Jeeping Across America - Wanderings Of The West

[MTG]

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.

This is the one I've been planning to get. I've yet to find one that looks better. Good to hear you like it. :thumb:

 

[xrayjeeper83]

Awesome pics, one day I wanna take a trip like this. How many days was this trip?

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

So the place I've been wanting to go (but missing every time since I pass through Kansas at night) is Monument Rocks. This place is very cool. These "rocks" are basically like compressed chalk and they crumble and errode fairly quickly. The monument is technically on private land, but part of the deal for the buyers was that they must keep the monument open to the public at all times, and they do.

Now, remember when I said the sunrise was at 5:25am? I got there around 4:40 or so and was planning on catching every ounce of sunrise, but when I didn't see the sun even REMOTELY appear at 5:10 I realized what happened...I set my navi for Vegas time when I got there, and never changed it back...so the navi clock was an hour ahead. Oh well, amazingly, I had full AT&T LTE service so in the pitch black darkness with the wind howling like crazy, I watched a bunch of youtube waiting for the sun to show....and show it did.....(pardon the gratuitous jeep ad nature of some of these photos)

I didn't notice it when I pulled up because of the pitch black darkness, but there are 2 formations there.... 2.1 technically (you can see the single column remaining from a 3rd formation)

View of the 1st formation from the second.

Quick note, those are NOT angel eyes. In fact, that part of the shrouds is gloss black but the sun is so strong in this pic that it makes it look like I have angel eyes, which I do NOT.

In front of the 2nd formation

Looking back at the first....

The 2nd formation again

Continued.......

 

[boardsurfer]

Absolutely stellar set of shots there. As a hobbiest photog I'd love to hear a little about your gear.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Absolutely stellar set of shots there. As a hobbiest photog I'd love to hear a little about your gear.

Sure, all of the SLR shots you see were taken with a 16-35L 2.8. The body is a 1DsMKIII. My travel lenses are a 16-35, a 24-70, and a 70-200 (all 2.8). I use a gitzo carbon tripod and a manfrotto RC6 head. If there is anything specific you'd like to know, just ask. :thumb:

 

[boardsurfer]

Pretty much the holy trinity of lenses there. The sunrise through the arch is my fav. I'd put that on my wall any day.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Well, after spending the entire morning shooting, it was time to head back.....

Much MUCH less scary during daylight...

Scary trees no longer scary

This is something I haven't seen before on any vehicle, but I suspect the Jeep's barnlike aerodynamics have something to do with it......

As I was driving back down the i70 in Kansas, the crosswind became insane. The wind turbines were spinning like crazy and the jeep was literally being blown off the road at 70. Even at 65 (10mph BELOW the speedlimit) I had to actively countersteer the entire way...almost the entire state of Kansas...I countersteered for so long the computer thought the steering wheel was no longer centered and my traction control light went on as a result

Fortunately it went away later on when things calmed down.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed reading about some of my little adventures, and hopefully, I'll see you on the next one. Remember, life's a journey, take the dirt road.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Oh, and here's the PSA I wanted to share.....

You've seen my Jeep in the above photos...a vehicle that's pretty well set up for winter driving right? So here is the PSA...if you ever drive down the highway in foul blizzard conditions, and you see a vehicle like mine going below the speed limit, there is probably a good reason for it, so do yourselves a favor and slow the hell down...watch the left side on the screen....recorded from my dashcam somewhere during a snow storm in ohio I think....

 

[boardsurfer]

Man, it just goes to show that the driver was completely at fault for something completely preventable. There was no traffic, nothing to swerve around. That driver probably thought there was no risk at all cruising down the road like that. And yet, there he was spinning around backwards on the interstate.

Driving a lifted jeep with big chunky tires I tend to stay extra aware of things like that. I know that my tires are absolutely terrible on hard snow packed roads.

 

[el_chupo_]

Thanks for sharing! The wife and I plan a 2 week trip from TX over to Arizona and up into southern Utah in a few months, and threads and pics like you have make me all the more excited.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Awesome pics, one day I wanna take a trip like this. How many days was this trip?

14 for me, 11 for the wife.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Man, it just goes to show that the driver was completely at fault for something completely preventable. There was no traffic, nothing to swerve around. That driver probably thought there was no risk at all cruising down the road like that. And yet, there he was spinning around backwards on the interstate.

Driving a lifted jeep with big chunky tires I tend to stay extra aware of things like that. I know that my tires are absolutely terrible on hard snow packed roads.

Duratracs do very well in the snow, but since mine are so wide they don't like ice that much on concrete so I always drive very carefully. Pizza cutter duratracs would be unstoppable. The kid was 100% at fault, but lets hope he learned a very valuable lesson without hurting anyone.

 

[MR.Ty]

Awesome photos! Thank you for sharing and contributing to my bucket list of places to visit :thumb:

 

[Jackal01]

Awesome trip! :rock:

What dash cam do you have? I have been in the market for a year...can't decide on one. :grayno:

 

[HoosierWolf]

Thanks for sharing.

I had a similar situation to your video last weekend. The roads IMO were not that bad by this point but some guy in a Suzuki Vitara (I think) blasted by me going at least 90. I could hear something on his vehicle whining as he flew by me. He caught some snow on the right side of the road. Fish tailed back in forth, flipped up on one rear wheel, slid out into my path while spinning. He straightened it out and accelerated down an exit ramp where my wife said he turn left through a red light without even braking.

I'm just really hoping he didn't hurt anyone else.

My wife was sleeping when the incident happened. Strangely she was awake the rest of the ride home.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Awesome trip! :rock:

What dash cam do you have? I have been in the market for a year...can't decide on one. :grayno:

With dash cams, it's mostly about the software, and IMHO, the best and easiest to use the Blackvue. There are a number of models, so check out which one works best for you.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...ackvue.TRS0&_nkw=blackvue&ghostText=&_sacat=0

Don't judge video quality by my video. It was snowing hard, I had a wet/filthy windshield, and it was pitch black out. The video quality is actually quite stellar (and you can find plenty of examples on youtube.) Actually, now that I think of it, the video quality of my vid is actually pretty damn nice considering the circumstances.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Thanks for sharing.

I had a similar situation to your video last weekend. The roads IMO were not that bad by this point but some guy in a Suzuki Vitara (I think) blasted by me going at least 90. I could hear something on his vehicle whining as he flew by me. He caught some snow on the right side of the road. Fish tailed back in forth, flipped up on one rear wheel, slid out into my path while spinning. He straightened it out and accelerated down an exit ramp where my wife said he turn left through a red light without even braking.

I'm just really hoping he didn't hurt anyone else.

My wife was sleeping when the incident happened. Strangely she was awake the rest of the ride home.

Im very cautious when I drive in bad weather and think everyone on the road is a moron, ESPECIALLY 4WD/AWD drivers...they think they are invincible. I always try and keep away from everyone.

 

[Jackal01]

With dash cams, it's mostly about the software, and IMHO, the best and easiest to use the Blackvue. There are a number of models, so check out which one works best for you.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...ackvue.TRS0&_nkw=blackvue&ghostText=&_sacat=0

Don't judge video quality by my video. It was snowing hard, I had a wet/filthy windshield, and it was pitch black out. The video quality is actually quite stellar (and you can find plenty of examples on youtube.) Actually, now that I think of it, the video quality of my vid is actually pretty damn nice considering the circumstances.

Looked heavily at BV. Which one are you running? I have literally looked at hundreds of cameras. I am positive I looked at yours.

 

[boardsurfer]

Duratracs do very well in the snow, but since mine are so wide they don't like ice that much on concrete so I always drive very carefully. Pizza cutter duratracs would be unstoppable. The kid was 100% at fault, but lets hope he learned a very valuable lesson without hurting anyone.

Exactly why I talked my girlfriend into putting them on her Unlimited. :thumb:

 

[Flat Top]

Thanks for sharing! Fantastic pics, I hope you don'y mind but I "borrowed" a couple for tablet wallpaper. :yup::yup: