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15 December 2019: Began packing the camp gear today to get a headstart on loading the Jeep while the weather is still decent out, as the next two days are forecast for rain and cold. Trying to get as much loaded as possible in advance, this way on departure day there are only the perishable items, electronics and personal stuff to add …
14 December 2019: Getting the maps ready for the big holiday roadtrip. This year will be a bit of a different trip. More challenging on a number of levels than recent years, and it also marks the start of a new larger adventure …
11 December 2019: This morning there was snow on the Jeep (and everything else) in a sign that winter is definitely here already. Of course it was just really a bit of a dusting, and even quite beautiful …
10 December 2019: Returned to New York and the familiar old places on Long Island, where winter is settling in and the sun is hiding more often than not. Still, there are moments of natural beauty …
THIS MONTH:
Its almost holiday roadtrip time and there is plenty of planning for what’s next. Perhaps a surprise or two as we head into the new year…
COMING UP SOON:
Advanced sand dune training with Barlow Adventures at the Imperial Sand Dunes in southern California. This three day driving and navigation program focuses on moving safely and effectively through large dunefields. Skills-building exercises are intended to improve pace, line choice and vehicle control, as well as developing precision map and compass navigation technique…
More southwest exploration with the original USnomads team taking some time to just appreciate the journey…
Tierra del Sol’s 58th annual Desert Safari at Ocotillo Wells from February 28th to March 1st. The event is one of the biggest Jeep events of its kind and the proceeds go towards the fight to keep Public Lands open. …
MAP NAMES
Looking at topo maps from the southwest of the U.S.A. there are plenty of “odd” place names to be seen, leading us to wonder how and why these places are called what they are. Apparently there is a governmental body that decides what names appear on maps. According to the National Geographic Society, it is the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) that has been standardizing place names on government maps for over 125 years. The board was created after the Civil War, when the U.S. was expanding westward and place-name inconsistencies and contradictions were making maps of the new territories confusing for surveyors, cartographers, and scientists. In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison, tasked the BGN with clearing up all “unsettled questions concerning geographic names.” The BGN comprises members from six federal departments and the Central Intelligence Agency, the Government Publishing Office, the Library of Congress, and the U.S. Postal Service. It rules on hundreds of naming decisions each year and maintains geographical databases (available at geonames.usgs.gov) containing more than two million domestic records and over 11 million records for foreign names. The BGN doesn’t decide what a place is called. It responds to proposals from federal agencies; state, local, and tribal governments; and the public. But its essential purpose is always the same: clarity and consistency. …
Nesconset | Paris | Danville PA | Akron OH | Toledo OH | South Bend IN | Oglesby IL | Davenport IA | Des Moines IA | Omaha NE | North Platte NE | Denver CO | Grand Junction CO | Moab UT | Hurricane UT | Mesquite NV | Valley of Fire NV | Lake Mead NV | Las Vegas NV | Death Valley CA | Trona CA
MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
1-8 December – Paris
16-30 November – Paris & Rennes
1-15 November – New York
14-31 October – Arizona
8-13 October – LON TOP TEN
1-7 October – Girl Gang Garage
16-30 September – Women’s Wheeling
1-15 September – Long Island
9-31 August – Serbia
1-8 August – #LONCON2019
16-31 July – Roadtrip to Atlanta
1-15 July – Cape Cod
15-30 June – Eastern Long Island
1-14 June – Bantam Jeep Festival
May – PA Trail cleanup
22-30 April – Minnesota
16-21 April – PA Trails
1-15 April – New Jeep
15-31 March – Paris
1-14 March – Arizona
15-28 February – San Antonio
1-14 February – Sedona and Glamis
January – Iran
December – Holiday Road Trip
Archive
REFLECTIONS
A quick overview of impressions from a stop in Cairo during our recent scouting mission in Egypt and Sudan … [read]
SPECIAL REPORT
A look into south-eastern Algeria on the border with Libya and Niger: overlanding with the Tuareg in one of the most remote corners of the Sahara … [read]
