Hannibal USA Trip to Cochise Stronghold

Hannibal USA

Adventurer
Just got back from a great road trip to Arizona that was equal parts business and equal parts pleasure (although I must say that meeting the Overland Journal staff was more pleasure than it was business...thanks to the Overland Journal crew for a really nice visit). A big part of the trip was to have a chance to test out our new Tacoma TRD Offroad that we're building up for expedition travel. It's pretty bare-bones as is (stock TRD, with Hannibal rack and tent, and 32" Baja Offroad tires), but got lots of good ideas from the Overland Journal crew. Next up for the truck: bed rack on which to mount the tent, slide-out gear boxes, rear bumper with spare tire holder/jerry can holder/hi-lift jack mount and a front bumper with sliders from CBI Offroad.

My family (wife and two kids, ages 3 & 4) left sub-zero temperatures, snowdrifts the size of glaciers and dense fog in Nebraska to spend a few days in sunny Arizona. While the mid-50's certainly isn't warm by Southern Arizona standards, we were running around in shorts, flip-flops and t-shirts like the geeks from Nebraska that we are.

As parents of two young boys (17 months apart in age), we're just now sticking our heads above the bunker. For a while there, going to the grocery store with our kids was about all the adventure we could handle. For people who spent the majority of their early-adult life river guiding in places such as Alaska and Costa Rica, life with kids has been a bit of an adjustment! We're thrilled to be able to finally have our boys old enough to manage on camping trips without having major meltdowns (from both parents and kids alike). After a VERY positive experience camping in Cochise Stronghold, we're anxious to start ramping up the level of our family adventures. We have what I think is the coolest job in the world: repping the Hannibal Safari Equipment, with a boss who believes that it is more important to get out and use the gear than it is to sit in an office answering the phone.

Here are some pics from our trip:
 

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Gear

Explorer, Overland Certified OC0020
Cool little trip report. Glad to see Hannibal is back in the USA. I am enjoying my awning. On a side note my youngest 4 was just questioning me on rock climbing. It was fun showing him the pictures of your boys on the rocks. He was having a hard time understanding how a top rope worked. "But Dad how does the rope get up there" is all I kept hearing.

Thanks
 

Hannibal USA

Adventurer
Thanks for the note! Glad to hear your enjoying the awning. We're plowing through our first shipment of those.

It's probably for the best that my boys didn't see how I got the rope to the top on this one (would have learned some bad habits). It's amazing how intuitive rock climbing is to young kids, though. The trick is getting them to let go of the rock and come down when they reach the top!

Cheers!
 

BajaTaco

Swashbuckler
Nice report and photos! I like the Tacoma and tent. It looks like you had a successful trip with your now-capable little guys. Of the 41 nights of 2010 we've had so far, I've spent 21 of them in my Hannibal RT12 (same as the 1.2m, I believe). I love the Apache country in southern AZ where you were. I just returned from about three weeks in northern Mexico and southern AZ, covering some of the area you were in. It's been gorgeous with all of the rain and snow and dramatic skies. We went through Chiricahua Nat'l Monument (across the valley from where you were in the Stronghold) and there was a lot of snow. I had to chuckle at your comment regarding the shorts and flip-flops. I'm sorry I missed your visit to our office in Prescott. Congrats on the new endeavor with Hannibal, and welcome to ExPo :)

Here's a photo from the trip I just did. . .

 

Hannibal USA

Adventurer
Hey Chris-

Thanks for the note. Too bad we missed you while we were in Arizona. We'll be in Tucson in March for the Land Rover rally, and hope to have an extended stay down there before and after OvEx. We'd love to hook up with you any of those times. I went to school at the U of A and we have lots of friends there. We try to get down there as much as we can, which is becoming increasingly easier to do with the kiddos.

Hope all is well-
 

BajaTaco

Swashbuckler
Hey Chris-

Thanks for the note. Too bad we missed you while we were in Arizona. We'll be in Tucson in March for the Land Rover rally, and hope to have an extended stay down there before and after OvEx. We'd love to hook up with you any of those times. I went to school at the U of A and we have lots of friends there. We try to get down there as much as we can, which is becoming increasingly easier to do with the kiddos.

Hope all is well-

That sounds great. I'll be back down in Mexico and Tucson in March, and then at the Overland Expo as well, so it sounds like we'll have an opportunity to get together. UofA eh? Cool! I'm originally from the Old Pueblo myself.
 

orionkhan

Adventurer
Funny, this is the first time I've ever heard of someone going to Cochise Stronghold since I was a boy. My dad took me there during a hunting trip when when used to live in AZ.

My boys are 3 and 4 as well, but only 10 1/2 months apart. I took them fishing for the first time a few months ago. They're all geeked up to go camping soon. My problem is that my daughter is on 14 months. I'll probably try to take the boys out a couple of times first before we do the whole family thing.

Glad you had a nice time.
 

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