The Grey Range Podcast

If your life was a movie, would it be worth watching?There is a level of work and commitment that most of the couch-bound, screen scrolling masses will never understand. A level of achievement and satisfaction that will never be known by those who cower from the immensity of the task that is given to them by virtue of their dreams and ambitions. An inheritance that is theirs by birth, but they are beaten down by fate and circumstance. Separated from an infinite wellspring of potential futures by a world that told them “No.” and they believed it.Then there are people like Kelsey Pelletier of White Lightning Media. When I first saw Kelsey, he was hanging over the boards at a PBR Bull Riding event here in Grande Prairie, getting what must have been a sick shot of a local bullrider trying his best to hold on for 8 seconds. With his huge beard, broad stature, and cowboy hat pulled low, he looked as much a part of the rodeo as the riders and the stock contractors. A man in his element, doing his level best to capture the essence of such a powerful and primal event. His t-shirt read “White Lightning Media.” I looked it up on the spot, determined to find out who this person was, and why they were so at home with a camera in their hand.Shortly after the PBR event, I reached out to Kelsey, and after a few months of us trying to get our schedules to synch up, he joined us in the studio to tell us all about how he got started as a photographer, videographer, and filmmaker here in Grande Prairie, AB. It’s a heck of a story. A story about following your dreams. A story about allowing curiosity to pull you out of the rigid expectations of the "regular world” and to allow yourself to believe that your abilities and ambitions have value. To put in the work. Make the sacrifices. Take the long hours, and the low pay, and make your failures your most valuable lessons. To keep going.If I can take anything about Kelsey Pelletier’s story, it would be that this life is a heck of a ride. Here’s to holding on.-As always, we hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did while making it.If you did enjoy it, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you!Check out our website!You can now check out the podcast, the writing, and our webstore at www.thegreyrange.comCheck it out and let us know what you think.We have shirts, hats, a few other cool things, and more stuff coming.A great way to support the podcast!“Momma’s Ghost” is a piece from my latest collection “Whiskey Painted Holocaust”, which is available in our webstore, as well as on Amazon. "Children of The New Unknown", my first collection, is still available on both platforms as well.You can find the podcast on social media as:Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcastInstagram - @greyrangepodcastX (Twitter) - @greyrangemediaThe Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts.Kelsey Pelletier can be reached through his website www.whitelightningmedia.caOn Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook: @whitelightningmediaFor weddings: @whitelightningeleganceKelsey Pelletier provides photography for the Northwestern Polytechnic Wolves, has done work for the City of Grande Prairie, Government of Alberta, and for private businesses here in the Peace Country.Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorichOn X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotgOr behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta.Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience!Come see.- DJR

The whole world is politics. It sucks, but it’s true. But I think there’s an antidote to the ragemob and the fear and loathing that permeates our brains, courtesy of the littlerage rectangle we so ubiquitously cling to these days.Put it down.Go outside.“Touch grass.” As the kids say.You don’t have to participate. Or, more accurately, you only have to participate as much as it benefits you. Once the discourse becomes unhealthy, or unproductive – you’re allowed to leave!We all could do with a little disconnection these days. The world is reeling with the first few months of President Donald Trump’s second term, and here in Canada, the government funded Mainstream Media is spinning up all kinds of terror and propaganda to drive voters to keep the Liberal Regime’s newest appointed leader in power as Prime Minister. It’s not a good time to be a news junkie. Or it’s the best time. You pick. Maybe it’s just no time for the faint of heart.Regardless, in Episode 31 of The Grey Range Podcast, my brave and intrepid co-host, Lucas Orich and I talk books, and gardening, and eventually, and somewhat exhaustively, politics. Are we just ranting, venting, and rambling on aboutthings we know nothing about? Probably. Is it entertaining and somewhat informative? You be the judge. We’re not experts, just two regular guys who have thoughts and opinions just like you. Feel free to share yours, in thecomments, online, or at the next family function. Remember, you are in control of how much you engage. It’s your time.“This is the internet. You can ask a smart question and still get a stupid answer. Life’s like that.”-As always, we hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did while making it.If you did enjoy it, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listenerslike you! Check out ourwebsite!The podcast, books, blog, and webstore are at www.thegreyrange.comCheck it out and let us know what you think!We have shirts, hats, a few other cool things, and more stuff coming.A great way to support the podcast! “It’s a Madhouse!” is a piece from my latest collection “Whiskey Painted Holocaust”, which is available in our webstore, as well as on Amazon. "Children of TheNew Unknown", my first collection, is still available on both platforms as well.You can find the podcast on social media as:Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcastInstagram - @greyrangepodcastX - @greyrangemediaThe Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox, and Apple Podcasts. Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorichOn X as @hobo_withashotgOr behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta.Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

How much do you value your principles? How willing are you to lose everything based on the weight of your convictions, or your morals? Easy questions to ask. Harder questions to answer. Over the past few years, we have all been asked to take stock and measure what it is we truly value. It has lead us to an uncertain crossroads within many our own lives, our families, our communities, and our nation. Where do we really stand in relation to our beliefs? Are we willing to sacrifice for them? How much? How far are we willing to go?I don’t pretend to have answers for all of this. One thing I do know is that there are braver and more courageous people than me that I have been fortunate enough to meet over years. Pte (T) Landon Mortenson is such a person.Landon Mortenson is Alberta born and Saskatchewan bred. Raised on his family’s ranch in Southern SK, he grew up with room to roam and a firm basis in Faith and Family. It was these values that instilled in him a desire to serve, and because he believed in what was right, “…fighting bullies…” in his words, he joined the Canadian Forces in his early 20’s.By his account, it was his dream job. He excelled and earned honor and recognition amongst his peers. While Canada’s combat role in the world scaled down, he got to share his time and training with some of Canada’s seasoned warfighters. Men who had served in combat in Afghanistan during the Global War on Terror. You can see in his demeanor and hear in his voice how much his time in meant to him.In recent years, the Canadian Forces have come under a lot of scrutiny over their leadership. With dwindling recruiting numbers, accusations of over-emphasis on DEI policies and catering to the individual rather than the organization, and chronic supply and logistical problems, Landon tells a story of seeing, at least in his eyes, the military that he grew to love, being to decline. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic.I’m going to stop here. I don’t think I can do justice to Landon’s words here. I suggest you listen to his story and his viewpoint and ask yourself how you might have reacted, and what kind of decision you may have made if faced with the same choice. I think we all would agree that it is indeed, in Landon’s words, “… a shame.”Landon Mortensen has no social media. He’s not looking for recognition, or chasing internet clout, or selling a book. He just wanted to tell his story and we are honored and grateful to have been able to give him the platform to do so.I have nothing but the highest respect and gratitude for his service, his trust, and his courage for speaking out.God Bless.(Also, “Son of Death” is such a badass surname.”-As always, we hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did while making it.If you did enjoy it, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you!Check out our website!You can now check out the podcast, the writing, and our webstore at www.thegreyrange.comWe have shirts, hats, a few other cool things, and more stuff coming.A great way to support the podcast!“Taking The Hill” is a piece from my latest collection “Whiskey Painted Holocaust”, which is available in our webstore, as well as on Amazon. "Children of The New Unknown", my first collection, is still available on both platforms as well.You can find the podcast on social media as:Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcastInstagram - @greyrangepodcastX (Twitter) - @greyrangemediaThe Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts.Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorichOn X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotgOr behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta.Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience!Come see.

There is a quote that has always stuck with me. It comes from a conversation between punk rock legend Iggy Pop and one of my favorite humans to ever exist, the late Anthony Bourdain (RIP), from Season 5, Episode 2 of his program on CNN “Parts Unknown”.“Curious is a good thing to be. Y’know. It seems to pay some interesting dividends.”(Check out a clip from the episode on someone’s iPad here: Anthony Bourdain Iggy Pop Miami Interview - YouTube )They don’t come any more curious that City of Grande Prairie Counsellor Chris Thiessen. I have known Chris for many years, and when he first ran for municipal government, I would be lying if I said that I was surprised. When he lost, ran again next election and won, I sure was. Chris is not the type of person that one would expect to jump into the dark waters of politics, at least, if you don’t know him well.Chris’ tall frame and wild, curly hair, paired with his bohemian fashion choices give you a hint to his early (and still current) passion as a music festival organizer. His interest in community involvement occurred organically. Growing from music events to not-for-profits, to eventually setting his eye on municipal government. His love for all things environment, peace, love, and social justice drove him when I met him all those years ago and still drive him today.So, what does someone like Chris learn from three terms on city council and have him running for a fourth term here in 2025? Through cutting his teeth as a new councillor and learning that it isn’t easy as it seems to be a change agent, to governing through a pandemic, to being on the receiving end of the rage mob and cancel culture due to his participation in the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, On in 2022, Chris has learned some hard lessons, but he still retains the one thing that got him to where he is now – curiosity.Iggy Pop was right. It does seem to pay some interesting dividends.Thank-you, Chris for taking the time to join us. We appreciate you for all you do.Let’s go get that fluoride out!-As always, we hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did while making it.If you did enjoy it, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you!We have a new website!You can now check out the podcast, the writing, and our webstore at www.thegreyrange.comCheck it out and let us know what you think.We have a webstore!We have shirts, hats, a few other cool things, and more stuff coming.A great way to support the podcast!“Daffodils” is a piece from my new collection “Whiskey Painted Holocaust”, which is available in our webstore, as well as on Amazon. "Children of The New Unknown", my first collection, is still available on both platforms as well.You can find the podcast on social media as:Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcastInstagram - @greyrangepodcastX (Twitter) - @greyrangemediaThe Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts.Chris Thiessen can be found through his Instagram: @chris_to_the_teeOn Facebook under: Chris ThiessenAnd on the City of Grande Prairie webstite: Home | City of Grande PrairieLucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorichOn X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotgOr behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta.Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience!Come see.- DJR

Some say that today’s youth are going to be feckless zombies programmed by AI algorithms and government and corporate propaganda. Plugged into the Virtual Reality, or Augmented Reality world, living off UBI and creating nothing of value. I think every generation thinks that the ones that come after them are lost and ineffectual. But is it true? In the case of 20-year-old entrepreneur, Charles Biegel, proprietor of Stewart Leather Goods, it sure isn’t.I first became aware of Charles while searching for a replacement belt for everyday use. About 15 year ago I had purchased a very nice leather belt from a leather smith out of Montana in the US, and it was about time to replace it. This time, I wanted something made in Alberta. Better yet, I wanted something local. After a few searches, I didn’t immediately find anything, so I moved on. Well, the social media algorithm remembered (it’s so convenient and not creepy at all how it does that.) After a few days, my social media feeds had dozens of leather products for sale, and one video that I saw on Instagram was from a young man right here in Grande Prairie, AB.The product is “The Man Belt”. A 1.75” wide piece of stiff bridle leather. I was impressed with the product, but I was equally impressed with the maker. The videos online were not your garden variety clips shot from a smartphone. There was real thought and intent behind them. I was curious about the person behind them, so I fired off my now boilerplate message asking Charles if he wanted to join us on the podcast, and here we are.Our conversation didn’t disappoint. From being one of 11 kids in his family, to playing faith based music in a band with his family (you can check out their music here: Four Seasons North - Biegel Family - YouTube ), to learning leathercrafting and e-commerce to launch his business, to aspirations of becoming an inventor, and possibly cracking the secret of “Free Energy” (check out the document “A Practical Guide to Free Energy” that we discussed here: A Practical Guide to ‘Free-Energy’ Devices ) Charles Biegel has a lot of runway ahead of him, and it seems like he intends to make the most of it. Kind of like the guy who made his own floating plastic island. (Check out that story here: https://youtu.be/El6AU3riRI8?si=0X7H62X3BuLeF1bl )-As always, we hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did while making it.If you did enjoy it, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you!We have a new website!You can now check out the podcast, the writing, and our webstore at www.thegreyrange.comCheck it out and let us know what you think.We have a webstore!We have shirts, hats, a few other cool things, and more stuff coming.A great way to support the podcast!“Plastic Islands” is a piece from my new collection “Whiskey Painted Holocaust”, which is available in our webstore, as well as on Amazon. "Children of The New Unknown", my first collection, is still available on both platforms as well.You can find the podcast on social media as:Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcastInstagram - @greyrangepodcastX (Twitter) - @greyrangemediaThe Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts.Charles Biegel can be found through his Instagram: @stewartleathergoodsOn Facebook under: @stewartleathergoodsAnd you can find “The Man Belt” on his store at: Stewart Leather - Mens Leather Belts - CanadaLucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorichOn X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotgOr behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta.Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience!Come see.- DJR

Well, 2025 has sure started off with a tailwind! By the time this episode airs, Donald Trump will have been the 47th President of the United States for a couple of weeks, The Canadian Liberal Party will be most of the way to choosing their new leader, and the rest of the world is likely trying to hang on by its fingernails as the big wheel spins faster and faster. I imagine it like an old school playground merry-go-round. If you were ever on one of those as a kid, then you know the trauma. In this episode, the World’s Greatest Co-Host, Lucas Orich, and I sit down and try to ring in the new year by attempting to make sense of the chaos. We discuss Technocracy, as written about by Canadian Conservative Member of Parliament, Leslyn Lewis in her Substack piece, The Historical Context Behind the Threat to Canadian Sovereignty which explores some of the older ideas of the North American Union and its links to Elon Musk. We also talk about a Ian Carroll’s 2025 “State of The World” post on IG, which I think sums up the start of 2025 quite nicely, even if it is a few weeks old by the time this podcast comes online. Check it out here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DE-zINvTJeU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== I might have to think about getting these out faster. The world is developing at breakneck speed, and it’s tough to keep up for a small show that does it all in house. Or maybe not. Fuck it. We’ll keep rolling. Welcome to 2025! - As always, we hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did while making it. If you did enjoy it, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! We have a new website! You can now check out the podcast, the writing, and our webstore at www.thegreyrange.com Check it out and let us know what you think. We have a webstore! We have shirts, hats, a few other cool things, and more stuff coming. A great way to support the podcast! “Angels for Lions” is a piece from my new collection “Whiskey Painted Holocaust”, which is available in our webstore, as well as on Amazon. "Children of The New Unknown", my first collection, is still available on both platforms as well. You can find us on social media as: Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcast Instagram - @greyrangepodcast X (Twitter) - @greyrangemedia The Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts. Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

What do you do when the world seems to push back at every effort you put forward? How do you reconcile your dreams, your plans, and your goals, when the very fabric of the reality you inhabit seems to resist your every move? How do you overcome the obstacles that seek to thwart your progress? Well, you don’t quit. No one knows the pressure of resistance quite like Mike Davison, owner of Barton’s Big Country and Barton’s Back Alley Range in Grande Prairie, AB. An avid shooter and firearms instructor with his friend and right hand man, (and my intrepid co-host) Lucas Orich, Mike joins us back on the podcast to discuss the most recent round of Order in Council firearm prohibitions, how the past 5 years of government attacks on the hunting and shooting industry has affected his life and business, and just what it takes to remain resilient in the face of seemingly insurmountable opposition. Of course, as always, our conversation veers wildly into strange and uncharted territory. We do our best to honor Mike’s mom and not curse, with only marginal success, but we do remember to remedy an unintentional omission from our last podcast with Mike and talk about his current wife and family, albeit briefly. (Hi Cynthia!) We had a blast recording our last podcast of 2024. Thank you for staying with us. We plan to bring even more great stories with great people in 2025. - As always, we hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did while making it. If you did enjoy it, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! We have a new website! You can now check out the podcast, the writing, and our webstore at www.thegreyrange.com Check it out and let us know what you think. We have a webstore! We have shirts, hats, a few other cool things, and more stuff coming. A great way to support the podcast! Mike Davison in on Instagram (@mikeybeanstalk) and can be reached at Barton’s Big Country in Grande Prairie, AB. Head on down and talk to him about all your hunting and shooting needs. No better way to secure your freedom than to exercise it. Barton’s Back Alley Range firearms training schedule for 2025 will be released soon on their website: www.bartonsbigcountry.ca They are on Instagram: @bartonsbigcountry and @bartonsbackalleyrange and Facebook under the same names. “Legendary” is a piece from my new collection “Whiskey Painted Holocaust”, which is available in our webstore, as well as on Amazon. "Children of The New Unknown", my first collection, is still available on both platforms as well. You can find the podcast on social media as: Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcast Instagram - @greyrangepodcast X (Twitter) - @greyrangemedia The Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts. Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

The world is an uncertain place. These days it seems even more so. We inhabit a strangely dystopian present, where we no longer so easily carry the blind trust in our institutions and our social fabric that we once did. Some of this can be attributed to the downstream effects of the COVID pandemic and the seemingly endless rollout of draconian statutes, crackdowns on free speech, and the knowledge that each of us now has about how fragile our society is. We are acutely aware how quickly neighbors can be turned against neighbors for fear of being targeted by the government, or the media, or the mob. So, what remedy exists for this malaise we find ourselves in? For many, the antidote to fear is knowledge, and rightly so. Since the beginning of human existence we have been seeking the warmth of the fire and the security of the group. Food, water, and shelter are necessities for human survival, but so is social contact. So is community. That’s where people like Ernie Doble step in. For some people, it’s not good enough to just want a solution. One of the core philosophies of the Old West is, “Do what has to be done.” And for some men, hearing the people that they care about express their fear and concern at the state of the world is a call to action. A duty to be fulfilled. Ernie Doble is no stranger to doing what must be done. He's a businessman who has run a successful engine repair shop here in the Peace Country for many years. But we were less interested in trucks and more interested in what first got him started with organizing courses that teach skills related to homesteading and preparedness. In this interview, Ernie tells us how they went from a group of local, like-minded people whose skillsets revolved around canning, butchering and preserving food, or firearms and physical security, to, reaching out to subject matter experts in bushcraft and wilderness survival, trapping, and other skills necessary to the preservation and protection of life to share their knowledge. As the demand for these types of courses grows and the community that gets built up around them expands, we were happy to sit down with Ernie and talk about his experiences with preparing for a “fallen world”, and what it all means to him. - As always, we thank you for spending your time with us, and we hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did enjoy it, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! We have a new website! You can now check out the podcast, the writing, and our webstore at www.thegreyrange.com Check it out and let us know what you think. We have a webstore! We have shirts, hats, a few other cool things, and more things coming. A great way to support the podcast! Ernie Doble is reachable through the “Community Homesteading and Preparedness” FB page. That’s the best place to learn about upcoming courses, instructors, or events in the Peace Country. Check them out at the link below: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556868401664 “A Trail West” is a piece from my new collection “Whiskey Painted Holocaust”, which is available in our webstore, as well as on Amazon. "Children of The New Unknown", my first collection, is still available on both platforms as well. You can find the podcast on social media as: Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcast Instagram - @greyrangepodcast X (Twitter) - @greyrangemedia The Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts. Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

"Black death negative..." That's how it starts. Those are the first 3 words in my new collection titled, "Whiskey Painted Holocaust". And what better way to dive into the new book than to line up 3 bottles of fine whiskey and bourbon and get 2 of my homeboys to join me in reading a few pieces while we get half in the bag. This collection of poems, stories, soliloquys and other oddities, is taken from work I produced in 2017. “Whiskey Painted Holocaust” is my sophomore effort at self-publishing a book. The first offering “Children of The New Unknown” was a learning experience, but this time I felt more like I was creating something I wanted to create, rather than casting ideas into the ether and seeing what returned. Writing has always produced strange benefits for me. As we discuss in the podcast, it is as much therapy as it is art. It is an exploration of the real-time sense of oneself. A chance to take a snapshot of the soul and an opportunity for a reckoning with who we really are. I am blessed beyond measure to have 2 friends like Kenton Osterlund and my co-host, Lucas Orich, to join me on what I can only described as an “ill-advised adventure”. After all, are there any scenarios in which getting drunk on camera and broadcasting it to the world is a good idea? I guess you’ll be the judge of that. We had a good time. - As always, we thank you for spending your time with us, and we hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did enjoy it, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! We have a new website! You can now check out the podcast, the writing, and our webstore at www.thegreyrange.com Check it out and let us know what you think. And there’s a webstore! We have shirts, hats, a few other cool things, and more things coming. A great way to support the podcast! Kenton Osterlund is on Instagram: @kentonandrew17 The pieces that Lucas, Kenton, and I read on this episode are the title piece, “Whiskey Painted Holocaust”, “Post Trans-Humanism”, “On Killing”, “The Dagger, The Yoke, and The Flail”, and “Poet”, are all available in my new collection “Whiskey Painted Holocaust”, which is available in our webstore, as well as on Amazon. "Children of The New Unknown", my first collection, is still available on both platforms as well. You can find the podcast on social media as: Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcast Instagram - @greyrangepodcast X (Twitter) - @greyrangemedia The Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts. Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

What does it mean to live a life full of adventure? What separates those who climb mountains, travel unnamed rivers, and leave the life they know behind to sail unknown seas, from those who seek the calm, secure comfort of hearth and home? Well, if anyone can give us a hint, it’s Ben Brochu of Hinterland Outdoors. Ben was born and raised here in the Peace Country of Northern Alberta, and from a young age he found his way into the vast wilderness, seeking the unknown spaces far from the paved roads and secure confines of what so many of us choose to call our reality. Over time, Ben has been a Pastor, a Wildlife Officer for the Municipality of Greenview, and most recently has ventured into outfitting, doing guided hunting and fishing trips out here in the Grande Prairie, AB area. His YouTube channel and social media accounts are full of his adventures in our beautiful wilderness areas, many successful hunts, and great stories. Is that all? Of course not. A few years ago, Ben and wife and 4 kids spent 5 months living aboard a sailboat down in the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. A journey they documented on the YouTube channel Hinterland Sailing. My wife and I have watched some of their adventures and they are great entertainment for the whole family. This was such a great conversation. Ben is soft spoken, but his knowledge of the Northern Alberta wilderness, wildlife ecology, and animal behavior, as well as his Faith and passion for the outdoor lifestyle, color his adventures and make me remember how blessed we are to live in such an amazing place. Don’t take it for granted. Get outside. Maybe go hunting. Maybe go with Ben. I can’t imagine a better guide. As always, we thank you for spending your time with us, and we hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did enjoy it, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! We have a new website! You can now check out the podcast, the writing, and our webstore at www.thegreyrange.com Check it out and let us know what you think. And there’s a webstore! Shirts, hats, a few other cool things, and more things coming. A great way to support the podcast! Ben Brochu can be reached through his Instagram account: @hinterland_outdoors And on Facebook under “Hinterland Outdoors”. I highly recommend checking out his YouTube channels here: Hinterland Outdoors - YouTube The piece I read on this episode, "Broken Comfort" is not available anywhere. However, my new collection “Whiskey Painted Holocaust”, is available in our webstore, as well as on Amazon. "Children of The New Unknown", my first collection, is still available as well. You can find the podcast on social media as: Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcast Instagram - @greyrangepodcast X (Twitter) - @greyrangemedia The Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts. Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

Do you own a pistol? If you answered, “No”, then I am sad for you. Sad, and a little disappointed. I’m especially sad if you live in Canada, where the sale and transfer of ownership of pistols and numerous types of rifles, shotguns, and other firearms was recently banned. But that’s a topic for another episode. (Actually, we rant about it on every episode. This one, too!) If you answered “Yes”, then guess what? First of all – You’re awesome. Second of all – You need a holster. A holster is to your pistol what a rifle sling is to your favorite hunting rifle. It’s your pistol’s home. Not your waistband, or your pocket, or (god forbid) locked in a safe for all eternity. Maybe you get a holster and take a training course from some guys I know? I dunno. Just sayin’. In Canada, the government does not exercise its ability (some would say, “duty.”) to approve Authorizations to Carry (ATC) outside of very specific circumstances, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a cool holster for your pistol. A cool, custom kydex holster, made locally from an honest tradesman and his savage and wonderful family. That’s where Preston Tourigny has stepped in to fill the need. Preston is the owner and craftsman behind Martial Controls, a Grande Prairie, AB based custom kydex holster and accessory business. Observing a need for high quality custom kydex gear in Northern Alberta, Preston applied his curiosity and ability to take on new challenges and learned to build kydex molds to create holsters, knife sheathes, and just about anything else your imagination can dream up. In this episode, we dive into the adventurous spirit that led Preston to Alberta from Vancouver Island, BC, take on a trade as an electrician, get married to a wild Alberta horse girl, start a family, and eventually, to start his custom holster business, “Martial Controls.” We had a great conversation that went deep into the best parts of life and living. We hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! Thank you for all your support! We have a new website! You can now check out the podcast, the writing, and our webstore at www.thegreyrange.com Check it out and let us know what you think. Preston Tourigny can be reached through his website www.martialcontrols.ca and through his company Instagram account: @martialcontrols The piece I read on this episode, "The Always Fading Light" is not available anywhere. However, my new collection “Whiskey Painted Holocaust is available in our webstore, as well as on Amazon. "Children of The New Unknown" is still available as well. You can find the podcast on social media as: Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcast Instagram - @greyrangepodcast X (Twitter) - @greyrangemedia The Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts. Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

Well, here goes another one. Lucas Orich and I are back for another fun episode of The Grey Range Podcast, where Lucas debriefs his experience at “The King of 2 Mile” long distance shooting competition. He fills us in on the highs and lows, gear used, lessons learned, and the overall experience of shooting his first ELR (Extreme Long Range) rifle shooting competition. As usual, we veer wildly off course and get into how these types of experiences shape our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. Oh, and we talk shit about Taylor Swift, which is either a new high, or a new low, depending on how you take it. We thought it was a good time. We hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! Thank you for all your support! We have a new website! You can now check out the podcast, the writing, and our upcoming webstore at www.thegreyrange.com Check it out and let us know what you think. The KO2M or “King of 2 Mile in Canada” is a long-distance shooting competition hosted by Rob Furlong’s Marksmanship Academy, who operates out of their home range in Southern Alberta. You can check out details of the competition and other offerings on their website. www.rfma.ca The piece I read on this episode, "Growing Season" is available in my collection, "Children of The New Unknown". If you want a copy, you can pick one up on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find the podcast on social media at: Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcast Instagram - @greyrangepodcast X (Twitter) - @greyrangemedia The Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts. Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

Hey, everybody. What is the point of struggle? Does God test us with pointless, horrible events in our lives, or is there truly a plan for us? In my life, I have learned that I wrestle with my own purpose and finding meaning in my life, not as a symptom of some illness that afflicts me, but because I think that struggle is built into our DNA. I think we are creatures designed for conflict with a universe that is fraught with challenges. Challenges we are uniquely equipped to understand and overcome. We are creatures created with glorious purpose, and to understand that purpose, we grapple with the problem that is existence itself. In this episode are honored to welcome a great friend of the podcast, Pastor Travis Hansen, back into the studio for another great conversation. Pastor Travis details some of the struggles that his church has faced in the last year, tests of Faith, and his experiences joining a mission trip to Myanmar, a country in the grips of a violent civil war, and how the struggle in his life has reinforced his belief that following in the path of Jesus Christ is our highest calling. We hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! Thank you for all your support! Pastor Travis Hansen can be found delivering the message of Jesus Christ and preaching God's Word every Sunday morning at Generations Church. Website: www.genchurch.ca IG: @genchurch We have a new website! You can now check out the podcast, my writing projects, and our upcoming webstore at www.thegreyrange.com Check it out and let us know what you think. The piece I read on this episode, "A Lighthearted Chat With an Angel" is available in my collection, "Children of The New Unknown". If you want a copy, you can pick one up on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find the podcast on social media as: Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcast Instagram - @greyrangepodcast X (Twitter) - @greyrangemedia The Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts. Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

Hello World. This planet is a savage and wonderful place. Somewhere, right now, someone is fighting for their survival against another human being, or group of human beings who wish to do them harm. The planet itself is against us. The Earth has been trying to eradicate humanity for a few hundred thousand years, but we persevere. What is the value of training and preparation? Does it pay the dividends that it purports to, and what role does it play in our society? Interesting questions for an interesting time. In this episode, Lucas and I weigh in on these questions, as well as the loaded topic (pun intended) of firearms ownership in Canada, firearms training, and our opinions and beliefs around civilian firearms ownership in general. I'm sure we got some things right and other things wrong and would love to hear about it in the comments! Also, if you would like to see more episodes like this one, let us know. We hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! Thank you for all your support! ((Oh! And stay tuned to the end of the episode for a sneak peek at something special!)) The piece I read on this episode, "Atrocity" is available in my collection, "Children of The New Unknown". If you want a copy, you can pick one up on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find the podcast on social media as: Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcast Instagram - @greyrangepodcast X (Twitter) - @greyrangemedia The Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts. Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

Hey everyone! Lucas and I are back in the studio for Episode 18 of The Grey Range Podcast, talking shit and drinking a couple cold Coors Banquets. In this episode we talk about a few things that are coming down the pike for the podcast, as well as catching up on our summer adventures. We touch on a few of the summer’s hot button issues, like the fire in Jasper, Alberta (my hometown), the Summer Olympics in Paris, the riots in the UK, the effects of uncontrolled immigration, and finally, a topic we actually know something about – shotguns. We hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! Thank you for all your support! The piece I read on this episode, "Old Lizard Man" is available in my collection, "Children of The New Unknown". If you want a copy, you can pick one up on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find the podcast on social media as: Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcast Instagram - @greyrangepodcast X (Twitter) - @greyrangemedia The Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Castbox and Apple Podcasts. Lucas Orich can be found on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Lucas is Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering high quality firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

You don’t have to look too hard to see that there’s something wrong with the world. Tent cities and hopeless addicts have become part of the urban landscape in every North American city, but I think we all share the uncomfortable knowledge that it goes deeper than that. Few people these days need to look very far from themselves to encounter addiction, or mental health issues. None of us need strain the limits of our imagination to find some kind of trauma, or distress, or fear inside of our own lives that we would like an escape from. Sometimes we get lost in our escape and we can’t find our way back. We become the unmoored ships, floating between dark alleys and roadside easements, city parks, and shelters. Society ignores us like ghosts, because we reflect the reality in which they, too, exist. The part of each of us that we do our best to ignore. The part we run away from. To the bottle, to the needle, to the pipe, to the grave. But there is hope. Real hope. There are people like Mel Siggelkow and the staff at Rising Above Ministry, who have taken on the mission of not only helping the homeless and the addicted find a way out from the depths of their despair, but to restore them to their lives, broken, but healing, and one day, whole again. Mel Siggelkow is a Executive Director of Rising Above Ministry, a faith-based addiction center here is Grande Prairie, AB. Mel and his family moved to the Peace County, originally so that Mel might take on the responsibilities of traditional pastoral ministry, but as their church grew, they soon found that their own destiny was intertwined with that of the local itinerant community. From this, Rising Above Ministry was created to serve the homeless and the addicted, not just to get them a bed, or get them sober, but to restore their dignity, offer hope, and recovery into a new and productive life. Rising Above is doing great work. May God bless them, and those like them. Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. The Book of James. Verse 1:27 BSB We hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did, please like, subscribe, or leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! Thank you for all your support! "Mel Siggelkow began Rising Above in 2007 as a ministry through the Church he was pastoring in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Mel and his wife Liz have been married for over 30 years and have raised three amazing kids. Both Mel and Liz were raised in strong Christian families and were modeled a lifestyle of compassion. Those seeds have grown and the passion to help people is what keeps them so engaged with a ministry like Rising Above." If you, or someone you love is in need of treatment, or addictions counselling, or if you wish to donate or provide support to their programs, you can reach Rising Above through their website at: Rising Above Ministries - Welcome (risingabovegp.com) They are also on Facebook and Instagram at: @risingabovegp The piece I read on this episode, "Fireflies" is available in my collection, "Children of The New Unknown". If you want a copy, you can pick one up on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find the podcast on social media as: Facebook - @thegreyrangepodcast Instagram - @greyrangepodcast X (Twitter) - @greyrangemedia The Grey Range Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. My stalwart co-host, Lucas Orich, is on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or he can be found behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

How important is it that we are connected digitally? Do the fiber optic cables that run into our homes, the cellular tower networks, and the fields of energy that carry our data entwine with our lives in ways we haven’t yet started to understand? Have these technological connections woven their way into our social, cultural, and commercial lives so intrinsically now that we might not recognize the world we inhabit without them? With the advent of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, is how we view the world and interact with it changing? If you ask Jeremy Durand, owner and operator of Creativibe, a Grande Prairie, AB based digital marketing and solutions company his opinion, the answer would be a firm, “Yes.” Or should I say, “Oui.” Jeremy Durand immigrated to Canada from France 7 years ago, following the call of adventure. He landed in Vancouver, BC and after a few years of working warehouse jobs, he met the woman he would come to marry, and they decided that a change of venue was in order. They chose to relocate to Grande Prairie, AB and to hear Jeremy tell it, (who, I might add, has fantastic English for only speaking it for such a short time) it was a change of culture and values that he and his new wife were looking for that brought them across the Rocky Mountains to the Peace County. A desire to experience a change of pace from the urban rat-race. A place where people still held on to such things as respect and hard work. Jeremy’s company, Creativibe offers web-based solutions for businesses, such as website building and development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and graphic design, among other things. What I found intriguing is that this pursuit is not Jeremy’s vocation scholastically, or formally –his abilities with websites and e-business are self-taught. Seems to be becoming something of a theme here on The Grey Range. Self-made people. We hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did, please like, subscribe, or leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! Thank you for all your support! Jeremy Durand can be contacted through his website: www.creativibe.ca Creativibe is also on Facebook and on Instagram as @creativibe_gp The podcast will be retaining Jeremy’s services for the rollout of our new website, so you’ll get to see his handiwork first hand, but I highly recommend you head over to his website and check out his work. He is a truly gifted professional. The piece I read on this episode, "Solitary Disconnect" is available in my collection, "Children of The New Unknown". If you want a copy, you can pick one up on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. My stalwart co-host, Lucas Orich, is on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or he can be found behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

Self-made people intrigue us. Individuals who aren’t hemmed in by the gates and fences of the world, who indulge their seemingly insatiable curiosity to whatever ends may come, inspire us. The type of people who see possibilities and potential where others see barriers and obstacles are the kind of people whom we tend to want to imitate and follow. They’re generally positive people. Quick to laugh, and fun to be around, while not being too enamored with either themselves, or anyone else. To them, curiosity and discovery is their own reward. On this episode of The Grey Range, we are fortunate to sit down with Josh Pøpøvitch, a young man from Fairview, AB who makes his living in construction, but spends the rest of his time creating useful and beautiful pieces from steel, wood, leather, and bone. In addition to doing custom knives, steelwork, leatherwork, furniture, and some light taxidermy for his company, Spartan Industries, Josh is also the creator behind the “this_tactical_redneck” Instagram channel, where he showcases his creations, his love of the western lifestyle, fitness, and the ever present “Sunday Gunday” posts. Thank you, Josh for coming into the studio! We had a great time!   We hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did, please like, subscribe, or leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you!   Thank you for all your support! Josh Pøpøvitch can be found on Instagram at @this_tactical_redneck. Be sure to check it out every Sunday for the ever present #SundayGunday posts, where Josh and his friends let freedom ring with all kinds of cool firearms. Josh is also the proprietor of Spartan Industries out of Fairview, AB. He does custom knives, metal work, leather work, furniture, taxidermy, and just about anything else you can imagine. Spartan Industries can be found on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/spartan_industries_?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==   The piece I read on this episode, "Assholes and Cockroaches" is available in my collection, "Children of The New Unknown". It’s available on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. My stalwart co-host, Lucas Orich, is on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or he can be found behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience!     Come see.   - DJR

There have been a few unexpected takeaways since I started doing “The Grey Range Podcast.” Maybe it’s the hours of editing footage and watching cuts over and over, but it has occurred to me that one of the biggest things that I have gained out of this whole exercise is an appreciation for the trust that our guests put in me to take care of their story. When someone comes in and sits down in the studio, I don’t think they know what they’re going to say, but once the conversation is over and the cameras are off, whatever story they have told is left with me, and I have found this to be a very profound honor. To be able to give people a platform to tell their story seems kind of important. Something almost essential to our human experience. On this episode, we had the great privilege to have in the studio, none of there than my good friend and co-host, Lucas Orich’s father, Ken Orich. Ken spent his lifelong career working for Alberta Forestry, with the bulk of that time spent fighting wildfires in Northern Alberta. Ken is a thoughtful and intelligent man, and this conversation was just a short glimpse into his life, his experiences, and his passions. We cover his early life in Lethbridge, his time in the Crowsnest Pass, and some harrowing experiences involving fire and helicopters, just to name a few. To have both father and son able to relate some of their lives and what they have shared together is truly why I started this podcast. It was enlightening and heartfelt time that I am honored to have had the opportunity to host. Thank you, both. We hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did, please like, subscribe, or leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! Thank you for all your support! Ken Orich retired from the Alberta Forestry is 2008, and spends a great deal of his time volunteering for the Helen Schuler Nature Center in Lethbridge, AB. You can check them out at the link below. Birding Walks with Ken Orich | Helen Schuler Nature Centre (lethbridge.ca) The piece I read on this episode, "Eyes That See in Color" is available in my collection, "Children of The New Unknown". It’s available on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. My stalwart co-host, and eldest son of our guest, Ken Orich, Lucas Orich, is on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or he can be found behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

Everyone has a path, and not all paths are clear and evident when one first starts down it. Such is the life of our most recent guest, Dustin Goodheart. Dustin has been a friend of mine since high school, and as it is with most folks, you drift apart and lose touch over time. But when we reconnected a few years ago, the place Dustin ended up intrigued me, so I wanted to have him on to tell his story. From being raised all over Northern Alberta, to finding his own little slice of Heaven up in the Peace Country, in this episode we talk about where food comes from, raising livestock and still only eating elk, life in the country and the predators that come with the territory, parenting, marriage, chute-dogging (google it), and yes, we even talk about otters! I was very happy to be able to have this conversation with an old friend and I am humbled and grateful that he chose to come in and share some of his life with us. I think that everyone holds some wisdom, something they’ve figured out that no one else has yet, or at the very least a perspective that gives us all a new way to look at life. We hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did, please like, subscribe, or leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you! Thank you for all your support! The piece I read on this episode, "A Smile on A Good Day" is available in the collection, "Children of The New Unknown". It’s available at www.hokusgrey.com or on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. Dustin Goodheart is on IG: @bigdaddydustpan My stalwart co-host, Lucas Orich is on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or he can be found behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! We are also on YouTube and Apple Podcasts! YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thegreyrange?si=-PoI5tGOlvH8vkFR Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-grey-range-podcast/id1733943480 Come see. - DJR

Guess who’s back? Stand up comedian and friend of the podcast, Ben Bauce, becomes our first ever 2-time guest on the podcast. The first time around we were running on limited time, so when Ben came back through town for another headlining spot at the Great Northern Casino, we got up early and recorded an 08:00am podcast to make sure we had enough time to get a good conversation in. And we did! Ben is a very funny dude. He balances his professional career in construction with his duties as a single dad, all while pursuing the art of making people laugh. He’s come a long way in his career, and he just keeps getting funnier. On this episode Ben shares his experiences in the comedy and entertainment industry in Canada, the hard work and dedication that it takes to make it in life, and his advice to anyone trying to chase their dreams. Thanks for coming on again, Ben! Keep killing ‘em in the clubs! Ben Bauce lives in Calgary, AB, but travels all over Western Canada, filling bars and clubs with people and trying to help them forget how much the world can suck for a little while.   You can find Ben on all the socials: Instagram: @ibelikeabauce Facebook: Benjamin Bauce X (Twitter): @BennyBauce   We hope you find this episode as much fun to watch and listen to as we did making it. If you did, please like, subscribe, or leave a comment. That kind of thing really helps us grow. This podcast doesn’t exist without viewers and listeners like you!   Thank you for all your support!     The piece I read on this episode, "The Comedian" is available in my collection, "Children of The New Unknown". It’s available on my website at www.hokusgrey.com or on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. My stalwart co-host, Lucas Orich is on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or he can be found behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch firearms training and experience!     Come see.   - DJR

There are some who would say that human beings have become lesser of a species over time. That we have become weaker, dumber, less articulate. Those people have never met Laine Ingalls. In this episode, Lucas Orich and I are joined by Laine Ingalls, owner of Heiho Dojo here in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Initially, Laine cuts an imposing figure. In another time, I’m sure he would be at home on some ancient battlefield, swinging a battle axe and conquering lands and armies. But it doesn’t take long to learn that his stature belies a warm smile, a sharp mind, and a fiery enthusiasm for what he cares for. What does he care for? Fighting. From his beginnings as a young boy watching 80’s marital arts flicks with his older brother, to training and competing in shady fight promotions in British Columbia, Canada, to returning home to Alberta to open his own school, and the lessons he has learned through the years, Laine was good enough to take the time to share with us some stories from his life. Some big wins, big defeats, and lots of laughter. This was such a fun conversation to have, and we hope you enjoy viewing and listening to this podcast as much as we did making it. If you do, please Like and Subscribe! Laine Ingalls can be found on social media apps under @heihodojo and on their website: www.heihodojo.ca The school is located at 10015 100 Avenue, Grande Prairie, Alberta‎. I highly recommend you pay them a visit and see what they’re doing there. You won’t regret it. The piece I read on this episode, "Play" is available in my collection, "Children of The New Unknown". You can find it on my website at www.hokusgrey.com or on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. You can find Lucas Orich on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top-notch training and experience! Come see. - DJR

Who drops their "Year in Review" episode in mid-February? Well, people who work in the Alberta energy industry for one. Okay, that's a cheap cop out. Time is precious and time management is something I'm going to be working on in 2024, as my co-host and most awesome homeboy, Lucas Orich and I discuss in this wrap up to 2023 episode. We are so very grateful for all our guests, all our subscribers, watchers, listeners, and everyone who had given us the encouragement to keep on going in this endeavor. What started out as an experiment on whether we could hold a coherent conversation, tell some stories, and most importantly, get other people who are way more interesting than us to tell theirs, has been a success thanks to all of you. A few corrections from this episode before people climb into the comments and disembowel us for our errors: - "Freedom of Speech - Just Watch What You Say" was an an album released in 1989 by rapper Ice-T, who has always been an inspiring figure in my writing since a very young age. Check out the song "Freedom of Speech" here: https://youtu.be/mAlomEBNomA?si=bt-kOKpUyiX2Tr3S - "One Day After" is the sequel to the bestselling novel "One Second After", written by William Forstchen, not "Forsythe". My apologies to the author and a huge "Thank you!" for writing such compelling content and characters who are struggling to survive in a post EMP apocalypse world." Check out his books here: https://us.macmillan.com/author/williamrforstchen - More Ice-T content? Yes! With Slayer! From the soundtrack to the movie "Judgement Night" circa 1993, the song "Disorder" is fucking thrash gold! Ice-T's lyrics were always topical, speaking to broad themes. Say what you want about the man, he is the OG in my humble opinion. Listen to this absolute banger here: https://youtu.be/kbKcL7q8RJU?si=hlKA2kj5As1oLwzz We hope you enjoy viewing and listening to this podcast as much as we did making it. If you do, please Like and Subscribe! The piece I read on this episode, "Push" is available in my collection "Children of The New Unknown". You can find it on my website at www.hokusgrey.com or on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. You can find Lucas Orich on IG as @lucasorich, on X (Twitter) as @hobo_withashotg, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. Hit them up and get some top notch training and experience! We have so much more coming in 2024. Come see. - DJR

In this world, there are all kinds of people. Most live in pursuit of some form of relative safety and comfort, slowly building on past successes and trying not to mess things up too bad. Then there are the outliers, those who look at their lives and see their place in the world and think, “Why?” Rare individuals who see problems as opportunities, who never rest on their personal achievements, and who forsake the safety of the tribe for the potential to uncover the treasures of the unknown. In this episode, Lucas and I sit down with our mutual friend, and Lucas’ boss, Mike Davison. Mike is the owner of Barton’s Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. But he wasn’t always an entrepreneur, or a top-notch gun seller. His story is analogous to so many who came to Alberta to seek out a better life, and instead found heartbreak, hardship, and trouble they never bargained for. Mike was generous enough to share his story of loss, redemption, success, and how he abandoned the lucrative Alberta oil and gas industry to chase a dream that has become reality. As always, we hope you enjoy watching, or listening to this episode as much as we did making it. This episode was recorded on December, 17th 2023, but due to work schedules, the Christmas holidays, and in no small part, my own struggles with time management, it took a while to get produced. But here it is and I think it is an episode that holds a few lessons for anyone who is chasing their dreams. If you like the channel and the content we’re producing, please Like and Subscribe, and leave us a comment. The piece I read on this episode, "High Flyers and Deep Divers" is available in my collection "Children of The New Unknown". You can find it on my website at www.hokusgrey.com or on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. You can find Lucas Orich on IG as @lucasorich, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. As above, Mike Davison is the owner of Barton's Big Country, a hunting and outdoors store in Grande Prairie, Ab, He can usually be found at the store, leading Lucas and the rest of the team in their mission to provide top notch products and services to their customers. If you’re in the Grande Prairie area, stop in and say “Hi” to the folks there. You won’t regret it. Mike is on IG at @bartonsbigcountry and @bartonsbackallyrange As always, thank you for your time. Be safe. Be blessed. Much love! -DJR Come see.

Sometimes in life, you meet a truly unique individual. They are someone who sees the world a little clearer than most. Their mind seems to grasp ideas in their fullness, and their curiosity and drive to understand knows no bounds. Steve “Stevo” Fitchie is such an individual, and we are happy to have had him in the studio for a conversation about competitive shooting, guns, politics in Canada, his career in air transport, and whether he has ever seen a UFO. Stevo is the “Godfather” of 3-Gun in Northern Alberta. Founder and often times Match Director of the Mighty Peace 3-Gun League (MP3G) that hosts competitive shooting events in Peace River, AB throughout the year. Every October, the league hosts a multi-day team-based shooting competition that has become legendary in the area for stage set up, fun times, cold weather, and warm community. Check out the Mighty Peace 3-Gun League on their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/362510597287451/ We hope you enjoy viewing and listening to this podcast as much as we did making it. If you do, please Like and Subscribe! The piece I read on this episode, "There’s Gonna Be a Hot Time" is available in my collection "Children of The New Unknown". You can find it on my website at www.hokusgrey.com or on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. There is a Patreon page if you wish to support the podcast at the link below. Any help you can give will go towards improving our production and facilitating future episodes. https://patreon.com/user?u=35368058&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link You can find Lucas Orich on IG as @lucasorich, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. Come see.

Well, this one was almost a “lost episode.” Time constraints, bad memory cards, sloppy camera positioning, all contributed to making this the most challenging episode to produce so far, but we persevered, and we are happy to bring to you our funniest episode yet! Ben Bauce spends his daylight hours in construction, but for the last 7 years he has spent his nights perfecting his hand at yet another trade, stand-up comedy. And he’s good. Hilarious. On a recent gig at the Great Northern Casino, Ben was hosting “Kokanee Comedy Night”, and had some time to stop in and share his story about how he got started in stand-up and get us laughing in the studio. Due to a scheduling conflict on my end, we had to cut the recording short, so Ben offered to send me some of his recent material, and dude… I died at least twice. So happy to see a good friend making a go at chasing a dream. There’s a lesson here about how struggle can sometimes bring out our true desires and make us face ourselves as we are. If we can silence the noise, and listen carefully, sometimes we can hear the call of our lives down some unknown path that changes who we are forever. Sometimes, that noise is laughter. Thanks, Ben, for coming on and sharing your story, and for making us laugh. Can’t wait to do it again.   For all our viewers, listeners, and new subscribers, you’re gonna love this one. Come see.   We hope you enjoy viewing and listening to this podcast as much as we did making it. If you do, please Like and Subscribe!   Ben Bauce lives in Calgary, AB, but travels all over Western Canada filling bars and clubs with people and trying to make them forget how much the world sucks for a little while. You can find Ben on his Instagram: @ibelikeabauce Facebook: Benjamin Bauce X (Twitter): @BennyBauce The piece I read on this episode, "It’s Funny When We Fall" is available in my collection "Children of The New Unknown". You can find it on my website at www.hokusgrey.com or on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. There is a Patreon page if you wish to support the podcast at the link below. Any help you can give will go towards improving our production and facilitating future episodes. https://patreon.com/user?u=35368058&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link   You can find Lucas Orich on IG as @lucasorich, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training.   Thanks for reading, watching, liking, subscribing, and just for being you. You’re awesome! Tell us what you think in the comments. We’d love to hear your feedback.   Be safe. Be Blessed.   Much Love! -DJR

Life is strange. If you get off the couch and start poking around the edges of this crazy world, you can uncover some wonderful surprises and some truly life changing experiences. Every once in a while, if you’re lucky, dumb, or brave enough, you’ll encounter a rare creature. The kind you didn’t know still existed in the real world. Earl Green is one of those rare creatures, in a country where his kind are getting harder and harder to come by. Earl is the owner/operator of Phase Line Green Tactical, a company that offers firearms training to the civilian and LEO market here in Canada. That’s how I met him, many years ago, and how we forged a friendship over time spent on the range, and during long conversations after training, over a steak and a few cold beers. Some of the best conversations I’ve been lucky to have in my life. We were fortunate enough to catch Earl while he was in our neck of the woods offering some training, and he was kind enough to find time in his busy schedule to come and have a conversation with us about his life, his experiences as an LEO, and how he came to find himself in northern Alberta, teaching a bunch of good folks how to safely and effectively handle firearms. As you’ll learn from this podcast, Earl is a fountain of knowledge. He’s a good man and a great teacher. If you’re interested in learning more about firearms safety, shooting, or security, you won’t do much better than to attend one of Phase Line Green’s courses. This was a great conversation. Again, one I count myself fortunate enough to have had. Glad we could share it with you. Thanks again, Earl. Can’t wait to do it again! We hope you enjoy viewing and listening to this podcast as much as we did making it. If you do, please Like and Subscribe! The piece I read on this episode, "Love Can Hold a Gun" is available in my collection "Children of The New Unknown". You can find it on my website at www.hokusgrey.com or on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. There is a Patreon page if you wish to support the podcast at the link below. Any help you can give will go towards improving our production and facilitating future episodes. https://patreon.com/user?u=35368058&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link You can find Lucas Orich on IG as @lucasorich, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. You can contact Earl through his website: Phase Line Green Tactical On IG: @phaselinegreen On FB: Phase Line Green Tactical From the Phase Line Green website: “Earl is a certified use of force and firearms trainer who has received training from prestigious schools across the US and Canada. He has attended training with Sigarms, H&K, Monadnock, ASP, the Ontario Police College and various private firms and he was fortunate to be selected as an adjunct instructor for the Sigarms Academy and he also the only Canadian instructor certified by or Larry Vickers in the Vickers’ Shooting Method. He is a former member of one of Canada’s largest police services, where he served 13 years in a variety of policing roles. His service included uniform patrol, uniform supervision, use of force and firearms training, tactical training, tactical operations, specialized training development and delivery, executive protection and criminal investigations. He was highly involved in the testing and evaluation of various firearms, equipment and munitions for his service and he participated in the development of regular and specialized training. Earl Green left policing to embark on new opportunities in nuclear protection and, in that capacity; he served as a nuclear response team sergeant, firearms/tactical trainer and equipment T&E specialist. Earl Green has been instructing for 18 years...”

A life of service to one’s country is a noble thing. Perhaps, the noblest of pursuits by many accounts. On this episode, our good friend, Jay Lajoie, joins me and my Officially Unofficial (…now Official!) co-host, Lucas Orich, to discuss his 25-year career in the Army with the Canadian Armed Forces, from which he retired with the rank of Sergeant. Jay shares how he started out in the military, his multiple deployments around the world, family life in the military, his time as a Service Rifle competitor for the Canadian Army and transitioning to civilian living after a lifetime of service. Oh, and did I mention he’s a writer? Well, of course he is! Jay has multiple articles published in The Havok Journal, an online publication highlighting the stories of veterans from the US, and Canada. Jay is a humble and soft-spoken veteran. A quintessential “quiet professional” and we were honored to have him join us to tell his story. Thank you, Sarge! We hope you enjoy viewing and listening to this podcast as much as we did making it. If you do, please Like and Subscribe! The piece I read on this episode, "One and one" is available in my collection "Children of The New Unknown". You can find it on my website at www.hokusgrey.com or on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. There is a Patreon page if you wish to support the podcast at the link below. Any help you can give will go towards improving our production and facilitating future episodes. https://patreon.com/user?u=35368058&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link You can find Lucas Orich on IG as @lucasorich, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. You can read Jay’s articles that have been published in the Havoc Journal at the link below. Trust me, they are worth your time. Jay Lajoie • The Havok Journal Come see.

Kenton Osterlund is not only a good friend, he's an aspiring hunter, who has struck out on his own to learn the craft of harvesting big game up here in Northern Alberta. On this episode of The Grey Range Podcast, Kenton joins my Officially-Unofficial co-host, Lucas Orich and I and regales us with the tale of how he recently took his first bull elk... with a little help. A classic hunting story. I hope you enjoy this episode. If so, please Like and Subscribe. The piece I read on this episode "Traveler Ensnared" is available in my collection "Children of The New Unknown". You can find it on my website at www.hokusgrey.com or on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. There is a Patreon page if you wish to support the podcast at the link below. Any help you can give will go towards improving our production and facilitating future episodes. https://patreon.com/user?u=35368058&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link You can find Lucas Orich on IG as @lucasorich, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. Kenton Osterlund is on IG @kentonandrew17. Here's to many more safe and successful hunts. Come see.

On this episode, I had the pleasure to sit down with my officially unofficial co-host, Lucas Orich, and Pastor Travis Hansen of Generations Church here in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Pastor Travis shared with us some stories from his upbringing, his Faith, and how he and his wife decided to stand up their own church. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about life, God, and all the good things that one would expect when speaking to a preacher, and maybe a few we didn’t. We were on our best behavior. We didn't drink or swear... much. Haha! I hope you enjoy this episode. If so, please Like and Subscribe. The piece I read on this episode "Forever Sea/Cleaning Beaches" is available in my collection "Children of The New Unknown". You can find it on my website at www.hokusgrey.com or on Amazon. https://a.co/d/bm6e0YC You can find me on social media under @hokusgrey on IG, Twitter (X), and FB. There is a Patreon page if you wish to support the podcast at the link below. Any help you can give will go towards improving our production and facilitating future episodes. https://patreon.com/user?u=35368058&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link You can find Lucas Orich on IG as @lucasorich, or behind the gun counter at Barton's Big Country in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is also Training Director for Barton's Back Alley Range, offering firearms courses and safety training. Pastor Travis Hansen can be found delivering the message of Jesus Christ and preaching God's Word every Sunday morning at Generations Church. Website: www.genchurch.ca IG: @genchurch   Come see.

We're back from a summer break. Getting things rolling again with The Grey Range Podcast. My officially unofficial co-host Lucas Orich turns the tables on me and interviews yours truly for this episode. We went deep. Stories from my life, questions about AI, Aliens, politics, we went all over the map on this one. I hope you enjoy it. There are more episodes in the works. More interviews with folks from the Peace Country and Alberta at large. Thank you for your joining us on this journey. Come see. The poem "Lynch Pin" available in my collection "Children of The New Unknown". You can pick up a copy at: www.hokusgrey.com, or on Amazon. My social media, X, IG, and FB is  @HokusGrey  Lucas on IG: @lucasorich and @bartonsbackalleyrange

This is the first, sort of "Pilot" episode of my new podcast, "The Grey Range Podcast." I was fortunate to have Lucas Orich, a good friend of mine, stop in and be my first interview. This video recording/editing was all done in house, by me, so it's rough, but it's the beginning of what I hope will grow to be something beautiful and beneficial. In this episode, I read the poem "Fuck the Doomed" from my first poetry collection, "Children of the New Unknown" that I published last year. If you would like to pick up a copy, you can buy signed copies on my website, or on Amazon. Website: www.hokusgrey.com Amazon: https://a.co/d/gzJ4TMv This episode was recorded in October, 2022. No, we did not coordinate our choice of shirts prior to recording, we just both have impeccable taste. Be safe. Be Blessed. Much Love. - DJR

In this first full episode of The Grey Range Podcast, I welcome back Lucas Orich for a conversation with our mutual friend, martial arts instructor, and firearms instructor, Mike Rak. Mike is a very interesting dude, who, as a civilian, has pursued a unique pathway of martial training throughout his life, and has spent a great deal of that time passing it on to others. I am still learning the podcast game. Working with cameras, cutting, editing, and all that comes with it is a heck of a learning curve. Thank you for your time. Be Safe. Be Blessed. - DJR LINKS: - My Website: www.hokusgrey.com - "Children of The New Unknown" - A Collection: https://a.co/d/aSnGlcu - Lucas Orich's IG: @lucasorich - Mike Rak's YouTube Channel: @nstscanada2103