to travel is meeting people in person for the first time.
That's like, that's always the best.
I love that.
I love that part of all of this.
I mean, I think, and I think that's my favorite part of all of this is getting to
meet people.
It really is.
Cause the Subaru is, this is a Subaru community.
Um, everybody has their own little clicks, but everybody connects and it's, you
know, Kendra didn't tell you the whole story on how she actually met her partner,
Farrell Fawzi.
Um, that's a long story.
Off-roading the Outback was actually headed out here three years ago.
Um, and he kept contacting me on the way and then he had meeting up with Farrell
Fawzi and then he's like, Oh, well, this guy has a young daughter and it's the same
age as my grandson.
And then I ended up connecting with him.
And then I threw him at Kendra to bring him down to a meeting.
I said, this guy wants to go with us.
You need to bring him down.
And she's like, Oh my gosh, mom.
How you had me meet him was, Hey, I know dude, I'm talking to him.
When you meet him at a random gas station and have him follow you into the
backwards of Utah, I'm like, I don't even know what this person looks like because
at the time he had no photos of him on his Instagram page for his, his car.
That's so common.
I was, I was sitting there and I'm like, Yeah, sure.
Why not?
Like, let's just have a random person.
Your mom is telling you to meet a random person at a gas station and go into the
woods together.
I met him before.
I said, Oh, I thought he was, but yeah, she was a little nervous about that.
She called me a couple of times.
She's like, God, I don't know what he looks like.
Mom, I'm not sure about this meeting at this gas station.
Well, think about how he felt though.
I'm going out into the car.
Well, that's the thing is, think how he viewed it too.
He's like, he's meeting these people that he doesn't know and going
camping with them is like, Oh my God.
So that's how they actually initially met.
And then it just grew into more as we did more things together.
But yeah, it was just kind of funny how random somebody from North Carolina
introduced me to somebody that lived up the road from her.
And then we all ended up, I mean, it was just strange how it all because of
Subaru's, I mean, it's all because we're all connected with the Subaru community,
which is crazy.
Well, there's, there's so many people that end up meeting up with somebody else
that they've never met before.
Like I went out to Virginia for a trip one time and there was a guy, I think he
goes by the underscore cross track or X track or something like that.
And we had been talking on Instagram and everything and we went out there and
just like met up at a restaurant like me and him and his girlfriend.
You know, we'd never met before.
And then I've done that with other people going out, you know, like I met,
I don't know, I've just, I've met a lot of people just going out and you
just meet up with them.
And, and it's like, hi, hi, I'm just talking to you online for a while.
Let's go meet up in person and some random spot or whatever.
Well, that's like all these people that I'm camping with out there in the East
coast, I've never met any of them.
I'm going to meet all of them.
I mean, I know Matt fairly well because I've talked to him for three years,
but I haven't, I don't know these other people.
This will be interesting, you know, I always find it all these groups that I
meet up with, they're all very different, but they're all like the coolest people.
They all have their unique little quirks that they do for their camping or
whatever they're doing and getting together.
And it just, it's, it's fun to sit and watch and interact with them.
It's just really a lot of fun.
Yeah, definitely.
Uh, let's see.
Oh yeah.
So like, what is your goal?
You're like, you're, do you have like a goal with leave them wild?
As far as like where you want to see it go and where you would like it to be at
some point, or are you just kind of planning these trips and, and seeing how it
goes along the way?
Yeah, for a while there, it was a lot of just planning and hoping that we could
meet up with people.
I didn't really know how I was going to turn it into something more, if that makes
sense.
Yeah.
However, I feel like the last year I kind of started buckling down and being like,
okay, what do I want leave them wild to be?
And like, what do I want it to mean?
And really my goal is I want this to be my full time thing eventually.
So what I kind of see leave a while going towards is I want to be able to do
these trips where we're meeting up with people, but I also want to be able to
set up trips, set up different community group things that people are getting
out and it's helping encourage, whether that's us going out and teaching people
how to use their cars, whether it's a Subaru or not, just getting people
comfortable with their cars.
So kind of having like a class, if you want to call that or a course.
But I also see leave a while just kind of doing more of a, like the other sort
of just showing people on YouTube.
Like I would love to be able to be, I don't want to like compare it to anyone
else on YouTube, but you see all these, these trucks all the time that are doing
overlanding.
Yeah.
I want a Subaru group on YouTube that can do that stuff.
Like I would love if we could like fly over to Europe or not fly, but like
ship the car is over to Europe and do a trip there.
Like that's what I see leave a while doing.
So I really am like, okay, let's buckle down.
Let's figure out these shots.
Like I really want to get better at my photography and my videography.
Cause that's, that's where I see us going is just showing people.
Hey, yeah, all these trucks can do it.
That's cool.
I don't get me wrong.
I love the trucks, but I also know our supers can do the same thing, you know?
Yeah.
So as far as like the treating it more like a business, what would you say takes
up most of your time with leave them wild outside of just going on the trips?
You know, yeah, I feel like a lot of it, um, a lot of the business aspect of it,
like the behind the scenes would be a lot of spending time trying to get our
name out there.
So it's, you know, being consistent on Instagram right now is my biggest push.
I'm trying to be consistent on our blog, um, and giving actual information
that's helpful for other people, um, with the intent of just getting our name
out there and getting known for these specific things that way it builds a
trust with other people of like, Hey, they do actually somewhat sometimes know
what they're talking about and we want to go, we want to go learn from them or do
more things like with them or like them, for example.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's good.
Yeah.
I mean, it's, it's good to have like a plan and try to figure out what you want
to do with it.
And I mean, I think what you are already doing with it is pretty cool and it'll
be cool to see like where it goes from here.
Yeah.
Well, the nice, nice thing I think is we have the different generations too.
So people can see it from different points of view too.
Cause I deal with obviously the older crowd, even though the younger ones seem
to be attracted to what I'm doing, but when I have the older people come up
and look at my car and they're like, Oh my gosh, this looks cool.
What all do you do?
It only a couple of things.
And it's like, really?
So, you know, they're just, they're surprised how easily it is to do what
we're doing as far as that part goes.
Canada wants to get more into the chaos that goes beforehand to get to where
we're going, which is fine.
I mean, it does take work.
She works very hard at what she's doing with the editing and everything else and
making sure that we're doing what we're supposed to be doing out there to get
the good shots.
It's fun though.
The kids absolutely love it.
We love it.
So we're all having fun.
Yeah.
If we get the kids to ball for sure, they're going to be excited this trip.
I bought them cameras.
So they, they get to, they get to take the time to, I'm like, okay, you guys are
going to go film, start practicing.
That's cool.
I heard of it eventually.
Yeah, that'll be fun.
Kids ams.
Yeah.
Um, so as far as like the trips that you've taken so far for each of you, I
guess individually, which one has been your favorite?
I would say mine's always the Oregon coast.
I mean, I've, I've loved that place since I was a kid and we did that trip, but
I'm always a sucker for the coastline.
I would say for me, for me, it's, it's hard.
I mean, I like all of them.
I've never, we've never really had a bad trip.
I mean, we've had bad experiences on our trips, but that's what makes the story.
If we don't have something bad and everything goes as flowed, it was supposed
to, then, oh, well, crap, that was boring.
We need to do something else.
But no, I like everywhere that we go, but I've been traveling since I was a kid
cause my parents took me out when I was, I've got pictures of me sitting in the
middle of salt flats when I was like a year and a half old.
So that's so cool.
I was always traveling when I was a kid.
I made sure my kids always traveled and, you know, I'm excited to see where their
lives end up as they get older too, because you settle in different places as
you're going, but I love everywhere that I travel.
But I do like coming home.
I really like where I live cause there's a lot of stuff right here too.
Yeah.
So as far as something bad happening, which makes for good stories, what's happened?
You got to tell us now.
Oh gosh, let's see, where can we start?
Let's see.
We got rained out, almost hit by lightning in Colorado.
What else?
Oh, that creepy dude.
Oh, Kendra and I were camping.
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
Kendra and I decided we couldn't find a remote camping and we were around
Pagosa Springs and we'd done the hot springs, which was way overpriced just so
anybody knows.
I'm not a Pagosa Springs fan, even though I'm a native Colorado one.
Anyway, we found a camping spot in this campground and I talked to the lady.
She goes, I'm going to stick you ladies way in the back so you'll have some
privacy and we're like, oh cool.
So she stuck us way back by the river and we had all set up.
Next thing I know this dude pulls up into the campsite next to us like, what the
heck?
And I had my tent, which is a rooftop tent with the opening aiming towards inland
away from the river.
He parked right like 20 feet from that.
He gets out and starts playing this weird freaking banjo thing and just singing and
he's saying for like two hours and he was like that close to us just staring at
us on like, oh my gosh, we didn't know what we were supposed to do.
It was like, should we pack and leave?
What's going on here?
It was so creepy.
Did he look creepy too?
Oh gosh.
Like he hadn't taken a shower and probably, I mean, we go a week without a shower,
but he looked like he hadn't taken a shower in a week and it was like, and then
when we crawled up, we crawled up to go to bed.
I had my grandson with me.
She was sleeping in her car so she could lock the doors.
I have no way to lock anything.
I just zipped up the tent and I could hear him down there at the bottom, you
know, talking and singing.
And I'm like, oh, this is creepy as heck.
So, I mean, we carry things with us, but you don't want to have to use those.
Yeah.
Like, you know, different, different modes of getting rid of people.
But yeah, it was, that was one of our creepier moments.
I mean, we've had so much stuff happen to us though.
Like when storms happen, and especially up in the rooftop, we've been
rained out a couple of times, but.
Yeah, I almost got hit by lightning at one time.
It's going to change the plans now.
No, nothing gets changed.
We just drive around and find a different spot, that's all.
So what, what was the lightning story like?
Did it just hit really close to you?
No, that's when her, her feral fuzzy was, that was one of his initial trips with us
that she let him out there.
We're at the little Grand Canyon up in central Utah.
And my husband, he, he doesn't sleep in the tent on top when our grandson's.
He, he gets to sleep with me.
So my husband's booted.
He's has to sleep in a tent on the ground.
And then my daughter was in her car and everything else was going on.
And we're watching the lightning storms going to the north of us.
I got some cool shots, everything else.
Um, and we're like, okay, this is cool.
I'm watching on the radar.
Okay, the storms are done.
We're good.
Got up in the tent.
My grandson, I think he was what, like four or five years old.
He knows phones better than anybody, but he grabbed my phone and he's
looking at the radar and goes, oh my, what's this big red spot?
And I'm looking at him like, oh my gosh, there's a huge lightning storm coming
right towards us.
And it was zapping.
It was zapping on top of this.
I honestly had never been so scared in my life, but I can't show that I'm scared
because I'm trying to keep this little kid from being scared and we can't climb
out of it because we're sitting on top of this metal car that's sitting way
above the tree line and we were going to die.
It lasted about 20 minutes and then it was done and then got out and made sure
everybody, my husband didn't wash away into the canyon and my daughter was still
you know, just one of those things that just adds a little spice to what we're
doing.
I'm pretty sure you took a photo with the lightning behind your car too.
That's actually one of my first time to hear her tripod on top of my car to
take a photo of her car.
So she was like up on top of my car.
I'm like, okay.
Yeah.
That was an actual photo.
It's not Photoshopped at all.
That was the lightning was striking to the north.
So we were sitting there watching it go by.
It was really cool.
So it's on Instagram?
Probably.
It's probably one of my really older, a lot older posts.
I think it's before, I mean, all this stuff I've done to the car here.
20 or 20, 30.
I have to look for that.
Scroll for a couple of days.
Yeah, yeah.
Was there anything else y'all want to talk about or let people know about Leave
From Wild and like, I don't know, anything else?
I'd say, I don't know.
I guess like the biggest thing is like, if you are in the area of anywhere in Utah,
really, we're happy to meet up.
I know mom will probably drive a lot further to meet up with people just
because she has the time to, but the goal is like, if you're in Idaho, Colorado,
probably Montana even, or we're looking at areas for our next trip of places
we want to do meetups.
We want to do like summer camps this summer, like at least once a month
where we have people come meet up, we'll, you know, set up camp, teach you
guys how to use whatever you want.
If you don't know how to use it, like there's no pressure behind, oh, you
have to have all the cool stuff.
And it's just, you know, we want to, we want to set it up and we start
building out that, hey, let's just go out and do something that way.
Yeah.
And even if you just want to join, if you know how to camp or whatever, even
if you just want to join us, could we go to some cool spots?
Yeah, we've done a lot of cool things.
I've taken a lot of spots.
I mean, we know some really cool spots where there's no people.
So we know how to get out there.
And to me, that's my biggest thing is just let me know when you want to go
out someplace cool, even around here, because people are always looking at the
touristy things.
It's like, I actually know some really cool spots where we can camp and have
some epic views that people are never going to get.
Yeah.
So.
And that's what's nice too about like going places where somebody lives,
because then you can, like they can take you to all the really good spots and
not the spots that everybody else is going to.
That's always fun.
Exactly.
That's what I try to tell Kendra too.
I was like, she's kind of afraid to talk to some of the people, but I was like,
I will talk to everybody.
I will go to a town and I'm like, okay, where do we need to go to see some cool
stuff?
I don't want to see the touristy stuff.
I want to see the cool stuff.
And that's when you find these really cool things.
I'm still talking to people.
I'm like, I probably smell really bad because it's been like four years since
camp.
I don't want to talk to people and she's like, let's go talk to people.
Let's go to the restaurant.
I'm like, okay.
Sure.
I don't care.
They're going to see us all the way in the back.
So we're not going to talk to anyone anyway, but okay.
So I guess also, I mean, for people, I mean, like, I know people follow y'all,
but let us know like what your Subaru's are, like what you actually drive,
like what you're in model and like trim level.
So I drive, I currently now I'm driving a 2016 Subaru Outback 3.6.
Nice.
Yeah, I love it.
It's a little faster, but I was originally in the BlueBee, which was the 2016 just
cross track that was hyper blue.
But that was, was moms went back to me and I upgraded a little bit so that we
could haul a little bit more stuff.
I like she how, how she said just cross track.
Like it's just a cross track.
I know.
She did not appreciate the fact that she, she didn't appreciate the fact that she
inherited that BlueBee.
I didn't know and I would go to car meets and Manny would introduce me and he'd be
like, Oh, this is Kendra and everyone's like, Oh, okay.
And he's like, no, this is BlueBee and they're like, Oh, you're BlueBee.
I'm like, I know everyone loves this car color.
I'm just, I got a green car now.
So I'm pretty stoked.
I'm, I'm a little bit less obnoxious.
Yeah, she doesn't like to stand out.
And as you know, I do like to stand out.
So, because that's why I had BlueBee in the first place, which is now back to
me and I'm trying to figure out what to do with it.
So I've got, I've got BlueBee in the backyard, which is the original Yagi.
And then I upgraded of course to my 2021 cross track sport.
And right now the only modifications I really have on it are the Ironman lift.
I've switched everything back to OEM as far as arms and all that, just to see
what's going to happen.
And of course, I did the Rebel rally in it, which it did awesome.
I mean, that was, that was really, that was so much fun.
So yeah, I definitely like to stand out a little bit more than my car, than she does.
But I think that's a more powerful one now.
So she can go with all that.
A lot of everyone.
That's my mom.
No, there's a roof rack on it.
That's about the only change because the OEM roof racks don't hold rooftop tents.
And we, we definitely needed something and trying to find anywhere in a forum
for outbacks about rooftop tents.
Apparently no one gets them.
I'm like, okay.
So we just, we, I just put a print or I shouldn't say I did it.
My partner, he, uh, in stock, I was like, can you get this angle scoot a little bit that way?
Nice.
Yeah.
My, uh, my son has a 2010 green 3.6 outback.
Nice.
Really nice.
Yeah.
Nice.
I like, I like it.
It's a little, a little oomph.
Yeah.
He likes it.
It's definitely much faster than my cross track.
He's got, he likes it cause it's got heated seats and everything.
But I mean, he, he's had some issues with it cause it's got over 200,000 miles.
But I mean, it's still, drives great.
I'll say it'll run.
It'll run.
And I think you and I roffer about the same on mileage, but you've got the manual, right?
Yeah.
I'm at, I'm at, I'm just over a 142.
Okay.
So I'm a little, I'm a little bit ahead of you and I'm going to, I'm going to kick
your butt in this next month.
Yeah.
You definitely will.
I'm going to add another 8,000 to it.
So I'm at 147 right now.
Okay.
Yeah.
I've got some cats to go to.
So I'll add another eight or 9,000 to it in the next five or six weeks.
Yeah.
Well, thank you both so much for hopping on.
And talking about leave them wild.
Yeah.
Yeah, you're welcome.
Thanks for having me.
Yeah.
Thanks for, you know, connections, connections, you're helping us out.
I had suggested, I was like, Oh, well, we can talk about it.
And she's like, let me reach out.
Let me do things.
And like the next day, she's like, Oh, so next Monday, you're good.
I'm like, Oh, that's quick.
Okay.
Um, my plate's full.
But yeah, sure.
Let's, let's do it.
This is, this is where she gets it from.
Cause I, I will ask, I'm not afraid to ask.
I mean, we're, I know, cool.
We all have a good night.
And thanks again for hopping on and sharing.
And I'll put this episode out and hopefully get some more people following
y'all and hearing the story.
Thank you.
Hopefully you got, you got some sleep, right?
Yeah.
Monday was so funny.
I was like, I misread that myself.
That was just as much my fault as it was yours.
Cause I read it and I'm like, Oh my gosh.
You said tomorrow twice on there.
And I did not catch that at all.
Yeah.
I, uh, it's a good thing we didn't, it's a good thing we didn't do it Monday
cause I was in bad shape.
Well, that's what I was thinking.
I was like, it's probably a good thing we didn't do it anyway, because I don't
think either one of us knew where we were.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That was bad.
That was funny.
But thank you so much.
You're welcome.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
You all have a good night and talk to y'all later.
You too.
Okay.
Bye.
Bye.
Thank you everybody for tuning into this bonus episode and listening
to this conversation with Kathleen and her daughter, Kendra.
If you're not doing so, go give them both a follow on Instagram.
Kathleen, of course, is Autrek it's Yagi.
Kendra is trash panda OBW.
And then she also runs the leave them wild Instagram page.
So go check it out.
Give them a follow and, uh, say hello.
And it looks like Kathleen's going to be taking a trip to out to the east coast.
And, uh, get to meet a lot of people, which is really cool.
That's a big part of what this community is all about is connection and meeting people
in person.
So I think that's cool.
Anyway, thank you so much for tuning in.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
We'll talk to you later.
See you Monday on a regular episode.
Much Subi love, Raf.
on a computer in the room next to the closet in Houston with music by Luke Ruiz in another
room in Houston.
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