bigskypylot
Explorer
Nice. Will have to check it out. I removed the lid on mine as well. Thanks!
07 Off The Leash Adventure Xterra
- Thread starter Trikebubble
- Start date
Nice. Will have to check it out. I removed the lid on mine as well. Thanks!
I've done similar trips in the Ouray area, once with the Xterra and once on our motorcyles (stayed in Durango, but did a good chunk of the Alpine Loop on the bikes) - it's crazy gorgeous.
07BlackSpecV - goneMOAB has a goneOURAY event going on in CO this year, as well as our standard goneMOAB event at the end of May. Let me know if you need any details about it. We're also looking at some additional events out that way throughout the year.
07BlackSpecV - goneMOAB has a goneOURAY event going on in CO this year, as well as our standard goneMOAB event at the end of May. Let me know if you need any details about it. We're also looking at some additional events out that way throughout the year.
Trikebubble
Adventurer
Once we made it back down into the Valley below, we made our way on secondary highways to Colorado Springs, where we met up with our gang of old biker buddies and spent a fantastic 5 days in a rental house. It was our tourista portion of our adventure, and the surrounding area sure lived up to expectations. We did get out and explore Rampart Range road area, satisfying our off-road urges.
In reality, the best part of our time in Colorado Springs was spent sitting around a fire, catching up with our group of longtime friends. We tagged ourselves as "Bozo's Without Boundaries" a number of years ago now, and try to get together somewhere once a year.
In reality, the best part of our time in Colorado Springs was spent sitting around a fire, catching up with our group of longtime friends. We tagged ourselves as "Bozo's Without Boundaries" a number of years ago now, and try to get together somewhere once a year.
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Trikebubble
Adventurer
After a long teary goodbye with our brothers and sisters we pointed the adventure rig north and made tracks for the Black Hills. When we initially started planning our trip I didn't honestly have any idea how far we would need t travel to make it to Colorado Springs, and once there, how close we were to some very historic landmarks. My Wife has wanted to see The Devils Tower since she was a kid, and (again) I had no idea the relative closeness of Mt. Rushmore to our route north. So we plugged the Granite President's address into the gps and made a run for Mt. Rushmore. Seeing something like this in person, is sort of a departure from reality. You never think that you will have the opportunity to stand there and stare up in awe at an iconic landmark like this...well, at least given were we live we never thought we would.
It was the first of two National Parks that we would encounter the dreaded "no dogs allowed" signs. Given the summer heat, and the fact we always travel with two sets of keys, we simply left the pooches in air conditioned comfort (sorry environment) while we enjoyed walking around Mt. Rushmore.
On the way there we were ran into "Socal Outback" on the highway. It didn't take long for me to notice the overland equipped Subaru. We had a quick chat and then headed out on our separate ways.
It was the first of two National Parks that we would encounter the dreaded "no dogs allowed" signs. Given the summer heat, and the fact we always travel with two sets of keys, we simply left the pooches in air conditioned comfort (sorry environment) while we enjoyed walking around Mt. Rushmore.
On the way there we were ran into "Socal Outback" on the highway. It didn't take long for me to notice the overland equipped Subaru. We had a quick chat and then headed out on our separate ways.
Trikebubble
Adventurer
So, after waking up the next morning in America's largest KOA campground (and a sight to behold it is), we headed towards our next tourista stop of our adventure, Deadwood SD. Now, I'm a self admitted fan and junkie of all things related to old railroads, mining history, and ghost towns....so I would be remiss not to satisfy my hunger and check out Deadwood. After pulling the perfect tourist move and driving the wrong way down one of the main streets, we found parking and went on a walkabout. It was a pretty cool town, certainly molded to suck money from the tourists, but cool nonetheless. The highlight was heading up to Mount Mariah Cemetery to check out a couple of the more infamous residents. It was surely time well spent, and i would have loved to have had more time to wander the cemetery.
Trikebubble
Adventurer
Upon leaving Deadwood, and on recommendation from good friends, we searched out the Spearfish Canyon Highway. Sure it was paved, but it did not let us down. The road carved, weaved, and bobbed through he canyon following the river like a twin. Well worth the slight detour.
From there, we continued north to my Wife's #1 bucket list location of all time, The Devils Tower. As we were driving over the windy plains roads, I knew we were getting close and told my Wife to keep and eye out...figuring the monolith would reveal itself around the next bend or over the next hill. Then all of a sudden, there it was. I think we were slightly stunned, it was hard to process at first. Again, something we had seen pictures of, and in the movie for most of our lives, and now here it was....and it really was "there". We secured a camp spot at the KOA and we were able to camp in the shadow of The Devils Tower. It was in this campground we learned that having a $1500 tent bolted to the roof of your rig earned you more query, looks, comments, and questions, than the folks driving the $250000 Prevost RV 3 spots down from us. We had more than one group of people ask if they could climb the ladder to our mobile tree fort and take a gander inside. Upon reflection many months later, our visit to The Devils Tower it is still probably the single more outstanding experience of our 2 and a half weeks on the road and in the dirt.
From there, we continued north to my Wife's #1 bucket list location of all time, The Devils Tower. As we were driving over the windy plains roads, I knew we were getting close and told my Wife to keep and eye out...figuring the monolith would reveal itself around the next bend or over the next hill. Then all of a sudden, there it was. I think we were slightly stunned, it was hard to process at first. Again, something we had seen pictures of, and in the movie for most of our lives, and now here it was....and it really was "there". We secured a camp spot at the KOA and we were able to camp in the shadow of The Devils Tower. It was in this campground we learned that having a $1500 tent bolted to the roof of your rig earned you more query, looks, comments, and questions, than the folks driving the $250000 Prevost RV 3 spots down from us. We had more than one group of people ask if they could climb the ladder to our mobile tree fort and take a gander inside. Upon reflection many months later, our visit to The Devils Tower it is still probably the single more outstanding experience of our 2 and a half weeks on the road and in the dirt.
Great photos. The Xterra looks great and it seems that its doing its job the way it should. I am looking for some suspension kits for a newly acquired vehicle and am having a hard time locating the Ironman distributor in Calgary. Do you remember their name and/or any info? Buying aftermarket suspension components in Canada suck....
Trikebubble
Adventurer
I don't think they are in business anymore. I found the contact via a fellow Xterra owner from Vancouver. When I called I spoke to a very friendly gal who wa quite helpful. She did say that I was buying her last suspension package. In hindsight the price seemed to reflect a final sale. All I can say is that her name was Svetlana and seemed to be Russian.
Sent from the Mountains
justbecause
perpetually lost
every time I think about a camper I think about this thread... my little 4x6 trailer I hauled around as an RTT basecamp murdered my gas mileage... how does the rockwood do? I know you said the PVC pipe helped, I am just not seeing the big difference over stock...
Trikebubble
Adventurer
Mileage isn't great towing the trailer, I take it slow and don't worry too much about it. I actually just re-geared to 3.73 to help with towing. When I'm towing the travel trailer I'm in camping mode and try not to worry too much about mileage, it is what it is.
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Patrollife
Explorer
Nice thread!
