I'm posting this because it needs posted, not because I can organize the crew or am even 100% sure I can attend, personally. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/baby.gif" alt="" />

Here's a link to the Overland Expo website for more information.

I would really like to attend this event, even if only as a day trip. I've seen some folks in the Mitsubishi section talking about rallying the troops and making a run of it. Toasty mentioned a "Crayfish massacre," which scares me a little, as I can't tell if he's talking about doing a lot of fishing or eating a lot of bait. (It's a southern thing, I don't understand.)

Overlanding is really the big reason why I got my rig last month. Well, that, and the exceptional group of local Mitsubishi 4WD folks I met a couple years back, so I would really enjoy a chance to make a day of it, checking out the awesome rigs that roll into Flag from all over the world, maybe talking to some of the overlanders in person, picking up some free info (Overland Gourmet has some KILLER recipes), and as Toasty also mentioned, drooling over stuff I can't afford.

Perhaps there could be a simple, overnight camping shindig too. Not necessarily in the vicinity of the expo?

I am hoping to have my rig ready for 8 hours on the highway to Ridgecrest, California, to work at a rally race the weekend prior, but assuming wallet isn't entirely wasted by then, I'd like to make this happen and would see if I could talk friends with a JK into coming along too.

Discuss.

Due to schedule conflict, I won't be able to attend.

I do encourage others to attend. And, if you do attend and want to write an article (with pictures), it will be posted...

The term "overland" has become enormously popular these days, and it seems that it's been settling, in the US, on some idea of doing modestly rough off-highway driving in massively overbuilt and over-ornamented vehicles with a strong focus on [color:"#99C68E"] appearances [/color]
sleeping and cooking facilities.

This has led to a lot of innovation, and has attracted a huge array of "tinkerers" and "makers" and other intellectually active folk - so I can't say it's a bad thing. I just also don't find myself as drawn to the idea as I once was, for some reason I always think most fondly of adventures and travel done with little or no equipment, in generally not-at-all specialized vehicles, and with no particular word to describe what we were doing. It's been said that it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car, and perhaps there is a correlation here.

Still this group is "kin" to my own pursuits, and my jeep does have this word on little emblems on the door <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> so I'll be up there, checking out the goodies people have come up with and enjoying what will undoubtedly be a ton of great conversations with like minded or similarly minded folks.

The real question is, will any of the AZ Crew be camping out that weekend?

I'd be down to go for the day and then go camping. About that time to whip out the camping gear.

I'd be down for a day trip, but I have my kids that weekend, and I am ill equipped for camping with children at this point. If it were just me, a sleeping bag and a couple of bags of beef jerky would just about do it (and maybe some spicy cheese-its), but with younger kids I just don't have the gear to make a weekend of it. A road trip up north would be great though. I think I've got enough miles on my rebuild to trust taking it that far.

I say let's attend a day, show that Montero's are serious trucks check out the event and then leave to somewhere that we can camp like a bunch of badass minimalists that we are.



As for crafish, I wouldn't eat these out of the valley rivers but the water up there is pretty clean and cold so the little bastards are pretty good eating. They are invasive so there are no limits or anything on the slaughter.


Shelled and fried




Boiled




Floating in butter

Sounds awesome. I hope I can make it.


Looks tempting like that, but I've never seen crawfish look like anything other than bugs.

Nothing against seafood, though. I'm posting this three hours after a tuna fish sandwich and one hour before massive, birthday sushi extravaganza.

I'm down with going up look around at stuff and go home.

There are two places that I go camping at. One is off of Kelly Canyon and 17. Big open field with trees but popular with OHV's. Another is on the same side as the lookout off of 89 before the switchbacks. Open field and trees also. I have the map of opens roads and the app so we can make sure the forest police don't get all gripey with us (same map as the FS closures post).
I have no idea what lakes, streams, etc.. have crawfish. I quit fishing (cause face it, can't eat water or the cold I always catch). Lower Lake Mary may have them still but they almost always a mercury warning on the fish from there. Marshall may have them since the last time I was there, it was the right type for their kind but I don't know anymore. When I get the urge to fish, I cheat. I go to the trout farm and catch them there. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

We found a bumper crop of crawdads in Oak Creek, south of Sedona the last time we camped there. The trail to that area starts a couple of miles south/west of Sedona off Alt 89, across from the water treatment plant. Nice camp spot there.

The other place I love to camp (but I can't ever get anyone to go with me) is off FR300, the Rim Road, off Hwy 87, north-east of the Hwy 260 junction, past Payson, Pine and Strawberry. I avoid the off-road restricted area by heading off on FR 218A to FR 218/Milk Ranch Point. You can camp feet from the rim. No water there, though.

John B.