In May of this year, we travelled to Overland Expo, the annual gathering of the tribe at Mormon Lake, outside of Flagstaff. As this event was three months ago, by now you have seen any number of articles about the event.
Overland Expo has been around for a number of years, and has been a great source of information to many. We’ve attended OvEx in the past to research major purchases, like our A/T Overland Horizon. We’ve also gone to gain more knowledge about future trips and learn from those with more experience about things like dealing with border crossings, or how to successfully share a vehicle with a spouse for an extended period of time.
This year was kind of a turning point for us, though.
This year, we left early and met up with our friends @OverlandNomads in Escalante, Utah. We spent much of a week exploring southern Utah with them, and gradually made our way to Mormon Lake.
We planned on attending the Expo for only for 24 hours, then taking the scenic route back home.
We spent that day taking a desultory tour through the various booths and displays. We realized that the latest and greatest kit held little appeal to us. However, when the time came to strike camp and take off, we were sad to leave.
We weren’t sorry to be missing out on discovering titanium marshmellow cookers or the latest solar panel technology. We have our rig sorted out for us and really don’t need anything.
However, we were sorry to be leaving friends, old and new. Overland Expo, to us, has become a gathering of kindred spirits. Our co-workers don’t understand why driving to Ushuaia (or the San Rafael Swell) holds so much appeal. For a few days each year, we can share our dreams and concerns with people who have similar aspirations, and similar experiences. To be able to meet @DavidECreech, @Valinreallife, and @AmericanSafari face to face and share a few hours at the end of a day, was worth the drive to Flagstaff.
It was great to be able to attach a face to a Twitter name and be able to use more than 140 characters, for once!
We intend to go to Overland Expo every year. I don’t really care about how much “stuff” I see. I do care about trying to make the most of the time we spend with old friends and new. And for a few days each year, connect with those who share a similar sense of adventure and curiosity about the world we all share. I can’t wait until next May.
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