"Dan?" I only half heard Pops say, rousing me from my afternoon nap. "Yeah?" There's been an incident in camp, and we're pretty much all packed up.Pops Well, I can tell you that getting awoken to that kind of news really gets your heart pumping. Especially with the type of afternoon we'd had so far. But, as is often the case with my stories, I'm getting ahead of myself... let's back up for a moment. Our day had been relaxing as usual - I forget the specifics of what we did, but it was mostly around camp and likely involved…
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There was plenty of relaxing around our camp in the Sierra's - and it was great. The way I see it, most of us live in the world running from one thing to the next, attention spans of a cricket. To really be able to relax, disconnect, and not worry about "doing something all the time" is an ability that's being lost. Not every trip lends itself to this kind of relaxation, but every trip does have moments where this can be experienced. Relish - even look for - those moments; they are grand. Even so, even this trip had…
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Part 1: We Arrive, and It's Amazing Note: For anyone reading this "not in the family," it should be noted that this is a different type of trip report. Headed out with my Pops and his Jeep, there is libel to be more family ribbing than usual through parts of the report. It's all in good fun. 🙂turbodb Our awesome trip to Idaho ended like no other trip we'd taken to date - in more ways than one. Of course, we'd found the Overland Trail, but more importantly we'd ended the trip in another state, with no pit stop at…
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July 4-5, 2018. Having parted ways with Ben @m3bassman and Kirsten after a wonderful couple days in Idaho, our first and second stops were in Boise for some fuel and food. We'd hoped to hit up a place that @pizzaviolence suggested as "the best taco's in Idaho," but being the Fourth of July, it was unfortunately closed. Instead, we grabbed some burgers before heading south-east - a four-state day in store through Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and finally California where we planned to find a place to camp for the night. Off the dirt, we racked up miles quickly - many…
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July 3-4, 2018. A bit windy when we'd arrived, by morning the wind had died down and Seafoam lake was a glassy surface. We'd slept soundly - warm in our respective beds (in fact, everyone but me was still asleep when I looked out the window and noticed that the cloud pattern could be an interesting one for sunrise. Hoping for the best, I donned my clothes and grabbed the camera - no time to spare now, the light was starting to work it's early morning magic. But really, I had absolutely no idea what was in store over the…
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July 1-2, 2018. The previous 17 hours had been a whirlwind, but we were on our way. Headed east this time, towards Idaho - to a ridge above Garden Valley, where we were set to meet up with Ben @m3bassman, Kirsten, and their pups as well as @pizzaviolence and his family (at this point unknown to us). But we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves. What about those 17 hours? You see, 17 hours earlier we'd pulled into the driveway after completing the WABDR - a week of adventure that would not normally be quickly forgotten. But things were not…
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June 28-29, 2018. Our campsite above Lake Chelan worked out well through the night, the small bluff sheltering us from the wind until it died down in the early morning hours, and no traffic on the nearby road. In fact, the site worked so well that none of us woke before sunrise, instead the warm sun hitting the tent was what finally roused us from our sleep. As usual, we spent a bit of time exploring the area with @mini.turbodb and stumbled upon a fenced-off area that appeared to contain some sort of well. We never figured out exactly what…
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June 27, 2018. As we awoke the next morning, everyone was well rested and happy that we'd gotten only a short burst of light rain; and that the morning was shaping up to be a beautiful one - hopefully indicative of the entire day ahead. The first order of business was something that @mini.turbodb had been asking for since we arrived in this "not the best camp site" - go explore the narrow trail that headed up the downhill side of the saddle. This of course was the motorcycle route of the WABDR, but that meant little to her -…
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June 26, 2018. The wind that rocked us to sleep in the CVT kept blowing through the night, perhaps the most continuously windy night we've spent six feet off the ground. Nestled under the covers we were cozy and warm, and it was a struggle to pull myself out at 5:30am to capture sunrise. But there's only one sunrise each day and it's not every day that you're parked on the edge of a ridge with Mt. Rainier in the distance, so pull myself out I did. I wasn't disappointed. Of course, I was up well before the rest of…
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June 25, 2018. It was a cold night - even though we were at only 4,500 feet, the temperatures dipped into the mid-thirties, making us all acutely aware that we'd expected (and dressed for) warmer weather. As usual, I was the first out of bed, hoping to catch sunrise, or at least a bit of that early morning light that is so special as it's long rays light up the landscape. And today, as I climbed up above camp, I was hoping for even more - my view through the trees suggesting that I would be in luck. As I…
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Day 1: Joe and Daisy's First Big Dirt Adventure June 24, 2018. It's not often that we end up on a trip in our own backyard. There are many reasons for that - there are amazing sights far and wide, adventurous friends are located states away, and of course the weather in Washington makes snow-free exploration tough much of the year. But when Joe got a 4Runner and mentioned that he and his wife (Daisy) wanted us to get them (and their 16-month old) out on their first trip, it seemed like a great opportunity to do something a bit…
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With spring upon us and the snow starting to melt in some of the lower elevations, we got word that the road to one of our favorite camp areas east of the Cascades had opened up for the season. Hoping to beat the crowds, @mrs.turbodb and I loaded up @mini.turbodb and the truck and headed east. Naturally, from the get-go, the main question was, "how long until we get there?" which we've realized must be answered with "about an hour," until we're less than an hour away, at which point we can use actual times. Seems to work for now.…
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May 28, 2018. We slept soundly until morning - it was our first night of the trip with calm weather and little-to-no wind. That, combined with the fact that we were in a stand of tall pines are the excuse I'll use for not getting up to enjoy the sunrise! It was glorious I'm sure, given the morning hours that followed - those I did get up for, and I shot a few photos of camp, everyone else still toasty and warm in their beds after our great camp fire the night before. As usual, it wasn't long before everyone…
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May 27, 2018. By the next morning the storm had passed and the sun was trying to punch through the clouds on the horizon. That meant there was no beautiful sunrise, but that didn't keep me from rolling out of the tent to capture the first daylight shots of our three trucks in camp. @mrs.turbodb and Mike (@Digiratus) were the next two out of bed and as Mike made his morning cup of coffee, he looked out at the mountains across the meadow and voiced his approval of the site - the Redhead obviously right at home. Not long after,…
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May 26, 2018. We survived the night, the lightning storm and associated rain passing both east and west of our perch atop Monument Peak. As has become a habit, I was up early - I knew our location and the clouds in the sky could make for a spectacular morning. The sun did not disappoint. As high as we were, it wasn't long before the sun was over the horizon and illuminating the truck and lookout; the storm obviously a thing of the past, a beautiful day in the works for our adventure. We ate breakfast and enjoyed our surroundings…
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May 24, 2018. Eastward to Adventure! We were packed and ready to go by 8:00am Thursday, having been looking forward to a Memorial Day trip with Mike (@Digiratus), Monte (@Blackdawg) and Devin (@MissBlackdawg) for the better part of a month. Still early in the season, we weren't sure what we'd find from a snow perspective, but we had a couple extra days to explore before everyone else showed up, and we had plenty of routes and re-routes to keep us busy! The drive east was mostly uneventful and one of our easiest to date - get on I-90 and keep driving.…
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"You should get a 4Runner." is what I tell just about anyone with kids who asks what kind of car they should get. Of course, nothing generally comes of that - people opt for something more racy - a Tesla, or an Audi, those kinds of things. So, you can imagine my surprise when Dave and Joe - a couple guys I worked with - each came home with a 4Runner and reached out to go "offroading"! Now that's cool. Naturally, I wanted their first dirt in their new trucks to be fun - how else would I get them…
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April 14, 15, 2018. A couple hours after falling asleep just north of Saline Valley Warm Springs, I was awoken by what I initially thought was a gunshot in my dream. But, with the valley still echoing, I soon realized it was no dream. Unsure what was going on, I looked back towards the springs, to see how others were reacting. I saw no real reaction, but then a few minutes later, I heard a "thump-thump-thump" and saw streaks of light heading into the moonless sky. And then, light and explosions. Fireworks continued intermittently for the next 10-15 minutes. Ultimately,…
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Having hit the sack relatively early (a drawback of being solo and not chatting into the evening around a fire), I was well-rested as I awoke to catch the sun chasing the moon on the eastern horizon. One of my favorite times of day, I climbed out of the tent and sent a mental message to the burros to shut the hell up. There were approximately 20 of them in the valley, and they'd been going at it all night. I found myself yearning for the last trip - where we'd not seen a single burro - clearly a blessing…
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A Struggle from the Start If our first trip to Death Valley taught us anything, it was that our adventures there were far from complete. The three days of exploration had just scratched the surface of the vast wilderness before us. So, when I found out that @mrs.turbodb was headed out of town for a week, I was quick to make plans for a return trip. Going solo, my route did include a few of our favorite spots (Butte Valley and Goler Wash), but focused on several new areas as well - most outside of Death Valley proper (West Side…
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