This is Travis Jay Vernon and Welcome! to the So There I Am… Podcast. I have been spending time in the outdoors since I could walk. I started out catching frogs and insects, and then hunting with everything from a BB gun and archery gear, to chasing big game with a rifle. I have been an avid fisherman everywhere I have lived and traveled. Cooking, foraging, fishing, and hunting have been a driving force for me. The only thing I am more passionate about than these things is sharing them with others and teaching those who want to learn. Along the way I have told, heard, and lived different stories.

Stories are my favorite form of communication, and my favorite stories are those that get me to think, cry, laugh, or even change and adapt. They teach by experience and imagination. A good story stays with you. My father would say, “You only remember the best and the worst, mediocrity is forgotten.” The older I get the more truth I find in this. In my youth my mother would read to me and my brother to help us fall asleep. My grandparents would tell us stories from their earlier experiences. I would read stories about outdoor adventures, hunting, fishing, camping, and every flora and fauna book I could find. I wanted (and still want) to know about the world around me. Stories told well allow a listener to live vicariously, reminisce of past experiences, or even dream of adventures to come.

Every day is an opportunity for new adventures and expanding your own story. When the experience is scary, funny, terrible or great there tends to be stories to share. I share them with friends, family, and just about anyone who is interested. I once encountered a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy who quickly stopped me when I began to tell a story one day and explained, “Every good story has to start with So, There I Am…” That is where the name of this podcast originated. I look forward to sharing stories from my own experiences as a fly-fishing guide, retail manager, outdoor enthusiast, traveler, explorer and just everyday life. There will be stories from guests and stories from friends and others in different places and varied walks of life. Many of them will be mostly true. I do fish a lot so some exaggeration to enhance a story may occur from time to time.

Let’s get to the stories!

So, there I am…