Forest2Sea Overlanding Adventures

Yesterday, Crtr Grl and I decided to finally take a day off and go for a drive. We moved to our new rainforest habitat over a week ago and just experienced our first 4 days straight of strong rain. We were missing the waves of the Pacific Ocean, so we drove an hour west to Rialto Beach. It was still stormy, with intermittent rain, but it filled our soul with the sound of waves and smell of the ocean.

On our way back, we took a random side road and found the most magical forest, filled with moss and clovers. We carefully tiptoed a few feet in to capture some photos, but didn't want to disturb the pixies and gnomes that absolutely must live there! The best part - this place is only 20 minutes drive from our new home!

New blog and YouTube video is up on our weekend in Big Bear, CA a little while back. We camped at the same dispersed, yellow-post site where I first took Crtr Grl camping in 2013. It was a super mellow, relaxing weekend, until....

FJ Cruiser Overlanding - Off Grid in Big Bear - Forest2Sea Overlanding Adventures Join us for an off-grid weekend trip to Big Bear, CA! CrtrGrl and I got all of our overlanding gear mounted on our FJ. It was time to try it all out!

Our FJ served us well in Death Valley National Park. The only thing Crtr Grl and I could have wished for would be a larger gas tank. We solved the problem with 5 gallon gas cans. This wasn't the most secure attachment and we're very happy that we now have a Front Runner Outfitters mount for our 2 x 5 gallon Wavian Jerry Cans jerrycans.

The park has 3 gas stations, but the more remote places (Eureka Dunes, for example) can be 90+ miles, much of it on dirt road, from one of the gas stations. That doesn't leave much margin for exploring!

There's some amazing in Death Valley National Park ! This set was in an abandoned cabin, left by miners. It's crazy to think of the hard, harsh life they lived in brutal conditions!

Please make sure to and don't disturb or take anything you find!

Room with a View

Picture perfect clouds, snow frosted mountains and a dispersed camping spot. What else do you need?

While exploring the farther reaches of Death Valley National Park, Crtr Grl and I found some really cool places! This is the aptly named Teakettle Junction, on the way to the Racetrack.

There's some amazing history that's well preserved. Please make sure to and don't disturb or take anything you find!

Crtr Grl comes out of an abandoned mine in Death Valley National Park, CA.

She just had to see what was inside the abandoned mine. Fortunately, she didn't go in very far. The tunnel turned a corner and it was pitch black past the entrance. The opening was supported by old beams of wood, wedged into cracks to hold up the thin, corrugated sheet-metal roof. It would protect from small rockfalls, but not large boulders coming down the hillside or from an earthquake, common in California.

Disclaimer: We do not advise anyone going inside any abandoned mines and you do so at your own peril. It's not a theme park and there is no one there to keep you safe.

Our first night in Death Valley National Park. This was the scene when Crtr Grl and I arrived in the Eureka Dunes in the pitch black night after driving all day. We ended up not even pitching a tent and just sleeping in the front seats. I have to say, that was one of the least comfortable ways I've slept! It got down into the 20s (F), so we ended up piling our sleeping bags on top of us. Highly unrecommended, lol!

Nature is at the core of the bond that Crtr Grl and I have together. When I decided to propose to her many years ago, the most romantic thing that I could think of was to surprise her in one of the most remote and inhospitable places - Death Valley National Park . It was absolutely perfect!

Overlanding takes us to places most people never see. And most important for us, being self sufficient allows us to get for away from civilization for a time.

For us, overlanding is about the places it takes us. The amazing things we see. Getting away from civilization. Getting closer to nature.

Death Valley National Park really left an impression on us - the vastness of it and the harsh conditions. We were amazed by the land formations that you won't see anywhere else and the history of people that lived in those conditions.

Dispersed camping is our favorite way to experience nature. No campgrounds, no one else around. No designated camp sites, leave no trace. Just us and the wilderness.

This was from Death Valley National Park, before we had the comfort and convenience of our current overlanding setup.

It was a family effort to install the new Front Runner Outfitters roof rack. We got an extension to the FJ version, so that the roof rack reaches from the front to the back of the FJ. We did this because of how we wanted to position our Tepui Tents roof top tent. More to come in our build process!

Check out the blogs/videos of our build at https://overlandingadventures.forest2sea.com/blog/

Forest2Sea Overlanding Adventures updated their business hours.

With our overland setup, we returned to the scene of Crtr Grl's first camping trip with me at the Big Bear Yellow Post Sites. It was also where we tried our first 'dispersed' camping together. After going dispersed, she didn't want to have anything to do with campgrounds, unless we had to! Do you prefer staying in campgrounds or more remote, dispersed sites?

All comfy and cozy in our roof top tent! Even our dog, Indi, approves of the sleeping arrangements.

Tepui Tents

This was the first step in our FJ Cruiser overlanding build out. With the help of my dad, we removed the stock roof rack in preparation for installing a new Front Runner roof rack. Check out the build blog & video at https://overlandingadventures.forest2sea.com/blog/

What was the first piece of gear you modified on your overlanding vehicle?

That one time we explored Death Valley National Park over New Years and I proposed to Crtr Grl at Eureka Dunes. :) Have you ever experienced (or planned) a major life event while overlanding?

This was the first dry run of our overlanding setup, before the full moon rose. We headed out into the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to try out the new Tepui Tents roof top tent and Front Runner Outfitters roof rack. Things went well, until the winds came up! For the full story, check out the blog and video (https://overlandingadventures.forest2sea.com/blog/). Has something gone wrong on one of your overlanding adventures?

Crtr Grl didn't want to give up the driver's seat on our first big road trip up to Olympic National Park. This was her after hugging her first joshua tree along Highway 395. From ghost towns to backpacker havens, exploring the 395 in our FJ has been one of the highlights of living in California! What's your favorite highway and why?

One of our first day trips in our new FJ Cruiser was to head out to the desert during a storm. Rainbows, sun, clouds zooming by, it was awesome!

This was the day it all started - trading in our Toyota 4Runner for a new 2013 Trail Teams FJ Cruiser. We were so happy and excited, but also had no idea what we'd started or where it would take us! How did you feel when you bought your first real 4x4?

Welcome to our new Overlanding Adventures channel! We're a couple who loves the outdoors and loves getting out into the wild. Join us as we transform our 2013 Trail Teams FJ Cruiser into an overlanding expedition vehicle and then follow along on our adventures. If you're looking for more, check out our blogs and videos at https://overlandingadventures.forest2sea.com!

- Crtr Grl & Under Pressure Photography in Olympic National Park

Front Runner Outfitters Tepui Tents ARB 4x4 Accessories - USA Office