Our Heart of America camp out event near Lander, Wyoming was a huge success! After three days of trail exploration, sightseeing and socializing, combined with two nights sleeping under the stars, everyone is making plans to do it again next year and talking about bringing friends.
Most of us arrived at camp and were ready to hit the dirt by 1:30 Friday afternoon. Our first section of trail took us to South Pass City, where a ghost town is currently being restored. We stopped here for a while to check out the area by foot and take pictures. After about an hour and a half of exploring, we had all worked up an appetite, so we made the short drive to Atlantic City where we enjoyed a relaxing dinner at the Mercantile. With our bellies full, we started the three hour trek back to camp. We were slowed down a bit after one truck got a flat tire, and then shortly after another truck found itself off trail. After some quick fixes, we were all off and running again. We were met with some amazing sunset vistas, thanks to the smoke from the fires to the west. Of course we had to stop at the overlook to get some amazing pictures of our trucks in the sunset. Finally, we rolled back into camp about 9:00pm. It was a mellow evening for us all, as we all planned to make an early start the next day.
Two additional trucks joined our group early Saturday morning, and by 8:30am we were headed out onto the trails. Our first stop was at an awesome jump site, where we spent about forty minutes getting our tires in the air and taking pictures. Several drivers in our group were first time jumpers, so time was spent giving instructions and allowing them to put their new skills to the test. Since we spent additional time at this first jump site, we decided to skip the second jump site, as we wanted to reach the sand dunes and still had a lot of miles to cover to get there.
There was an incredible section of wide open trail on the way to the sand dunes which allowed us to put the pedal to the floor board and top out at 107-109mph. We finally reached the dunes at about 2pm. Once there, time was spent teaching the newbies how to drive in the sand. We had some quick learners and, amazingly, we all managed to make it through the dunes without anyone getting stuck.
After playing in the sand for about two and a half hours, we made the short trek to the highway. This was another stretch of trail that allowed us to open it up and hit some top speeds. Once in Farson, Wyoming, we were able to gas up our trucks. Additionally, being that Farson is known for big scoops of ice cream, before leaving town we had to experience it for ourselves. After we finished our giant ice creams, we headed back out on the trail and made our way back to camp. We arrived at camp around 7pm.
While enjoying a relaxing evening at camp, we also raffled off a 50 inch radius light bar. The lucky winner was Nate Jones (truck #419). He was clearly excited about the win, as he promptly had the bar installed a mere two days following the event.
By Sunday morning, most everyone in the group was done. Most drivers packed up camp and headed home, while a few us stuck around for a while to shoot before making our way home. All in all, the weekend event was total awesomeness! We all had an amazing time and are already making plans to bring friends next year.
