So a wrap up of OX2017West.
Holy Shit was it huge! It was a mile from my camp to the main exhibitor area. Couple hundred exhibitors and vendors in three areas. I think the booth arrangement could have been better, especially in the grassy area. Some of the rows kind of melded into one or dead ended. I walked a couple of miles a day, opting for the shuttle at the end of the day. 7000 ft altitude really killed me.
Food would have been better if I remembered the butter for the scalloped potatoes. Food trucks were on site for lunch. Montana BBQ and 3s in the Trees being my favorite. I found out brisket tacos are a thing and delicious. Food trucks were overwhelmed with people, lines for each one. Some shutting down early for lack of ingredients. I heard rumors of a small store on-site but I didn't see it. I made do with smoked sausage and spaghetti/meatballs for dinner.
The bar. Holy Hell The Bar. Old Time Tanker Beer had their gorgeous Mack truck with 5 local beers on tap. Plus a fully stocked liquor bar. It was the main attraction for Happy Hour. The film festival was good, although I had to leave early so I didn't fall asleep in my chair.
Camping... oh my. There was a fenced off area around the (empty) horse stables, an area for over-sized vehicles that couldn't fit between the trees plus an overflow camping area. Since I had a small trailer, they directed me to the overflow. I was up against the fence, so it was open woods behind me. I had 6 neighbors (very) close by. When I walked through the main camp area I considered myself luck. They were crammed in like sardines.
By mid-day Saturday, the parking lots for day passes was full and they were using the sides of the roads and the over-sized lot for parking everyone. Grace H told me they expected 12k people. I wouldn't doubt if there were more. I left Saturday evening, so I don't know how packed Sunday was.
Classes were good. Overall good information given. I didn't have too many classes booked because of scheduling late in April. It took all of the 5 minutes allotted to get between stuff, especially if they were on opposite ends of the show.
Land Rover and BFG were onsite with test tracks. They were in the center of the old horse track (hence the stables in the camp area). Camel Trophy hands-on area was in the same area. I took a new RR on the trail. Had massage option for driver and passenger. I could get used to that shit. I didn't have a chance to get on the BFG track. The wait was too long when I checked. CT had a trench dug and some advanced recovery areas set up. I saw their roll-over vehicle was a 4-runner with an exo-cage.
I wished for club or OX sponsored trail runs. We were 50 miles from Sedona, but I'm sure there were trails nearby to run.
I made it home with no major purchases. Got some ideas for packing the trailer or combining gear. Some minor bugs to track down with the truck, but it was a good time.