Overland Expo West, 2014

dcoy

Adventurer
Give us East Coast guys a break, we're already geographically challenged.

Yeah, those 5 years we lived in the East were the worst 5 years of our lives. Maybe we have East Coast PTSD. I'm sure it's not that bad; maybe we just had terrible luck (hurricanes, ice storms, mosquitoes, humidity, etc).
 
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conifers4

Suburban nomad
Yeah, those 5 years we lived in the East were the worst 5 years of our lives. Maybe we have East Coast PTSD. I'm sure it's not that bad; maybe we just had terrible luck (hurricanes, ice storms, mosquitoes, humidity, etc).

Don't worry we saved the fires for you.
 

Fireman78

Expedition Leader
I think the east side Expo is a great idea. Gives us west side folk something different to shoot for. :)

Sent from my GT-P7310 using Tapatalk 2
 

Jonathan Hanson

Supporting Sponsor
The east-coast expo will not be a franchise—we'll be there running it with all our western team.

We added the east show only after many requests and much debate. We in Arizona and elsewhere west tend to think of everything east of the Mississippi as an urban wasteland, which of course it isn't. There are beautiful places to explore—and the point of the Expo is about getting out and exploring other places. This point was brought home by how few people from the east chose to portage their west Expo tickets to the eastern show after we announced it.

We do plan to take a slightly different tack in Asheville, and add more field sports such as canoeing, fly fishing, etc. It will have its own personality, but will hopefully be instantly recognizable as well.
 

bigwapitijohnny

Adventurer
Snip...—we'll be there running it with all our western team.

We added the east show only after many requests and much debate...Snip...There are beautiful places to explore—and the point of the Expo is about getting out and exploring other places...Snip

Sir,

What must we do to get an Expo in the Central region?...Seems like if the Western team is willing to drive through our region to the East, this may be possibility someday. I would rank Northern Arkansas up there with any other region in the United States. It truly is God's country...FINGERS CROSSING NOW...:coffee:

Respectfully,

BWJ
 

zeke2.0

Adventurer
Sir,

What must we do to get an Expo in the Central region?...Seems like if the Western team is willing to drive through our region to the East, this may be possibility someday. I would rank Northern Arkansas up there with any other region in the United States. It truly is God's country...FINGERS CROSSING NOW...:coffee:

Respectfully,

BWJ

As someone who used to live in AR, yes it's beautiful, but not near as beautiful as Western VA and West VA. The Alleghenies and Appalachians are even more beautiful than the Ozarks. Arkansas has much, much better fishing though. The George Washington National Forest, Monongahela, Cherokee and Great Smokies would cover more than half the state of AR just to give you an idea. So I'm very glad they are having an East Coast Expo. It's only really crowded closer to the Atlantic coast in the Major metropolitan areas. Everything west of I-95 up to Ohio is (NC, SC,Virginia,West Virginia,Kentucky,Eastern TN,Pennsylvania) is for the most part rural with few large cities.
 

zeke2.0

Adventurer
I think the east side Expo is a great idea. Gives us west side folk something different to shoot for. :)

Sent from my GT-P7310 using Tapatalk 2

You all might freak out seeing all the lush green forests we have. If the weather goes right, lots of different colors in October.
But if you happen to hear the sound of a Banjo coming out of the woods, run like hell.:)
 

jlandon

Get Dirty.
As a whole, Arkansas is a hidden gem in the central states. I could take you places that haven't been touched since the wagon train last went through. (which, given the rural nature of the area... might have been rather recent!)

Does it compete with any other place I've been in the US (which is everywhere)? Without a doubt, but for completely different reasons. It doesn't give you the vastness of the west or the historic culture of the east... It gives you a pleasant surprise in a nice mixture of everything. And I know where to get the good blueberry pie. That's a challenge in itself.

But... I'm rather biased and driving 18+ hours to the expo is rough...
 

Jonathan Hanson

Supporting Sponsor
Given the amount of time it takes to put together, run, and shut down the Expo, I strongly believe two per year will be our limit unless we're willing to stop traveling ourselves. But there is a possibility that we'll move either the west or east show to different locations. The problem with a midwest show is not scenery, of which there is plenty, but simple population base. We need access to a certain number of people within a day's drive to make the show successful. Flagstaff gives people reasonable interstate access from L.A., Denver, Phoenix and Tucson, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City—a big circle of major cities, all of them known for outdoor pursuits.

Blueberry pie, though . . .
 

zeke2.0

Adventurer
As a whole, Arkansas is a hidden gem in the central states. I could take you places that haven't been touched since the wagon train last went through. (which, given the rural nature of the area... might have been rather recent!)

Does it compete with any other place I've been in the US (which is everywhere)? Without a doubt, but for completely different reasons. It doesn't give you the vastness of the west or the historic culture of the east... It gives you a pleasant surprise in a nice mixture of everything. And I know where to get the good blueberry pie. That's a challenge in itself.

But... I'm rather biased and driving 18+ hours to the expo is rough...

I have family in NWAR, they know where to get great blueberry pie, hehehe.
It shouldn't take you 18 hrs to drive to Asheville NC.
BTW, I used to love riding my motorcycle around the Ozarks. Jasper was one of my favorite places. Scenic roads into and out of town.
 

jlandon

Get Dirty.
I have family in NWAR, they know where to get great blueberry pie, hehehe.
It shouldn't take you 18 hrs to drive to Asheville NC.
BTW, I used to love riding my motorcycle around the Ozarks. Jasper was one of my favorite places. Scenic roads into and out of town.

Good deal! Jasper is awesome, but I feel its taken a tourist twist... For pavement, you cant beat it... Though for off-pavement, way more potential once you get in the backcountry of the Ozarks.

18 hours to flagstaff, I think Asheville was 13 hours last time I headed that way. Either way, a short drive for a chance to see friends, learn, and if lucky... teach someone something.
 
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Dan Grec

Expedition Leader
I snapped these at Overland Expo 2014:

adventure-trailers-habitat-900x600.jpg


aev-brute-doublecab-900x600.jpg


aev-ram-front-bumper-900x600.jpg


pronghorn-jk-bumper-2-900x600.jpg


I had an awesome time, and can't wait to go back. Such an amazing event it's hard to capture in words.
My attempt is here: http://theroadchoseme.com/overland-expo-2014

-Dan
 

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