EXPLORING ELEMENTS

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Overland Expo 2015: Event Wrap-Up

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There was quite a lineup of vehicles at Mormon Lake Lodge midday Friday checking into the event.

Overland Expo 2015 was a year for the record books. The unseasonal weather got everyones attention, with hail, snow, rain and cold temps making the “dry” lakebed into a muddy quagmire by the end of the weekend. Those that stuck around till Sunday were rewarded with amazing weather and more quality time with the overland tribe. Even with the crazy weather, the weekend was action packed and the many classes, roundtables and trainings, especially those indoors or under cover, were well attended. I heard a huge variety of comments from the many vendors, but from what I saw, those that had a smile on their faces, were prepared for the weather and tried to make the best of it had crowds in their booths all weekend.

I truly enjoyed sharing my travel experiences and stoke with the overland tribe through the classes and roundtables that I lead, showing off the now well traveled EEXP in the featured vehicle area, sharing the Ninkasi Brewing craft beer love and sharing all the happenings through social media (IG @ExplorElements) with those that could not attend. I’m looking forward to seeing old and new overland friends alike on future travels and at future events. The people are what make events like this so special, and there is no bigger or better gathering of the overland tribe than Overland Expo.

Besides the below event overview, be sure to also check out all my other coverage from Overland Expo 2015:

OutdoorX4.com- Overland Expo 2015: Up-Close

GearJunkie.com- 10 Top Adventuremobile from Overland Expo 2015

Mr4x4.com.au- Overland Expo 2015: The Australian Influence

Overland Expo 2015: Overland Gear

Overland Expo 2015: Motos

Overland Expo 2015: Off-Road Adventuremobile

Overland Expo 2015: Big Rigs

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Busy Thursday check-in, but sunshine, good people and good organization made it go smoothly.
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Roseanne Hanson, event director, personally checking in many of the event attendees.
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Lots of good cooking demos and happy hours around the event with quality food. Here Mojo Outfitters feeds the masses on Thursday night.
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The EEXP was a featured vehicle, and of course Ninkasi Brewing was featured as well 🙂
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By Thursday evening most of the vendors and featured vehicles had setup, well before the weather set in.
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Thursday evening overlooking the vendor area.
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Friday morning came with sunshine and brisk temperatures for the opening ceremony.
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Jeep & Land Rover can work side by side!
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A lucky few got in some driving time on the Land Rover off-road driving course on Friday, before it was closed for much of the rest of the weekend, which upset quite a few people. The reality is that it was a muddy mess full of small “ponds” that wasn’t a safe and consistent place to test vehicles, especially new $100K Range Rovers on stock street tires at stock PSI.
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The off-road driving and recovery classes were well attended all weekend.
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Event patches are always a big deal at Expo, and Triple Aught Design always brings a custom commemorative patch each year that is highly coveted.
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The crew from Expedition Overland just got back from their multi month shoot in Central America. Can’t wait for the videos to come out in July!
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The Friday night happy hour at the main tent was well attended as people huddled around the heater and out of the snow.
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Sportsmobile interiors and some warm pups make for a great place to get out of the weather and warm up.
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Snow and cold temps couldn’t keep the hearty overland tribe from enjoying cold Ninkasi beer around a campfire and sharing stories from the road. These are the moments that truly make Expo special, getting to meet and enjoy the company of like minded travelers.
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Saturday morning the overland tribe awoke to snow on the ground, crisp temperatures and cloudy skies.
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There was a bit of standing water, but I’m pretty sure it was warm and dry inside the big adventuremobile.
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The moto guys that stuck it out in ground tents throughout the weekend are a hearty bunch!
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Apparently there is a Defender 90 and a Subaru XV at the ends of the rainbow 🙂
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Many people needed some assistance extracting themselves from the general camping area. Here a well kitted 2wd van gets a tow from his Jeep buddy.
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You could tell the people who are use to camping in adverse conditions and those that are not. Here Wade Summer shows how to do it right, by using a tarp setup to shed the snow and rain away from his tent.
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Always awesome to see the huge contingent of Sportsmobile owners who show up to this event each year.
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RAM released their new Rebel model at Expo this year. The truck is basically an off road ready version of their 1500 model with some nice features and styling cues.
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The RAM Rebel interior looks sharp!
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The roundtable discussions where well attended all weekend and the panels where stacked with experts on so many things.
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DeLorme, Ninkasi & Goal Zero teamed up for an incredible happy hour Saturday night. The craft beer was flowing and the brats where flying off the hot grill.
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The Equipt Saturday night party is always a highlight at Expo each year and this year it went big as usual. It might have fizzled out a bit sooner than in past years, but that was due to the cold temps and long days in the mud.
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Yep, you see just about everything at the annual Equipt party 🙂
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Sunday morning everyone awoke to clearing skis and sunshine. The warmth did melt the already soggy ground though.
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The Sunday morning vender walkabout breakfast is always a good time to catch up with many of the vendors, especially those that make overland camp kitchen products. The crew at Tembo Tusk always cooks up the goods.
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Shawn and his dog “Expo,” which he adopted at last year’s Overland Expo East. The pup is getting big! For a pic of him at Expo East click HERE.
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A sentiment shared by many at Expo this year! Ryan’s rental 2wd Ford Expedition didn’t like the mud in the general camping area much 🙂 He got a quick recovery from the local off-road club and was unstuck in a jiffy though.
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The Jeep Safari concept is apparently “Safari Rated.” After Expo this year it might need an “Arctic Rated” badge 🙂
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The sun dried out the off-road recovery and skills areas just enough for some quality instruction on Sunday.
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Some rigs attempted the off-road course on Sunday, some with more success than others. Cruising Nomad‘s MAN based rig is big and heavy and went deep in the thick mud.
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The Camel Trophy Skills Area is always a highlight at Expo and every year they do a “big” task/build at the end of the weekend. This year it was building a log bridge.
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The sunshine bathed the closing BBQ with good vibes that sent off the overland tribe to all points on the compass. Until next year!

Be sure to check out all my other coverage of Overland Expo 2015:

OutdoorX4.com- Overland Expo 2015: Up-Close

GearJunkie.com- 10 Top Adventuremobile from Overland Expo 2015

Mr4x4.com.au- Overland Expo 2015: The Australian Influence

Overland Expo 2015: Overland Gear

Overland Expo 2015: Motos

Overland Expo 2015: Off-Road Adventuremobile

Overland Expo 2015: Big Rigs

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