Overlanding the Lone Star State
It’s the end of the workday on Friday and I’m packed and ready to go. One of my favorite spots in Southwest Texas is well worth the eight-hour haul from Houston. Midnight arrives before I finally get to the first dirt road on my journey and there are still 25 miles to go, over an hour between me and my camp for the night but I’m excited. I can feel my right foot lean heavy on the accelerator as the fragrance of sage in bloom fills the air. Cattle guards are common here but my GX470 floats over them easily with my Dobinsons MRR suspension. Suddenly, at 45mph in the dark of night, I hit one of them at an unusual incline and caught air. The next hour and half is consumed fixing the bent bulbar that the unexpected obstacle has gifted me. Eventually I make it to camp and find a semi-level spot to park my rig, open the Quick Pitch RTT, and fall asleep. The next morning, I am greeted with all of the beautiful scenery surrounding the bedrock slab that is our camp. With no cell service and the weekend to burn, our group spent most of our time relaxing in the river and taking walks upstream. This annual end-of-summer relaxation trip is something that I look forward to all year. The wonderful people that make up Go Native Overland are such a pleasure to be around. Overlanding in Texas may not be what most people visualize. Generally speaking, overlanding conjures up visons of roof tents popped open against a backdrop of towering snowcapped peaks in the distance or an intense 48
steep rocky trail beyond a deep-water crossing. But from 20-foot-tall pinstripe-screeching Ocotillo plants and mesquite in the West to the deep piny woods and thick clay in the East, Texas has much more to offer those looking for an overland touring adventure than most realize. It is true that approximately 95% of the lone star state is private land. At 268,597 square miles Texas is the largest state in the lower 48 by far; yet only 1.8% of it is federal land, and that includes military bases. There are four National Forests, two National Parks, three National Grasslands, one National Sea Shore, and two National Recreational areas scattered throughout the state. Texas also boasts 80 state parks almost all of which are very well maintained and offer amenities however, these tend to be tailored more toward RV camping.
