Tag Archives: road of life

fj cruiser heart

To All FJ Lovers

Happy Hallmark Holiday

Those who know me, know that I hold fast in my belief that Valentine’s  Day was created by card and candy shops aiming to compensate for the business lull separating Christmas and Easter.  However, if nothing else Last Great Road Trip stands for diversity and the tolerance of the beliefs of others.

So on this Hallmark Holiday when we remember how much we depend on those we love, think how much more it will mean if you give an FJ Cruiser instead of a heart shaped box filled with assorted chocolates.

If anyone is interested, I like a good milk chocolate with a creamy nuget center on my off-road adventure.

bill burke training

Bill Burke Is Coming To Town

It is not everyday that you get the opportunity to learn from the best in off-road. And when you have that opportunity by all means take it.

Bill Burke is an internationally recognized 4×4 trainer who teaches back country driving techniques, winching and extrication methods, vehicle preparation and maintenance, land navigation and woods’ skills. And with every outing comes additional training on environmental awareness and trail etiquette.

Among his accreditation, Bill is a permitted outfitter guide through the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Bill also travels the globe to consult and to lead back country expeditions, and serves as a technical consultant in the areas of 4-wheeling expertise and environmental concerns to various businesses, the media, 4-wheel drive manufacturers, dealerships and government organizations.

Bill is going to be in the Northwest to conduct a number of classes in the Portland and Seattle areas. Several clubs and groups including the North West FJ Cruisers Club and Northwest Overland Society are already making reservations for their members.

We have our reservation.  Now is the time to make contact with one of the clubs or Bill Burke’s Off-Road Driving to secure your place in one of his up coming classes in the Northwest.  Everyone who has ever taken Bill’s training class, many have taken it multiple times, say it is one of the best training sessions they ever took.

Hope to see you at a training session and if you can’t make the training check out some of Bill’s videos and other training materials.

last great road trip social network

Off Road Adventures In Social Media

We know many of you enjoy the social atmosphere of Facebook, Tumbr, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, even Google+ and you can now get your fix of our off-road adventures.

Yes we have a Facebook fan page.  Although Facebook calls them fan pages, we prefer to think of everyone as friends.  Some we know well, some we know a little and some we hope to get to know. But we all have one thing in common.  We all love getting off the beaten path and exploring the road less traveled.

Beside our website you can find us at Last Great Road Trip on Facebook. If you prefer you can follow us at Last Great Road Trip on Tumblr or Last Great Road Trip on Twitter. See our pictures on Instagram Last Great Road Trip. If you like videos you can watch ours on our Off-Road Adventure You Tube channel or Off-Road Adventure Vimeo video channel. Like pinning your favorite things, you can find our pins on Pinterest Off-Road Adventure. We’re even of the new version of an old favorite myspace Last Great Road Trip.

If there is a way to share our off-road adventures you’ll find us there…  please join us and help spread the word.

scott brady overland journal

Opening New Roads and New Markets

scott brady overland journal

Scott Brady overland journal

Anyone who considers them self an overland adventurer knows the name Scott Brady and Expeditions West. He also publishes the Overland Journal which is filled with amazing photos and stories.  Scott is one of the lucky few who has turned his passion for adventure into a business and now Forbes has recognized his efforts in a recent article “Going to Extremes”.

When we were planning our own Arctic Circle adventure it was Scott’s trip that inspired us to make a last minute 1,000 mile detour to Inuvik.

I was luck enough to spend time with Scott  at a recent media event where I had a change to get to know him over dinner, drinks and out on the track.  In short he lives up to the legend of overland explorer and entrepreneur.  Congratulations Scott and safe travels on your next off-road adventure.

shopping cart

Guaranteed Not To Turn Pink In The Can

Step right up, bargains galore. That’s right, you too can be the proud owner of the quality goes in before the name goes on.  We got service after the sales, in house service, drive up service! You need shirts? we got shirts, how ’bout a sticker? Something for the little lady, something for the big guy, we got it here, buy right now!

We got a year-end clearance, after Christmas red tag sale and we’re liquidating everything, take it away today.  Act now, and receive as our gift, our gift to you. Buy right now!

It comes in any color as long as it’s black, one size fits all.  No muss, no fuss, no spills.  Everything must go.  Slashing prices off original retail price, skip the middle man.  Don’t settle for less, buy right now!

How do we do it?  Volume, volume, turn up the volume!  Now you’ve heard it advertised right here, don’t hesitate.  Don’t be caught with your drawers down, don’t get left out, you can step right up now.  You sir, you’re next.  Buy right now!

That’s right, it slices it dices it makes a steaming cup of espresso in the morning.  Never wears out, lasts a lifetime, walks your dog, takes your kids to soccer, makes the bed, cleans the dishes, cooks your meals, it buys a round of drinks for your friends.  It gets rid of embarrassing age spots.  Removes unwanted facial and back hair.  Guaranteed to grow hair.  Removes the gray, add highlights, wont cause frizzes.  Strengthens teeth and puts a gleam in your smile.  Its only money, step right up young lady you’re next. Buy right now!

Order over the Internet, the web, the world wide web, never get out of your chair, add it to your shopping cart, don’t leave home without it.  Live the life you were born to live, meet hot singles they’re waiting to talk with you now.  Builds washboard abs, buns of steel without breaking a sweat, buy right now!  No spam email, no annoying dinner time phone calls, no newspaper fliers, buy right now!

And if you buy within the next twenty minutes we’ll double your order.  Don’t delay, operators are standing by.  Have Visa or Master Card ready, buy right now!

How do we do it?  We’re crazy, meet my dog spot.  The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away.  Please allow 30 days for shipping and delivery.  All sales final, with coupon receive our free brochure, free brochure with very purchase.  That’s a ten dollar value.  Step right up young man, you’re next. Buy right now!

We just thought we would announce our new store with a little fan fair.  The stuff we sell changes so keep an eye out as we add more items and take old ones off.  You can also support our off road adventures by becoming a Micro Video Producer.

The road less traveled on an off-road adventure is a long one and we need the gas money.  Buy right Now!

white christmas ornaments

Who Dosen’t Love A Christmas Letter

This time of year brings out the writer in everyone…  Although some should put their pen down and leave writing to Hallmark.  Well, all those annual Christmas letters inspired Hula Betty to throw down this year’s Christmas Letter.

———-

Greetings from the trailer park that is Kitsap County.

Another Christmas quickly approaches the Last Great Road Trip clan. This will be our most recent Christmas yet!

Dad continues on his mid-life crisis he calls the Last Great Road Trip. Dad has made a big move; relocating from his office to the family room!  The kids and Mom have been able to see his real job: publicizing his website for everyone and their Jewish grandmother to read.

Mom is still doing an adequate job at keeping things running smoothly. Between driving Boy everywhere his heart desires, to making macaroni and cheese for Hula Betty’s boyfriend (Dad still doesn’t acknowledge him), to putting up with the crazy shenanigans of Hula Betty’s friends, to listening to Hula Betty sing and dance, Mom still keeps the house looking good.

Boy is still having premature teenage rebellion. Boy doesn’t want an iPod and he doesn’t want an Xbox, Boy wants thousands of vinyl records from bands that no one’s ever heard of and all sound the same. You’ll most likely find Boy at a skate park or Value Village these days.

Last but certainly not in any way the least, Hula Betty has remained the golden child. Hula Betty now has a GPA of 3.9 and is starting to get interested in some colleges. Hula Betty’s favorite classes at school are AP Studio Art and Hip Hop 1, replacing PE and Lunch as favorites. Hula Betty’s AP Studio Art teacher said that Hula Betty is her favorite graphic designer and has the potential to make a lot of money doing that as a career, someone will have to keep Dad in gas money. Hip Hop 1 is a dance class after school where Hula Betty can release the inner black woman that is dying to be let out.

Aunt B. will be making her annually road trip up north, dodging bullets and junkies as she flees Granny’s holiday grip.  And if there isn’t enough sarcasm here already, Aunt J. may join the exodus and land on our doorstep with a beer in hear hand and a sharp dig flying off her tongue.

This will be the best  holiday season of this year and as the snow falls, Last Great Road Trip wishes you and your family a happy holiday and great new year.

work night at basecamp

Almost Famous

thank you from last great road tripFirst of all THANK YOU to all y’all (y’all is singular)  who read our off-road adventure stories, watch our videos and of course click through a Google ad or two.  We just crossed the 100,000 visits mark for the year.  How do we know?  Is it through CIA Satellite spy cameras? Are we psychic employing mystical oil spot readings?  Have we asked your mother?

If you’re a Dad of a teenager you know what a big deal it is when I tell you that about a month ago my daughter saw the analysts, cracked a smile and showed her friends (translation: slightly impressed that so many (ok any) people follow her dad’s website).  She still thinks I’m a dork, just a more popular dork.

Turns out folks in Bahrain, Guam, Chile, Greece, all over the world have found the site.  Well 100,000 folks can’t be wrong so we will continue to share our stories.  OK we would put our stories out there even if no one read them…  but it feels good to think we are almost famous. And no matter how you found us, THANK YOU for following along. And don’t forget to click a Google Ad or two… We need the gas money.

one lone gunmen

The Lone Gunmen

Like so many brave whistle blowers before, we have to point out a government conspiracy that effects all our readers.  Mulder understood how government sponsored three letter agencies put together backroom deals with corporate giants who would agree to lean on the individual little guy in order to maintain control over their free spirit… That is clearly what is happening and explains why the Last Great Road Trip Rig showed up in Google’s new street level view feature.

Sure if you go with Occam’s razor, the simple explanation is that the rig’s appearance was the result of it being parked on the street when Google was out snapping their pictures  But we know there are no coincidences and this location is just blocks from Google’s office and the picture was discovered only days after our story mentioned President Elect Obama’s iPod. Clearly Apple, Google and a secret government agency are after us… Or Not!  I wonder if they caught us at any other address?  Let us know if you find our rig in other Google mapped locations.

And as complete proof of the conspiracy… The image of our rig has been removed since this was first published.  Coincident, I think not!

fj cruiser baja racer

They Came, They Saw, They Raced Their Ass Off

Another Baja 1000 (the 41st to be exact) is now complete and as we mentioned before this is the desert race to end all races. This years race set records for the ratio of starters to finishers with nearly 68% of the rigs completing the race.

In the coveted 4-wheel class Norman/Roeseler powered their way to the top of the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division and took home the victory.  And while we couldn’t be there, this video by Norman Motorsports captures the race from the winners perspective.

two muslim women

Who Cares What’s On Your iPod

On the road to the White House, both campaigns put a list of songs on their candidate’s iPod.  These lists, carefully crafted by spin doctors, more focused on poll data than music charts, created play lists designed to make us identify with candidates who have more in common with Pennsylvania Ave. than Main Street.

While I’m not going to bore you by publishing my Top 10, Greatest 80s or All Jimmy Buffet play lists, I am going to point you to a source of music you will never find on President Elect Obama’s iPod.  A local radio station has Bob Rivers and his crew in the morning…  and these guys have been putting out “Twisted Tunes” for a number of years now.

Weird Al has nothing on these guys.  Twisted Tunes: Think completely non-PC parodies, designed to mock all that is stupid in the world…  while at the same time making us laugh at ourselves.

The show also sponsors an annual adventure with World Visions.  These trips have team members traveling to poverty stricken locations (S. America, Africa, India..) most people would prefer to not think about. The show works to shine a light on kids in need, help find sponsors and connect them with impoverished children through the World Vision organization.

Good music, cool DJs and a real understanding of diversity… give these guys a listen and I’m sure you’ll find something that makes you smile and offends you.