In what would become nearly a month in the state of Idaho, we left for our first trip as the calendar ticked over to July. On the schedule were two places I'd had on my list for a while - Indian Hot Springs and Idaho's City of Rocks State Park. Both of these turned out to be everything I'd imagined - Indian Hot Springs was rugged and remote, the old bridge across the river impassable*; City of Rocks was as unique a sight as we could see in Idaho, the granite outcroppings rising up out of the valleys and reaching…
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...a little over 4 miles after we'd started, we crested the ridge holding back the lake to a view that's worth every minute of the climb. (And - if your knees don't kill you on the way down - descent!)
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After paralleling the road for about 12 miles, Eagle Creek drains into the Salmon River - and we found ourselves at this point after passing several ATVs, UTVs, and dirt bikes, but without running into the rest of our group. Had we gone the wrong way? We were sure we hadn't - we were after-all, on the track.
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Hell's Canyon straddles the border between Oregon and Idaho, but neither allows easy access to the depths of this great gorge. Carved by the waters of the Snake River, which flows more than a mile below the canyon's west rim on the Oregon side and 7,400 feet below the peaks of Idaho's Seven Devils Mountains range to the east, then inaccessibility of this region is a major draw. Come along as we explore Buckhorn Lookout, eventually making our way through Zumwalt Prairie down into the quaint town of Inmaha. From there we venture up - to Hat Point, and then…
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With all the recent work on the 4Runner, I wasn't the only one who wanted to put it all to the test. Upon seeing the storage/sleeping platform, @mini.turbodb had declared, "We need to go camping right away!" I don't know if she's been well-trained or it was just a wrinkle in the space-time continuum, but it was music to my ears.
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We've been to the Alvord Playa - and to some extent, the Desert that surrounds it - before, but we've never really done that much exploring of the roads that wind their way through this remote section of Oregon. We planned to change that on this trip, checking out several places that we'd seen from afar on our previous trip, but that we'd never actually visited. Of course, we'd camp on the Alvord Playa - as always; if you're in this area, that's the only place to camp in our opinion. But then, we'd explore a couple of loop roads…
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I've been to Canyonlands National Park before, but only to The Maze District. This, my first trip to The Needles District would be an experience I won't soon forget. We'd spend a week roaming around Utah, running the Elephant Hill trail and making our way into Beef Basin. We'd hike to the Druid Arch - a spectacular trek through canyhttps://adventuretaco.com/tripdest/canyonlands-national-park/ons and over red rock that is worth every moment of soreness you'll feel when it's over. And then, as if everything we'd seen wasn't enough, we'd head to Natural Bridges National Monument for the full tour. I must admit, it's…
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Oh man, was this going to be fun. A trip like no other (so far). A trip with a twist. A trip that was actually two. Over the course of two weeks, we spent eight days in the park, split in half by a 10-day break where we headed back home via airplane. With so much time to explore, we covered as much of the park and surrounding area as we could, highlights including: Fonts Point - overlooking the badlands. Pumpkin Patch and the nearby Palm Oasis - outstanding for their contrast to the desert in which they're found. Calcite…
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The plan for this trip to Death Valley was to do something completely different than normal - spend the vast majority of our time out of the trucks, hiking some of the beautiful canyons that the desert has to offer. Looking back now, a little over a year since the trip took place, it was just the first of such trips - and it opened up an entirely new perspective for me when visiting the park. The best stuff is found only on foot. Sit back and enjoy as we explore Kaleidoscope Canyon, Room Canyon, the Smoke Tree Slot Canyons,…
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With Christmas vacation in full swing, we've been having a great time. There are lots of new toys to play with around the house, there are activities to keep us busy during the day, and the newly introduced household chores - and associated weekly allowance - have @mini.turbodb in high spirits. Oh, to be eight years old.
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New gear sets MUST be broken in correctly to prevent damage. Not following proper break-in procedures will lead to overloading and overheating the ring and pinion as well as breaking down and ruining the gear oil. Not following proper break-in procedures can be determined during inspection and will void the warranty.
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Having never visited the Mojave National Preserve, and being down in the area already to do some work on the Tacoma, the Mojave Road seemed like the perfect place to test out the recent modifications (to the suspension) while seeing some new terrain at the same time. It was quickly apparent that the suspension modifications weren't going to work out, but the new terrain was just the opposite - not only did it work out, but it opened up a whole new world that I knew I'd need to return to explore in more depth. Our trip along the Mojave…
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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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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 through Glen Canyon National Monument (Lake Powell), and then through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to Bears Ears National Monument and Natural Bridges National Monuments. Then, finally, we'd work our way back north through Capitol Reef National Park, having seen the plethora of sights and plenty of dirt roads along the way. It was, to be sure, the most ambitious trip to date! We'd been planning our trip south to Arizona and Utah for…
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How does that saying go? "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, ..." If you've been a reader of previous trip reports, you may recall one of the craziest trips to date - The De-Tour - which occurred almost exactly one year ago. That trip was a great one for many reasons, but it had gone nothing like we'd expected - snowing or raining every day - eventually forcing us to abandon our Tour of Montana and Wyoming for what we hoped were clearer skies, in Utah. ...where it also rained on us. Even so, upon our return, we almost immediately…
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...this wasn't just any trip - this was a trip to Pop's favorite, secret camp spot - a place that he and his buddies have been going for more than 25 years, and which has remained largely unchanged in that time. This year, it'd be only him and one of his friends (the "old fogies"), and me; sworn to secrecy for all time...
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As June turned to July, we were headed east. Our destination - Idaho - and a trip to some of the favorite spots of a fellow adventurer. In two-and-a-half days, we'd explore only a small slice of what central Idaho has to offer, but in the process we'd experience some amazing highs - not to mention the highest road in the state - and some crazy places. Through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, we'd find ourselves at Feltham Point and Pinyon Peak Lookout before being turned around by snow drifts and backtracking a bit to Seafoam Lake.…
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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 easier and a bit more local. The WABDR (Washington Backcountry Discovery Route) fit that…
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...We headed back to the fire to read our books and enjoy what turned out to be a beautiful sunset, helped by the remaining clouds in the sky from the sprinkles earlier in the day. The colors were amazing - deep deep pinks and purples; the sound of the river in the background; mosquitoes held (mostly) at bay by the fire.
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As part of a Memorial Day trip where we'd meet up with Mike and Monte, @mrs.turbodb and I headed to Montana for a few days of solo exploring before a weekend of group adventure. With great weather, it was big sky and green hills as we explored the Lewis and Clark National Forest, as well as nestle ourselves into the base of The Crazies for one night of camping. Then, it was north to the Great Falls before turning west through the Boulder Range of the Rocky Mountains, eventually finding ourselves near Philipsburg where we enjoyed one of the longest,…
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