If there’s one thing gearheads love, it’s the sound of a real engine, a piston-powered engine. Oh sure, some like the quite whir of an electric motor, and some love the roar of a jet, but there’s nothing like the sound of combustion in a cylinder pushing a piston down a bore. Nothing. For some, this celebration of sound and power culminates in racing, while others just like driving, flying, working, or even just sitting around listening to an old one-lunger go pook-pook-pook.

Some adventures are so exciting and memorable that they turn into tales that folks will tell for the rest of lives—the JK Experience is that kind of adventure. The on- and off-highway weeklong excursion is in its third year and has been one of those quests for hardcore four-wheeling that’s left all of its participants with an adventure they’ll brag about for years to come.

Colorado is a beautiful state, and there is no better way to experience it than from behind the wheel of your 4x4. (OK, hiking, biking, and horseback riding aren’t bad either, but you’re not reading this magazine to learn about that.) We recently spent a day at the All-4-Fun event put on by the Mile-Hi Jeep Club outside of Salida, Colorado, and can honestly say we wished we had stayed for the whole weeklong event.

It’s a high-speed ballet of off-road excess. Trucks slam-dancing on dirt, propelled by 900 hp. Speeds top 100 mph and competitors are airborne for more than 100 feet. Putting power to the ground and the driver finesse in this violent yet somehow artful meshing of man, machine, and terrain have drawn race fans to Crandon, Wisconsin, for the past 42 years.

September 21, 1940 (give or take a day or two), the first jeep came to life. It happened in a small factory in a small town in western Pennsylvania. The factory was the American Bantam Car company in Butler, and that first prototype was still years away from being officially christened the “Jeep.” Over time the jeep would be built by many other companies and the American Bantam Car Company would drift into the wings. Willys and Ford would build the majority of military jeeps, and then Willys would build the civilian models and so on through Kaiser, American Motor Company, and now Chrysler. Nonetheless, the little town of Butler can claim credit for starting it all, and this past August they did so with a giant celebration for the 70 (or 71) years of the Jeep.

We first visited Elko, Nevada, during the 2006 Ultimate Adventure, when we ran Gas Tank Alley with members of the Bangin’ Bones 4WD Club. Since that time we have been eager to go back and experience more of the excellent Basque food, the scenery of the Ruby Mountains, and of course the challenging rockcrawling trails. This time around we took a crack at the Broken Bones Trail.

Memorial Day Weekend is often the excuse for hitting department store sales or spending the long weekend on the couch, but a few hundred people each year choose to honor the nation’s veterans by rockcrawling the new K-2 Katemcy Rocks in Mason, Texas. This is one way we can all enjoy wheeling for a cause.

When the Nissan Xterra debuted in early 2000 it was promoted as an off-road–capable SUV designed for the adventure-seeking outdoor enthusiast. While the new platform didn’t immediately convert the hardcore wheeling majority, it did gain considerable notoriety with Nissan enthusiasts—so much so that not long after the Xterra’s release, enthusiast websites dedicated to the Xterra began to emerge.

Whether it’s splashing through a puddle, gunning it through swampy ruts, or attempting a seemingly bottomless pit, mud tends to attract wheelers of all ages and types. Sure, it’s a big mess to clean up after, but few things are more enjoyable than bouncing off of the rev limiter as waves of mud and water explode around your rig.

“You boys are either really tough or mentally retarded,” said the man at the gas station as we rolled up into Nowheresville, Idaho. “A little of both,” we replied.

The off-road hobby has something for just about everyone. From high-speed desert racing to the slow crawl of rocky trail exploration, there’s plenty off wheeling avenues to enjoy. Keith Wilson, owner of Wilson Off Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is a wheeler who loves all aspects of four-wheeling. To share his love for the hobby, each year he puts on the Wilson Off Road May Jam at the Uwharrie Stables.

Year after year, thousands of us drive the long haul of hundreds, if not thousands, of miles to Moab for the annual Easter Jeep Safari. The payoff for this arduous journey: Incredible four-wheeling on some of the most spectacular and majestic land this great country has to offer.

From low-buck barn beaters to 1,000-plus–horsepower tube chassis creations, mud racing has it all. And while winning a trophy and earning a little cash doing what you love always sounds great, for most wheeling enthusiasts mud racing is more about having fun than winning or losing—though admittedly, once the racers are on the starting line it’s all business. The camaraderie in the pits is what continues to prove that the four-wheeling community is one of the best there is.

The rugged lands of Maine are alive with adventure! From the rocky coastlines to the remote mountains and lakes, anyone can find outdoor adventure to spike an incredible adrenaline flow.

Huge Update! Fred's trip is complete but that doesn't mean the fun has stopped! Check out the newly added pages 2, 3, & 4 for hundreds of never before seen pictures from Fred's Cross Country Adventure!

Every March for the past 49 years the Tierra Del Sol Four Wheel Drive Club of Sand Diego, California, has put on the Desert Safari, an off-road event near Truckhaven, California. This event offers a long weekend of wheeling, exploring, and generally enjoying the desert from the seat of your favorite 4x4. We like the Desert Safari because the terrain is so unique, with miles and miles of rolling dirt hills, climbs, notches, gullies, and washes. You can putter along in your stock CJ or Wrangler, twist up your tube buggy, or squeeze through in your fullsize. No matter what, you’ll find something to play on.

When you pick up a copy of Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine it’s almost always all dirt, rocks, mud, and tech. However, we occasionally hit a few non–off-road shows to see how the other side of the automotive world ticks. Recently we attended the 26th Annual Fabulous Fords Forever event at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.

Over the past few years some of the Southeast’s best public wheeling lands have been taken away from the people who loved them the most. This left many looking for new places to dig in their cleats and sparked an ever-growing trend that we are glad to see: privately owned off-road parks.

In the southwestern United States, not far from the Mexican border, are rock ledges just waiting for you. These ledges and boulders reside outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and are hidden in various canyons amongst prickly cactus under a dry desert sky. For the past 21 years the Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club has led both rookie and veteran four-wheelers through these trails during the annual Chile Challenge.

The Griffin King of the Hammers (KOH) race is one of the toughest and most technically challenging off-road races of its kind. The race consists not only of high-speed passes on desert trails and sand dunes, but also vertical rock walls and bone-rattlng rock washes. KOH runs across some of the harshest and most extreme desert terrain and rocky trails in America. Pushing both man and machine to the limit, it is one of the most extraordinary races on earth.

When you think of the Rocky Mountains, the first thing that comes to mind is snowcapped peaks in Colorado. However, for the locals around Maine, there is a genuine 4x4 area called the Rocky Mountain Terrain Park. While the name is misleading because you can’t get much farther from the Rocky Mountains in the contiguous United States, the park has truly rocky, mountainous terrain. We popped in one fine fall day to check out what the mega-acre park had to offer.

When we turned into the staging at the Washington County Fairgrounds for Crawlfest we were surprised to see so many rigs at an event that's only in its fourth year. There's no doubt that word spreads fast about a great time! There were hundreds of 4x4s and ecstatic enthusiasts just itching to hit the red rock trails.

There was no deep mud. No death-defying rocky climbs. No high-speed jumps. No days on end without civilization. But there was four-wheeling, low range, and a good time had by all.

Before many of our readers were born, a group of guys and gals in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana formed one of the oldest and greatest events known to four-wheeling. The IOK Four Wheelers produced the first Gravelrama back in 1971, and eventually bought the land they play on in 1977. While trail riding, sand drags, obstacle courses, and the like are all part of the venue, the main draw is always the gravel hill known as the Big Elim-and it is the king of the event. And when you realize that some of the original participants still compete, you understand how important Gravelrama is in this neck of the woods.

What do you picture when someone mentions Russia? Snow-covered countryside inhabited by stern men in furry hats swilling vodka while their beautiful blonde daughters long for an American husband to take them away and buy them high-heels? While we're sure that is true somewhere in Russia, it's not the Russia we experienced on a recent two-week road trip through the far east of the country.