Cindy Pope
Jul 6, 2020
The nerves were real, the stakes felt high—and then the rigs started rolling in. What began as a dream shared over maps and muddy trails turned into the first-ever Keweenaw Overland Adventure Retreat, uniting explorers from across the Midwest in one of the most stunning corners of the country.
The apprehension was washing over me like a wave. I had spent the last six months preparing, planning, plotting, sometimes crying but here I was with my crew, precious friends who had come together to help launch the first Keweenaw Overland Adventure Retreat. Jack, Chris, Taylor, Mandy, Jake, Carly I were getting ready, nervously doing some last minute prep before check-in was scheduled to start and the rigs were already lining up!
The idea for an overland basecamp gathering started when I visited Rob Ozarawicz at Northwinds. He and I had become acquainted in some Facebook groups and he mentioned that he would like to host a bunch of fancy car campers there sometime. I was down with that, I tell ya! I stopped in on him on a cold, rainy October night on my way up to Copper Harbor with a friend. I could almost physically see his love of the Keweenaw and the outdoors pouring out of him as he gave us a three hour tour of the facility the next morning. I think I knew that day that I wanted to be involved with this idea. Rob sent us off for the rest of the weekend with maps and suggestions for places to hike, mines to explore and secret, sandy beaches and rocky coves. My mind could not stop thinking about the possibilities for hosting an event there as we rode our bikes and combed the beaches for treasures.
After returning home, Rob and I engaged in a flurry of messages with ideas and questions and what-ifs. We had to make this idea of an upper midwest overland basecamp event a reality. Within a few weeks, we met again at Northwinds with Todd & Carol Mowrer of TC Teardrops and my friend Chris Offenwanager of XJP Overland to start planning for the gathering. We were all in agreement that this event would be about community first. I mean, all we really wanted to do was connect with the overlanders, offroaders and adventure types just like us. We knew they were out there exploring and playing in the woods. You can see small convoys of overland outfitted adventure rigs rolling through Marquette, Munising and Houghton if you’re in the right place at the right time, but organized gatherings that cater to that type of outdoors enthusiasts don’t happen anywhere near here. The overland expos and rendezvous are mostly in the southwest or southeast but we thought - why not here? Why not in our own backyard? Why not bring these explorers together? And why not invite those who have never been here? Why not do this in the most beautiful place in the upper midwest? Why not on this boreal peninsula surrounded by the greatest lake in the world? Why not explore the deep forest and high cliffs and the history? There was no reason not to, and we set forth to make this plan a reality.
And so here we stood in the shade of Chris’s xj’s awning as the first vehicles rolled up at basecamp on that very first day. I don’t honestly remember who was first in line, but I do remember the apprehension turning to excitement as rig after rig rolled into the check in. Jeeps Wranglers with mountain bikes on the back, Toyota FJ Cruisers towing TC Teardrop campers, Ford trucks with Xventure trailers, Toyota 4Runners with kayaks on top, and Nissan Xterras with smiling kids and happy dogs poking their heads out the windows. And one big, giant Global Expedition Vehicle that left us gasping in awe. We saw license plates from Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Iowa and Arizona. We exchanged giddy glances and smiles as we greeted each vehicle and handed out the goody bags, “we did it, this is awesome, can you believe this''? were the silent messages of each grin from my team.
The result was a weekend of friendship and fun. Northwinds was spacious enough to accommodate all of us with plenty of elbow room for all the rigs, The work and stress had been worth it just to gaze at that night sky with new friends and old.
Post Event Update: Not everything went smoothly or according to plan but the smiles and questions about “next year” as the event came to a close told us all we needed to know. “Success is not perfection,” a wise friend told me, but we were perfectly successful in creating an experience that brought this community together in this amazing place, the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Side note: TC Teardrops is the title sponsor of this year’s event and is welcoming every TC Teardrop to camp with them in the TC Teardrop KOAR Camp Community inside our new basecamp at Trail’s End Campground in Copper Harbor.
