Jeeping Across America - Wanderings Of The West

Awesome story so far. Cabin fever is definitely in full swing here in NY. I've got a week off in April and something like this might just have to go down. Looking forward to the rest!
 
Awesome story so far. Cabin fever is definitely in full swing here in NY. I've got a week off in April and something like this might just have to go down. Looking forward to the rest!

If you have the time, a road trip is definitely worth taking!
 
So we get up the next morning, and Im very eager to start the day, because today I would try a trail again that shut me down the last time I was there....Top of The World. This trail is rated difficult in the guidebook, and when I was there last, my Jeep on 33s probably could have made it, but I didn't want to take chances because it is very remote and I was alone. This time, the jeep is bigger and badder, so with lots of excitement, we head on for the 30 mile drive to the trailhead.

Luckily, the drive isn't a bad one.....

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Now, a message to anyone else that will ever have a road trip with passengers, rule #1 to make things fun for everyone....REMEMBER THAT BEING A DRIVER AND A PASSENGER IS NOT THE SAME THING. Driving your M3 on the Dragon or your Jeep on Hellbender might be fun for you, but it is literally torture for a passenger.

With that in mind, and trying to teach the wife about 4 wheeling, my plan was to let her do and drive as far as possible before things get frisky, at which point we would swap.

So....lesson #1....airing down...

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Now, the trail is 9.6 miles long according to the guidebook. The first 5 miles are moderate ....then around 3 miles of difficult stuff, then 1.6 miles of hard stuff....keep those numbers in mind.

So the wife is tootin along, and Im walking alongside giving her instructions, like where to turn, what line to take, and what gear to be in (1st or 2nd in 4LO)

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Trail (in the first 5 miles) switches between sandy areas and rocky stuff..

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Once the wife hit about the 6 mile mark, things started getting tippy and slippy, and the wife was no longer comfortable, so we swapped....

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I know you can't tell, but ask anyone that has ever been offroading, it never comes across in pictures. :D

Continued......
 
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As we climbed higher, we began seeing signs of snow...which I am very "alert" to thanks to my misadventures on La Sal pass 2 years ago....

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Some sections were pretty badly washed out as well from the snow/rain
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At about 8 miles, things got difficult AND the slopes were covered in ice (flatter areas seemed to have melted the ice off)

You can see the wife walking ahead to tell me if things are passable and getting worse/better

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As luck would have it, it did get worse, but I kept on going so long as the Jeep didn't struggle or fight too much....

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The wife started to get nervous because everytime I climbed a ledge the jeep would slip 2-3 feet to either side, which was fine, but watching a 5500lb box slide around and make banging noises is a bit nerve-tingling for someone that spent their entire lives trying to avoid that sound.

As we got even higher, the terrain became even more difficult, and the ice was even thicker. This trail is supposed to be around 4-5 hours total, and we have used nearly 3.5 already, and haven't even reached the end, plus the return trip....on top of that, it was already around 3:15, and the sun sets (like a light switch) at 5:40, so we would need to do some of the return trip in the dark......so at 9.2 out of 9.6 miles, I had to swallow my pride and ego and turn around. Had I had another jeep with me, I would have done it without even thinking, but being out there alone, with literally no cars around for 50 miles (Moab was dead during this time).....I had to do it. Sometimes you have to do things to keep your passengers calm.
 
So after my unsuccessful attempt to get to the end, it was time to turn around and head back (all sad and frustrated)

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This entire time, we have been pretty hungry as our plan was simply to find a nice spot at the end of the trail and admire the view while we cook lunch, but since that didn't happen we were jonesing to eat, however, it was already after 4pm and we had a long way back off the rocks before it got dark so starving and munching on leftover road trip candy, we made our way back to the head of the trail......which was FAR away at this point

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Being frustrated and agitated (combination of not making the end of the trail, being hungry and having recently quit smoking after a pack a day for 14 years) I barreled down the trail in half the time as it took getting up....looking back, it was a mistake as there were a few mistakes I have made, luckily, nothing broke, bent, or snapped.

It was around 5:10 or so, and we made it back to the trail head, where we decided to pull over and cook up some "lunch"...LInner at this point.

Wife and I were tired of eating restaurant food and road trip stop food, so before we headed out, I stocked up on some fresh local rainbow trout to grill up later on, and some salad....nice not to eat so heavy for once.

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FInally got to put my tray table/cutting board to use, came out VERY handy.

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After linner, it was getting pretty dark, so we packed up, and began the 30 mile drive back to town. Overall, it was a fun filled but a slightly disappointed day, but as they say, you live to fight another day.
 
The next day I wanted to run a few more trails but the wife suggested that we have a "relaxing day" which meant "get your fat ass up and hike" and that we should go into Arches national park and actually see the entire park. I have been to Arches 5 times now, and always saw the same thing...balanced rock, the formations at the park entrance, and then delicate arch, at which point, I was exhausted from the hike and wanted to leave. :D

I thought that was a fine idea, so I took her up on it. We woke up decently early (sun sets early so if you want full day of stuff you can't sleep in until noon), filled up, bought food for later, and headed out.

As we entered the park, the wife kept saying how a lot of the rock formations look like penises....I have no idea what she is on about.....

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The last time I was at balanced rock, the wife wasn't with me, so we stopped again..

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After Balanced rock, we went towards the garden of eden, a place I've actually never been....cool to see now capped La Sal Mountains in the background.

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Honestly, some of the best sports car roads anywhere...

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Finally arrived at the garden of eden

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The day/weather were truly perfect....Tshirts in February.

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Pic of the north window with the wife in it for scale....

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After a whole bunch of hiking, it was time to lunch it, so we went to find a nice quiet spot and set up shop...

Found a nice little spot with no one around and utter silence...beautiful

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Today's menu we're sauteed beech mushrooms with some salad and emergency skirt steak....

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Then we proceeded with consumption of mass quantities. :D

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After a fantastic lunch and about an hour of sitting there and breathing in fresh air, we cleaned up, and headed out to see 2 more arches, (technically 3) - landscape arch and double arch....the only problem was, it was already nearly 5pm...but we went anyway, since I actually had headlamps this time (unlike the time I was caught in pitch black darkness hiking back from delicate arch).

We arrived at the devil's garden parking lot, and the sun was beginning to set, and I didn't really know how long the hike to the arch was....when we got to it, it was fairly dark already.

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After finding our way back to the Jeep in pitch black darkness, we went back towards the double arches. We ran into a photographer that was leaving, and he told us that we came at a great time of year, as it is nearly impossible to have double arch all to yourself, which we did......

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After this, the wife wanted to go grab dinner and a drink in town, and tomorrow would be another day......
 
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I love reading about your trips. This one is just as good as the last. Seems like a great time. I've been trying to convince my wife to do something like this. Hopefully in time. Looking forward to what's next 👍
 
Enjoy reading the updates and pics, making me want to plan a trip as well. The arch pics are fantastic! The backgrounds look like galaxy bands, was that visible to the eye or just part of an extended exposure?
 
Have your rotopax come in handy yet, or have they just been a failsafe in case so far?

Actually, yes. Coming back in the middle of Kansas, fuel light comes on so I start paying attention....next fuel stop 12 miles, and I have around 25 miles of range left with a VERY strong headwind (will post more on that later)....I drive all the way to the station, which from the looks of things, has been closed for a LONG time. Looking at my navi it seems the next gas station is 20+ miles away, so I dumped one pack into the tank. I haven't needed it out on the trail yet, but I haven't taken a trail long enough. I take them as an insurance policy for now, and they have saved me on 2 different occasions, but oddly enough, they were both ON road.
 
Enjoy reading the updates and pics, making me want to plan a trip as well. The arch pics are fantastic! The backgrounds look like galaxy bands, was that visible to the eye or just part of an extended exposure?

Tons of stars visible to the eye, but not the galaxy.
 
So after we had an enjoyable day hiking and relaxing around arches, it was time to resume our normally scheduled programming and continue with our wheeling/exploring adventures.

We get up nice and early, do a quick gas/food run, and head out. I wanted the wife to wheel a little more, get a little more practice, and she isn't a fan of just bouncing around rocks (wants nice views and such)....plus I wanted to spend the day in Canyonlands and do some exploring there, so I decided we are going to run Potash Road into the shafer switchbacks which drops you in the middle of Canyonlands...so I stick her behind the wheel and away we go.

Now, there are going to be a few lessons to be learned/taught here....

1) ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS check BLM and National Park websites for the latest closure info. It can save you a lot of stress. Im an idiot and didn't do it, thinking "oh, it's nice and sunny today, everything is awesome everywhere"

2) For those of you traveling with your wife/girlfriend/kids/significant other/parent, etc....PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR ENJOYMENT LEVEL...AS MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU AS THE DRIVER MAY BE HAVING A LOT MORE FUN THAN THEY ARE....more on this in a bit.

Potash road is a really easy ride with very pretty scenery, with only a few minor bumps and a few washouts from the rain a few days prior.

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After a few miles, we arrived at Thelma and Louise point....if you have seen the movie, it's the scene where the car goes flying off a cliff....

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After this, we kept on going until we came upon a sign saying "Entering Canyonlands National Park"...I was all happy, since I knew the switchbacks are coming up shortly....and they did...with a big locked gate with signs that said ROAD CLOSED......

I was annoyed. Minorly at the park, and mostly at myself, and how I can be such an idiot and not check any kind of weather closures, ESPECIALLY after getting shafted on top of "top of the world" with all the ice. Lesson learned I guess.

By this point, the wife was visibly annoyed (all that bouncing around for nothing) and visibly (and audibly :D) pissed. She was so annoyed (and a little nauseous)
that she wanted to walk alongside the jeep for a while because she was getting sick. THis was fine on the top of the world trail, and it was slow going, but here it was annoying. I literally idled for like 3 miles so that she can walk and feel a bit better.

Now, to elaborate on the lesson here, my wife isn't what anyone would call a "jeeper"....she likes the out doors, but like most women, she'd like to spend her time outdoors walking down rodeo drive and not bounce around some canyon without another human soul for 60 miles in any direction....so the fact that she comes along on my crazy adventures means a lot, and I need to respect that, and I need to know when someone is being quietly miserable for your personal amusement....and it didn't sit right. We didn't go away at all in 2014 because of our newborn, so the wife really earned a nice vacation, and for her, this wasn't it. We drove out to the colorado river to have some lunch and so that I could have a think....

Never wander a canyon without my boars head dogs.
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So, I relaxed and thought, and thought and thought....then....

I drove....

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and drove

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and drove some more....

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Until we arrived at our new hotel....

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Gentlemen, sometimes, if you want your trip to stay great, you gotta accommodate those that have slightly different interests....luckily for me, there are worse places to end up. ;)

BTW, the jeeping portion of this trip is NOT over so don't tune out just yet. :D
 
I won't bore you with too much vegas stuff, since we didn't do what most young folks like to do in vegas, like party, so I'll give you guys the cliffs...

Saw David Copperfield...nothing like he used to be. Boring as hell.

Saw Penn and Teller...awesome show, I was actually IN the show, but that's a whole different story/thread. :D

Ate at the bellagio buffet....unless you absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE crab legs and can put away a lot of them, skip it. Even the best buffets in vegas (bellagio is #1 the last time I checked) is not as good as a nice restaurant. I put away my fill.

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Besides the crab, everything else was mediocre at best, but I may have more discriminating taste buds, this is my opinion only.

A surprise of the stay was Gordon Ramsay's BURGR place in Planet Hollywood. I consider myself to be an expert on burgers, and it has been a long time since I had a literally flawless burger, where every single aspect, bun, lettuce, etc were flawless.

The apps were just ok, but if you are there, just get an "American" with bacon (their bacon is duck bacon, not pork.)

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After a few more days of relaxing, we headed back to Denver to drop my wife off at the airport, and I would continue my journey home....but I do have one more stop to make, which I will post this evening!
 
Well, time to wrap this little adventure up. I appreciate you guys taking the time out to check out my little travel blurb.

So, after a nice few days in vegas, we need to start heading back home, and we have a long LONG way back...actually, I have a long way back, the wife just needs to get to denver and fly home...

On the trip back, somewhere in Utah, rig hits 9000 miles

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And into the night we go!

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After going through one hell of an ordeal with United (which reminded me again how much I appreciate driving myself and not have to deal with these people at airports) and after the wife has made it through the security at the airport, I depart denver towards my next and final destination....

I book a hotel near the destination in Kansas. I crossed into Kansas right around sunrise, and what a beautiful sunrise it was....

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I made a note that sunrise was around 5:25am, for sunrise pictures tomorrow. My plan was wake up before the sun comes up, get to the destination, and wait out the sunrise....

I arrive at my hotel at around 12pm, and the hotel was nice enough to let me check in early...they weren't exactly expecting a rush of guests in the middle of Kansas, and my sob story of driving 1000 miles scored me some points with the front desk girl.....to my amazement, the room was VERY VERY nice, nicer than Paris rooms, which were old and bleh (I usually stay at the bellagio but for $49 a night you can't beat Paris) and I plop and the bed to relax. I get up at around 6pm to grab some local dinner with some of that fine kansas beef, but the only place around me other than a gas station is a "steakhouse." I go in order a KC strip mid rare and a baked potato. Waitress tells me I can help myself to the cold salad bar....

I took the safe options...

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It was a sad baked potato, the steak wasn't very good topped with a very sad onion ring....

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I wake up the following morning at around 4am, since my final destination is about 30 minutes or so from the hotel...so I pack everything, check out at the front desk and head out.

I drive on a single lane 65mph road in complete darkness (other than my lights obviously).....basically using my navigation as my "eyes" as well as all my lightbars. Finally I get to a turn off onto a dirt road, with 6 miles still to go.....

I cautiously drive down the dirt road but I have to speed up because driving slowly blows a cloud of dust in front of my face and I can't see a damn thing...so Im doing 35mph until I come to something that literally scared me.....I felt like I was in a Silent Hill movie or something....remember, this is in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of even more nowhere....with the wind howling like crazy and not a soul in sight....this is what I came across that spooked me and I slammed my brakes to make sure I wasn't about to get chainsawed to pieces...

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Tell me that wouldn't freak you out if it came out of nowhere!?

After swallowing what felt like a bowlingball, I turned on the 50" bar and proceeded with trepidation.....

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Things looked blair-witchy.....

After 3 more miles of driving, I finally arrived.....

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Gotta feed the kids and I will post up the conclusion and a PSA video. :D
 
Loving your updates. The pictures are amazing.

I really like that trail table. I was planning to get one with slots to attach my MOLLE gear but now I'm wondering if I'd rather have the pull out cutting board. That's pretty sweet.

Look forward to the next one and the video :thumb:
 
Loving your updates. The pictures are amazing.

I really like that trail table. I was planning to get one with slots to attach my MOLLE gear but now I'm wondering if I'd rather have the pull out cutting board. That's pretty sweet.

Look forward to the next one and the video :thumb:

I had the slotted one with MOLLE crap on my last rig...this one if FAR FAR more useful when out on the trail, but that's just my opinion. Plenty of other places to keep MOLLE gear but you can't really chop veggies and grill anywhere else.
 
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