I grew up in the foothills of Colorado (in Westminister, right next to Boulder) and my dad taught us to LOVE camping and 4X4 fun. There were so many times growing up that we'd bypass other people hitting the major 4X4 trails and take some tiny trail that only my dad could see. Up and over boulders, downed trees, creeks (sometimes that were more like rivers and freaked my mom out), and a couple of times up the side of a mountain with a major dropoff that went straight down hundreds of feet... probably not too safe there dad... but we also found awesome ghost towns way up in the middle of nowhere to explore, the most beautiful camp sites, and a couple of mountain lions.
My dad bought a rolled 82 Ford Ranger and cut the top off and made a convertible out of it. Then, bolted a bench seat and seat belts into the bed of his 4X4 pickup for my sister and I. He had other Chevy trucks for work, but this was his favorite. That thing would go anywhere and we would go camping at least once a month. Later on, when we moved to Oklahoma, his favorite thing to do in that truck was to go out when there was tons of ice and snow and pull people out of ditches. We used to love to go with him to do that because we knew he'd drive through a massive snow bank to hear us giggle. Most people in Oklahoma have no clue how to drive in ice and snow - no offense to anyone - and we grew up in it. So, it was fun to us.
I used to take the 93 Toyota out in it because it was lifted and fun as heck to go 4X4ing in. I don't take my '01 out, but I do miss it a lot sometimes.