Overland Expo West Tickets
Roughing it has its appeal, but a hot shower has more.
Well, there’s good news, and there’s bad news. The good news is that, as of yesterday, tickets are now on sale for this year’s Expo, if you’re planning on going. The bad news is cost. Apparently, the expenses incurred by moving this event to Fort Tuthill County Park near Flagstaff were higher than expected last year. That’s just a guess on my part. Whatever the reason, the result is that day passes are now $25 instead of $15, and 3-day weekend camping passes have jumped from $95 to $155 in one year. I do not know what the gate cost of day passes will be, but I do know there will be no such thing for the camping passes, since those will be sold out before long. I have mine now, but I can tell you that this will likely be my last Expo attend for awhile. I will make it a point to enjoy it!
Strolling Amok 
Wow. Seems it is the same for all things boondocky. Interest in all this is increasing insanely. Can’t imagine what the future will hold… but government greed will find a way to tax is for our freedom and independence. Like some places making it illegal to collect rainwater or have solar. Crazy.
Yeah, I just read in the local paper yesterday about some guy planning to make a movie about the “mobile lifestyle”, which is another in a sporadic line of creatives trying to find a way to “promote” (cash in on) something that others are doing to get by. Popularizing something as being trendy tends to eventually ruin it and draw the attention of the bureaucrats, who have the craving to regulate and control everything. There are always people who are delighted to attain enough power to outline what you are no longer allowed to do. You can’t build a small house, and you can’t be unconnected to utilities, etc. In many towns, RV park businesses press their town governments to make overnighting anywhere but in their businesses illegal. In Illinois, new legislation was just introduced to make it illegal for elected officials to litigate property tax appeals, which is yet another ethics problem. We’ll see if it passes.
May 18-20th in Flagstaff AZ
Dang! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. I guess they figure if you can afford anything they are selling you can afford these price increases.
And they are probably right. People who are drawn to overlanding are not retirees on fixed incomes. They are young, earning sizable incomes, and dreaming of using their vacations on vehicular travel. The various mods considered to be necessary for the most popular vehicles used are jaw-droppingly expensive, and lots of 30-40-ish people are coughing up for complete, prepped turn-key rigs. Of necessity, the vendors there cater to whoever has the money, which I certainly can’t blame them for. Seriously, I cannot recall seeing another white-haired soul at the Expo, ever, and unless they move back to cheaper digs, they’ll lose the one they have to just sporadic attendance. But they literally can’t afford to hold the door open for people who have angst about the cost of upgrading to $64 Monroe heavy duty shock absorbers, when fully-adjustable $600 Bilsteins with remote reservoirs are the current holy grail. Why bother? I’m a window shopping boondocker stuck in a 1950s “run what ya brung” outlook, not a guy who’s saving up for a $5,000 LED lightbar.
We will be there with a booth, I had no idea the attendance cost had gone up that much.
Me neither! My first thought was “This seems awfully pricey. Did I really pay this much last year???” So I went back and looked at the bank statement. Nice blog at Family Off the Map, by the way. Care to admit what booth you’ll be working at? 🙂 I wonder if vendor costs have gone up as well. I should hope not.