TWO HAPPY CAMPERS

Overland Expo Mountain West – Loveland, Colorado //

It’s Saturday at Overland Expo Mountain West, the day that brings the most attendees, the most action, and the most energy of the event.  Last year’s recap reported 18,000 attendees, and this year is looking to be just as good.  On our agenda today is to sit on one expert Q&A panel, give one presentation, and attend the presentation of our new friends and travel idols, Peter & Kathy Holcombe.

First off at 11 a.m. is the “Surviving Overlanding as a Couple” Q&A panel.  Mark and I join three other full-time traveling couples to answer any and all questions pertaining to keeping your marriage intact while traveling together.  In other words, couples therapy.  This is one of the less popular Q&A panels, and my assumption is that it feels a little vulnerable to attend.  However, in my opinion, many people are missing out for those of us sitting on the panel have a fantastic sense of humor about how to not kill one another while being together 24/7.  I enjoy the banter and camaraderie of our fellow travelers.  Though I can’t help but feel like a little baby overlander next to three couples whose travel resumes include vehicle-based travel through dozens of countries on various continents.  It’s a humbling and wildly inspiring group to be a part of.

In the blink of an eye, it’s already 2pm and time for our next presentation, which is titled “Life on the road: insights and advice for full-time travel”.  I had no idea what the level of interest would be on this topic when I submitted the idea and am excited to see all twenty(ish) seats filled by the time we kick it off.  We cover various topics from choosing the right rig, working from the road, finding community, road life expenses, and more.  The audience is engaged and full of questions.  At the end, several people offer heartfelt thanks for the encouragement, advice, and inspiration.  Those words of thanks alone make it all worth being here.

After the conclusion of our presentation, we run over to a food truck, grab a bite to eat, and then beeline it to Pete & Kathy Holcombe’s incredible two-hour presentation on their two-year journey on the Pan-American highway.  As soon as that concludes, we meet up with new friends at the happy hour tent and go on to have a fantastic conversation about our shared love of travel.  Doug & Shannon weren’t entirely sure how they found us, but Doug recently began reading and enjoying the blog.  Meeting our readers this year has been profoundly rewarding as we seem to attract some really incredible humans.

The last four hours of the evening entailed one great conversation with new friends after another.  We sat in the grass and chatted with @mail.mish, we finally put the face to the name when we got to meet Michael Emery of @slowbaja, and by the night’s end, we were gathered around the dinette with @overlandforgood inside their Phoenix Camper that was recently shipped back from Brazil.  

Walking across the field back to our camper, my heart is full, and my love of this lifestyle newly reinvigorated.  To find ourselves in the company of such incredible humans makes me feel like I must be doing something right.  Being at such a large event feels so unlike us, but it brings people together that may otherwise never cross paths.  I’m so grateful for this opportunity, and as exhausting as it is (there’s still another full day ahead!), we will absolutely do it again.