Overland Journal Summer 2011

Mr. Hanson, Life itself is a transition. Sharon and I wish to acknowledge the education and great pleasure you extended to us during your term as Editor of Overland Journal. We have carefully saved each issue; the magazine has been unique. You have earned an old Irish blessing which reads in part: An Old Irish Blessing: May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields.... Very best regards, Sharon and Stephen Russell Editor’s note: On news of Jonathan’s departure, letters of praise flooded in. I’m sure Jonathan is only a size nine, maybe ten, but these are going to be some big shoes to fill. From the Middle East, fireside in the Shenandoah…

Graham Jackson Graham Jackson was born in Lesotho in Southern Africa. He grew up racing motorcycles in the dirt as well as helping his father design, build and race off-road buggies. Graham completed his first safari across the Kalahari at age 10 in a Range Rover with his family. This trip planted the seed for Graham's lifelong overlanding obsession. In 2004 he completed a 30,000 mile overland adventure from London to Cape Town. He has guided expeditions in Africa, the American West, Mexico and Central America, and has been an active supporter of the global overland community. A scientist by trade, Graham tries to combine his interest in the natural world, his passion for overlanding and his love of things mechanical. He is now director of Overland Training. Andrew Moore Not content to…

Throughout our lives, adventure can take on many forms and many meanings. In late 2006, the team at Overland Journal started a new adventure, one quite different from the typical border crossings and desert travel we had enjoyed as travelers—we started a magazine. With the country dipping into the Great Recession, and the publishing world being turned on its head, our timing could not have been worse. None of us had run a publication before—we didn’t know what not to do, or what could not be done. I suspect that is part of the reason for our success. We produced the first issue in the guest bedroom of my home, with just enough room for the new iMac we bought for our new designer, Stephanie, my wife and high school…

Live vicariously… yourself. through It was a warm, austral summer night in the South Pacific. Under cool hues of a waning moon, light surf rolled in from the east, churning the white sand beach and dispersing calming timbres through my camp. Aside from a few dingos darting through the shadows, I was alone. I’d come to Frasier Island, Australia, as part of a one-month hiatus from the daily grind. Say, an effort to sort out my life. After college, tired of being poor, I’d taken a job as a UPS driver. From day one it didn’t feel right for me. I was working outside, a good thing, but I dreamed of doing more, to travel, maybe drive around the world. But time had slipped by, 13 years worth—a close evaluation of my…

We have all experienced it. Love at first sight—something that immediately connects to our soul, to our sense of style, sensibilities, our very nature. In a time where everything must be cheap and immediate, where function is actually considered an attribute (shouldn’t everything we buy function properly?), many of us are gravitating towards fewer, better-quality things, products built by craftsmen. When looking for my first new bicycle in over a decade, I found myself strolling the local bike shop, pouring through specifications, and generally feeling unimpressed. However, my search ended quickly when Christophe Noel (Technical Editor and bike guru) invited me to visit FORM Cycles in Sedona, AZ. These bikes didn’t just function; they were beautiful and would look as appropriate in the Louvre as on my rack. Beyond the meticulous…

In 2008, I drove the Overland JK Wrangler from the Mexican border to the 49th parallel—the Canadian border—on all dirt roads. The route was about 3,000 miles and spanned 22 days. In the process, I wrote a multi-part series of articles for Four Wheeler Magazine. I hadn’t thought of it as an inspiration-building trek; it was just something I’d daydreamed of, and I finally got off my rear and did it. Two years later, I continue to be honored with email compliments from readers and queries regarding the route. I contemplated these kind words as I drove from the Overland Journal offices in Prescott, Arizona, to Amado, site of the third annual Overland Expo (OX). The word inspiration kept coming to mind. ConserVentures President Roseann Hanson had informed me there would…