It’s been a busy spring and summer for us at Crankshaft Culture. We already attended Overland Expo West in Flagstaff, AZ. While we’d been long-time attendees as vendors and media, it was the first time we were instructors at an Overland Expo event. We’ll be doing that again at two more overland rallies this summer: The Northwest Overland Rally and Overland Expo PNW.
Northwest Overland Rally: June 18-21 in Plain, WA
The Northwest Overland Rally started back in the early 2010s in Washington and quickly became one of the best events in the region and even nationally. Smaller, more intimate, and loads of fun, the Northwest Overland Rally (NWOR) has been a longtime favorite of ours. We attended for years on behalf of Warn Industries and only missed one year due to traveling abroad. The show went on hiatus in 2025, but is back for 2026 under new ownership by Owen Mesdag, a longtime attendee and industry figure.
I can’t overstate the importance of the NWOR for us personally. We attended early on and were inspired to travel more, adventure out farther, and follow our dreams to travel. Because of this, NWOR will always have a special place in our hearts. We started attending in our 1995 Suzuki Sidekick, which we crammed full of too much stuff as we started to learn the ins and outs of vehicular adventuring; i.e., overlanding, if you will. We progressed to teaching vehicle recovery classes, seminars about the Alcan 5000, and our semi-infamous wine-tasting classes (which ended up becoming more of a “wine drinking” experience after many years of hosting it).
For 2026, we’ll return and talk about our 2024 journey on the Baltic Sea Circle Rally and our 2025 TransAmerica Trail trek. We’re honored to be speaking alongside overlanding legends, Patty Upton, Grame Bell, and Billy Creech, to name a few.
However, more than anything, we’re looking forward to returning to the famous field in Plain, WA, to hang out, enjoy other people’s company, and remember where it all started for us. This event is not to be missed if you’re in the Pacific Northwest (or even farther away). It’s quaint, relaxing, and objectively fantastic.
Overland Expo PNW: June 25-28 in Redmond, WA
While Overland Expo West might be the grandaddy of the U.S. overland shows, Overland Expo PNW might be our favorite. Located in Redmond, OR, outside of Bend, it’s held at the fairgrounds, which is a fantastic venue. Much like Expo West, you’ll find rows of vendors selling anything you could need for your next journey, from tents and fridges to tires and tables. If you can take it on an overland trip, it’ll be there.
Like Expo West, we’ll also be instructing. That includes not one, but two daily seminars in the Subaru of America booth. There, we’ll be discussing how to live successfully out of your Subaru, and how to prepare your Subaru for travel in the Arctic regions. As you may know, we lived out of a 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness for 29 days on the TransAmerica Trail in 2025, and we’ve been above the Arctic Circle in four countries in a multitude of vehicles. We’ll also be showcasing two Subarus in the Subaru of America booth: our personal customized 2022 Crosstrek (6MT rally vehicle), as well as the modified TransAmerica Trail Subaru we piloted across the U.S. (FYI, it was also in Subaru’s booth at Overland Expo West last month.)
Additionally, we’ll be discussing our Baltic Sea Circle trip, traveling through the Scandinavian and Baltic countries. We’ll also be talking about our TransAmerica Trail journey on the Overland Expo stages. Those locations will be available on the Expo PNW website and in the Overland Expo app soon. Heck, we might even be thrown into another roundtable discussion like we were at Overland Expo West; we’ll see. We’ll also be covering Overland Expo PNW as media, too.
A Busy Summer Ahead
This is just a couple of things we’ll be doing this summer. Additionally, we’ll have a couple of major rallies we’re competing in. This includes the inaugural Colorado Adventure Rally and our fifth Alcan 5000 Rally. We’ll have more details on those events and what we’re driving as those dates get closer.
Remember to follow along on our Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, and YouTube channels!
Safe Travels.
Andy Lilienthal is an award-winning writer and has written professionally since 1999. He has over 15 years in the automotive aftermarket working at companies including Warn Industries, Bushwacker, and Lund International. Editorial works include writing and photography for off-road print magazines, to new-car reviews online. He’s a photographer with images in multiple magazines, blog sites, and The New York Times.
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