Journey to the Apocalypse Tour: Wasteland Weekend 2023

Today the tribe will gather. We will arrive at Los Angeles International Airport from all corners of the doomed earth. You will be given instructions to gather at our nearby hotel and have the day to revel in all things the modern world provides – one last time. Perhaps you would like to go to see the idol Mickey and pay your respects to the giant mouse. Or see a Wookie and hear the roar of a starship. Or maybe you would like to be thrilled with a roller coaster ride or two. Or maybe, you just want to hang out at a café one more time before the End takes them from us.

No matter your day’s adventures, GNT will help you get there. Be sure though, to return to the hotel for dinner as the tribe will gather and meet for our Welcome Dinner. Here we will discuss the coming journey to the apocalypse and get to know our fellow travelers. Plus, we will of course be meeting Mike Hutchinson today and will most definitely be talking Gaslands… AND, we will show off our Hobby Challenges… Yes, the GNT tour has you working in the sweatshop prior to your arrival. You will need to bring not only some cool cars for the Gasland adventures you will have over the course of the event, but you will also need to bring one Gaslands race gate and one Gaslands terrain piece. We will be looking for Wasteland Weekend themes and high marks will be given to those that create something matching the Wasteland vibe (Hint hint… maybe a sign, ship or even our own motorhome compound?)

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As my wife, Vanessa, and I emerge blinking into the Californian sun, we’ll want to grab a cold beer, hang out and get to know you. I’m pretty sure there'll be a copy of Skull in my bag, and we’ll be in the hotel bar putting the final touches to our wasteland costumes, taking sand-paper to anything too shiny and going outside to drag them in the dust...

We will leave today to journey into the Wasteland. Captains, will man their Motorhomes, and with the help of the Navigator, will make their way convoy-style out of L.A. We will make the two and a half hour trip to the doomed land. We will stop along the way for you to pick up supplies, snacks and extra food. GNT will of course supply non-radioactive meals throughout our stay. Be sure to buy all you need though, as once we leave civilization there will be no returning (well until Sunday at least), and you will not be able to pick up any other supplies.

Today is the gathering of tribes and you will see many setting up their tents and headquarters inside the main Wasteland Weekend compound and without. We too will be setting up our compound and anyone designated as “the Boys” (note that this is a title and does not designate gender) will need to hop to it and make sure our space is set up… Especially chairs for the captains and the Lord Mike, giver of the Gaslands…

You will, however, already be noting the attention to detail and the massive creative and artistic endeavor that is Wasteland Weekend. Everyone will be hard at work setting their own personal view of what a Road Warrior style apocalypse would be ... This is created not only by the fact that a city is forming around the main compound – Wasteland Weekend is nothing short of a Cosplay Camping Trip into the Apocalypse - but how each person will be costumed, and in this way the vibe of a bunch of survivors banding together will be complete.

Events will be a bit fluid during the course of our time in the Wasteland. Events often alter their start not only in hours but in days. One cannot always plan what happens or when it happens, but that is one of the joys of this event. With that said, we will have some cool things for you to do tonight. After your return to the GNT compound, your guide will start to prepare our Welcome Dinner via a good old fashioned camping BBQ. Sausages are in order (we promise that they will be pork, real pork, and radiation free) and we will have veggies (we promise that they will almost certainly be free from atomic mutation).

Following dinner, we will make sure your costumes are appropriately distressed so be sure to have them out (better yet worn), but the main post dinner event will be a Gaslands car build-off led by Mike Hutchinson himself. GNT will provide Hot Wheels cars and some North Star Gaslands weapon sprues to arm them… We will even be joined by our fellow Wastelanders, so expect quite a motley crew…

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Warning: if you are unlucky enough to get stuck in my motorhome, you are going to have to put up with high-volume desert rock and sludge metal for the duration of our drive out into the wasteland. I cannot wait to see the settlement and get exploring with everyone. After our first cook-out, let’s build (and paint) some cars for the campaign. I’m not planning to bring a team, I’m just going to make one right there, inspired by all the insane vehicles at the event. I can’t wait!

Today is traditionally the Blackthumb Meet & Greet, and a time for all the death machine owners to hang out together and show off what they have built. It is WW’s unofficial car show and if you want to bs with the gas driven cosplayers this is a jovial time to do so.

Your guide will also take you to Bartertown to so some shopping. You’ll see tones of pre-apocalypse and post-apocalypse things to buy. Bring cash and bottle caps and you should walk away with some (replica) weapons, food from the food vendors and a laugh or two. Take advantage of the random spots to sit, and conversations will be easily started… Note though, one never knows if they will lead to a kind of mini LARP or talk of things back home.

Events are pretty fluid in the Wasteland, and you never know if you will see that same thing twice, but last time GNT visited we took in the Morning Mayhem 1:64 Car Show that featured cars straight out of Mad Max and Gaslands. At night we completely recommend a visit to the Copperhead Caravan compound for Matt McGuire’s Deathrace 1:64. I’ll be up front here, the event is a Hot Wheels race that one might see at Christmas time or at a Scouts meeting. In GNT's opinion though, this is exactly what you’d see in a world where media died in nuclear flame. A bunch of people coming together to cheer the races of toys from a bygone era. Feel free to bring a functional Hot Wheels car (perhaps weighted with the wheels waxed) to join in on the fun, but be prepared to lose your ride as those not finishing first are forfeit to the Deathrace diorama.

With all that said, we will have events planned for our tribe right at our compound. In the morning, Mike Hutchinson will lead us in an exclusive GNT/WW never before seen Gaslands Campaign for tour participants only. You’ll have to be in the Wasteland to get the details, but there will be prizes. As a matter of fact, Mike has promised us cars seen in the Gaslands: Refuelled rulebook itself. Further, in the afternoon, we will offer up a painting class for not only our tour participants, but also for general Wastelanders. Join us as we paint the cars we built the night before… We will supply the paint but may ask you for an ounce of blood for a wash…

Dinner tonight will be catered at our compound by the Texasmoke BBQ crew. They say it will be beef (and again not radioactive), but you’ll have to judge for yourself.

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Day 3 is the first day we get to play some Gaslands (about time!) and I’m going to bring a special campaign for us to enjoy together. There’ll be tables set up in each of our motorhomes, or maybe we’ll drag them out into the sun… I’m hoping for some gaming laughs, and then a chance to dive into the rest of the event. From what GNT tells me, it sounds like we are going to find some pretty like-minded people.

“Greetings from The Humungus! The Lord Humungus! The Warrior of the Wasteland! The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla!”

The first time Lord Humungus and the Dogs of War roll down the road you are sure to have shivers. Nothing like a gang of cars blasting out heat and bass to immerse you in a movie scene. You will see people in the streets rushing to the side of the road to not only see the spectacle, but also to pay homage to the clear top dog of Wasteland Weekend. It is our hope that the Lord Humungus and the Dogs of War join us for dinner tonight. GNT is still working on the details, but our audiences with his excellency have gone well.  BTW The Humungus is a Gaslands fan...... [MH: Hell, yeah!]

We will continue our Gaslands campaign today and each motorhome will have to gather as a tribe to compete with fellow tour participants… Outlandish upgrades will be handed out by our own Lord of the Wasteland Mike Hutchinson via his Unique LEGACY Gasland expansion…

This will be followed by a Newbie Deathrace demo game for vets and newcomers alike. Opened to all Wastelanders (well as many as we can fit) Mike will lead a game where we can use those newly built and painted Gaslands cars.

Today will be the official Car Show so we will have to be flexible when we get our demo on, because you won’t want to miss seeing all the death machine awesomeness in one area. It is a day of recognizing the vehicles that are a huge part of any post-apocalyptic medium. We will head to the car show to meet the creators and their amazing metal machines. Gawk at the engines of death and the effort made to make Wasteland Weekend the most immersive event in the world.

Each nigh you can also find almost every type of music under the pollution choked sun. Go dancing to 80s tunes, Industrial, techno or metal – the choice is yours, but we recommend you do it all. There are also burlesque shows and other things best not mentioned here. Be sure to have your own mug/cup/or glass as the Atomic Café will be there serving up libations to wastelanders. They take old world money, but it all goes to a good cause.

Dinner will be offered up by GNT yet again and all will be offered hamburgers. Again, we can’t guarantee what is the actual meat, but we will say it is beef.

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I feel like Day 4 is when the tour starts to go off the rails… in the best way. We are going to be dusty, hot, and having an awesome time. We’ll play some games, we’ll try and convert some other wastelanders to our cause, and we’ll see an insane collection of real-world death machines. The schedule will be flexible, and I’ll make sure we don’t all have to play our games at the same time, so we can come and go as we need.

Today will be a busy day in the Wasteland! First off it is Car Cruise Day, where we will get to see each vehicle make its appearance on the streets normally filled with survivors. The smell of diesel and the roar of engines will have you thinking you are indeed in Mad Max’s world. And the fear of its tyrants will be sure to ensure your supplication… Beware of the spikes and gander at the magnificence.

Again, we will game in Wasteland city for a couple of hours in the morning… Ensuring a glorious ending to our tour participant only Gaslands campaign. Winners will receive awesome gifts and the losers will get their choice of terrain from the group’s Hobby Challenge… You didn’t think you would leave with what you brought did you? Don’t expect to bring your nice shit to the Apocalypse and have it stay with you… Two men enter, one man leaves…

Also this day will be the Gaslands Matchbox Car Crusher Challenge… You’ll be given a big hammer and some safety goggles, but you’ll have to provide the rage to smash a Hot Wheels flat. The flattest car in the time wins, so get those arms in shape or think of a shifty way to get your car on the thin side (you don’t have to use the hammer). Be sure, to fill this last full day with the multitude of awesome things to do at WW. You could hunt down one last bounty with the Rust Devils, do one last LARP, check out the Caution Tape Carnival, or the vibrator race (yes, you are reading correctly) at The Den, or any of the cool shows put on by the many tribes in the wasteland like the Badlands Savages, the Wretched Embers, and even the Puppets of the Apocalypse.

Later the same day the equal opportunity objectification WW swimsuit contest will gather crowds of Wastelanders who will cheer the contestants on, and fun will be had by all… Be sure to also take in the Smashbotz and the RC car Death Race! Carnage will ensue …

Our last dinner in the Apocalypse will be catered by the Dinki-Dive crew. They say they’ll make us some Chili and Mac and Cheese. We are not sure what the Mac and Cheese is made from, but the meat in the chili sure will be meat…

The party will just be revving up by this time, and it will be a sight to see as all the tribes join together for one last massive party of awesomeness… Tonight, the bands will be out in their splendour and the headliners will hit the stage. This is the time where everyone comes together… Where all of the Wasteland vibes as one.

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So it turns out that taking toys and then racing them is a pretty strong theme at WW. I think we are going to fit right in. This is going to be the last night, and Vanessa and I plan to party with whatever we’ve still got in the tank. See you at sunrise?!

Today we will pack up and return to Los Angeles. We will take our time returning however, to stop for lunch and to drop off some donations in Lancaster. Geek Nation Tours is a proud sponsor of the Catalyst Foundation and hopes to give back to the community via them. We will be using alot of new stuff for this adventure and most of it will be largely unspoiled by the days we spend playing Apocalypse. So, know that your tour participation will go a long way. If you would like to make a further donation to this excellent charity please let us know and we would be happy to direct you.

We will check in at our hotel, and after a long-deserved shower, we will gather for our Farewell Dinner. This will be a time to regal each other in our adventures and to say farewell to those tribe members that made it out of the apocalypse alive.

Today we will make our way back to the Old World via the entity called LAX. Be sure to have packed your wasteland garbs away, and don’t try to bring anything sharp on the plane. The memories of the wasteland will last a lifetime… Or at least until you return…