yeah, totally agree on winging it. I know that's not for everyone, but the wife and I have a knack for not planning anything and then ending up having the best trips ever. and as far as "overlanding" goes, we live in a very developed country...pretty much anything good has a paved road going to it or at minimal, a fairly well maintained dirt/gravel road. yeah, there are exceptions...but they are exceptions, not the norm. even out west, there are plenty of places in Utah to go and beat the piss out of your vehicle, but pretty much all the good sites have roads going to them.
things like the GAT appeal to me because it does go more off the beaten path and while its not rough enough to tear up a vehicle, it is remote enough to be more away from the general crowds and there is more undeveloped nature to see. sometimes it is nice to see a waterfall that doesn't have a parking lot and picnic benches right there. and as @danwyandt just mentioned, its also nice to be able to check out an interesting town and historical sites. we went to big bend a few years ago and decided to drop down and take a road more along the border than taking the quicker and more direct route using I-10. long story made short...we found some awesome ghost towns and even found a small town that had some really nice antiques that we collect. also found some very interesting sites talking about the railroad going thru there in the late 1800s and even parked at a bridge and hiked down into a canyon and found some caves with drawings in them. definitely off the beaten path, but ended up being a very cool part of the trip. totally unplanned and unexpected...
and granted...not all quaint looking towns are goldmines, there are shitholes out there as well, but even then, I can find the positive and be thankful I don't live there!
things like the GAT appeal to me because it does go more off the beaten path and while its not rough enough to tear up a vehicle, it is remote enough to be more away from the general crowds and there is more undeveloped nature to see. sometimes it is nice to see a waterfall that doesn't have a parking lot and picnic benches right there. and as @danwyandt just mentioned, its also nice to be able to check out an interesting town and historical sites. we went to big bend a few years ago and decided to drop down and take a road more along the border than taking the quicker and more direct route using I-10. long story made short...we found some awesome ghost towns and even found a small town that had some really nice antiques that we collect. also found some very interesting sites talking about the railroad going thru there in the late 1800s and even parked at a bridge and hiked down into a canyon and found some caves with drawings in them. definitely off the beaten path, but ended up being a very cool part of the trip. totally unplanned and unexpected...
and granted...not all quaint looking towns are goldmines, there are shitholes out there as well, but even then, I can find the positive and be thankful I don't live there!
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