Archispeak Podcast Episode #347 - Evan’s Summer Adventures

Date: September 16, 2024
Hosts: Evan Troxel & Cormac Phalen

Episode Overview

In this lively post-summer episode, hosts Evan and Cormac catch up after their respective breaks. The episode centers on Evan’s epic road trip adventure across the American West, diving into the pros and cons of family travel, hidden gems of the Midwest, and reflections on work-life balance. The conversation meanders through the culture of classic car shows, vintage cameras, licensure quirks, architecture in unexpected places, and the real-world process of maintaining a career in architecture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Catching up and Summer Escapes

• The hosts reflect on stepping away from work and podcasting routines for a well-deserved break.
• Cormac jokes about being “out of podcast practice” after summer's adventures ([01:15]).
• Evan shares the familial realization: "I'm not doing this again. Like, my wife and I are done camping with kids, that's for sure. And... they're not even kids anymore" ([01:59]).
• Discussion about adult kids who revert to childlike behaviors during family trips ([02:09]).

Evan's Mega Road Trip — Mileage, Discovery, and Family

• Cormac calculates Evan’s total mileage at around 4,150 miles: “How’d you do that? That’s pretty damn good. It was 4,150 miles.” ([03:42])
• Travel covered Southern Oregon, Eastern Oregon (learning it’s in two time zones), Southern Idaho, Wyoming, and into South Dakota.
• Highlights random geography trivia, time zones, and joys/annoyances of long-haul road travel.

Unique Regional Observations

• The oddity of Oregon's time zones: “I didn’t know that Oregon was in two time zones.” ([04:45])
• Sharing personal associations with Michigan and Kentucky time zones and cross-state journeys.
• Wyoming characterized as scenic but “very, very boring” except for a few spots ([07:41]).

Hidden Gems: Black Hills and Beyond

• South Dakota’s Black Hills earn high praise:
  “If you ever wondered, is there a spot in the Dakotas to go to? I highly, highly recommend.” ([10:14])
• Activities: badlands exploration, Jewel Caves, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, and more.
• The “grind” and satisfaction of seeing a new place in its entirety, navigating tension between vacation and travel checklist ([11:13]).

Places Worth Revisiting

• Evan’s climbing highlight:
  “I would go back to the Black Hills of South Dakota because there’s so much more rock climbing I could do there. That was just...the highlight of the trip.” ([13:39])
• Wish-list: missed out on Wind Cave National Park due to elevator installation ([12:45]).
• Fortuitously stumbled upon the Studebaker car show, marveling at passion-project restorations ([13:25]).

The Community of Obsessions: Classic Cars & Vintage Cameras

• Longing for restored Studebakers—admiration and the daunting prospect of restoration ([14:12]).
• Story of a car rebuilt from parts of four different trucks—a “four to one truck” ([14:49]).
• Car culture nostalgia, memories of family at car shows, and how these passions get passed down.

Notable Quote:

“He bought another Studebaker truck to learn how to put together the truck that he was planning on putting together. Like, that's just a little... that’s like over the top.” – Cormac ([15:10])

Generational Photography — Film, Digital, and Craft

• Evan’s son gains attention at car shows with a pristine twin-lens film camera. Talk of medium format/film processes and strangers bonding over gear nostalgia ([16:20]).
• Comparison of film’s selectivity with digital abundance:
  “I can just shoot for days... But you have film and it’s 36 frames... you’re so selective in what you’re shooting. It really is the true, like, essence of the craft.” – Unnamed Friend ([19:07])
• Admiration for tactile, intentional process—Polaroids, old negatives, and the hybrid approaches of today ([20:13]).

Technology, Cameras, and Podcast Video

• The shift to using phones over “big cameras” for everyday shots due to convenience, even among photo enthusiasts ([21:33]).
• The paradox of gear atrophy and the craving for hands-on manual controls ([23:09]).

Architecture: Found in Ghost Towns and Roadside Curiosities

• The trip wasn’t filled with traditional architecture, but rather, “natural architecture” in geological formations and national parks ([24:01]).
• Walldrug (Wall, SD) is praised as a fantastically kitschy roadside megastore ([25:17]).

Notable Quote:

“This is the kind of place you can go and still get a 5 cent cup of coffee. Like, wow, that’s absolutely incredible.” – Cormac ([25:18])

• The most compelling “architecture” was in abandoned ghost towns and ruins, sparking discussions on the allure of decay and the Atlas Obscura approach to travel ([26:57]).

Journey Home & Additional Destinations

• Alternate return trip via Lander, Wyoming—mountain vistas, fishing, and a memorable stop in Sinks Canyon ([29:11]).
• Quick exploration of Park City, Utah, for mountain biking before heading home and receiving his Oregon architectural registration ([30:37]).

Professional Licensure Chat

Oregon Registration & Reciprocity

• Evan describes the process of becoming a registered architect in Oregon via reciprocity ([30:49]):
  "I am now a licensed architect and a registered architect. Which one should I go with?"
• Amusing details about the differences in “fancy” wall certificate versus a wallet-sized card ([31:51]).

Licensure: Fees, Red Tape, and Exams

• The high cost of NCARB record transmittals ("$450 to NCARB to get them to transmit electronic files to the state of Oregon. Wild. That’s just wild." – Cormac, [33:12]).
• Oregon’s approach requires an online, open-book “jurisprudence” exam focused on statutes and practice responsibilities. Evan found this practical and relevant ([37:11-43:14]).
• Open-book licensing is praised as reflecting real-life professional reference habits.

Notable Quote:

“When you’re doing a code review, what do you do? Open the code books… everything we do is open book, so why not?” – Unnamed Friend ([43:14])

• Reflections on licensure maintenance—different states, different requirements (California, Florida, Maryland, Oregon).
• CEU (Continuing Education Unit) trapping: Cormac humorously admits to a CEU “addiction” with an impressive log of 72 CEUs by September ([52:48]).

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On Family Camping Reality:
  “I'm not doing this again… my wife and I are done camping with kids…” – Cormac ([01:59])

• On Trip Planning Mental Math:
  “Just one of those, like, ingrained things that, like, it’s just like, hey, we’re going here. Okay. Yeah, that’s… let’s double that.” – Unnamed Friend ([04:29])

• On Base Jumping at Twin Falls:
  “I did, I watched. I got a little video…” (Evan, [06:58])
  …and story of his base-jumping friend missing him by a day.

• On Finding Beauty in the Unexpected:
  “The coolest architecture I saw was literally ghost towns, real ghost towns that were just abandoned…” – Evan ([26:57])

• On Open-Book Exams:
  “Guess what? Like, that’s the world we live in. Come on, you can seriously look anything up.” – Evan ([43:04])

• On CEU Accumulation:
  “Want to guess how many I have at September 12th?...72. Apparently 72. I’ve slowed down. Six a month.” – Cormac ([52:46])

Timestamps for Major Segments

| Segment / Topic | Timestamp | |--------------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Banter, Family Camping, Adult Kids | 00:11–02:47 | | Total Mileage & Roadtrip Geography Trivia | 03:06–06:32 | | Base Jumping, State Time Zones, Road Observations | 06:32–09:11 | | Black Hills, Trip Highlights, Travel Philosophy | 10:14–13:04 | | Studebaker Show & Car Culture | 13:25–16:20 | | Vintage Cameras, Generational Nostalgia | 16:20–23:33 | | (Absence of) Architecture on the Trip, Ghost Towns | 24:01–26:57 | | Architecture in Ruins, Roadside Americana | 26:57–29:11 | | Return Journey, Lander, Park City Adventures | 29:11–30:38 | | Oregon Registration, Licensure Reciprocity, Exam Insights | 30:38–44:13 | | State-by-State CEU Requirements, Ongoing Professional Need | 44:37–50:33 | | CEU Obsession, Practical Learning, Codes | 50:33–54:05 | | Closing, Academic Updates, Next Episodes Teaser | 54:30–56:24 |

Episode Tone & Final Thoughts

The episode is light-hearted, meandering, and filled with relatable architectural humor and road stories. The hosts embody an easy-going, pragmatic perspective on professional life, celebrating personal obsessions and valuing hands-on, real-world learning over rigid protocol.

Listeners are left with a sense of camaraderie and the reassurance that even seasoned architects wrestle with the same work-life, family, and licensure challenges as the rest of us. The allure of adventure, the reality of professional hoops, and the joy of analog experiences—the episode blends it all with the trademark Archispeak wit and warmth.

For more or to connect, visit archispeakpodcast.com