I'd wanted to do a proper overland trip — off pavement, self-supported, no fixed destination — for longer than I'd had a vehicle capable of it. When I finally did it, I went into Cherokee National Forest and immediately got the truck stuck on a forest road that looked passable on the map and was not passable in practice.
It took two hours and a recovery board and a fair amount of patience I didn't know I had. After that the trip was easy — or at least the mechanical problems were manageable. The photography was the best part. When you're moving slowly and you have to work for every mile, you pay attention differently.