Photography by Michelle Francine Weiss and Roy Rudnick Mirny is a city as isolated in the middle of the Russian expanse as many others in the far east of the country. But it has a strong reason to exist in that place: 25 percent of the diamonds which circulate the world come from its…
Humanity :: Pay It Forward
My family has been on the road for a long time now, almost a quarter of our adult lives and the majority of our children’s lives, through thick and thin. There has been an abundance of spectacular thick and inexplicably regular suffering of thin. You soon realize as you travel to foreign continents far, far…
Jeopardy and a Jeep: Africa Conquered by Two Women Professors
Words By Ashley Giordano, photos from Jeopardy and a Jeep by Dorothy Rogers During the summer of 1954, two American college professors named Dorothy Rogers and Louise Ostberg pulled their Willys Wagon into a mechanic shop in Tripoli, Libya. They had arrived from the North African desert, where they battled endless flats and ruined…
Overland Journal Podcast: Episode 45, Interview with Explorer and Archeologist Bryon Bass
In this episode of the Overland Journal podcast, Scott sits down with the “real-life Indiana Jones,” Bryon Bass, for a second interview (previous interview here). This time, they dive deeper into every-day carry (EDC), keeping yourself out of trouble on the road, tools, and watches. We also explore Bryon’s passion for wine, watches, and Toyotas,…
South African Surf: An interview with Frank Solomon and Sacha Specker
Photos by Sacha Specker Remote sandy tracks, wild temperature swings, howling ocean winds, and great white sharks are just some of the challenges that South African big-wave surfer Frank Solomon and surf photographer Sacha Specker had to overcome while filming their recent Find Anywhere spot with Front Runner Outfitters. Frank is a pro surfer…
Canvassing the Colorado Plateau in the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX
Words By Chris O’Neill, Photography by Greg Fitzgerald Here’s the thing about being in your favorite place in the world when it’s 5:00 a.m., 20°F, and there are 8 inches of snow on the ground—it’s still your favorite place in the world. For me, that place is the Colorado Plateau, and I was there with…
Sonya and Necota Staples: Overlanding and Creating Inclusive Communities
Sonya and Necota Staples have been traveling together since the early days of their relationship. Their first adventure outside of the US was an escape from routine, a chance to relax—what most people might envision as a vacation. But an unfortunate interaction led them outside the walls of the all-inclusive resorts. And it was then…
Exploring Closer To Home
We drive tens of thousands of miles a year. There are countless hours spent behind the wheel cruising through the countryside in pursuit of new locations. Our primary goal is often to avoid the crowds. Typically, this pushes us to the eastern side of our home state of Oregon. Out there, the land is immense,…
How to Sustain the Overlander’s Lifestyle
Not as a complete definition, but as an often-overlooked component, I’ve started describing overlanding as “intentional self-deprivation.” This is the part you rarely see on Instagram. Those who use the activity to escape the city and trials of work-life could probably care less. Even when the weather doesn’t cooperate, disappointing for sure, it’s all part…
10 Solutions for Carrying Extra Fuel on Motorcycles and Off-road Vehicles
Updated April 28, 2021. Many overlanders have a conundrum—how to carry extra fuel for those far-from-it-all excursions we all dream about. Carrying gas or diesel safely is even more of an issue: gone are the good old days of filling up plastic Coke bottles and strapping them to your overland rig or ADV ride. Even…
Video of the Week: Never Ride Alone
There are few humans out there willing to endure physical hardship like Scott Englund in Never Ride Alone. But watching this film, I understood him; I understand the desire to attain something everyone else thinks is crazy—a goal that takes up so much space in your brain there is no longer room for reason, so…
Humanity :: Kindness of Strangers
Clouds of dust drift away as I sit up and take off my helmet. My bike stretches out across the Trans-Labrador Highway on its left side; its wheels still spin, but the engine has stopped. Something is wrong. But I don’t know what. My heart races as my brain takes inventory. I’m breathing. I’m in…
What the Dempster Highway Taught Us About Slow Travel
Words by Ashley Giordano, Photography by Richard Giordano A comedy of errors saw us attempting to fill our empty diesel tank in the parking lot of the Eagle Plains Hotel on a toe-numbing, nose-hair freezing spring evening in the Yukon. I’m shuffling back and forth in my down hut boots while Richard struggles in…
Where Can Your Volvo Go?
Our expedition car is ready—time for a last check on the roof rack. Our Volvo 240 seems to be from another world among the urban cars in Brussels. The car is heavy, and we have some doubts about the rear suspension. Let’s go! It’s too late to change our plans. Direction: Tehran in Iran. Our…
Exploring Madeira
The whine of the engine rose a few octaves as Gonzolo gunned it around the tight corner. On both sides of the road, the faded white tops of the crenelated retaining wall flew by. Each concrete block looked woefully inadequate to even slow the progress of our battered white van should we lose control, much…
Video of the Week: The Cradle of Adventure
For many world travelers, Africa is the epitome of adventure. The communities, landscape, flora, and fauna are as unique and diverse as it gets, and with 54 different countries (according to the United Nations), there is practically an endless selection of destinations to explore. In this week’s video of the week, we visit Kenya, Uganda,…
Adventure Palooza 2021
Moto events around the nation are springing up at this time of year, enticing us to hop on bikes and get out there. Adventure Palooza 2021 has just opened registration for a Midwest event running September 24-26. Adventure Palooza 2021, as it states on their website, will “test your ability [to] navigate your adventure bike,…
Sandstone Canyon Solitude
I first visited this canyon on the border of Utah and Colorado eight years ago. The adventure was suggested by my friend J, who I had met when we both worked as interpretive rangers for the Clear Creek ranger district back in 2009. On our inaugural trip, we descended into this rarely visited wilderness area…
The 1958 Women’s Overland Himalayan Expedition
After traveling 8,000 miles over six weeks through Western Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan, overland adventuresses Anne Davies, Eve Sims, and Antonia Deacock found themselves in Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s drawing room, poring over a large-scale map of the Himalayas laid on a soft white carpet. The “Inner Line,” a…
Driving a Solar-powered EV from Alaska to South America with Route Del Sol
Photos by Joel Gregory Hayes & Keegan Taccori, Courtesy RouteDelSol.com In the world of unique camper builds, there is an almost infinite pool of inspiring vehicles out there. Trust me, I’ve done a lot of digging online and across social media, and I’m still surprised on an almost weekly basis by what I come…