Origins and Objectives of Southwest Overland
Welcome to Southwest Overland. My name is James and I live in Denver, CO. While Denver isn't my preferred city of residence, it does offer me relatively easy access to all that Colorado has to offer. Since age 3, I have lived in several places along Colorado's Front Range (with moves to other states sprinkled in along the way), but growing up I didn't get outdoors much. As I near age 40, it has become my goal to make sure that my daughters get as much exposure to the great outdoors as I can give them!
Another goal I have is to tackle more Overland adventure travel myself, because for the better part of 20 years now I've been in love with Colorado's back country and I always want more! More Colorado, more New Mexico, more Utah, more Arizona and beyond!
Over the years I have been a member of several 4wd clubs, some of who's company I still enjoy today. In addition to group trips, I have also done my fair share of solo adventure travel, which I enjoy a lot. On these trips I learned a lot. Mostly that bigger isn't always better and that going prepared is paramount to having an enjoyable trip, but I have a lot more to learn.
While I love many aspects of the outdoors, including mountain biking, hiking, simple camping trips and basic sight-seeing trips with the family, Overland style trips are by far my favorite way to experience the outdoors. In fact, some of my favorite experiences in the outdoors have been with a club I started with a couple of great friends in 2008-ish, called the Rocky Mountain Expedition Club (RMEC), which I'm still a proud member of.
Early on, a lot of content for this page will be generated from my past and ongoing experiences with the Rocky Mountain Expedition Club and other groups I go on adventures with. However, over time, there will be an increasing number of solo trips as I gain the skills it takes to safely be a fully self sufficient solo Overlander, which I believe will make me an asset to those I travel with and it will offer me the greatest freedom in my Overland travels.
So, why Southwest Overland then? I'm not a professional writer, or photographer, and as I've stated above, I'm not an "expert" in the Overland travel scene. So what does my site offer? To me, it's the ability to show others that you don't have to be any of those things to have an experience or knowledge worth sharing. I will also use this platform to express my creativity in any way possible. And that's the second point... Southwest Overland is just a way for me to share my stories the way I want them shared.
So thank you again for stopping by. I hope you enjoy what you see and that it inspires you.