Dead Ends (Jul 2020)

I've been asked by folks who don't go on as many trips as I do, "How do you know that the roads you plan on a route - using satalite imagery - are open?" The answer, of course, is that not every trip goes exactly as planned - and that's a good thing. It is what makes a trip into an adventure.

This trip, to Idaho and Montana with Mike @Digiratus, Zane @Speedytech7 and Dan @drr was exactly that - an unplanned adventure - nearly every road we'd planned to take, CLOSED.

A Woman and Her Truck | Dead Ends #1 - It's been a busy month. I'd been home for less than 48 hours in the last 3 weeks, our trips to the Nevada BDR, a special place in California, and a family vacation to an amazing little place on the Sacramento River in Castella, CA. keeping me on the move. But, when Mike @Digiratus reached out to see if I wanted to go camping for a week - along with Dan @drr and Zane @Speedytech7 - I found it impossible to say no. So, less than 24 hours after returning home, I was linked up with Dan and the road…

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Lost Souls | Dead Ends #2 - We were awoken early - just after 6:00am - to the sound of rock trucks speeding down the road near camp. Apparently one of the local quarries started work early, and three of the drivers were trying to make good time to their destination! Dan @drr - already an early riser - was the first out of his tent, Echo excited to get a new day underway. As they headed out on a walk, I putzed around in the tent - a little photo processing and reading - until I heard Mike @Digiratus climb down around 7:00am. The sun was…

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We Saved the Best for Last | Dead Ends #3 - As we'd gone to bed the night before, it had been decided that we'd do a group breakfast the following morning. These are always extremely tasty affairs of bacon, eggs, and potatoes - this time, supplied entirely by Dan @drr. (Thanks again Dan!) By definition, these mornings are always a little more chill, since it takes time to get everything together, and no one wants to rush the eating part. By 8:00am, Mike @Digiratus was cooking up potatoes, I was waiting for the last minute to make eggs, and Dan was busy with the bacon. Zane bounced between all three…

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Rig Review: Summer 2020 - What worked and what didn't? - August 29, 2020. Well, it's been a while since a rig review - things have been working reasonably well; a nice side effect of constantly evaluating and tweaking the setup of the truck to dial it in. Since last time, we've completed the following trips: Nevada Backcountry Discovery Route Bridge-to-Bridge in the Middle of Nowhere Dead Ends through WA, ID, and MT Roaming Around Rainier So, lets dive right in. Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews Relentless Skid Plate Attachment Cooper ST/Maxx Tires It's Noisy in the Cab The Air Conditioning Doesn't Work Unchanged / Still an issue from previous…

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