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Nissan Rogue Trip: Driving For Charity

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10 Rogues. 21 Journalists. 1 Final Destination.

Last week I participated in a unique challenge put on by Nissan— #RogueTrip. The challenge was to drive halfway across country in a Nissan Rogue and participate in over 10 scavenger hunts. The winner of the most challenges won a $5,000 donation check to the charity of their choice from Nissan. You can view the press release: HERE.

My drive partner, Kristin from InDeepH2o, and myself drove from Nissan’s headquarters in Franklin, TN to New York City for our charity, The National Breast Cancer Coalition.

Each of the 10 teams had selected a charity that was close to their hearts to drive for and Nissan supplied everyone with our own route, suggested points of interests to stop at and hotels booked for the night. Not one being the same.

With a full tank of gas and an open road, we set out on our 1,000+ mile journey that led us through 5 different states.

Scavenger hunts included:

  • A video or photo showcasing Nissan’s Divide & Hide Storage
  • A video or photo showcasing Nissan’s Around View Monitor
  • Visiting Historical Landmarks (the most wins)
  • Spotting Rogues on the road (the most wins)
  • Taking photos with Nissan car owners (the most wins)
  • Finding unique landmarks along the way (the most wins)
  • Finding a funny bumper sticker or road sign
  • Carpool karaoke challenge
  • Taking a scenic photo
  • Eating a Bizarre Food
  • Creating puppets from barf bags and markers that were provided
  • Finding a wild animal
  • Taking a photo of a bridge or tunnel (timed challenge)
  • Bringing  a momento back to NYC that captures the road trip experience (required)

Being the competitive person I am, we had so much fun finding creative ways to submit our challenges. From utilizing the entire Rogue for our Carpool Karaoke to finding a drive-through safari for our Wild Animal Challenge, we were confident in our submissions. You can see our challenge entries: here, here, and here.

With hardly any sleep and wired on energy, we made sure to finish all our submissions before crossing the finish line in New York City. Thanks to the help of Patty who works at Bear Creek Mountain Lodge (where we stayed that night), she gave us the rundown on Allentown, PA and told us we must go see the covered bridges there. Not only was this an historical landmark, it was also scenic. It was definitely a two-for-one spot when it came to the competition.

We arrived in New York City in the early afternoon and made our way to the finish line- The Pennsy. There they had photographers, people cheering for us and a room booked for us to relax, eat and wait to hear who won the $5,000 charity donation check.

As anticipation arose it was time for Nissan to announce the winner. (*insert drum roll*)

We won! We did it! All the hard work, late nights, early mornings, and miles on the road, we won the $5,000 check for the National Breast Cancer Coalition! It was the most surreal experience getting to hold that check and being in, what it felt like, a thousand photos. We cried, we hugged, we were so proud.

I can’t thank Nissan enough for being so supportive of all the charities and always wanting to give back. I am so honored to have been a part of this challenge and even more as this helps us get one step closer to finding a cure for breast cancer.

You can view the official press release announcing us as the winners: HERE.

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Tim Esterdahl

Automotive Journalist Tim Esterdahl has been a lover of trucks and SUVs for years. He has covered the industry since 2011 and has pieces in many national magazines and newspapers. In his spare time, he is often found tinkering on his '62 C10 pickup, playing golf, going hunting and hanging out with his wife and kids in Nebraska.

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