"Life has no limitations, except the ones you make."
~Les Brown
Nothing has a stronger bond between contrasting vehicles than Jeep's and Trains.
Yes I said that and yes it's true ( I will go into this a little later on in a separate blog post.) Another common bond is the shared hobbies of overlanding, railfanning and even some off-roading. There are a lot of similarities that one would never think of and today hopefully I can shed some light on the cool things that bring these hobbies together.
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| Serous Business and the local switcher |
What they have in common:
Before I even thought of becoming a overlander or even a Jeep owner I was a railfan and for many days I would camp next to the railroad tracks for the entire day. Armed with only my camera, some snacks and a strong will and ambition to accomplish a challenge (sound familiar? ) I would spend many hours trackside in all sorts of weather to capture the drama of the high iron. When I became the owner of a Jeep I would find another community that shared the same strong will and ambition to conquer challenges and that was..... Overlanding.
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| Notice the similarities? Me in my younger days trackside!! |
For many years I would watch trains and when my longtime friend Dave (IG: @nomadpig) would get together and travel to different places to set up and in a sense day camp for sometimes up to 16 hours trackside it only became natural that what would now be known as the base for Crooked River Overland be formed. A lot of railfanning is just day camping and Urban Overlanding however there are some parks and areas that do allow you to spent the night and even a couple of days watching trains and enjoying the outdoors.
The Challenges:
Each hobby has similarities when it comes to challenges, in both hobbies you are at the mercy of the weather and temperature extremes. Other times you are at the mercy of your gear failing both vehicle and digital. When it comes to other challenges there are major differences, but never the less they can still threaten your life and property, let's dive into it a little bit.
In overlanding you risk rollovers, wild animals, temperature extremes, and sometimes people who want to do harm. In railfanning or Urban Overlanding one can expect the same but with a high increase in the people factor!!!! Trackside bring its own challenges, derailments, miscreants (bad people) who the only goal they have is to take things by force and with that fancy rig, food, and camera gear really increases your exposure to these dangers. Both also require due diligence to find a safe, legal campsite if you choose to bend the night.
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| Trackside Sunrise. |
Bringing it all together:
Whether you are a hard core overlander, a hard core railfan or like us, both there are a lot of similarities in both our hobbies. Our ultimate goal is to show the world of trains and the beauty of God's creation through our lens and have you come along on our journey. I hope you enjoyed this blog and maybe found a new passion or opportunity to take into consideration. With the world being the way it is I just want to encourage you that God is still in control and until next time,
Stay Healthy and Stay Blessed...
