Hello all! I would like to introduce myself and tell you a bit about me and my goals in general. I’m completely new to checking out overlanding. Ive lurked around here for a little while as well as several groups on Facebook. I’ve always loved traveling, camping, and adventure. I grew up in southern Illinois not far from St. Louis, MO. I did a lot of fishing and a bit of hunting when I was growing up. My father was and still is a big outdoors guy. Our family and extended family would go on a camping trip each year growing up. I can recall a couple trips to land of the lakes in Kentucky where we traveled there as a group. It was the late 70’s or early 80’s so we all had cb’s in our vehicles. Our vehicles ranged from trucks with camper shells to a Dodge Ram charger to a couple having a pop up camper. We all crammed in to the truck campers, tents, or pop ups at night. Was always a new adventure each year. Loved the campfires at night. Fast forward a bit and I’ve been away from camping for about ten years and getting back into being out in nature. I really have missed nature. One reason I’ve gotten away from it is gaining weight and having excuses for being out of shape and just not having a budget at all. Both my own faults. Currently I’m 48 and currently work for the government at a VA hospital in Central Iowa. I’ve had many jobs throughout my life and have moved around quite a bit. I’ve always been in Food Services. I started in the Navy as a chef onboard a submarine. Eventually getting out at a young age of 21 and working in multiple restaurants and other venues as a chef, manager, wine sales, and retail. I also, worked in the scuba diving industry for many years working on boats as well as cooking on boats. My jobs took me to many places throughout the country and the Bahamas. Now that I’m really focused in a career I have more time and money to do the things I love. I’m also slowly getting back in shape but, it’s tough. I get around four to five weeks off a year and have several three day weekends a year to enjoy. Unfortunately like most budget and time is the most difficult part of getting out and doing things. I just have to prioritize and make the time and be smart on where to spend. I purchased my first Jeep at the end of Summer 2018. It’s a 2002 Jeep Wrangler Sport with the 4.0 L engine with 152,000 miles. It was completely stock when I purchased it. I’m planning on a few basic upgrades that are as budget friendly as can be. Tires, new battery, a hitch, winch, and a few other basic upgrades. I’ve currently added a roof rack I picked up on the cheap and added a small off road trailer. This is my second vehicle so it’s not necessary my daily driver. More my fun vehicle for camping and overlanding. I’ve never been the guy to work on his own vehicles so, this is one of my biggest challenges. I had plenty of opportunities to learn some mechanical skills but, was always just to busy with other things. Now fast forward, I really wish I would have learned more. I’m starting to learn but just don’t have anyone around currently to learn mechanics from locally. Being in Iowa there’s not much as far as forest roads or camping away from people. Luckily a good friend just moved to Wisconsin about four hours from me. He’s also, a Jeeper and a fellow outdoorsmen. He lives on the Mississippi River near Winona, MN so, lots of opportunities near him for some adventures. I’m looking forward to meeting up with him multiple times a year for some extended weekend adventures. We’re mainly looking at traveling on some forest roads and just camping away from civilization as much as possible, not necessarily off-roading. Just getting lost in the wilderness and enjoying nature away from people. We’re planning on the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail in the fall of 2019. I’m not a member yet but, plan on joining up soon after reading all the good things overland bound does. I’ve also, really enjoyed all the YouTube videos I’ve found. A few of my favorite YouTube I’ve found is Overland Bound, I am Jake, Trailspin, Trail Recon, and Last Line of Defense. I’m looking forward to meeting new Overland Bound members as well as others along the way. 
