t4rman
Adventurer
Copied from Toyota120.com
Short Film of the Trip
If you follow my build thread then you know that I have just returned from another trip to the western United States. This time I was able to spend a full month on the road and visit every state west of the Continental Divide. Needless to say, this report will be a bit longer than my usual pic heavy reports.
I read a book recently by Donald Miller titled Through Painted Deserts. It is a non-fiction about a trip Donald took when he was younger. It starts with him living in houston and meeting Paul, a guy from Oregon that has a slightly different view on life than everybody around. They decide to take a big trip in Paul's VW Westy and after a huge adventure end up in Oregon. Ever since reading that book, I have had an urge to drop everything and head west for as long as possible. I am in college and earlier this summer I found myself with two months off, job free, and a little extra money. I thought to myself, there will probably never be a better time to take this trip.
Planning started early in the year with some internet searching and trip report reading. I spoke about my plans with a similar minded friend and he decided to come along. He also had an opportunity for us both to earn some extra money in Denver that would help offset the cost of fuel. We both spend hours pouring over maps and planning route after route. Eventually the massive plan eroded into the mutual decision to have as little planning as possible. We set a general departure date, a handful of places we wanted to go , and that was about it. We would come home when money ran out.
The week after finals for my spring semester ended, I drove to flagstaff for the Overland Expo (because I'm an overland nerd and I wanted to see how the pro's handled living out of a tent). That trip included camping in Santa Fe NM, Mormon Lake AZ, Monument Valley UT, and near Pagosa Springs CO. I returned motivated, informed, and convinced that I was going to buy a Mercedes Unimog radio truck and convert it to a camper. (That idea quickly passed)
First Trip Report: Overland Expo '12 :camping:
I returned to Dallas for around two weeks then left and met my family in Florida for our annual vacation. While I was there an extended family member approached me about a business opportunity that would finance a venture to the west coast. I spent a week and a half traveling from San Francisco back home and went through, Tahoe, Moab, and Telluride.
That trip report is here: The Trip Home
By the time I returned, it was early July and the tentative departure date for the final trip of the summer was approaching. I made all my last minute preparations and headed out with my buddy, my dog, and a truck loaded to the brim with gear and supplies.
The first stop was Denver, CO. We stayed there and worked for a week and a half before departing for Yellowstone.
We camped off of Grassy Lake road in John D Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway. The gravel road runs east/west and can be accessed from highway 287 near the south entrance to the park or from Ashton ID and offers 8 dispersed campsites with pit toilets and primitive camping. I highly recommend camping here if you are visiting Yellowstone. The best part was the sites are free. :bigok:
We then spent the day touring Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and the surrounding areas.
Grassy Lake Campsite
Yellowstone Photos
Grand Teton
We needed to be in Seattle as early as possible so we moved quickly through Montana, Idaho, and eastern Washington.
Fields in Ashton Idaho
Montana
Seattle
The Museum of Flight at Boeing Field is awesome. If you are interested in aviation at all I recommend it.
From Seattle I took the ferry across the sound and drove into Olympic National Park
The Beach at Port Angeles, WA
Ruby Beach, WA
Short Film of the Trip
If you follow my build thread then you know that I have just returned from another trip to the western United States. This time I was able to spend a full month on the road and visit every state west of the Continental Divide. Needless to say, this report will be a bit longer than my usual pic heavy reports.
I read a book recently by Donald Miller titled Through Painted Deserts. It is a non-fiction about a trip Donald took when he was younger. It starts with him living in houston and meeting Paul, a guy from Oregon that has a slightly different view on life than everybody around. They decide to take a big trip in Paul's VW Westy and after a huge adventure end up in Oregon. Ever since reading that book, I have had an urge to drop everything and head west for as long as possible. I am in college and earlier this summer I found myself with two months off, job free, and a little extra money. I thought to myself, there will probably never be a better time to take this trip.
Planning started early in the year with some internet searching and trip report reading. I spoke about my plans with a similar minded friend and he decided to come along. He also had an opportunity for us both to earn some extra money in Denver that would help offset the cost of fuel. We both spend hours pouring over maps and planning route after route. Eventually the massive plan eroded into the mutual decision to have as little planning as possible. We set a general departure date, a handful of places we wanted to go , and that was about it. We would come home when money ran out.
The week after finals for my spring semester ended, I drove to flagstaff for the Overland Expo (because I'm an overland nerd and I wanted to see how the pro's handled living out of a tent). That trip included camping in Santa Fe NM, Mormon Lake AZ, Monument Valley UT, and near Pagosa Springs CO. I returned motivated, informed, and convinced that I was going to buy a Mercedes Unimog radio truck and convert it to a camper. (That idea quickly passed)
First Trip Report: Overland Expo '12 :camping:
I returned to Dallas for around two weeks then left and met my family in Florida for our annual vacation. While I was there an extended family member approached me about a business opportunity that would finance a venture to the west coast. I spent a week and a half traveling from San Francisco back home and went through, Tahoe, Moab, and Telluride.
That trip report is here: The Trip Home
By the time I returned, it was early July and the tentative departure date for the final trip of the summer was approaching. I made all my last minute preparations and headed out with my buddy, my dog, and a truck loaded to the brim with gear and supplies.
The first stop was Denver, CO. We stayed there and worked for a week and a half before departing for Yellowstone.
We camped off of Grassy Lake road in John D Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway. The gravel road runs east/west and can be accessed from highway 287 near the south entrance to the park or from Ashton ID and offers 8 dispersed campsites with pit toilets and primitive camping. I highly recommend camping here if you are visiting Yellowstone. The best part was the sites are free. :bigok:
We then spent the day touring Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and the surrounding areas.
Grassy Lake Campsite
Yellowstone Photos
Grand Teton
We needed to be in Seattle as early as possible so we moved quickly through Montana, Idaho, and eastern Washington.
Fields in Ashton Idaho
Montana
Seattle
The Museum of Flight at Boeing Field is awesome. If you are interested in aviation at all I recommend it.
From Seattle I took the ferry across the sound and drove into Olympic National Park
The Beach at Port Angeles, WA
Ruby Beach, WA