TWO HAPPY CAMPERS

Overland Expo Mountain West – Loveland, Colorado //

Overland Expo officially kicks off this morning with education, demonstrations, and vendor exhibits starting at 9 a.m.  Our class is slated for 2pm which means we have all morning to peruse the show at our leisure and attend any classes if we feel like it.  

The show essentially has two sides to it.  One side is the exhibitor area where a variety of rigs are being displayed and sold, along with a wide range of gear and camping accessories.  The other side is the education area made up of large, white event tents and a handful of indoor classrooms, all of which host the myriad of classes and presentations being offered every hour.  There’s everything from cooking classes to DIY solar presentations and expert Q&A panels on various topics.

We love being a part of the educational/inspirational side of the expo.  Mark and I have always chosen to spend our money on fuel to be able to get out there and do the thing rather than pour thousands into the latest and greatest gear.  We feel disconnected from (and often straight up baffled by) the trucks and campers being sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.  On the education side, you get the chance to meet the people who are out there traveling the world, and most of them are doing it in rigs that are nothing like the showpieces on display in the exhibitor area.  Our presence and presentations are a small drop in the bucket, but we hope to make it known, to at least a few attendees, that you don’t need to be independently wealthy to afford to go overlanding.  

Our 2 p.m. presentation is titled “Baja Beginner’s Guide”.  We remember all too well how nervous we were for our first trip to Baja.  Now that we’ve made the trip for four consecutive winters, we can still tap into our beginner’s mindset while having a wealth of firsthand knowledge to offer.  Unfortunately, rain starts pouring down right at 2 p.m.  We’re in the most laid-back class setting called the “Bivvy”, a canopy that is open on all sides.  All the chairs are soaked, and most people choose to stand; huddled close to one another in an effort to stay out of the rain.  Still, though, everyone in attendance is excited to hear about Baja.  Inspiring people and helping build their confidence to make their first trip south of the border is incredibly rewarding.  I’ve reached a point in our travels where I get just as much enjoyment from inspiring others to get out there and see the world as I do from my own experiences.

At happy hour, I’m delighted to cross paths with Heather & Dana of HD.Adventuring.  We met on the beach in Baja this past spring and hit it off with them right away.  They have since continued south on the Pan-American highway but made the trip back to the US for a brief reprieve from their multi-year journey.  We spend the evening sharing stories, unexpectedly joining the Toyota-sponsored game night, and generally enjoying the company of fellow nomads.

It’s almost 9 p.m. by the time we return to the camper.  According to my pedometer, I’ve logged 5 miles simply by walking around the expo grounds all day.  So much stimulation has left me simultaneously wound up and exhausted.  Both Mark and I spend the next hour reading as a way to come down and hopefully set ourselves up for a good night’s sleep.  In twelve short hours, it will be time to get up and do it all over again.