I envy the trip... I myself have a stihl t200 dolmar 6400,i like to climb. So tell me about the tent!!!

 

The tent is pretty sweet. It's a Cascadia Tent and they are based out of Bend Oregon. Really comfy sleep. It's about 100lbs easy plus your rack so you do need to be aware of it wheeling. I'm sure it was a factor in Moab when I put Red into the wall.

Still, I love it but I look forward to an off-road trailer of some sort for future trips. For short hauls its sweet but really long trips I think I'd like something a bit more all weather.

At the end of this trip it got cold. SUPER COLD! I could not keep the cabin warm and my toes hurt on my clutch foot, in my boots while the heat was on full. It was so cold in Montana and Alberta late November early December.

 

So, the next series is along Hwy 101 in NorCal heading towards San Francisco. I'm glad I drove that route early in the trip before I beat my suspension and steering. It would have been frightening at the end with the crazy amount of body roll I had developed.

Easily the most active driving for that amount of time I've ever done. It would be rad in a sports car or bike.


So here they are!









Whooooo Paul Bunyan!!!

I had to explain to the missus who he was. I'm just old enough to remember the cartoons and Wild West Legends that where still on TV in the 80's.





There is a park there with some pretty cool trees.






A lot of Elk in Northern California.














This is all around Humbolt County. Lot's of dirty hippies living outside......



















The trees get bigger. This is the Giant Redwood area.

















Ha my bumper is still level!

It isn't anymore.












Back on the 101 and it gets curvy as hell. We stopped at a random Indian Restaurant on the way to San Fran. It was really great. I love a good curry.

Also Sarah noticed the trees look like Australian Gum Trees. After a google search we found out they are Blue Gums. They where brought over and planted for timber. Now they are a pest tree.

It was cool to see anyway.
























We got into San Francisco at night and where bagged so no pics but they start the next morning.







Oh and I got a car alarm and speakers installed here.





Pier 39!!

























Can't camp every night.














Next day Alcatraz!!!






















A tall ship cruising out.

















Army grenades did this damage.
























How some guys escaped.













Who wants to go to Oakland???





Aussie trees!!!







So that's San Francisco, we went and saw a submarine the next day then headed out.

Time for more uploading!

 

Wow what a vacation!!!! Hmmmmmm....today i seen a turkey...a cow....some corn feilds......and......yea. Gotta love good ol farm country!!!!

 

I love farm country. I live in that area around Vancouver.

Good markets out this way. Now with the organic craze there are so many options to get stuff direct from the farmer. I like it.

 

Oh yea i hear ya there.We get farm fresh eggs locally and my girlfreind is hunting morels as we speak! (i hope she finds some...) By the way those fresh oyster pics are making me HUNGRY!!!!Just outta curiousity(not that it matters)what you gettin for mpgs on your trip?

 

I love San Fran. Wife and I were there last fall. My buddy lives there and is always telling us to go back and visit with him

 

I have to say those guys that escaped alcatraz had some gigantic cahonhays to bust outta a place like that!!!Long live outlaws!!!!

 

Especially since the water on average is 40 degrees all year round. Crazy!!!

 

It's also full of sharks and has very strong currents.

Most think they made it though.

 

Here is some of Disneyland. Really bummed I left my camera in my room both days. I didn't know the rides would be backpack friendly. All I got are some crappy tablet camera photos.

It's a shame too. I love Disneyland. It was a highlight of my trip.




Dennys for breakfast!



















Venice Beach




Universal Studios

 

Fantastic pics man!

 

Next up, Big Bear with Mark and Rich!


Big Bear area is awesome. We stayed 4 nights there and relaxed. LA was such a gong show we needed some quiet. If it wasn't for Disneyland I'd probably never go back. People in Belgrade, Serbia are kinder and more friendly than folks in LA. When I was in Belgrade they still have smashed buildings from when Nato bombed them. Needless to say they are not all huge fans of Westerners.

Anyway,,,



Ruby's final days before the roll over. These two guys, Mark and Rich are great. I cooked dinner for Mark the night before. I like cooking a lot but was a bit nervous because he's a chef but it was one of Sarahs favorites.

I think we did the John Bull trail.









































































































That skid plate is a lot more beat and has much less paint. It's getting retired to wall art.

Blazeland flexes good!











High desert is pretty.












Sad she's gone, sorta gone anyway. Running gear all good and it's a pretty epic story of people coming together to help a guy in a jam out. That's what you get for being a good dude though! Good onya Mark.

















Getting comfortable with the feeling of being on three wheels. It doesn't feel weird anymore when I have wheels in the air.












Marks has bright lights!


Thanks again guys! I look forward to wheeling with you again. You know where to find me and of course you've got a place to crash if you ever drive up here for some Northwest wheeling!!!

As Mark knows I can cook so you'll not go hungry or be bored.

 

looks like a fun trip. My wife and I want to go see Alcatraz. I work at the Alcatraz of the Rockies, so we can get a special tour is what I was told. So one day we will get out there.

 

It was epic.

The next photos go through Las Vegas, Arizona and the Grand Canyon.

After that Monument Valley, Valley of the Gods and Mesa Verda.

I'll get them up tomorrow.

 

Have i mentioned you take great pics!!??Looks like the ol ifs rig stayed right with the sas'd runners!!

 

I can't say enough regarding how fantastic, however short, the time was with you and your wife! You guys are good people and I can't wait to hang out again! Maybe it will be in warmer weather next time you guys could hit the coast near Palos Verdes and hang out here and I will feed you well and show you around( I have a pool and its beautiful property, just few minutes from the beach.... Hey very beautiful beach) . If not, if you guys can only meet up near some trails and so forth?... Perfectly fine, and I will be very glad to see you both again and hang out for whatever time you have! Awesome pictures and I'm really excited for your, what sounds like, insane SAS and so forth!

PS; I was very glad that I had all that help for a day to knock that out . Came out really nice and I'm stoked! Just remember, 1 weird angle or rock slipping out from under..... And dammmmn! I remember you were very close a couple times at Big Bear( your poor wife coloring on the video, I'll never forget. For Richard saying, "Your husband is crazy!", and from what I remember reading here, you had a really close call up in Northern California as well? Or Nevada? Rubicon? Lol. It's part of this risk taking and adventurous way of life. For many people it doesn't include a four wheel drive, and good for them... It's not for everyone. But for those of us who push these things further and further, a big flop at least is in the high percentages of likelihood for many who go forward. And I can't speak for you, but most people we're really shocked because I don't really go crazy on the skinny pedal and seem to be pretty cautious.....Stuff happens, and I'm grateful for the help, but I would have done it anyway. Had to do most of it(body and full harness swap) myself, so trust me, the last thing I'm saying is, "mehhh, don't want any help next time". Hahaha. VERYYYY grateful. PLEASE keep pushing it! I have mad respect for you and your lady! Just be careful, I know you've been through some serious healing, physically,.... And I just had a buddy break a vertebrae doing a flop... So I'm very grateful and very much always concerned about my buddies! (okay, obviously I don't mean concerned like paranoid... Just healthy concern. Hahaha).

Please say hi to your sweet lady... You guys are such a fantastic couple and she is such a sweetheart! GREAT THREAD, ANDREW, I MEAN IT! One of my favorites on here!

 

Thanks Korn, I used to develop and print my own black and white photos in Sr high. I love photography and am happy to get back into it.

None of the photo's have been cropped yet. I think I've taken a couple nice ones that after some cropping will be worth printing on canvas to be framed. America is beautiful. We love your country.


Mark, thanks buddy. We will be down that way again so we will take you up on that offer. I wonder what trail we will hit up next? If you ever head to a wheeling destination let me know in advance. There is a good chance I could meet up if it's North of you.

I plan on caging Red this build. I also think a couple small helmets might be in order for some of the gnarlier stuff I try. You only get one melon and it doesn't take much really to ˟˟˟˟ it up. Honestly, if I had flopped the other way in Moab it would have been bad.

Right now I just need to get her into the shop so I can get back out and play. Sucks having her off the road.


Soon though it will be worth the wait.

 

Right now I'm uploading the last of the Grand Canyon photos through to Moab.

After the Grand Canyon we go through Navajo lands and their Monument Valley park. After that is the Valley of the Gods. There is a light offroad track around it and it was breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking, no joke. The photographs just do not do justice to the beauty I got to see there.

We also went to Mesa Verde. I've wanted to see that place as a kid so it was certainly pretty neat.

At this point the 4Runner is starting to feel a bit beat. It's body roll is much more pronounced and my power steering belt was squealing like crazy.

I fixed it in the parking lot of my motel in Moab. Creative rigging with some ratchet straps around my tire to get tension on the belt. Worked a treat.

The next day was some really awesome wheeling. I really pushed Red right to the limit and then some. Dan Mick took me around as he provides Jeep tours. Cost me $500 but it was worth it. I had a guide and someone who knows the area and an experienced spotter.

I wanted to really wheel so I had to fork out but it was epic. If you go though there and want a guide he's a great option. His Jeep is fantastic. All kinds of mods, over a 100k rig.

Down side, everything he does is made it look easy giving me a little too much confidence on that hill climb. I rode with him first in his before I decided to have a bash at it.

 

Oh and first Vegas and Arizona.

In Vegas I randomly ran into an old buddy in a comedy show. We grew up in the same neighborhood and I had not seen him in years and years. I was in class with one of his older brothers and met his oldest brother at my job. All three I knew individually not knowing they where brothers at first.

Neil, the youngest one a close friend is the one I ran into in Vegas. I actually just got back from a double date with him and his missus this evening. He plays a lot of poker and so knows Vegas really well and took us to all the out of the way hole in the wall places.

He caused us to have to have a hangover extra day. We where due to head out the next morning. Didn't happen. He had to bail out early though (5am) as his shoulder popped out as it been out a bunch. I didn't go with him to the hospital though and didn't feel bad about it. The little bastard dislocated my elbow in a drunk playfight. Never challenge the youngest brother to a play fight if his two older brothers are two of the toughest dudes you know. :p

Proper good buddy.



Anyway after that we head to the Grand Canyon through Arizona. We thought it would be fun to take the off road back roads to the Canyon rim then turn right. It was during some rain and we did not make it.

It's the first time in Red that I was properly concerned with a major breakdown. My tires where rolling up the mud like a snowball. It was covering my rig so bad I was ridiculously weighed down.

I thought I would break something in the drive-line. I had to have it in 4 low and gas it and it was a slow crawl. To top it off the dirt is volcanic meaning it had lots of windshield destroying little shards. My brand new windshield now looks like a record........... On coming headlights have this awesome glowing streak now making night driving even more of a fun challenge. If wobbling down the road with insufficient braking wasn't exciting enough.


Did I mention yet that right after leaving Big Bear on the back side of SoCal towads Nevada I nearly set the brakes on fire?