Hese got to know one of the main characters of the film, Jon Ayres, in 1997, when they both studied in Taik. At the time Ayres was studying glass blowing there. Later Hese visited Ayers in Toronto, where they both worked in various studios. When Ayres moved to Vancouver Island, Hese visited him there in 2008. There the two promised to “make one big road trip before we got too old to do that.” The idea was to drive around in California, but the plans changed, when Hese found a truck in Wasilla, Alaska. Palmer came to the project through Ayers; he was the mechanically inclined one of the group.
