The Beginning of Beyond: An Interview

Arrival & Backstory (Idaho off-grid move)

• The hosts finally reach Idaho at the Ambition Strikes property they recently purchased after a ~30-hour road trip from Arizona.
• The drive was rough: heavy rain/downpours for about 25 of the 30 hours.
• They’re currently living in Arizona while John works there and the kids are based there; they’re trying to relocate up to Idaho as time allows.
• They describe their Idaho property as a “starter” off-grid setup: an existing small house/apartment, plus infrastructure needs and lots of planned improvements.

Off-grid “It Works” Highlights (Comfort + Utilities)

Even though the property is off-grid, it’s already functional:

• Electric power is strong, with AC, lights, showers, hot water, and laundry running without issues.
• Septic works well.
• Water system transition: they’ve installed a temporary/permanent setup to move water from a shallow well to a cistern.
• Long-term water upgrades are planned later, including a gravity-fed system (described below).

Immediate Priorities & Construction Plans

They’ve got a lot to handle right away:

• Cleaning, unpacking, and buying essentials such as:
  • dishes/silverware
  • soaps, detergents
  • cleaning supplies
• For now, they’re only visiting about 7 days per month, but they plan to increase that.
• A major goal is building a bigger home because:
  • the current apartment is great, but they have “two babies” and a puppy
• They want to preserve the off-grid homestead look/feel established by Ambition Strikes, while adding upgrades and additions.

Water + Solar System Details (Future Setup)

For the main house/gravity plan:

• Water will be pulled from a pond up on a hill, then gravity-fed down about a 100 ft elevation drop.
• Process steps mentioned:
  1. Pond water → sediment filter → cistern
  2. Cistern → triple filter → UV light

Solar plan:

• Install about 6,000 W of solar panels on a ground-mounted array
• They considered a container-style array, but found it too ambitious.

Additional notes:

• They mention having underground plumbing.
• Filling the cistern can be mostly automated by turning on power.

Travel / Gear Hauling & Equipment Stories (Logistics Reality)

They’re bringing major off-grid supplies and vehicles:

• They bought a 1993 21-ft box truck in Arizona (low miles, no rust) and transported equipment including solar components.
• They worked with Santan Solar and collected:
  • 20,000 W of solar panels (not all used immediately at this location)
  • inverters and other tools/materials for the build

Equipment challenges and repairs:

• A used excavator was shipped in. It couldn’t be transported easily up their steep road, so it was dropped at the end and then driven/crawled up.
• They planned to pick up a dump truck, but it needed major work:
  • fuel tank leaks/old rust issues required a new fuel tank
  • the repair timeline was affected by trip scheduling
• A later trip nearly ended badly when a hydraulic line broke in Montana. They got help from a nearby farm/backhoe owner to remove the downed snow plow safely.

Lifestyle, Routine, and “Off-grid Comfort”

What daily life looks like during visits:

• They can run AC, keep doors open, and manage off-grid comfort effectively.
• They’ve been doing lots of laundry, and maintaining routines like showers and hot water use.

Work-life reality:

• John jokes that YouTube may not replace income immediately—he’s not trying to over-promise schedules.
• They aim to post about two videos per month, with weekly posting discussed but tempered to avoid under-delivering.

Idaho Impressions (Culture + Environment)

Idaho is described as:

• Peaceful, very “back in time”, and scenic.
• People are extremely friendly.
• Weather feels mild overall:
  • nights around the 50s°F
  • days possibly mid-80s°F
• There’s some anxiety about deep winter, especially December–January.

A memorable local interaction:

• They highlight a lady at the dump who gets excited when they bring trash—she became a favorite local character.

Coffee / Product Mention (Ambition Strikes Branding)

• They discuss Ambition Strikes coffee:
  • they subscribe and receive multiple bags monthly
  • the grinder is a “new” setup, and they mention switching to grinding their own beans
• They encourage viewers to try the coffee.

Community Interaction

• They ask viewers to share ideas for:
  • property additions
  • landscaping/decor choices that keep the off-grid/homestead vibe
• They mention responding to comments during downtime while waiting for work.

---

Notable Locations, Products, and People Mentioned

Locations

• Idaho (Ambition Strikes property; Northern Idaho area)
• Arizona (where they currently live while John works)
• Philadelphia area, Pennsylvania (John’s upbringing)
• Southern California (Courtney’s move back at 18)
• Montana (trip where the hydraulic line broke)
• Utah (truck repair reference: “Doyles in Utah”)

Property / Brands

• Ambition Strikes property (and Ambition Strikes as the core off-grid community reference)
• Santan Solar (supplier for solar equipment)

People

• Riley and Courtney (hosts/owners who sold the property; Ambition Strikes creators)
• John (speaker/interviewee; works out of Arizona)
• Courtney (speaker/interviewee; works from computer/flight planning background)
• Mentions of “Harold” and other family references (mostly anecdotal/jokes, not formal speakers)