Join me on my journey to leave the world of modern technology in the dust, literally.

Giving up on the American dream, losing faith in capitalism, selling all my worldly goods and going to live in a tipi in the desert. Over the past 50 years I have aquired tons of stuff that is both meaningful and meaningless. Some things only have value to me. But really none of it is going to be useful in the tipi. I will keep a few things like my bed and a few battery operated clocks but all of my electrical appliances will be sold either at a garage sale or estate sale or on ebay. I don't see the point of putting everything in storage just to pay the storage fees on stuff I'll never use. Maybe I'll be forced back into "civilization" or maybe I won't. Either way, I just don't need to lug all this stuff half way across the country.

As soon as I pare down my belongings I will pack a few things in my truck and head south from Washington to Arizona. Join me on my journey and follow me each step of the way. See first hand how easy (or difficult) it will be to leave the modern world and live as the Native Americans did not that long ago. So, feel free to donate to my cause so I can purchase some desert land and a tipi. Thanks in advance.

I'll be posting updates from my moms when I go to visit her. I expect to have a few modern conveniences like books and a bicycle. I'm not going completely back to the stone age. I may be hunting squirrels but I will also get my food from a market just because I don't want to starve. I will have a couple of firearms for hunting and protection. I plan to keep my bed and couch because there will be plenty of room for them in the 28 foot diamieter tipi. I plan to put a few sentimental items in storage just in case or maybe in another 50 years my kids can sell my stuff and make a few bucks.

Just a little bit about me in case you don't know. My name is Frankie, I am 51 years old. I was born in Spokane, Washington. I was raised by my mom after my parents split when I was 1 year old. I have one older sister and one older brother. I didn't finish high school, I dropped out in 9th grade but I got my GED when I was 17. I started college soon after. At first I took art classes. Then I got a degree in electronics. That helped me to get a minimum wage job as an assembler. My whole life I've had a series of very short meaningless jobs. I always loved photography but could never make a living doing it. At 30 I got married and had a son. Soon after I got divorced. Then I got a degree in horticulture. I worked for Costco for 7 years.

I also love to hike and climb mountains and go fishing.
So here are more images of the inside of a modern tipi. If anyone wants to join me feel free to send me a message. We could have a whole village of tipis. frankie.benka at face book dot com


Update January 25th, 2012
I will not be having an estate sale because everything I own is worth less than $10,000. I will just leave it for my son if he wants to stay.

Hopitu