AwesomeWorld Adventure

[JeepTreeHouse]

-----MODs, I may have posted this in the wrong section? If you feel appropriate please move to the "Completed Adventures" section.------


This Trip Report is far from "a little late" but hopefully some will still enjoy it. This is mostly taken from our blog that was written by my girlfriend and Co-Pilot. The pictures were shot by both of us. This documents our first (of many) large roadtrips. Enjoy!




Last January, (January of 2010) Josh and I went on a mini road-trip with my Grandparents to explore the Grand Canyon. ( Ofcourse, Josh just had to blink at the same moment the below picture was taken... still an awesome picture though!!!)

During our 6 hour drive to the Canyon, we reminisced about the all the places my Mom, Dad, and Grandparents took my sister and I as we were growing up: The Grand Canyon definitely being one of those places!!

As we continued reminiscing about all the different places, Josh and I starting talking about how awesome it would be if we could do a cross country road trip from Maryland out west and really just explore all that there is to explore.

After dreaming up this extravagant road trip idea and all that we would do on it, there was no way that we could just keep it as a dream anymore... we were determined to make this dream, come true! So, we decided what better time (then now), what better occasion (then Graduation) would there ever be for us to celebrate and make road trip happen (never)...and thus, AwesomeWorld Adventure began.

It is now a little more than a year later that we first dreamt of actually doing a cross country road trip, but through ALOT of preparation and with the support of our family, we are about to embark upon what I can only imagine to be one of the greatest months ever!

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

In order to be prepared for all possible weather conditions that could hinder us from setting up camp, we decided that building a sleeping platform would be a great idea. So, the boys went to work...

After just a few hours, we now had a sleeping platform and a storage solution !

With leftover scraps, Josh made us a little platform to stand on while taking showers with our modified Zodi Extreme....

After a few fast months of:

Replacing front and rear differential oil, transfer case fluids, and new engine oil;Installing interior LED lights, HID Head lights, new rear axel, tie rod ends, sway bar links, Radio/Tuner/CD/ DVD Head Unit, Dual Battery and Dual Battery Isolator (for running power to our fridge and other accessories), fixing the air locker in front differential, and mounting BFGM-T (BF Goodrich Mudd Terrain) along with the Winch, we were now ready to start mapping out the beginning of our trip….

and then to start packing...(Salsa wanted to make sure that she wouldn't be left behind!)

With our roof top tent mounted, our awning attached, our sleeping platform and modified sterilite drawer system built, the 4runner was now ready to be “home” for the next month ☺

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

First weekend of Road Trip = AMAZINGNESS!! On our way to Atlanta we made a little detour through Clemson University (such a beautiful campus) I really loved having Josh show me the University and reminisce about his time spent on campus there.

We got into Atlanta at about 4 o'clock and made our way to my Best Friends place. Christina and her husband Steve helped us really experience Atlanta. We went to 6 Feet Under for dinner, where everything was fried and injected with butter and absolutely delicious!! We then ventured our way to the Chocolate Bar where we enjoyed a tasty sample of five different cheesecakes and a slice of red velvet cake (soooo yummy!!) After our little slice of heaven, we made our way to BrickStore where they claim to serve the worlds finest cider from the worlds finest apples.... ( a claim of pure puffery to say the least!)  While we were at BrickStore we were able to meet up with one of Joshs old roommates (John) from Clemson. It was a blast being able to catch up with old friends all night long.

Saturday morning, after a very unique mass, we fed our hungry little tummies at the Flying Biscuit where Josh fell in love with Southern Style Grits!! He fell in love with them so much, that we ended up buying some to make for the duration of Road Trip!!

Well it was now day two of road trip, and if any of you have traveled at all before you know it is inevitable to run into some type vehicle trouble.... our trouble this trip seems to be our second battery (that provides power to all of our accessories) keeps getting drained somehow. So, we spent some time finding a Batteries Plus to replace our second battery... Things seemed to be going smoothly (to smoothly) While installing the new second battery, Josh CRUSHED his finger Hopefully his fingernail doesn't fall off....

After the battery debacle, we thought it would be the perfect time to go visit the SweetWater Brewery... we thought it was very fitting that our first beer from the brewery be their Road Trip Pilsener... !! After a few enjoyable beverages, we headed to the world-renowned VORTEX for some juicy hamburgers. Some you may recognize this restaurant from Man vs. Food. We ate ourself into a three/four hour food coma.

Once we awoke from our food coma's we headed to Ormsbys, where we met up with some of Christina and Steve's friends. It was here that I learned that I am the master of Apples & Apples!! After several  rounds of Apples & Apples we un-knowingly entered into the worlds longest lasting competition of Jenga - made more interesting with a shot of house tequila put on the table for whoever was first to knock it down!

Sunday morning we said our goodbyes to Steve, Christina, Mia, and Mochie and headed to Mississippi. On our way to Mississippi we passed by Talladega SpeedWay.

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

Once we made it to Mississippi, we stayed at Tishomingo State Park where it was very pretty but very wet... we attempted to make a fire but decided instead to make good use of our awning walls and trusty heater and set up camp under the awning.

We fried up some delicious spaghetti, sat back, and relaxed with little Salsa after a long day of driving. We were very grateful for our sleeping platform last night- we had looked up the weather on our way in to Tupelo, MS and saw that there were a chance of thunderstorms- so we had decided to not set up the tent, and just sleep in the truck on our sleeping platform- thank goodness we did, it thunder-stormed like crazy all night long!

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

Our next destination was Red Rock Canyon- Home to the last standing Caddo Maple Trees! This campsite was especially cool, bc the campsites were set down in-between the canyon walls.

As we departed from Mississippi we wrapped some hot dogs in foil and set them on the engine...

Several hundred miles later, they were perfectly ready to put in some buns and feed our hungry hungry tummies.

As we arrived at Red Rock Canyon, the skies were again very dark and gloomy looking. We were prepared for what looked like what might be another thunderous night. We found camp at the back of a little cove and set up for another night of sleeping in the truck… (seriously, thank goodness for that sleeping platform).

I was secretly really happy about sleeping in the truck this night- aside from the thunderstorm on its way- right before we climbed into bed, we took little Salsa for a little walk. As we walked down to the bathrooms, Josh heard a noise.... We stopped for a moment to listen to our surrounding... not but a few moments later, a rage of howling began from what sounded to be Coyotes!! With us being down within the canyon walls, the howls just continued to echo off the canyon walls! I was at this point completely unnerved and a tad bit frightened to say the least. Josh being the amazing boyfriend he is, obliged my plea to run back to the truck, then drive back to the bathrooms. Once we were safe in our steel-mobile, I was able to cuddle up and sleep sweetly.

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

We woke up in Red Rock Canyon to a cold wintry and rainy morning. We thought it would be warming to begin our day by taking advantage of the campground facilities and use their shower rooms.

The shower rooms were pretty decent but had a per-minute fee to be paid with by quarters only. We scoured the truck for as many quarters as we could find. We found enough quarters so that each of us could enjoy a six-minute shower… this would be plenty, we thought.

Josh showered first. When he was done he gave me little tid-bits about how the shower worked…. I got everything set up in the shower room before inserting my quarters to ensure max time of water usage.

I preceded with inserting one quarter….no water came out…. I inserted my second quarter…still no water (I’m getting a little worried at this point) I insert my third quarter, and the water begins to come out…yay…. I think to myself I will make Josh proud and take the fastest shower ever…I wash my face (all is still good)…I start shampooing my hair, and yup….the water stops before I even get the chance to rince my hair!!

Its ok I think to myself, I have three quarters left…I insert the first quarter, no water again…. (I get nervous)…I insert the second quarter…nope, no water comes out…. (I am starting to get perturbed)…I insert my last quarter…NO WATER!

I take a deep breath, then start hitting the coin machine hoping that it wiggles my quarters to wherever they need to be in order to start the water up again…my quarters never wiggled their way to the right spot…. I push the “return coins” bottom…. Of course, that does not work either. I begin to feel anger and panic and a tad bit of hyperthermia.

I open the door and yell for Josh (hoping that he is not in the truck, and is able to hear me from where he is at) He does thankfully hear me, however, we have no more quarters. (The campsite had raised their camping rates compared to what we had read, and thus, left us with no extra cash)- Josh searched the truck and was able to find one dollar bill….he inserted the dollar bill into the coin machine, and thank the lord above that it worked and gave us four more quarters….

Attempt to shower, round two…this time, Josh inserted the coins for me, and of course, it worked flawlessly for him!! I finished up my shower in the fastest most terrified way I have ever showered before…. Lesson learned… DO NOT TRUST THE QUARTER SHOWERS!!!

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

Once recovered from what might have been one of the most horrific shower experiences ever (that I am now able to laugh about and make fun of) We were completely ready to head West, where the weather had to be for surely warmer than it was on the East

The gloomy gray cloudy weather followed us all the way up until New Mexico. While driving through Texas, things were bit of a blur and foggy. We stopped at the very entrance into Texas to fill up on gas, then didn’t stop again until we were in New Mexico! However, while driving through Texas we saw some pretty interesting sights….

Hello New Mexico and Hello Sunshine. As we crossed over into New Mexico, the clouds began to fade away and the sun began to emerge. The feeling of sunshine beating through the windshield was absolutely revitalizing. The miles of land and beauty surrounding us were infinite. We saw classic cars passing us on one side, while choo-choo trains passed on the other.

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

As we made our way into Albuquerque we crossed over the Rio Grande. Or, as Mommy Sue calls it the “Rio NOT so Grande” lol.

We pulled up to Richards and Mommy Sue’s (aka my moms best friend/amazing family friend) house. They heard us pull up into the drive way (via her two monstrous dogs) and came out to welcome us to Albuquerque. Mommy Sue has two very large doggies and about five or so cats… so we had some introducing to do with Salsa- luckily all her animals are as lovable and gentle as can be... and it definitely helped that Salsa views herself as being a large dog too!

The next morning, we ventured to the top of Sandia Crest; our first off-roading adventure on road trip. Sandia Crest is at an altitude of 10, 478 feet and overlooks the valley and all that circumferences it including parts of Texas.

As we climbed in altitude, naturally the temperature quickly began to drop… we were still however very surprised to see snow on the ground.

On our way up the Crest we made a few pit stops to enjoy all that this Crest had to offer us.

When we got to the top of the Crest, the view was absolutely breath- taking.

We took a little break from the gail force winds, and strolled through the gift shop some.

After a little gift shopping, we headed back down the Crest.

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

As we departed from Mommy Sue’s and Richards, we headed to Arizona… our first stop to be at the Mogollon Rim (where my Mom, Dad, Grandparents, Sister and I always use to go camping).

As we drove towards AZ, we were able to drive about 150 feet on Historic Route 66, drove near the Continental Divide, drove passed a few 18wheelers carrying something that was Radio Active, (Yes that’s right I did just write Radio Active…check out the picture below). We drove through some tunnels and other beautiful scenery- our poor little Salsie, she was so tuckered out from the weekend, she slept pretty much the entire way!

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

As I hadn’t been back to the Rim in more then 12 years it looked nearly nothing like what I had remembered. Our goal for the night was to find my family’s old campsite and set up camp for the night there. We both thought that it would be a little bit easier to find camp then it actually was. In AZ, forests do not have campgrounds like back East…you can pretty much camp anywhere in the forest/desert…there are no fees in most areas nor are there campsite numbers-just landmarks.

Our landmark to look for was a big Oak Tree- which should have stuck out like a sore thumb in a forest full of pines, however camping at the end of winter/beginning of Spring the forest still had not really bloomed.

After a few hours of exploring and a few phone calls to my Grandparents, we finally found our old campsite. We only had about an hour before night fall by the time we found the campsite so we began to set up camp and start our campfire to help give us some light (since we were still camping at this point with no visible moon in the sky).

The next morning before heading out of camp we took a little stroll around camp, reminiscing about all that I remembered from when my family and I would camp there. I showed Josh the little forest that Alicia and I would play house in, where we lost countless silverware of my moms. I showed him the little pond area that Alicia and I would ice-skate on…the fallen tree trunk that we would set soda cans on and practice shooting at, etc. Having been back to the Rim was hard in some ways but amazing in most!

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

After we enjoyed our morning at the Rim, we began our drive to Scottsdale to spend the weekend with my Grandparents

On our way to Scottsdale, we had one pit stop to make. When we had driven up Sandia’s Crest in New Mexico, Josh realized that his front passenger side coilover (aka Shock) needed to be replaced. He made a few phone calls and was able to make an appointment with Steve from Sonoran Steel located in Tempe, AZ; most genuine guy ever. Steve was very helpful and fun to talk with. He gave us lots of information and awesome ideas for off-roading in AZ and around the area.

After an easy trouble free installation of setting the coil overs 2 ½ inches above stock we were set to head to Grandma and Grandpa’s. However, as we pulled out of Steve’s driveway- Josh bottomed out. When he rolled off the curb, the tire came in contact with the fender. We immediately knew that the new coilover needed to be set higher at 3inches above stock. Steve waived us back into his driveway with sincere concern. He jacked up the truck to set the new coilovers a bit higher. After the re-installation, the truck passed the test…Josh was able to back up off the curb this time without bottoming out!

First order of business on Saturday morning was an oil change for the truck. Everything went seemingly smooth despite the 100 degree weather outside. Everything was just about done when I saw something leaking onto the dirt. I asked Josh about it, and at first glance he thought it was just the new windshield washer fluid dripping out… after a few moments too long of the dripping, Josh realized it was not the windshield fluid….it was the radiator ☹ ughhhh!!

We made a few phone calls and found a place that would be able to order the radiator; it would be in stock in just a few hours for Josh to install. After several hours of working in the heat, a rusted bolt, a broken ratchet wrench, and a mild case of heat stroke, Josh finally decided to take a break and finish up the truck Sunday morning. We were in dire need of some RnR!

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

After way too many hours of work on the truck, some much needed RnR was definitely in order, and what better place to be than Grandma’s and Grandpa’s. My Uncles (Uncle Joe and Uncle Paul) came over to visit and celebrate Grandma and Grandpa’s Birthdays. They brought their little one Scruffy…Salsa was Scruffy’s first friend!

For dinner, Uncle Paul taught Grandma how to cook a leg of Lamb- we enjoyed the sunset and ate Lamb, Risotto, Salad, Asparagus, and fresh Rosemary bread…sooooo delicious! (Oh how I love Road Tripping)

We stayed up all night long just hanging out, sharing stories, and reminiscing.>

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

Salsa had made herself a new snuggle friend, while Josh and I were trimming hedges

We then took advantage of the beautiful weather and gave the truck a nice bath...

After a few fun chores, we spent the afternoon looking over our maps and planning out our next few destinations with Grandma and Grandpa…

Every visit to AZ must also be accompanied with a dinner out to some Authentic Mexican Food….and maybe some Authentic Margaritas as well. Grandma and Grandpa were smart, they split one, Josh and I probably should have too. Oh well… here’s to having a night of goofiness

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

Since the weather had cooled down a bit from when we first arrived into Arizona, we thought it would be a perfect day to go explore Four Peaks (another place my family and I use to camp often when I was growing up). Our drive up was absolutely beautiful- the cacti were in bloom, the sun was shining, and the wind was blowing.

We found ourselves a really nice little site to hike around and enjoy the beauty of the desert.

>

After some exploring, we were getting pretty hungry. We came across the most perfect lunch spot ever. It backed up a little hill that overlooked Roosevelt Lake to the left and Four Peaks to the right, it was an absolutely breath taking view.

After lunch, we did a little bit of rock crawling…sooo much fun!!

 

[JeepTreeHouse]

It was very hard to leave my Grandparents house… they show us nothing but love, warmth, and kindness every moment we are around them. They spoil us with delectable home cooked meals and scrumptious desserts. They make it impossible to ever want to leave; Salsa made herself very cozy here too

With a fridge full of new goodies from Grandma and Grandpa, a new radiator, new coilovers, and a fresh oil change were ready to hit the road again. We shed a few tears full of love and gratefulness, gave great big bear hugs and Eskimo kisses, and then began the rest of our journey.