Ruby red lips, shapely hips and nails that shine like justice she can make an honest man lie, a rich man beg, a good man steal and a strong man cry.

It didn’t start out that way. She began life as a fabulous dashboard icon. Those who remember back to the Arctic Circle adventure, recall when Hula Betty joined the team and started appearing in the photos. You may also remember her mysterious disappearance. Although no charges were ever filed, rumors of her death continued to circulate on the Internet and grocery story tabloids.  There was even talk about resurrecting Molder, Sculley and the Lone Gunman based on a Hula Betty government cover up conspiracy.

I am happy to report that the stories of Hula Betty’s death have been highly exaggerated. In fact Hula Betty has started her own website dedicated to celebrating diversity and promoting tolerance. Hula Betty’s Twitter page and Facebook, chronicle her micro road trips around town and the Northwest with text snippets and pictures.

Like so many iconic Bettys of the past, Hula Betty has evolved.  Once a simple bobble doll perched atop the dash, she has taken on form and flesh that often only live in the letters to playboy.  But don’t hate her cause she’s beautiful…  She lives in the now, turning a drive to the supermarket into an road trip adventure and looks at a traffic detour as opportunity to explore the unknown.  Hula Betty lives her life to the fullest, taking every chance she has to meet new friends and encourage others to put an adventurer’s lens on the simple things in their own lives.

Hula Betty tries to bring out the best in all of us and we hope that we can live up to the standard she has set for us.

BTW: Those of you with a discerning eye were obviously drawn to Hula Betty’s little tattoo and yes…  it was inspired by the lore of the blue bunny.  She wears her blue bunny for Boy and his willingness to explore the world around him as well as his ability to live on a diet of ice cream, chips and Mountain Dew.

And if you think Hula Betty is just another pretty face…  It is with her help that we are able to bring you our off-road adventure videos.  You can see her work on her off-road adventure video channel on You Tube or off-road video Vimeo channel.  In her own words “It is all about the people.  They have stories and I want to tell them.”

As a boy I explored the woods, lakes and creeks around the neighborhood pretending it was the jungle of the Amazon, the deserts of the Sahara or the plains of Mongolia.  This spirit of adventure grew when I passed my drivers test and began to explore further out in my Baja Bug, which I held together with duct tape and chewing gum.  It was about that time that one of the most famous overland adventure competitions came to my attention, the Camel Trophy known to many as the the Olympics of 4X4.

History shows the British have always left their little island and explored the unknown (to them) areas of the world.  They also began their adventures with big fan fare and the Camel Trophy was no different.  Pulling teams from various countries and putting together some of the most adventurous locations and difficult terrain, the Camel Trophy threw British Land Rover onto the worlds stage for their go anywhere off-road adventure vehicle. A category they owned for decades. Think safari and I dare you to not picture a gear laden Land Rover with nation geographic photographers pointing cameras in every direction.

And you really gotta like that cross between the BBC and Wide World Of Sports commentary that accompanies a British adventure. They make even a trek through the swamps sound like they are discovering the cure for cancer.

The Camel Trophy hooked me on off-road adventures. All that adventurous adrenalin addiction, teams working against the elements and an Indiana Jones sense of style. What’s not to love!  I’ve come a long way from those back woods in my little VW Baja Bug but that same desire to see what is around the next corner still exists.

And with big tobacco out of the picture any ideas on lead sponsors… What do you think about the “Google FJ Trophy”? Maybe we can get the guys from Top Gear involved to keep that British flare.

Getting information from the Internet can be like drinking from a fire hose. The internet can bring you some of what you want and so much junk that you give up and throw out the baby with the car seat. One good source of refined information for all things Toyota is @Toyota Behind the Wheel.

This past Saturday Toyota brought thousands of volunteers together across America to clean up National Public Lands. It is nice to find a company working to protect and enhance thousands of miles of off-road trails to ensure all of us have a place to wheel and enjoy time with friends and family.

It was Behind the Wheel that let us know about this event a few weeks back. They also keep us up on the Trails Team, race schedule, new model year and just about anything else Toyota is up to.

UPDATE: The down side of the Internet is resources tend to disappear to easily.  @Toyota Behind the Wheel like so many good sources of information has been retired.

We’ll keep looking for publications that bring information to you like a cool drink of water on a hot summer day… so you can plan for your next off road adventure.

Today is the TENTH anniversary of Backroad Drivers Northwest, a decade of discussing, driving and reporting on all kinds of back roads throughout the Pacific Northwest. Led by Jerry they have taken folks on tours of the northwest, exploring the roads less traveled across the Northwest.

This birthday also signifies the changing of the guard. Jerry has recently announced he is handing over the reigns to Steve from Parkland, Washington as the new owner/moderator of Backroad Drivers. Steve is an active back road and overland adventurer as well as the owner/operator of the PNW Backroad Adventures Forum.

So Happy Anniversary and best of luck to Steve. I know we all look forward to an other ten years of exploring pacific northwest back roads.

Getting ready for our next off-road adventure (aka making a big mess in the garage) gives me something to do that feels adventure oriented. So that everyone can feel the burn too, Hula Betty videoed the magic, we call loading up the rig. It is only one minute and 14 seconds and you’re not doing anything at work anyway. Turn the monitor so your boss who is way too uptight and does not appreciated your need for internet social interaction, cannot see and enjoy sometime that is rightfully yours at work.

BTW: If you work for me… get back to work before you’re fired! Just Kidding!

Sunday, Boy and I head out on this years Last Great Road Trip. We’re heading to Ouray, Colorado for FJ Summit to meet up with 200 other FJ Cruiser owners and run the trails near Telluride. Joining us on this father son adventure… you guested it Hula Betty!

Hula Betty hitched a ride up to the Arctic Ocean with Dad and me but mysteriously disappeared from the rig on the way back. Although accusations were made, no charges were ever filed and no suicide note or body found. Now just like the mangy flea covered, tick infested pet who tracks down its owners after being abandoned in a cross country move, Hula Betty is back. And she looks better than ever.

Hula Betty is not just another pretty bobble doll, she is away of life that embraces adventure and promotes tolerance. Tell us about your Hula Betty… or at least send a picture. Look for Hula Betty in the up coming pictures and videos. There are even discussions about a full length movie featuring Hula Betty… but those are just rumors.

“Why would anyone want to sponsor you… What makes you guys so special?”

Really??!!  Thx!

When I get this question usually I just smile and let them think about it. However, if you really want to know than lets talk.

Something to consider about having sponsors…  it’s work!  Work to get them. Work to keep them and work to keep your promises to them.  You may be better off financing your off road adventure through other means including friends and family who won’t expect much in return.

First and foremost if you want a sponsor for any activity you need to ask yourself “what is in it for them”. Companies are looking for advertising with high returns that will translate into sales. It is that simple, with the key being high returns. Individuals on the other hand have any number of reasons including the desire to help a worthy cause.

For my sponsor quest, the first thing I did was take inventory of what I had to offer that would translate into high value advertising and sales potential  for sponsors. Surprisingly my list was longer than I first imaged. That list included:

• An easily recognizable and well positioned brand “Last Great Road Trip”
• First page Google search results for several key word phases (adventure road trip, off road adventure, last great road trip, road trip blog and others)
• High traffic web-site (www.lastGreatRoadTrip.com)
• An engaged social network on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumbler and Pinterest
• Published writer (did you see the cover of 4wd Toyota Owner April 08?) with articles showing off our sponsors in several magazines including Toyota Cruiser and Truck (TCT).
• Highly noticeable Rig (its hotter than a Tijuana night on spring break)
• Active membership on several Toyota and overland adventure forums
• Videos on YouTube (over a million video views, 1000+ subscribers), Vimeo and other video distribution sites
• Digital images on Flicker, Snapvillage, Nikon Picture Town

Once I had my inventory, I needed to decide what it was worth. To determine a value I reviewed my Google Analytics and discovered I have approximately 8,000 plus visitors a month. The majority of visitors are from the US followed by Europe, India and Australia. The demographics showed men are the primary audience (no surprise there). The site and videos show only 5% of viewers are women although most of the website’s comments come from women.

When it came to the vehicle I kept track of where the rig spent its time, miles per day commuted and check of the number of stares per day. The rig gets a lot of stares, 27 on average… I counted.

With all this data I decided on a sponsor package, wrote a cover letter describing the adverting opportunity along with a description of Last Great Road Trip. I made sure to included my site’s demographics and traffic (eyeball) counts. Finding the right corporate contact was more often the hardest part of the process. My top level sponsor package offer includes the following exposure:

• Sponsor’s 200 pixel wide by 75 pixel high web site banner with a link to their web site.
• Sponsor’s name included on press releases.
• Sponsor’s name and product worked into multiple trip blog entries.
• A web page will be created discussing the sponsor’s product with an installation how-to.
• Posting on the forums “member buildup” with links back to how-to with digital images of the rig showing sponsor’s product installed.
• Seven lines of descriptive text about the sponsor, their products and contact information displayed on the “Support our sponsors” Page.
• Sponsor’s sticker displayed prominently on trip vehicle.
• NEW
  • A You Tube video will be produced (campy but highly rated) discussing the rig and sponsor’s product.
  • On other future videos, the sponsor will appear in the credits. These videos will include wheeling, how-to and interview videos.
• Although we can never promise, we also work with media publishers to run new articles. These articles include product installs and topics 101 ( such as explaining various components of lighting and what goes into selecting quality products).

What did I want for all this? I decided on cash, gear or discounts as long as I believed in the product or service. The key being “I believed in the product or service”. I’m promoting the sponsor’s product from the prospective of I use and believe in the products. Unlike magazines that simply provide space, I need to be comfortable when evangelizing the sponsor’s product with other wheelers. At the end of the day I feel good that I can say Baja Designs has partnered with us and their off road lighting systems work great on the trail because I chose the product first and than asked for sponsorship.

We sent letters to the big national guys but their advertising dollars were already spent on NASCAR, X Games and Survivor Timbuktu . The local shops, dealers, and small guys however were looking for affordable ways to increase their local and Internet exposure. While Toyo was not going to through any love our way, the local Discount Tire dealer gave us a great discount on tires. Metal Tech is always there for us when we need custom fabrication work, 4×4 tube bumper, advice or other high-end off road adventure accessories. Even our local Toyota dealer discounted services up to 40% in exchange for a little advertising exposure.

The opportunities for sponsors are endless. To take advantage of those opportunities prepare your package and cover letter so corporate and individual sponsors know you are serious and can easily see what is in it for them. Think and act as a business person when approaching potential sponsors, your selling your advertising space. Success is as much about luck, timing, a willingness to ask and having your pitch ready. Unless your NASCAR running a companies stick on you truck alone is not going to give them the exposure they are looking for.

You will find after a couple of sponsors initially sign up, your task of attracting others becomes easier. Our efforts really paid off after we had a couple of trips on the books, several videos, a published magazine article and a track record of success. As my dad always said “You’ll appreciate it more if you have to earn it”. Although I’m pretty sure I would be OK with everything given to me, we continue to work for our sponsors and to attract new supporters.

Every once in a while an idea comes a long that is brilliant. The idea is usually not revolutionary… but evolutionary, simple and elegant. The brilliance is in seeing what we take for granted everyday and raise it to a new level. Issuu.com is one of these brilliant ideas. Take a simple PDF which is already a good thing and a staple in document sharing. NOW… make it feel like a real magazine that you can hold in your hands, hear the pages turn and see the reflection of overhead lights bounce off the pages… Now you have something.

If you are looking for the obscure, hard to find or foreign rag try Issuu. These guys have made Internet publication very good and so simple. Look for Hula Betty to start publishing articles about Last Great Road Trip in Issuu.com soon. In the mean time check out a few of these.

At Last Great Road Trip we are always looking for ways to thank our readers and bring content that can help our readers be more successful on their next off-road adventure road trip. As a result we are pleased to introduce a new category of articles written by industry experts.

By teaming up with subject matter experts we hope to publish information on everything from earning gas money for your trip by carrying packages along the way to better understanding suspension components for your rig and style of wheeling adventure.

You will find these posts with credit to author and a link back in order for you to follow up with them for more information. Our first guest will discuss some of the points to consider when shipping your rig around the globe in order to start or end your off road adventure in a remote location.

Our goal is to post articles that will help everyone plan their own great adventure, so please let us hear from you with thoughts about guest writers and topics you would like to read about. If you are a budding writer with a field of expertise don’t be shy. Let us know how you would like to contribute and help celebrate diversity in the world.