Excited to test out the rear shock relocation I'd just completed with the help of Zane @Speedytech7, I headed north toward Las Vegas to pick up @mrs.turbodb who was flying in for a two-ish day trip along the Old Mojave Road - a historically significant trail through the Mojave National Preserve in southern California. Passenger acquired, we made a quick dinner pit stop at The Habit Burger - a place we'd never been before but had heard had amazing burgers at drastically low prices ($3.50). The burgers were actually quite good - I'd recommend them over any other fast-food burger -…
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December 1-2, 2018. For years now I've run what I'd call "work shocks" in the rear of the truck. First a set of Gabriel Hi-Jackers that I put on to carry heavy loads, then a set of Monroe MaxAir MA820's (now replaced by the MA728 model) when I installed the rear lift - these shocks were great for carrying heavy loads since I could add air pressure to push the rear of the truck higher. But as truck use has changed to more exploration (perhaps even the overused "overlanding), it's become clear that the ride provided by these shocks is…
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November 23, 2018. It's amazing how many Hi-Lifts I see driving around the Seattle area. If you didn't know better, you'd think all these folks took their vehicles off-road! Of course, for the majority of them, the Hi-Lift has achieved maximum purpose and use in it's mounting and visible expo factor on the vehicle - but for some, it becomes a critical safety and recovery tool when on an adventure. For those folks, it's important to keep the Hi-Lift in top shape. That means servicing it on a regular basis, ensuring that all parts are in good working order -…
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"Let's go somewhere." said @mrs.turbodb after I'd been home just a short time from my previous trip. That was of course fine with me, and so we set about finding a place to go. It was going to be cold and rainy on the Washington coast, so we set out looking for somewhere warm. Now, we only had a few days, so that limited our options - essentially to adjacent states. Oregon was our best bet for warmth, so we started looking for options there - and it didn't take long to fill out the itinerary. Ever since visiting the…
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I woke up on the last real day of our two-week adventure having slept well through the night. The rain stopped a couple hours after we went to bed, and as I looked out the tent window at an orange sunrise, I could see that most of the clouds had been blown away as well - it was going to be a beautiful day. With no rain to worry about, my first order of business was to sleep for another couple hours - the tent warming up and mostly drying off in that time. Perfect. I couldn't hole up all…
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It rained on and off through the night. We were more sheltered though, so it wasn't too bad - and I'd definitely prefer rain at night to rain during the day. Well, assuming it stops early enough to dry out the tent! I woke up around 7:30am, the rain still coming down and decided there was no reason to rush out of bed - so I didn't. Instead, I read the last of my book for an hour, waiting for the rain to let up. Coincidentally, just as I finished the last page, the rain stopped and I hurried to…
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I'd gone to sleep with all the tent windows and doors tightly zipped closed and earplugs in - to protect me from the wind raging through our camp. I've been in windy conditions before - in fact, our night at Point Sublime just a week before was a pretty windy affair - so I wasn't all that concerned - in fact, the wind rocked me to sleep a bit as the tent and truck flexed under its force. But then, at 3:30am I was awoken by a whole new sensation - my tent was trying to kill me. I quickly…
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In perhaps the most uneventful morning of the entire trip - a good thing! - it was 8:45am before I woke up and climbed out of the tent, our perch at the mouth of Escalante Canyon beautiful under clear blue skies. I wandered around a bit exploring the edge of the canyon, torn between wishing that I'd gotten up early to go explore the canyon itself, and the 8-hours of uninterrupted sleep I'd gotten. I suppose that, given the canyons we'd seen so far, the sleep was likely the better option, even if I hadn't made it purposefully . And…
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The rain continued lightly through the night - I'm not sure if it ever really stopped, but it never poured and the weather around us stayed calm - resulting in a restful night's sleep all around. It also meant that there was no need to get up early for sunrise, and so it wasn't until 8:45am that we all - simultaneously for the most part - climbed down out of our tents to greet the drizzly-gray morning. Despite the weather - which we hoped would clear - this was going to be a special day. In fact, where Mike @Digiratus…
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The wind and rain continued steadily all night, though we were fortunate to not have any more lightning and thunder, given our exposed position. With earplugs I slept soundly - rocked now and then by the wind on the tent - until 7:30am, when I'd normally be out of the tent enjoying the sun peeking over the horizon. Not today though - today the rain was coming down hard and I was thinking to myself, "We're going to have an interesting trip out of here..." But that would come later, and for the time being, I read my book and…
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The warm, pleasant weather continued through the night - a welcome respite for us all - so as morning rolled around and I woke just before sunrise, I was excited to look out the tent window and see the sky starting to light up over Lake Powell. As sometimes happens, I'd planned ahead - hoping really for this situation - and I had my camera in the tent with me. So, having woken at exactly the right time, I spent the next several minutes enjoying the pinkish-orangish-purplish light as it illuminated the surroundings. And then, as quickly as it started,…
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I'm pretty sure it didn't rain all night. It was amazing. You can imagine my surprise when I awoke just before sunrise and could see blue sky along the entire horizon, my open tent window (door really) facing east. But it was chilly, and rather than get up to take photos, I opted instead to stay warm and toasty under my comforter - definitely the right decision! And so I stayed for another hour or so until the sun started peaking over the horizon, warming the air, my tent, and ultimately me - to the point where I figured I…
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By midnight the wind had picked up significantly. 40-mph gusts buffeting our tents. Rain, blowing sideways. And then, at 2:12am - lightning, and a lot of it. I'd slept well through the rain, earplugs doing their job to mute the noise of the drops on the tent. But they did little to soften that first clap of thunder. It wasn't until the next flash of lightning that I could count the delay - about 8 seconds - not too bad. But then more lightning. And more. It was constant, as the wind continued to whip at the tent. And it…
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It was a breezy (but dry!) night on the edge of the canyon, the updrafts from the walls constantly buffeting the fabric of the tent. Little did we know that we were in for much, much worse! But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. The breeze did help to clear out the clouds a bit by early morning, and knowing that we could have a spectacular view, I'd set my alarm for "before sunrise" - to try and catch that orange glow that I love on the horizon. I'd also put the camera in the tent with me, so it was…
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It rained on and off throughout the night - not too bad, actually when it comes right down to it. The rain stopped by early morning, though a cloud cover remained, allowing me a second reprieve from an early-morning to capture sunrise. It was 8:00am by the time I pulled myself out of the tent, Mike @Digiratus also up, getting his coffee started. A bowl of Cheerios in my hand, I ventured to the edge of the canyon - it's reds and oranges now deeper from the overnight rain. The dramatic clouds causing a flat-if-not-a-bit-ominous light. We poked around for…
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The night was a bit windy, parked on the edge of the canyon wall. But warmish temps and a late night, combined with the fact that we were a few hundred feet from the top of the canyon - so there was no reason to get up early for the orange glow of sunrise on the horizon - meant that we slept well and I didn't even think about getting out of bed before 8:30am. Like the evening before, the sky was mostly cloudy - the resulting light being both muted and mysterious at the same time as I re-explored…
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I'd returned from The Re-Tour a mere three weeks before our departure date, but that didn't mean there were only a few short days to plan for our next epic adventure. In fact, quite the contrary - we'd been planning our trip south to Arizona and Utah for nearly a year - knowing that there was way more ground than we could cover in the two weeks we had allocated for the excursion. Our plan was simple, if long. Start in St. George, Utah, and work our way east - first along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, then…
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Ever since building the bed rack, I've been happy with it. It's done everything I've asked of it and more. The CVT tent @cascadia tents has always been secure, and it's been a great way to carry the Hi-Lift, supply power to the fridge, and keep everything in the bed secure. It's also been a great height, leaving the tent even with the roof line, and allowing a good amount of space underneath for storage, not the least of which is the custom bed slide I made to hold the ARB fridge. Until now that is. You see, I've recently…
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September 21, 2018. Well, we're now a two-Toyota family. For the last several months, @mrs.turbodb and I have been talking about getting a 4Runner so that our adventures with @mini.turbodb can be more comfortable for her - the extended cab of the Tacoma becoming a tight space for a growing kiddo. A 4Runner - especially an older 3rd gen one - seemed like a good choice. Proven Toyota reliability, a similar platform (and the same engine) to the Tacoma, and four doors! So when this beauty came along, we were quick to go check it out. It's a 1997 with…
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It was a very early morning, Mike @Digiratus an I each requiring an alarm to rouse ourselves at 6:00am - the sky still dark around us, only the first hint of light on the horizon. I made a quick run up to Goose Lake - alas, the darkness still too deep for any photos. We set to work packing our trucks and tents as quietly as possible, Monte @Blackdawg, Devin @MissBlackdawg, and Zane @Speedytech7 still sleeping nearby. Above us, early morning light illuminating the sky and the tip-tops of the mountains around us. Just after 7:00am we were ready to…
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