It was nearly 100°F. I sat on a metal chair with water soaking my shirt, a last-ditch effort against the stifling heat. Even in the shade, the temperature was nearly unbearable. Inside the open-air pavilion, Jessica and I sat enraptured, listening to the stories being told by Pablo Rey and Anna Callau, two travelers who’d…
Trying the Van Life in Northwest Oregon
Oregon was calling, and I knew it was time for us to go back. The summer heat had been getting the better of us for a few months, and the cool, crisp air of the Pacific Northwest seemed dreamy. As we started to plan our next trip, we wanted to incorporate what we learned from…
Thirty-six Hours of Adventure: A Sea of Green
The morning was gray, and the damp Oregon cold soaked through my sweatshirt as my girlfriend and I loaded the last bags into the Land Cruiser. It had taken months of changed timelines and rearranged travel plans to get our hands on this Maltec camper, but it had all finally come together. The plan was…
Overland Routes – Anza-Borrego State Park
Anza–Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP) is a remote moonscape that beckons the adventurer with technical terrain, expansive geology, and the solitude of desert campsites. It is named for the Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and borrego (bighorn sheep). At 600,000 acres it is the largest park in California, featuring over 500 miles of dirt…
Overlanding With Purpose
When you first start overlanding, the journey itself is the goal, but we have found that having a purpose behind your travels can enhance the experience even more. Your hobbies reflect who you are, so weaving those passions and interests into your journey will ensure that you enrich your life and take your skills to…
Pacific Crest Route
A journey from Arctic peaks to desert sands.
Travel Tunes: The Overland Playlist
We’ve all got them, those treasured playlists we save for kicking up dust on our favorite backcountry trail, or hammering out long miles on some grand trip. They might be filled with throwback tunes from the ’70’s or a modern mashup of electric funk, but their rhythms are like a narration to our adventures, and…
Great Plains Drifter
Sometimes the best adventure is the journey home.
Tips on Keeping your Overland Vehicle safe, low-budget style
What if you want to keep your vehicle burglarproof for an overland journey without spending a fortune on car alarms, GPS tracking devices, and other expensive temptations? After 15 years on the road without a break-in, we’d like to share our tricks with you. Disclaimer: No setup is foolproof, no matter how much money you…
The Outpost Trade Retreat
I’d like you to take a moment to close your eyes and envision a trade show. What do you see? Images of little white booths, plastic folding tables, and long conversations might drift through your mind. Your feet probably ache at the memory of convention center floors, while your soul pales at the endless line…
Video of the Week: The Swift Campout
We love four-wheel drives here at Expedition Portal, but occasionally we prefer something a little different. Be it the lapping of waves on a paddle board, the silence of a hike on a misty morning, or the grit of rock beneath our hands while climbing, it’s nice to explore nature in a more personal way….
The Overland Commute: Mauritania
Mauritania has an air of infinite sunburned monotony, the entire country a distant sandy horizon wallowing under a powder-blue sky. Maps of the country only highlight the emptiness, the few landmarks achingly lonely amongst the dunes. Of all the maps.me files I downloaded for the commute, the Mauritanian one measured only 12MB. In contrast, east…
Bonafide Moto Adventure to Sani Pass
When we planned this recent adventure we had these crazy ideas and high hopes to summit Sani Pass in the middle of winter with snow all around us. Thankfully that was not the case and somehow we managed to pick the perfect weekend that gave us a nice mix of slightly warm weather in the low lying areas and some very cold moments up at the top of the pass.
A Look at Outworld and Their Toyotas
A while back, I was browsing through Instagram when a 2000 4Runner popped up in front of me. I had seen this awesome Toyota several times now, and I felt like I need to learn a little more. As I dug deeper, I learned that it was one of three builds for a company called…
The Cradle of Adventure
Exploring Uganda and Kenya by Mercedes G-Wagen Entdecker.
Ultimate R&D at Zone RV
Australia is not a forgiving place. While it’s people might be some of the kindest and most welcoming on earth, its landscape is anything but. Bone-rattling corrugations lead across sun-scorched deserts for days without fuel or water. Tight trails through dense rainforests are crisscrossed with deep fords through swirling rivers, and if the coastal drives…
Dust and Diesel: A journey to the Rio Grande.
My cheap radio crackled to life, and an almost inaudible voice came over the speaker. “Are they from our group?” Two lifted trucks were parked at the fuel station, one sporting an aftermarket bumper and winch, and the other with a light bar on the roof. “I honestly can’t tell, but they could be.” In…
Video of the Week: Yellowstone River
A friend of mine once said that overlanding is driving to remote destinations to cook good food, and to an extent, he’s right. Many of us share a passion for cooking as well as camping, and although I’m far from a gourmet chef, I do enjoy a good meal cooked on the fire. Flame-broiled hot dogs…
15 Years of Overlanding the World without Killing Each Other – How Do We Do It?
“Sorry to interrupt. Coen, on the bed are clean socks, underwear, and a shirt. The shower is all yours,” I said as I walked into the living room of our friend’s home in Bolivia. Coen and our host Willy were having a discussion while I had been doing chores and had just finished taking a…
“Today is a Good Day to Die”
Part Two: 28 DAYS, 6,000 MILES, FIVE LAND ROVERS, AND A BIG BAG OF MONEY