{"id":572,"date":"2011-09-15T11:45:44","date_gmt":"2011-09-15T18:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/?p=572"},"modified":"2017-05-24T11:48:26","modified_gmt":"2017-05-24T18:48:26","slug":"four-wheeling-good-for-families-easy-on-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/four-wheeling-good-for-families-easy-on-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Four-Wheeling Good for Families, Easy on Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_574\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/SalineValley001.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-574\" data-attachment-id=\"574\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/four-wheeling-good-for-families-easy-on-environment\/salinevalley001\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/SalineValley001.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"300,225\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;CYBERSHOT&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1088261761&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6.1&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0021052631578947&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"SalineValley001\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Saline Valley from Salt Tram Station&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/SalineValley001.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/SalineValley001.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-574\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/SalineValley001.jpg?resize=300%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/SalineValley001.jpg?w=300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/SalineValley001.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/SalineValley001.jpg?resize=150%2C113&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-574\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saline Valley from Salt Tram Station<\/p><\/div>\n<p>When most laymen think of four-wheeling, their thoughts unfortunately are rarely positive. You know the criticism: We tear up the landscape. Scare away the wildlife. Pollute the environment. And burn through gas like there&#8217;s no tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>How often have you heard those? How have you responded?<\/p>\n<p>You know you&#8217;re a responsible driver and a good steward of the land. You&#8217;re also quite proud of your hobby and your fellow drivers. So any criticism tends to cut to the bone. You&#8217;re inclined to lash out. Don&#8217;t. The best way to respond to those claims is with the facts. A calm, thoughtful reply will quiet just about anybody. Keep in mind that many people you encounter are neutral on the subject. Use those opportunities to talk up the hobby, also.<\/p>\n<p>Inform the person that four-wheeling is possible without harming the environment. Responsible drivers adhere to the Tread Lightly principles. You know what they are, so state them:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>T Travel responsibly on designated roads or trails<\/li>\n<li>R Respect the rights of others<\/li>\n<li>E Educate yourself: plan and prepare before you go<\/li>\n<li>A Avoid sensitive areas<\/li>\n<li>D Do your part<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> You see,\u009d you can tell the person,  we use our vehicles to help us explore places we could not otherwise. These can be exciting trails; exquisite views of nature, many in the mountains or other challenging places; ghost towns and abandoned mines; and wildlife like you&#8217;ve never seen.<\/p>\n<p> All the while we are respectful of nature. Many times we are camping, hiking, fishing or hunting. We are exploring and experiencing the outdoors, but we do so in a responsible manner. Plus, we often have to buy a pass or license to drive on those lands. Those funds help maintain the property and wildlife.\u009d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_573\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Camping23.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-573\" data-attachment-id=\"573\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/four-wheeling-good-for-families-easy-on-environment\/camping23\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Camping23.jpg?fit=300%2C217&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"300,217\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Camping23\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Over 10,000 feet above sea level&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Camping23.jpg?fit=300%2C217&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Camping23.jpg?fit=300%2C217&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-573\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Camping23.jpg?resize=300%2C217&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Camping23.jpg?w=300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Camping23.jpg?resize=200%2C145&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Camping23.jpg?resize=150%2C109&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-573\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Over 10,000 feet above sea level<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Go on to explain how four-wheeling is a family affair. It&#8217;s a great time and healthy event that everyone can enjoy. These trips offer a chance to bond with spouse and kids, and teach them to appreciate and respect nature.<\/p>\n<p>You can add that we use those trips to challenge ourselves and our vehicles. We are always careful and prepare properly before going off-road. By encountering and overcoming those challenges, we develop and hone our driving and survival skills, and build self-esteem in the process. These trips involve problem solving, team building, and other valuable skills. Camaraderie is strong during the excursions, and we develop friendships that last a lifetime.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, we don&#8217;t burn as much gas as people think. Sure, our off-road mileage isn&#8217;t great, but we&#8217;re not driving every day. This is just a weekend hobby. And it&#8217;s usually only one weekend a month.<\/p>\n<p>Occasionally during an expedition I will poll the group on what attracts them to this type of trip. Repeatedly I get responses like  spend time with friends and family,\u009d  the solitude,\u009d  beauty and nature,\u009d and  exploring history.\u009d There&#8217;s a lot more to going off road, but until you do, you really can&#8217;t appreciate it. Or understand why we do. That&#8217;s where you, my fellow enthusiasts, come in. Our hobby needs you to be spokesmen for the cause.<\/p>\n<p>Introduce others to four-wheeling. Take them out for a leisurely drive one afternoon. Show them that an off road driving experience is like none other. Let them learn for themselves the value of our hobby.<\/p>\n<p>Incidentally, you notice that I refer to four-wheeling as a hobby. I do that on purpose. If you call it a sport, people immediately figure there&#8217;s some competitive nature about it. That creates the image of cars recklessly tearing through the desert or some other sensitive area.<\/p>\n<p>As you can see, there are a lot of positives to our hobby. Make a point to talk up four-wheeling whenever you can. You just may gain a new enthusiast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When most laymen think of four-wheeling, their thoughts unfortunately are rarely positive. You know the criticism: We tear up the landscape. Scare away the wildlife. Pollute the environment. And burn through gas like there&#8217;s no tomorrow. How often have you heard those? How have you responded? You know you&#8217;re a&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/four-wheeling-good-for-families-easy-on-environment\/\">Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,5,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2011-articles","category-camping","category-environmental-impact"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Camping23.jpg?fit=300%2C217&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Imuw-9e","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":575,"href":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572\/revisions\/575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}