“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
– Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad
Yes, you read that right - like a gal dang high school sophomore I’m leading off last month’s “Best Of” with a Mark Twain quote. [Insert “deal with it” gif.]
I should temper old Samuel’s saw with the caveat that you can find a lot of pretty amazing things in your own little corner of the earth if you look for them. Observe HammerheadFistpunch up there in the FZJ80 flexing on a big pile of discarded concrete just a few miles from his home along Utah’s Wasatch Range. It’s a fascinating human artifact that future archaeologists might be puzzling over many hundreds of year from now (if we last that long).
Of course, what your “corner” actually is is a relative concept. My current corner of the world happens to have elephants in it. It never gets old.
Where ever you are and however far you travel, open your mind to the possibilities under your nose. You might be surprised, and your view of the world might change for the better.
Enough philosophizing. What did we do last month? A whole lot, it turns out. Remember - we here at O&E want to hear about your adventures on road and off, two wheels or four. Reach out via the comments for authorship. I promise, we don’t bite.
Adventures
Speaking of local fun, Captain Daytrip took a bunch of his friends out to some of the more interesting 4x4 trails in Texas for some good old fashioned learnin’. Even if you feel supremely confident in your wheeling skills, an off-road driving workshop taught by knowledgable instructors is invaluable.
In the same vein, Tim took a week to work through a whole range of off-road challenges and recovery skills with a group of some of America’s most dangerous servicemen. I know the Disco has its limitations, but I love one that’s lifted.
Southern Hemisphere Updates
I traveled around Botswana A LOT in March, and there are many updates to follow on those adventures. In the meanwhile enjoy a meditation on nothing, and a really great short film about Namibia, one of my favorite countries on the planet.
Speaking of films, Rufant shared this little gem of an adventure tale from a little-known corner of Down Under:
And, a whole bunch of bits and bobbles in his regular “Stuff” column, including an awful teaser regarding his 105 Land Cruiser’s pristine front fender.
Projects
Have we been working on our rigs? You know we have. Or..., more accurately we’ve been thinking about working on our rigs. Same thing, right? Lot of activity on this front.
Vicali anxiously awaited his new lighting set-up (see April’s O&E for updates on this project).
After cutting a hole in his damn roof, Tim also had to deal with a (thankfully) very small fire in his Land Cruiser. Wait for April’s update to find out more about the Toyota that may or may not be cursed...
HammerheadFistpunch has been overthinking pondering his approach to his electrical systems - storing and distributing all those electrons is such a PITA.
Our Colorado correspondent, benjrblant, continues to flirt with death on his two-wheeled BMW, including upgrading his gauge lights so that he can see more clearly how fast he’s riding into oblivion enjoying those twisties.
I have been working on solutions for deploying the Mitsubishi as a more effective and under-the-radar overlanding vehicle, including tires, a sleeping platform, and other miscellany.
Discussions
Overlanding folk continue to gather in ever increasing numbers across North America, and the Lone Star Toyota Jamboree only seems to be getting bigger.
We debate about the merits of a ridiculously overpriced, newfangled, and needlessly complex product designed to replace a tool, when used properly, that has worked pretty damn well for decades.
We learn more about the brilliance that emanates from Toyota City.
That wraps it up for March 2018. Stay tuned to this channel for more excellent stories from overland and off the road.
Go forth and explore, my friends!