GO NEW MEXICO
Essential gear: Lighting up the campsite
GO NM GEAR AND MORE
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ESSENTIAL OVERLAND GEAR: Travoca brings beauty, ice to your rig
Our local test reveals how this beautiful, luggable refrigerator keeps food safe and frozen for New Mexico's outdoor adventures
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ESSENTIAL OVERLAND GEAR: RV step
Metal Depsunny folding stool offers a sturdy, nonslip boost for reaching your rig roof or climbing in more easily
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Essential Overland Gear Review: Comfortable chair cushion doubles as booster seat
Memory foam pad from HEST impressed on rugged northern New Mexico backroads, proving versatile enough to serve as a driver booster seat, passenger cushion and RV mattress topper
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ESSENTIAL OVERLAND GEAR: Look back, something may be gaining on you
A rear-facing video camera gives you a better view than mirrors alone
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Essential Overland Gear: Washing up on the road
Water-activated bathing wipes put to the test at Overland Expo West in Flagstaff proved to be a practical solution for campers and overlanders without access to a shower
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ESSENTIAL GEAR: InstaPrivy says it鈥檚 No. 1 for No. 2
This all-in-one portable toilet kit aims to make your next camping trip more comfortable
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ESSENTIAL GEAR: Shoulder-season trip tests camping gear limits
A New Mexico overlander shares how a shoulder-season sprint to Sequoia and Joshua Tree led to broken equipment, improvised repairs and lessons for safer desert and mountain travel.
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With fuel prices soaring, overlanders are turning to reward apps, slower speeds and solar gear to keep spring and summer adventures affordable
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ESSENTIAL GEAR REVIEW: How to feel safe at the campsite
Repuls defense spray: Nonlethal protection provides peace of mind, but would it stop Bigfoot? You鈥檇 have to spray to make sure
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ESSENTIAL OVERLAND GEAR: Window covers
Professional shades so much better designed than homemade
From battery-powered puck lights to faux light bulbs 鈥 good illumination is key to lighting up the night.
You can brighten up your campsite easily and cheaply at Harbor Freight or even dollar stores.
Here are a few value versions, where batteries are often the most expensive part.
A lightbulb-style light that runs three AAA batteries and is easily portable. I purchased mine at as part of a pack for less than $20. Lowe鈥檚 and local hardware stores also have them. With the hook on top, the lightbulb style is perfect for inside and out, but don鈥檛 forget yours hanging on a tree.
Puck lights come in many sizes and colors. These are often available at hardware and dollar stores for less than a dollar. If they come with batteries, those batteries often don鈥檛 last long.
For less than $5, compact battery-powered LED lights with battery included at Harbor Freight have snagged my dollars more than once at checkout. With its magnet attachment, I just can鈥檛 stop purchasing more on impulse.
You can never have too many lights or flashlights or fairy lights when out in nature. But those are stories for another day.
Share your New Mexico adventure channel, rigs and panorama photos with us at go@abqjournal.com. It could appear in an edition of the Sunday Journal in the GO! New Mexico weekly outdoors section.
GO NEW MEXICO ADVENTURES
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Red River area campgrounds among the piney-est
N.M. 38 between Questa and Red River offers almost 100 campsites amid tall pines and a fishable river
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Fishing Line for July 23, 2026
From tiger muskies to record bass, here鈥檚 where New Mexico anglers are reeling in the big ones this week
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Big rig of your dreams or nightmares
Winnebago's new Arka adventure truck debuted at Overland Expo West, offering extreme off-grid capability at a fraction of the cost of rival rigs.
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ESSENTIAL OVERLAND GEAR: Travoca brings beauty, ice to your rig
Our local test reveals how this beautiful, luggable refrigerator keeps food safe and frozen for New Mexico's outdoor adventures
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ESSENTIAL OVERLAND GEAR: RV step
Metal Depsunny folding stool offers a sturdy, nonslip boost for reaching your rig roof or climbing in more easily
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Window onto the badlands: A visit to La Ventana Natural Arch is an easy hike to a natural wonder
Just a quarter-mile stroll leads to a 125-foot sandstone arch in El Malpais
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Fishing Line for July 16, 2026
From trout limits on the Cimarron River to a harmful algae bloom at Charette Lake, here's your weekly NM fishing update
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Essential Overland Gear Review: Comfortable chair cushion doubles as booster seat
Memory foam pad from HEST impressed on rugged northern New Mexico backroads, proving versatile enough to serve as a driver booster seat, passenger cushion and RV mattress topper