Natural State Overland is known for Rendezvous in the Ozarks, but don’t sleep on their other event—Bonfire. In this video I take you along for my first time at Bonfire 2025, a laid-back spring gathering about six months opposite the big fall event. We roll the dirt roads of the Ozarks at that early-spring pace I love—the gravel popping under the tires, muddy patches sneaking around bends, and just enough green starting to creep back in to make you feel like winter’s finally letting go. We rolled into camp the night before, set up, and leaned hard into the idea that sometimes “no agenda” is the best agenda. I even handed a camera to the kids (which felt like a possibly ill-informed decision) and let them roam and film their own little slice of camp life. Somewhere in the middle of all that, we documented the absolute abomination known as the Narwhal Burger—beef on honey buns—with candied jalapeños, and I’m still mad about how good it was. But the real takeaway is the same thing that keeps pulling me back out here: it’s not just overlanding. It’s the stories, the memories, and the people—the heart that drives the action. And when the massive bonfire finally gets roaring, you can feel that part loud and clear.