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During our travels we take plenty of time off the bikes to explore our surroundings.
. . . We enjoy learning about each area we visit, and getting up close and personal with some of the inhabitants. |
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| People often ask, "How did you get such a great job?"
When we first began traveling we never dreamed we would someday make our living from our travels. For many years we worked at different jobs, then quit each time we had enough money saved to travel. When we ran out of money we would go back to work. Rather than working toward a certain job or profession, we focused our energy into creating a lifestyle. We realized that having lots of money was not a priority in our lives. We were more interested in doing things, than in buying things. We preferred to have experiences, instead of possessions. Our goals were to have maximum time traveling and having adventures, to have both physical and mental challenges, and to do something positive--to leave the world a better place after we are gone. Finding new jobs after each trip gave us confidence to know we could quickly learn new skills. During this time Bruce was a carpenter, truck driver, iron worker, ski patroller, cement finisher and an oil rig driller. Tass was a swimming instructor, waiter, iron worker, bread baker and even tied fishing flies for an outfitter. |
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In the 1979 we began teaching environmental education at a retreat center owned by the United Methodist Church. A year later we were promoted to camp directors, where we learned to create age-appropriate educational programs for students of all ages.
After five years we again quit our jobs, took our life savings, and began our longest journey, our 26-month bicycle trip around the world. During the journey Tass took over 8,000 photographs, and Bruce kept a detailed journal. After two years of traveling we returned home broke, with no job, and no place to live. A friend hired us to give a series of slide presentations of our world bike trip at a teacher in-service training. After the slide shows many teachers asked if we could give similar programs in their schools. With the encouragement of so many teachers, we created Images of the World in 1987, and began doing slide programs in schools. For three years we gave slide shows part time while also managing a bicycle/outdoor store. In 1990 we quit the bike shop to pursue our dream of working full-time for our own business--Images of the World. |
| Since 1990 giving Images of the World slide shows has been our full-time job. At last we have an occupation we don't have to quit in order to travel! (Although each of our trips still requires all of our savings!)
We now travel six months each year giving slide programs. The rest of the year we work on creating new shows, write books, do office work, and, of course, continue to adventure travel around the world. We hope by sharing what we have been so fortunate to see and experience, we can promote understanding and respect between cultures, and also encourage others to realize their own goals and dreams in life! |
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Tass is a nickname she received when she was little. Neither of us wanted her to change and lose her birth name when we were married in 1976, so Tass remained a Thacker. Bruce's middle name is Burgess, which is his mothers birth name. Bruce likes including the B. when he signs his name as a reminder of his mom. |
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