Lakes, rivers, and long drives
I grew up on the open road. My dad and my family loved to travel, camp, and fish, and a lot of my childhood was spent on lakes and rivers. We had all kinds of boats and jet skis, and summers were full of wakeboarding, tubing, and whatever else we could get pulled behind something. Some of my best memories are from those campsites and shorelines, and the long drives it took to get there.
No time for a build
So in early 2020, right before the world shut down, I bought a 2018 Ram ProMaster. My dad was sick, and I wanted to get to the Midwest and spend real time with him. There was no time for a proper build. It had a bed loft, a portable fridge, and boxes of stuff, and that was enough.
Then Levi, my American Foxhound, got sick too. It was cancer, and I had to put him down before I left.
Eight weeks old
While I was out visiting my dad, I drove farther east to Millersburg, Ohio, in the heart of Amish country, and came home with Luca, my second Foxhound. He was eight weeks old. He got to meet my dad before he passed, about a year after I bought the van.
West to east
Luca grew up in that van, and he doesn't know any other way to travel. The two of us spent the next two years on the road, working our way from the West to the East.
The whole way, I juggled apps. iOverlander told me where to sleep, The Dyrt and Hipcamp covered campgrounds and private land, and a handful of weather apps told me whether I should be there at all. Each one did its piece. None of them talked to each other, and none of them helped me find the people out there doing the same thing I was.
The one I wanted
I'd spent 25 years building software for other people. In April 2023, I started building the one I wanted.
Landgogh is a map of camp spots, trailheads, fishing access, boat ramps, and services, kept honest by travelers who've actually been there. It has public land and weather layers, trip planning, and private land to stay on, plus The Trail, a place to meet the people on the road with you. I built the web app on Laravel and Livewire, and the iOS and Android apps in Flutter.
In December 2025 I sold the ProMaster and bought a 2026 Ford Transit, and I'm converting it slowly from home base in Denver. When Landgogh launches, I'll be out on a month-long trip, using it every day the way it was meant to be used.
See you on the trail.