Overland Journal Podcast host Ashley Giordano welcomes American overlanders Dawn and Andy Elsbree, the Rogue Wanderers, to dive into their 2019 Toyota Tacoma and Four Wheel Camper build, why they chose it as their global overland platform, and how it’s held up after six years of travel and 100 countries later. Dawn and Andy share…
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Category Archives: Adventure
2026 Summer Overland Events and Rallies You Don’t Want to Miss
AMERICAN WEST Backcountry Offroad Expo When: June 13–14, 2026 | Where: Castle Rock, Colorado “A weekend built for the people who live outside, however they do it” is the motto of the Backcountry Offroad Expo. Attendees will find a variety of adventure vehicles, educational talks, and outdoor gear from over 100 exhibitors, along with community…
John Balsdon on World Records and Crossing Africa
Overland Journal Podcast host Scott Brady interviews John Balsdon of Always Look Twice, a recent world record holder, about his 28-day drive from Nordkapp, Norway, to Cape Agulhas, South Africa. Balsdon, who largely hugged West Africa’s coast in two INEOS Grenadiers (one towing a Bruder trailer), shares how early travels and his mother, a professional…
Fly and Drive South Africa
For the last few years, my wife, Luisa, and I have been contemplating our future as overland travelers. In the past, we have almost exclusively shipped our vehicle to different continents. However, we have realized that shorter, more intense journeys—where we forego the expense and bureaucracy of shipping and instead use the money saved to…
Beyond the Rif: What to Eat, Do, and Buy in Morocco
Photography by Richard Giordano Meandering over a pathway embedded with mussel shells, I follow Mohamed along the coastal cliffs of the Atlantic. As we pass hand-carved caves hidden behind blue doors, fishermen stand atop the rocks, patiently waiting for the day’s catch. My guide, Mohamed Akhmisse, runs a Moroccan homestay experience from a fishing village…
Jen Young on Outdoorsy and the Entrepreneur’s Journey
Overland Journal Podcast host Scott Brady interviews Outdoorsy co-founder, Jennifer Young, about how her burnout from advertising led her to launch the peer-to-peer vehicle rental marketplace (an “Airbnb of overlanding”) in 2014, growing to 200+ employees. Outdoorsy has expanded into the Outdoorsy Destination Network (campgrounds) and the Roamly insurance business. The platform highlights overlanding’s growth…
Milestones Expedition: The Scale of the Unknown | From Scotland to Nordkapp
Welcome to Scotland! Phase 2 of the 25,000-mile global overland expedition kicks off with some familiar faces as the team heads for the famous John o’ Groats. The team takes part in some unique Scottish cultural activities and learns some valuable lessons along the way. Changing weather, narrow, winding roads, and the reality of the…
The Milestones Expedition: A Three-continent Adventure
Photography by Richard Giordano and Scott Brady The XOverland team has always dreamed big. Their ambitious expeditions and world-class cinematography have resulted in 75 inspiring episodes spanning six continents, telling stories that have changed the lives of countless overlanders. Along the way, they have also changed the lives of their expedition team members by doing…
Photography 101: Turn Your Landscapes Into Dreamscapes
My headlamp cut the pre-dawn gloom, illuminating the lowland marsh as I hopscotched from grass tuft to grass tuft, avoiding an ankle-soaking plunge along the shoulder of the Río Serrano. It was 4:00 a.m., and the March autumn sun still slumbered behind the Andes. I found the opening to the riverbank I’d scouted the night…
Love On A Budget :: 1992 Mitsubishi Delica
What constitutes a pinnacle overland vehicle? It’s a difficult question since we all have different priorities and objectives, but first and foremost, it should facilitate experiences. It’s about ditching the devices and getting outside, visiting new places, and igniting our curiosity about the world around us. It’s sharing the great outdoors with those closest to…
Year Two of The Big Thing Is On!
After a massively successful inaugural year in 2025, Overland Collective’s The Big Thing is back at the XOverland Ranch for a second go. Situated on 500 acres in Montana’s Yellowstone Country, this community-focused event will again feature world-class trainers providing hands-on instruction in areas like expedition prep, recovery, overland cookery, and out on the test…
Into the Valley of the Grizzlies
The graceful placement of enormous paws straddles the yellow line while small ones are clumsily dropped around on either side. It is a fragile relationship with the residents, who give them a wide berth, as Momma grizzly makes her way through the middle of town with her cubs in tow. Curious, they dart around while…
We Will Roam Launches 5-part Australia Overland Series
Following the release of overland series from Bound for Nowhere, Roam Overlanding, Gon Dirtin’, and yours truly (Desk to Glory), Expedition Portal and Overland Journal’s next XOverland-produced series sees 2020 Overland Film Festival winners Ant Austin and Emma Brentnall of We Will Roam return to the wheel after a long and unexpected hiatus. Over a…
Expedition Portal’s 2025 Overlanders of the Year :: Leigh and Stephanie Dearle of GrizzlyNBear Overland
The American author Annie Dillard wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” The 2025 Overlanders of the Year, Leigh and Stephanie (Steph) Dearle, live this idea fully. Since 2017, they have traveled full-time in their Land Rover Defender (“Bear”) and Four Wheel Camper (“Grizzly”), covering more than 242,000…
Beauty and the Beast: Facing the Sublime in the Italian Alps
Photography by Richard Giordano In A Philosophical Inquiry Into the Origins of Our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful (1757), Edmund Burke identified the sublime as the overwhelming sensation we feel in response to intense natural phenomena. Burke believed that sharp cracks of lightning, dizzying heights, hurricanes, storms, and waterfalls instilled a sense of…
2025 Off-Road Expo with Expedition Portal and Hankook Dynapro Tire
The southern California coast in October is just about perfect. Temperatures are pleasant throughout the day, and the crowds of vacationers are relatively light. The Expedition Portal team visited Costa Mesa to attend the 2025 Off-Road Expo at the Orange County Fairgrounds and explore the area from the beach up into the mountains. The event…
The Last Drive: Twenty-one years of Landcruising Adventure
Photography by Coen Wubbels It’s pitch dark when we wake up. For minutes, complete silence surrounds us—until the coffee maker starts gurgling. I pour two mugs of steaming hot liquid to warm us up and fill the thermos for the road. Our 26-year-old Toyota Starlet is ready to go, loaded with a hundred of our…
Desk to Glory Launches “Why We Overland” 6-Part Film Series
If you cast your mind back a little more than a decade ago, when Instagram had barely come on the scene, TikTok was the sound a clock made, and XOverland had only uploaded a handful of videos to YouTube, you may remember a time when blogs reigned supreme. As my own long-term travel ambitions began…
Desk To Glory on Traveling the Silk Road
In this Overland Journal Podcast episode, hosts Scott Brady and Ashley Giordano discuss Ashley’s Silk Road journey through Central Asia. Ashley shares stories with her husband, Richard, about their route planning, lessons learned, and the adventure of traveling through Turkey, Georgia, and Uzbekistan, including the Pamir Highway and Wakhan Corridor. They cover the regions’ cultural…
The Alcan 5000: Is This the Last Great North American Rally?
Lead image: Tedrick Mealy In September 2025, my wife and I finally checked one of those “someday” adventures off our bucket list—the infamous and prestigious Alcan 5000 Rally. If you’re reading Expedition Portal, chances are you’ve already heard of it. The mythical endurance rally runs roughly from Seattle to Fairbanks and back, covering over 5,000…