How did we get here?

A leap of faith…….

It started in late summer of 2019. I was browsing the Natural State Overland FB group page when I happened across a post from a group out of Dallas, Tx that was planning a ride in the Ouachita NF later that fall. I sent a message to the guy organizing the ride and asked if Paula and I could join in. I was told “of course”. We were added to the group text shortly thereafter and began to make plans for our first overlanding/trail ride in the Ouachita NF. It was a great trip and we were hooked! On the ride home that Sunday we were already making plans to sell our brand new T@G teardrop and come up with a new camping set up to allow us to get out there off the beaten path and explore.

December 23, 2019 I left out on a solo trip to the Ouachita NF to do some exploring and scouting out new areas to camp. I entered the forest near Williams Junction, Arkansas around 3:30 pm. This area was on the opposite end of the forest from where we started with the Dallas group 5 weeks before, near Dierks, Arkansas. I was jumping in COLD TURKEY. A little nervous and armed only with a few tracks I had put together on Gaia. I wound my way westward until around sunset when I happened across a campsite. I set up my one person ground tent, started a fire and cooked dinner. If I said I didn’t have a little bit of anxiety camping solo in a forest, I knew little about, I’d be lying. I turned in early excited about what the next day, Christmas Eve had in store for me.It was a beautiful morning, awesome sunrise without a cloud in the sky. I broke camp and set out on a day of adventure. I found several campsites and marked them on Gaia as I drove along my planned route. I zigged and zagged through the forest for the better part of the day. I covered about 70 miles of forest roads that day, marked over 20 campsites but most of all, it was the fire that was being lit on that beautiful Christmas Eve that has fueled my passion to get out there and explore! By late afternoon I was working my way East out of the forest and back home to Memphis for holiday festivities with the family.

In closing I’d like to say this, say no to your fears. Get out there and LIVE! I have never been one who ”enjoyed” meeting new people or be around large groups I don’t know. If I had not met that group of strangers at a Shell gas station, in Dierks, Arkansas, in the middle of the night, I wouldn’t have met an awesome group of people. I certainly wouldn’t have a YouTube channel, podcast or this blog. Since those late 2019 trips to the Ouachita NF We have camped and explored in nine states, met some really amazing people and look forward to doing more! So get out there and push the limits of your comfort zone!

– Overland Curmudgeon