The event is called Destination Outdoor. It’s a local gathering of Toyota-loving folks who enjoy spending time outdoors with built-up rigs. Toyota is a sponsor of the event, so before it all kicked off the automaker invited a handful of folks to meet up outside Denver and caravan our way to the event. Our vehicle lineup consisted of a variety of new Tacoma and Land Cruiser models. The route was a bit of pavement to get to a whole lot of dirt…

On day 1, we ran to a campground just north of 10,000 feet above sea level. The air was thin, but the turbocharged and hybrid mills had no issue getting us to our place of rest for the evening. After a night spent in my tent breathing like I was down a lung, we awoke to a glorious day and even more glorious scenery as we continued climbing higher. Our lunch stop was over 12k feet up but our day was only half done. Venturing farther led us to the private camp spot picked out for the Destination Outdoor event.

We got in a day before the rest of the attending members, so we spent the next morning hitting harder trails in the area. The trucks all dispatched the dirt with minimal effort. When you have locking diffs, disconnecting stabilizer bars, and torquey motors, you’re in for an easy yet still entertaining day of wheeling.

That night, back at the event, it was all in full swing. People were all sharing stories of their built trucks. Beers were handed out with smiling faces on both ends of the transaction. And many a dog was in attendance as well, which always makes me smile.

Destination Outdoor was a wonderful way to spend a day and night. But the two nights prior were just as great, thanks to the extremely capable vehicles… and the absolutely amazing scenery served up by the state of Colorado.