All posts by scottmcnamara

Scott is an offroad, vegan blogger from the Portland, Oregon area. He also started the Vegan Gun Club, and owns a wedding photography business.

My Manifesto on Gun Control

Like a broken record, it has happened again.  And, like a broken record, legal gun owners must mix defensiveness with their mourning for the victims.  And, I am pretty sure it will happen again.

Perhaps the one potentially positive outcome from these shootings, is that the national consciousness comes together for a discussion about guns and gun ownership.  That debate is often heated, and polarized with little needle movement from either camp.

In my opinion however, we do need to look at current and future gun policy with an eye to both rights preservation and compromise.

I submitted my thoughts to Vice President Joe Biden’s “Gun Control Committee” in the wake of the shooting in Newtown and was thankful to hear from his staff that my comments were included.  Most of that stance remains unchanged.

Continue reading My Manifesto on Gun Control

Review: Northridge 4×4 [Silverdale]

When it comes to my Jeep, I am really picky as to who gets to touch it.  I do all my own maintenance, and my inner circle of Jeep friends get to wrench on it.  But sometimes you just need to get a gear job done and need to take it to a reputable shop.

Last May, it was time for 4:88s so I took the Jeep to Northridge 4×4 in Silverdale, Washington.

I have had a long relationship with the guys at “NR 4×4” so I fully trusted them to do the job and do it right.

Continue reading Review: Northridge 4×4 [Silverdale]

Product Review: SpiderWebShade for JKU

There are few things in life, than a hot Summer day in a Jeep, topless, and doorless.  I swear it is the best form of therapy available. But, there are days where the thermometer is in the triples where I have been stuck in traffic and have been roasting.

But there was never a middle ground.  It was either run the top as a bikini, or run topless and roast on those peak Summer days.

The fine mesh is really well made and is available in a lot of different colors.

Enter SpiderWebShade, the middle ground.

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Vegan in Bend, Oregon

Bend is one of my favorite cities to visit.  It has the high desert weather, some amazing wilderness, amazing beers, and a pretty decent vegan scene to boot.  Also, Cline Butte OHV area has some nice options for wheeling.  Only thing is, you need to know where to go.

Hopefully this guide will help for your next trip.

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Vegan at the end of the Rubicon

**UPDATE!! As of Summer 2016, The Brewery at Lake Tahoe NO Longer offers the vegan burger.  I have updated the post below**

There are two ends of the Rubicon trail in Northern California.

Most people start on the Loon Lake end and make their way toward South Lake Tahoe on the Eastern end.  While the West end at Loon doesn’t have any amenities, the Lake Tahoe region has a ton of great, hidden vegan gems – some to hit up, and some to avoid.

I will update this little guide as my time in Tahoe expands and I am able to check out more and more places.

The Brewery at Lake Tahoe

3542 Lake Tahoe Blvd,  South Lake Tahoe, CA

The perfect spot for a post-wheeling pint.

Continue reading Vegan at the end of the Rubicon

Product Review: Gardein Porkless Bites

While roaming our local New Seasons today, something caught me eye in the rainbow of colors in the Gardein freezer section. It seriously is starting to look like Rainbow Brite puked Skittles all over the place.

Anyway, the pink highlight color on the bag drew my eye and I snagged the last bag in the freezer.

The bag promises it contains a packet of awesome sauce.  So with that, we planned on making it part of tonight’s dinner.

Pardon the messy stove but these splattered a little!

As with all of Gardein’s fake meats, these were simple to make.  Simply toss the frozen bites into a skillet with some oil and cook thoroughly.  Toss in the awesome sauce, and serve over a bed of whatever starchy goodness you want.  We went with some sticky rice.

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Trail Review: Crushers [OREGON]

I always laugh at the often obscure names given to trails in our area.  Some, I am sure have a backstory (Stick in the Nose is an actual trail name) while others I think are a lame attempt at sounding intimidating.  But Crushers has always had that scary spot in my mind.

Not just due to the name, but due to the massive boulder field that is the trail.  It is probably the ultimate rock crawling trail in this area.

The trail begins with a common filter that has a pretty easy line even though it looks menacing.

My Jeep on the filter. Photo (c) Matthew Duffy

Continue reading Trail Review: Crushers [OREGON]

Product Review: Daiya Cheddar Style Cheezy Mac

I didn’t feel like dinner.  I felt like some vegan sin food.  And I was longing for those old school, bad-for-you velveeta experiences.

While roaming the aisles tonight at Food Fight, I decided to try the new Daiya Cheezy Mac and grabbed a box.

Continue reading Product Review: Daiya Cheddar Style Cheezy Mac

Product Install: Rugged Ridge Spartan Grille

I was one of the early adopters of the “bedlined grille” look.  My OEM paint was chipping from winter road debris, and I just thought it made sense to have a durable, easy to repaint grille coating on the front of the Jeep.  However, when it came to repaint it this Summer I got the great idea to use a new, polyurethane liner and totally messed it up.

So it was time to find a new grille.

And, while this is not a review, I have been really happy with my new Spartan Grille from Rugged Ridge.

I hope this install writeup will help anyone that comes across a couple of the trickier parts of this install. Check out my unboxing video for the Spartan Grille!

Continue reading Product Install: Rugged Ridge Spartan Grille