Benefactor
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- First Name
- Michael
- Last Name
- Murguia
- Member #
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0000
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KM6YSL
Who Planted the seed for you to be an OverLander (Pic/stories)
- Thread starter mmnorthdirections
- Start date
What a fantastic question, thanks for thinking of posting this thread. The stories have been great to read through.
For me, I'd have to say the urge to roam, to adventure, to put down tracks on the road less traveled came to me by way of my genes. My mother's father was a dispatch rider in Africa in WWII and an all around larger than life crazy do-anything sort of person. As a child, my Mother would be thrown into the Bedford camper truck and my grandparents would routinely drive to Africa from the UK for their summer holidays. My grandparents eventually shipped the Bedford to Canada, then drove it clear across the country, settling in Dogwood Valley (just outside of Hope BC) When I was child, visiting the grandparents home was always one of anticipation. My grandfather would entertain us with the best and most amazing stories of his life, his travels and exploits, and everything in between. He would build ladders and bolt them to rock face mountain behind their home, and as little kids he would allow us to climb up them and explore the mountains up above. He was the grandfather who would show us how to build a bomb from an empty oil drum and a jerry can.
My Father has always had a bit of a gypsy soul in him as well. As kids he would pile us into the old IH Scout II and off we would go jousting with oncoming logging trucks, following power lines, and anything else he could find that peaked his interest. My Dad is the kind of guy who would get out and chase that bear down, sending it up a tree and snapping picture from below. He did his best to teach us kids that "no Trespassing" signs on gates, and "Do Not Enter" signs on abandoned buildings were for other people, not us. He immigrated from Italy to New York City at the ripe old age of 16, worked as a cook for a number of years, then moved to London where he met and married my Mom. They then chose to relocate in Canada, (where i was born in Montreal in 1969) in 1970 they packed me and the cat up and drove west as far as man could. My dad found work in a logging camp on Vancouver island and we lived there for a number of years.
Both my sister and I have grown up with a healthy respect for that adventurous little demon that sits on our shoulder and whispers into our ear "hey, see that road less traveled, go that way". As soon as I was able I got my motorcycle license (didn't tell my Mom for a number of years) and off I went, exploring every back road that I could. I bought a 4x4 as soon as I could which help expand the horizons of where i could travel, and what I could see and experience. As an adult (and I use that word loosely) my Wife and I have traveled thousands of miles on motorcycles, and recently decided to change things up a bit and delve further into this little thing called "overlanding".
The mystical Bedford, somewhere in Africa with my Granny in the background.
For me, I'd have to say the urge to roam, to adventure, to put down tracks on the road less traveled came to me by way of my genes. My mother's father was a dispatch rider in Africa in WWII and an all around larger than life crazy do-anything sort of person. As a child, my Mother would be thrown into the Bedford camper truck and my grandparents would routinely drive to Africa from the UK for their summer holidays. My grandparents eventually shipped the Bedford to Canada, then drove it clear across the country, settling in Dogwood Valley (just outside of Hope BC) When I was child, visiting the grandparents home was always one of anticipation. My grandfather would entertain us with the best and most amazing stories of his life, his travels and exploits, and everything in between. He would build ladders and bolt them to rock face mountain behind their home, and as little kids he would allow us to climb up them and explore the mountains up above. He was the grandfather who would show us how to build a bomb from an empty oil drum and a jerry can.
My Father has always had a bit of a gypsy soul in him as well. As kids he would pile us into the old IH Scout II and off we would go jousting with oncoming logging trucks, following power lines, and anything else he could find that peaked his interest. My Dad is the kind of guy who would get out and chase that bear down, sending it up a tree and snapping picture from below. He did his best to teach us kids that "no Trespassing" signs on gates, and "Do Not Enter" signs on abandoned buildings were for other people, not us. He immigrated from Italy to New York City at the ripe old age of 16, worked as a cook for a number of years, then moved to London where he met and married my Mom. They then chose to relocate in Canada, (where i was born in Montreal in 1969) in 1970 they packed me and the cat up and drove west as far as man could. My dad found work in a logging camp on Vancouver island and we lived there for a number of years.
Both my sister and I have grown up with a healthy respect for that adventurous little demon that sits on our shoulder and whispers into our ear "hey, see that road less traveled, go that way". As soon as I was able I got my motorcycle license (didn't tell my Mom for a number of years) and off I went, exploring every back road that I could. I bought a 4x4 as soon as I could which help expand the horizons of where i could travel, and what I could see and experience. As an adult (and I use that word loosely) my Wife and I have traveled thousands of miles on motorcycles, and recently decided to change things up a bit and delve further into this little thing called "overlanding".
The mystical Bedford, somewhere in Africa with my Granny in the background.
It was my folks, dad had a 72 f100 with a jewel cap that had two bench seats and a table that would fold down to make a bed. We also had an old Shasta camper. we went camping almost every week end. the weekends dad had off we took the camper, the week ends dad had to work mom would load me and my sister up and take the truck, most of the time nana would come with us. we all ways stayed in campgrounds, but they all ways got us out there.
We never called it overlanding, for us it was just camping. Still, it’s how we spent our summers when I was a kid. My dad worked for the Oregon Department of Forestry, so his summer free time was limited; if there was a fire, he was there, often for weeks at a time (occasionally, we’d get to visit the fire camps, which was always a treat). But, if there were no fires, and no lightning on the horizon, we’d load up the ’65 Ford pickup with gear and head out. It had a canopy, and my dad fashioned a platform for my brother & me to sleep on; he and my mom would sleep below us with the gate down. It was perfect for staying dry, which is always important in Oregon, even during summer.
We always camped in the wilderness, or primitive campgrounds (none of that KOA, hot shower nonsense), and some of my very earliest memories involve those experiences- fishing, “shooting the rabbits (rapids)” on an air mattress, roasting marshmallows, listening to my Pops play guitar.
Going beyond the end of the road, getting away from the noise and light and chaos, reminding myself that there are actually stars in the sky, these are the things I love about “overlanding”. I can’t wait for my next trip!
We always camped in the wilderness, or primitive campgrounds (none of that KOA, hot shower nonsense), and some of my very earliest memories involve those experiences- fishing, “shooting the rabbits (rapids)” on an air mattress, roasting marshmallows, listening to my Pops play guitar.
Going beyond the end of the road, getting away from the noise and light and chaos, reminding myself that there are actually stars in the sky, these are the things I love about “overlanding”. I can’t wait for my next trip!
We are late bloomers, didn't get the bug until a few years ago. We got into Jeeps about six years ago but off-roading bored the crap out of us. We kept thinking there has to be more to this. About the time I got my JKU I came across Overland Journal and got curious. The more I looked into it the more I thought this is the direction we want to go. But . . . what gave us the drive to do it was actually Ken Burn's documentary "The National Parks". More specifically, the part about Edward and Margaret Gehrke. I know I am going to catch hell for saying this but Overlanding is the modern version of Autocamping (no, not "Car" camping). When they started out in the teens the roads were what we today would call a class 6 trails. To me what they did is true Overlanding, they didn't have 4wd or a RTT or the other stuff we have today but that didn't stop them from getting out there and seeing the country. That is kind of our view on it. We are not purist, if there isn't a place to stay out comes the tent but if there is we are going to wash our backsides. On the other hand, we prefer cooking out of the back of the Jeep rather than eating someone else's food. Our biggest rule is we only run backroads, this is how you see America. Don't get us wrong, we love dirt and gravel. We take whatever route gets us to the really cool stuff but its about exploring, not just getting the tires dirty.
The thing we got interested the most in was their goal of visiting all of the National Parks. During their time it was much more difficult to get to the parks but there were far fewer. Today we have many more so a goal we think we can actually reach is one park in each of the 50 states, and we will see about the rest. When we head out our route will include at least one National Park but its going to include as many other things as we can. "Hey, look dear, its the Spam Museum!!"
The thing we got interested the most in was their goal of visiting all of the National Parks. During their time it was much more difficult to get to the parks but there were far fewer. Today we have many more so a goal we think we can actually reach is one park in each of the 50 states, and we will see about the rest. When we head out our route will include at least one National Park but its going to include as many other things as we can. "Hey, look dear, its the Spam Museum!!"
I think this was kind of in the back of our minds when we decided to get into Overlanding. My wife's aunt and uncle had a VW camper van that my wife talks about often. They traveled a lot when they were younger but now that they are retired they are going absolutely nuts. Their last trip they were in southern India and came up missing for almost two weeks. The wife was freaking out because she couldn't get in touch with them. One day her aunt calls and the wife asked "where the hell are you?" "Singapore." They have been around the world at least once and I think they are part of the reason the wife is really getting into it.
Great thread. Thanks for all the stories everyone.
Mine is fairly simple. Grew up in an 'outdoorsy' family. Instead of going South on vacation my parents packed my siblings and I up and went camping to various provincial parks in Ontario. We were in Scouts (and later I went into Air Cadets). Did tons of backcountry canoeing including easy-moderate whitewater. After getting my career as a pilot, I bought the 4Runner and slowly got back into camping. It was hard to swallow the cost of basic camping gear as a young single guy starting out in life but I bought pieces when I could. Took a few years and a couple years of fabricating and building up the 4Runner. I'm now at a point where all my time off (which is roughly half a year) is available for exploring and 'overlanding'. Next on the list is to invest in more backcountry hiking gear. Going to try to get away from full time 'off-roading' and more into using my vehicle as a tool to get to less explored biking and hiking trails. Hopefully meet some of you out there!
Mine is fairly simple. Grew up in an 'outdoorsy' family. Instead of going South on vacation my parents packed my siblings and I up and went camping to various provincial parks in Ontario. We were in Scouts (and later I went into Air Cadets). Did tons of backcountry canoeing including easy-moderate whitewater. After getting my career as a pilot, I bought the 4Runner and slowly got back into camping. It was hard to swallow the cost of basic camping gear as a young single guy starting out in life but I bought pieces when I could. Took a few years and a couple years of fabricating and building up the 4Runner. I'm now at a point where all my time off (which is roughly half a year) is available for exploring and 'overlanding'. Next on the list is to invest in more backcountry hiking gear. Going to try to get away from full time 'off-roading' and more into using my vehicle as a tool to get to less explored biking and hiking trails. Hopefully meet some of you out there!
Mine is kind of a convoluted path.
As a small child my Dad and step mom would take us tent camping. I remember enjoying the more remote spots over the campgrounds. They quickly progressed to a slide in pop up camper for his truck and soon thereafter to only going to resorts. Neither of these thrilled me at all and I quit tagging along.
At the age of 14 I started deer hunting with family. My Grandfather was getting along in years, so he was at the point where he would simply walk down the road a little and check out clearings and interesting things. I can still hear him say " let's see what's over there" as he saw a spot he liked. I found I preferred this form of hunting as opposed to going to sit in one stand all day. We never got too far down the road as his old bones wouldn't take him as far as they once did and he was good at spotting a good stump to "sit and listen", but spending time with my grandfather, listening to his stories of times past as we explored was priceless.
I got in to my late teens and cars and girls became priority over the outdoors.
Fast forward a few years and as I passed 30 years old I felt the need to get back out of doors. I picked up a fishing pole and for a few years fishing became my out. I quickly remembered how the outdoors calmed my soul as a kid.
While Gramps is many years gone now, I decided to get back in to hunting. I once again found my style of hunting to be the same as gramps. I find I could go in to the woods and have more fun seeing things and it doesn't bother me if I shoot no animals.
My wife and I decided to get back in to camping as we both haven't tent camped since we were kids. After three years of state park "canned" camping, we have both become a little bored. Too easy to pull in and set up camp in your assigned spot.
As a small child my Dad and step mom would take us tent camping. I remember enjoying the more remote spots over the campgrounds. They quickly progressed to a slide in pop up camper for his truck and soon thereafter to only going to resorts. Neither of these thrilled me at all and I quit tagging along.
At the age of 14 I started deer hunting with family. My Grandfather was getting along in years, so he was at the point where he would simply walk down the road a little and check out clearings and interesting things. I can still hear him say " let's see what's over there" as he saw a spot he liked. I found I preferred this form of hunting as opposed to going to sit in one stand all day. We never got too far down the road as his old bones wouldn't take him as far as they once did and he was good at spotting a good stump to "sit and listen", but spending time with my grandfather, listening to his stories of times past as we explored was priceless.
I got in to my late teens and cars and girls became priority over the outdoors.
Fast forward a few years and as I passed 30 years old I felt the need to get back out of doors. I picked up a fishing pole and for a few years fishing became my out. I quickly remembered how the outdoors calmed my soul as a kid.
While Gramps is many years gone now, I decided to get back in to hunting. I once again found my style of hunting to be the same as gramps. I find I could go in to the woods and have more fun seeing things and it doesn't bother me if I shoot no animals.
My wife and I decided to get back in to camping as we both haven't tent camped since we were kids. After three years of state park "canned" camping, we have both become a little bored. Too easy to pull in and set up camp in your assigned spot.
This rings true with me. I never fit in to the "mudding" crowd of rowdy folks in giant trucks. Discovering overlanding was actually a thing was wonderful.
