Madras, Oregon
I first learned about the Gambler from a friend's Facebook post on visiting the year before. It looked like fun.
Let's see if I can figure out how to make this post (I am new here!)...
Youtube Playlist:
The Gambler 500
From what I have learned on the internet, the original idea of The Gambler was to put together a car to use off road and spend no more than $500.
Long since, the dollar limitation has been removed and added the purpose of being one of the largest wilderness trash clean up events.
There are Gamblers all across the country now.
Find out more at https://www.gambler500.com
The Car
An important part of our journey... the car. In the 'spirit of The Gambler' you should use a car that is not normally used off-road. We chose a mini-van. 🙂
I had a 2003 Honda Odyssey to sacrifice for the cause. I bought the car for $2000.
Aquired some extra tires with good tread, added a cargo rack to the top and equipped it with the famous Dukes of Hazard horn and floodlights facing all directions.
The horn was soooo loud. Added a remote control for the lights and horn as well. Surprisingly our battery held up the entire trip.
The Trip
This was a three day event.
The first part was to pick up everyone and their gear. Then we drove for a few hours to get to our starting point which was in the middle of the desert.
Our van was out of it's depths the moment we tried it off road. It was heavy with small tires and old suspension... Trying to haul it up a hill overheated it a couple times. .
We bottomed out and beat it up pretty good, but amazingly it did not leak any fluids and it kept on going. 
To find a way out, the guys hiked up a hill to see where we were. I followed them with the drone.
Once we got tired of being stuck in the desert, we headed to Gambler Town where our campsite would be for the next three days (This was a Friday through Sunday event).
The Festival
Live music, alright food, cool cars, and interesting people. We were camped right near the main band which had some advantages, but made it a little difficult to sleep.
There were a lot of creative vehicles there and some strange events (like the famous, 'Dildo Races'). I didn't get as many pics and vids as would have liked, but I'll share what I can.
Day 2
It was hot and dusty!
So, we went looking for a break. Found a river not too far away. Spent some time exploring and even took a dip in the water.
On our way back, we found a collection of food trucks to have lunch at.
On Our Way Back
We stopped at one of my favorite places to eat... Super Burrito in Bend, OR.
In Bend, we found the very last Blockbuster Video store!!!
World famous crag, Smith Rock in Terrebonne, Oregon.
Eventually we made it back home.
Mike Mead, Eli Whipkey, Julio Villalpando and myself.