< more recent | January 2023 | older >
29 January 2023: Winter’s chill means the Island’s beaches are empty and it is the perfect time to go for a nice long walk and appreciate the solitude of the north shore the way it might have been before suburbia’s spread…
22 January 2023: Today we began to do more targeted tasks, looking at the design for the eventual finished project, determining what may need to be fabricated in order to configure the small truck to be able to carry a dirt bike in the bed, as well as how we will have to alter the body around the wheel wells to fit the 35″ tires once the 3″ lift is installed…
21 January 2023: The first day of the Woman and Machine All-Female Offroad Build project was a busy one. It was an “open-house” event and a number of ladies showed up and we all dived right into the work at hand. Under direction of the project leaders, Karen Sullivan and Andrea Dello Russo, we began to take the Isuzu Rodeo apart to see what we have to work with. Karen and Andrea had some design notions already in mind and some specs for the build, but there was still a lot of things to be determined before the building part can begin. We will need to assess the state of the trucks basic mechanical guts to see what kind of work needs to be done to make it roadworthy for a long crosscountry journey in addition to the modifications necessary to make it offroad capable …
20 January 2023: Up very early to drive to Orient Point for the 7am ferry to CT, and then a drive north and east, across RI and into MA, where I was headed to the Cape Cod area for the weekend’s “Open House” on the new Woman and Machine All Female Offroad Build project. Coming into town a day ahead, with the idea that I would have some time to explore some areas around the Freetown-Copicut State Forest. Unfortunately the weather was not at all conducive to outside activity, as the area was being hit by the tail end of a major winter storm. I did manage to explore a few dirt roads in the forest, and took a short break at Battleship Cove in Fall River to see the old ships parked there, before going the rest of the way to Plymouth, MA…
17 January 2023: Mild evening considering it’s January, so took advantage of it to get outside and do some grilling tonite. Roasting some delicious red peppers directly on the fire…
1 January 2023: Welcomed in the New Year with a nice warm bonfire back home thanks to some of the wood I gathered in Ocala! Wishing everyone a very fun and adventurous 2023…
THIS MONTH:
Heading up to New England to participate in a new all female off-road vehicle build with Andrea’s Auto and Woman And Machine. 21-22 January is the first Open House meeting, where we will start taking things apart to see what we’re working with…
COMING UP SOON:
Getting ready for the next big road trip. Heading southwest and into the desert for some new exploration as well as a few of our favorite events. Lots of details still to be determined, but it’s “on the calendar”…
Joining the Barlow Adventures crew at the Imperial Sand Dunes in southern California to document the training process for a seven-day driving and navigation program focused on moving safely and effectively through the desert…
Trail Guiding for the California 4-Wheel Drive Association’s second annual Death Valley Experience fundraiser event running March 22-25, 2023. Each day will feature a choice of runs to some famous, some infamous and some secretive points of interest within Death Valley National Park. The runs will depart from Furnace Creek and from Stovepipe Wells. Some of the points of interest we will visit during Death Valley Experience 2023 include Zabriskie Point (famous) and Barker Ranch (infamous) as well as Dante’s View, 20 Mule Team Canyon, Artists’ Drive, Chloride Cliffs, Aguereberry Point, Skidoo and Darwin Falls. All of the trail runs are suitable for novice drivers and SUVs with high clearance and 4-wheel drive…
USnomads.org is very proud to be presenting the second edition of the Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally in 2023. This is a new kind of rally experience — a ten week event that participants can do from anywhere within the continental U.S.A. Competitors design their own routes as part of the rally, then drive it in a points-based online competition that includes optional activity tasks, quests and weekly challenges. The 2023 rally will run from 5 June – 13 August and is open to any driver within the United States who has an off-road capable vehicle — stock or modified. Registration for 2023 is open now. For more information see the Rally website …
ABOUT THE ISUZU BUILD
The 2023 All—Female Offroad Vehicle Build in New England is a project conceived and led by Andrea Dello Russo of Andrea’s Auto and Karen Sullivan of Woman And Machine. The team is taking a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo and customizing it for rugged off-road use. Andrea and Karen are inviting women to participate hands-on during a series of build weekends over the next several months, and will also be offering educational opportunities related to the various steps in the process as they go…
ORIENT POINT
Orient Point is the tip of the easternmost town on Long Island’s North Fork. The town itself was originally named Poquatuck, after the name of the local Native American tribe that resided along the inland waterways, then named Oyster Ponds because of the nearby oyster beds. The name Orient was chosen to reflect that area’s easternmost position on the North Fork. A later legend has it that when Oyster Bay, New York became famous during the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt, the name was changed to Orient to match the name of its most prominent land feature, Orient Point. The hamlet was originally settled by five families given a land grant by the King of England in the 17th century. Later, Orient was used as a base of operations by British commanders such as Benedict Arnold and local Tories during the American Revolution to conduct raids on Yankee-held Connecticut. Among Benedict Arnold’s headquarters was a local tavern owned and operated by the Vail family on what is now known as “Village Lane”. Ferry service has connected Orient Point to southern New England for over a century. The Cross Sound Ferry currently operates a vehicle/passenger ferry service between Orient Point and New London, Connecticut…
MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
22-31 December – Holiday Roadtrip
16-21 December – Holiday Roadtrip
1-15 December – Long Island
November – Long Island
22-31 October – Roadtrip East
15-21 October – Moab LONCON
8-14 October – Moab LONCON
1-7 October – Roadtrip West
22-30 September – Roadtrip West
16-21 September – Roadtrip West
1-15 September – Long Island
August – Long Island
15-31 July – Serbia
1-14 July – NE Roadtrip
16-30 June – NE Roadtrip
1-15 June – Long Island
May – Nomad Rally Prep
16-30 April – Long Island
7-15 April – Heading Back to NY
1-6 April – Heading Back to NY
27-31 March – Death Valley- DVE
21-26 March – LON Skills Camp
15-20 March – Death Valley
8-14 March – Nevada
1-7 March – Glamis Training
16-28 February – Roadtrip Southwest
1-15 February – Long Island
8-31 January – Long Island
1-7 January – Florida to NY
28-31 December – Okefenokee NWR
24-27 December – Ocala National Forest
19-23 December – Heading South
Archive
SPECIAL REPORT
All about exploring ghost towns and abandoned places in the USA and beyond, with tips, and information on the many different types of sites to be found across the globe, including detailed guides for eight specific sites… [read]
RE-OPENING
Report from the first trail run with the Off Road Consulting group at Rausch Creek Off Road Park as the post-pandemic phased re-openings begin in Pennsylvania and some of our favorite local trails re-open to the public after the two-month shutdown… [read]
REFLECTIONS
EGYPT: CAIRO REFLECTIONS
A quick overview of impressions from a stop in Cairo during our recent scouting mission in Egypt and Sudan … [read]
SPECIAL REPORT
A look into south-eastern Algeria on the border with Libya and Niger: overlanding with the Tuareg in one of the most remote corners of the Sahara … [read]
