In this episode, Susan and I share lessons learned from 6 years of overlanding. Learn from our mistakes, and find out how to pick out the right gear - and even the right vehicle - for your style of travel. Overlanding is expensive enough without having to purchase costly items multiple times, so listen in as we recount some of the things we wish we would have done differently!

Today, I sit down with my wife, Susan, to talk about our recent trip to wheel in the Croatan National Forest, and also to score some treats in nearby Swansboro, and lunch at a GREAT barbecue restaurant we found in Hubert, NC. We talk about upcoming trips and the current situation with Bonnie, our Tacoma OR. Settle in and listen as we tackle the Croatan!

I've got no topic for this episode, so I use it as a clearinghouse for a bunch of things I wanted to talk about. I give a huge thanks to my lovely wife, Susan, for giving the gift of new overlanding gear for Valentine's Day! I talk about some new features in OnX, some of my favorite podcasts returning from the dead; listen up because there's a little bit of everything in this one!

Should overlanders be peppers? You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist. I won't speculate on the existence of zombies, but I will point out that over three million Americans are displaced from their homes - at least temporarily - by natural disasters every year. If you can't be at home, a well-built overlanding rig can be the next best thing, but is it really ready? Sitting out there in the garage or driveway right now? Let's get into some things that you might want to have on the rig if it ever comes down to relying on your vehicle for your family's survival.

Helpful links:

Dirt Road Tourist

Southeast Overland Camping Event

Join me for a whole new season! In this episode, I talk about some travel trends that are shaping up to be big for Overlanding. I also talk about trips and events we have planned for the year. Tread Lightly! figures heavily into my New Year's resolution and it should in yours too. All that, and I drop some new beats as well.

Links for the show notes:

⁠Tread Lightly!⁠

⁠Southeast Overland Camping Event⁠

This episode covers my trip down to the Croatan National Forest. Friday night was COLD (yeah, stop laughing, northerners, it was cold for down here), but we had a great campfire to stay warm by. This will be the final episode of the Dirt Road Tourist... for 2025, LOL! Mash that subscribe button to hear what's coming next year. As promised, find the links below to Venture Unknown Foundation & Southeast Overland Camping Event:

Venture Unknown

Southeast Overland Camping Event

I talk about vehicle needs for overlanding, and give you my first impressions of a brand new GPS mapping app on the block! An app called NoRoads has burst onto the overlanding scene, and I've taken the time to check it out.

On this episode, we go the George Washington National Forest, and not have lunch where we intended! I give my first impression reviews on the Moon Lence camping chairs, and our new NatureNest Polaris Plus RTT. I have some updates about the Dirt Road Tourist website, and talk about the upcoming Sweep Up The Southeast event, organized by the Venture Unknown Foundation. Check out the link below.

Link to Venture Unknown Foundation Page:

https://ventureunknownfoundation.org/events/sweep-up-the-southeast-2025/