Mauka2Makai - Our Quest Begins...An 80 Series Adventure
- Thread starter Mauka2Makai
- Start date
Mauka2Makai
Explorer
Death Valley with the Wife and Kids contd.
This trip was completely spur of the moment, literally getting off work and packing the truck that night and leaving first thing in the morning. My wife wanted to do one last family fun time before the long grind of work and school with no days off together until the breaks and holidays. We had been slowly working the boys seat and travel time with each trip, this one being the longest. It took us around 6 hours to get to Stovepipe Wells from our house... patience and understanding was key for our sanity, mainly mine. Once in DV it was as if we were home... me anyways.
Once at Stovepipe we drove up Cottonwood Canyon... wrong move. It was just to much driving for the family in one day, so we headed back down and set up camp at Stovepipe.
That night the temps must have come down to the twenties and the wind was howling. The Eezi-Awn held up like a champ in the wind and provided a warm and cozy nights sleep.
Our agenda was to spend the next day at The Racetrack along with seeing Ubehebe Crater and ending the day with a tour of Scotty's Castle.
The boys and I hung out with the moving rocks and my wife went for a run to The Grandstand and back.
From The Racetrack we headed to Homestake camp for lunch. We were the only ones there and it was nice to just walk around and explore the area and just enjoy the peace and quiet.
My wife had fun driving back to Ubehebe Crater.
After visiting Scotty's Castle I personally feel that no DV visit should be without a tour. A truly amazing place full of history and insight as to (for me anyways) what draws me to DV and keeps me coming back for more. We were hesitant at first going on the tour with our boys... but even they were just in awe and drawn in by the tour Ranger Scotty gave us. Once again can't say enough good things about touring Scotty's Castle.
My wife doesn't particularly enjoy camping as much as the boys and I do so the last night we stayed at the Stovepipe Inn. Nice place with modest amenities and a Saloon and Restaurant on property. The next morning as I was checking the oil and giving the LC a look over, I noticed that one of my valve cover screws had worked its way loose. Upon further inspection found that one was missing and even more were loose. All those miles of washboard caught up to the LC. No problems observed... the valve cover was still firmly secure and not loose. Torqued them back down and we were on our way. I ordered a whole new set of screws from CDan along with a new air filter once home though.
We decided to spend the morning at Mesquite Flat Dunes to help tire the boys out for the drive home. As we pulled into the parking lot my goal was to make it to the highest peak and play king of the mountain with the boys. It was a good hour or so to make it out to the highest peak, a lot further than what it appears. The whole time I was wishing that we had our body board to drop in on these sand dune swells... maybe next time. I could not imagine walking out here in temps above 70 as we were feeling the heat in an early January morning.
As a family we could agree that the dunes was the funnest part of our whole DV trip.
Next stop on the way out was Zabriskie Point to get one last awe inspiring moment for the drive home.
My wife was able to admit that now she somewhat understands my infatuation with Death Valley. I instantly felt a bond... a connection, my first time there. There are just so many more miles to explore in Death Valley... I've just had a couple very brief experiences, but this trip was way more special than the others. I feel I've accomplished a lot on this trip... slowly were expanding our range with the boys, my wife is starting to tolerate and possibly enjoy the off road travel, and I think most importantly my wife is finally getting that its more than just driving a truck out into the desert.
"In the far desert there is peace and tranquility. One feels the force of the sun and the mysterious silence of the night. Much treasure can be found beneath these high mountains, and great recompense will come to those who search for it by their hard labor." - Quote in Scotty's Castle, DV
This trip was completely spur of the moment, literally getting off work and packing the truck that night and leaving first thing in the morning. My wife wanted to do one last family fun time before the long grind of work and school with no days off together until the breaks and holidays. We had been slowly working the boys seat and travel time with each trip, this one being the longest. It took us around 6 hours to get to Stovepipe Wells from our house... patience and understanding was key for our sanity, mainly mine. Once in DV it was as if we were home... me anyways.
Once at Stovepipe we drove up Cottonwood Canyon... wrong move. It was just to much driving for the family in one day, so we headed back down and set up camp at Stovepipe.
That night the temps must have come down to the twenties and the wind was howling. The Eezi-Awn held up like a champ in the wind and provided a warm and cozy nights sleep.
Our agenda was to spend the next day at The Racetrack along with seeing Ubehebe Crater and ending the day with a tour of Scotty's Castle.
The boys and I hung out with the moving rocks and my wife went for a run to The Grandstand and back.
From The Racetrack we headed to Homestake camp for lunch. We were the only ones there and it was nice to just walk around and explore the area and just enjoy the peace and quiet.
My wife had fun driving back to Ubehebe Crater.
After visiting Scotty's Castle I personally feel that no DV visit should be without a tour. A truly amazing place full of history and insight as to (for me anyways) what draws me to DV and keeps me coming back for more. We were hesitant at first going on the tour with our boys... but even they were just in awe and drawn in by the tour Ranger Scotty gave us. Once again can't say enough good things about touring Scotty's Castle.
My wife doesn't particularly enjoy camping as much as the boys and I do so the last night we stayed at the Stovepipe Inn. Nice place with modest amenities and a Saloon and Restaurant on property. The next morning as I was checking the oil and giving the LC a look over, I noticed that one of my valve cover screws had worked its way loose. Upon further inspection found that one was missing and even more were loose. All those miles of washboard caught up to the LC. No problems observed... the valve cover was still firmly secure and not loose. Torqued them back down and we were on our way. I ordered a whole new set of screws from CDan along with a new air filter once home though.
We decided to spend the morning at Mesquite Flat Dunes to help tire the boys out for the drive home. As we pulled into the parking lot my goal was to make it to the highest peak and play king of the mountain with the boys. It was a good hour or so to make it out to the highest peak, a lot further than what it appears. The whole time I was wishing that we had our body board to drop in on these sand dune swells... maybe next time. I could not imagine walking out here in temps above 70 as we were feeling the heat in an early January morning.
As a family we could agree that the dunes was the funnest part of our whole DV trip.
Next stop on the way out was Zabriskie Point to get one last awe inspiring moment for the drive home.
My wife was able to admit that now she somewhat understands my infatuation with Death Valley. I instantly felt a bond... a connection, my first time there. There are just so many more miles to explore in Death Valley... I've just had a couple very brief experiences, but this trip was way more special than the others. I feel I've accomplished a lot on this trip... slowly were expanding our range with the boys, my wife is starting to tolerate and possibly enjoy the off road travel, and I think most importantly my wife is finally getting that its more than just driving a truck out into the desert.
"In the far desert there is peace and tranquility. One feels the force of the sun and the mysterious silence of the night. Much treasure can be found beneath these high mountains, and great recompense will come to those who search for it by their hard labor." - Quote in Scotty's Castle, DV
Last edited:
RMP&O
Expedition Leader
A good example of why checking your vehicle regularly is important!
I have never been to DV, looks like I should go some day.
Driver-Navigator
Explorer
Thanks for another great trip report. A few more drives up and down Racetrack Valley Road and those washboards will have your eyeballs falling out of your head! It sure reminded me why I love nylon-insert locknuts and lock washers. Nasty nasty washboard.
Thanks for the recommendation of Scotty's Castle. We skipped it on our recent trip because someone else suggested it was a good thing to skip if you were short on time... Sounds like one of those "YMMV" things but we'll definitely check it out next time.
Glad your family enjoyed it as much as mine did. Cheers to us for successfully converting them
Thanks for the recommendation of Scotty's Castle. We skipped it on our recent trip because someone else suggested it was a good thing to skip if you were short on time... Sounds like one of those "YMMV" things but we'll definitely check it out next time.
Glad your family enjoyed it as much as mine did. Cheers to us for successfully converting them
Sempertoy
Explorer
Thanks for your awesome DV posts! I am in the middle of planning a 5 day trip in march. I think I have most of the places you visited listed as a stop for us, including scottys castle. I have a question and forgive me if I sound like an idiot, but what do you air down to when you go to DV? I was on a run in Big bear with a guy who had an lx450. He was aired down to about 12 psi and he floated over the wash board. Have you tried airing down?
Mauka2Makai
Explorer
daPitbull, My boys are turning 3 and 6 here shortly and whenever dirt, rocks, sticks, sand, water, etc is involved they have the time of there lives... Typical boys.
I'm thinking that there's 3-4 more months left till it starts getting a little to hot out there. :sunny:
I havent given the LC a complete and thorough looksy over yet since being back, plan on washing first. But each time I've been there I've had something come up. The upper heater valve line coming loose, battery terminal lead cold sheering, and now loose and missing valve cover bolts. I guess the valve cover bolts are a one time use and should be replaced due to stretching. I didn't know.
Yeah, has saved me more than once.
Last edited:
Mauka2Makai
Explorer
FireGuy, With all the gear removed and with 863's out back it handles just fine, once loaded it feels as though the rear is at its max safe handling weight. Upgrading to 864's will be in the future along with external reservoir shocks. Anything larger than ~ 33" tire with stock gearing would drive me crazy, I can't imagine going through all the passes out here... Fully loaded I feel the 80 is severely underpowered. We generally cruise ~70mph on the flats and 60 or so up the passes. When I got the RTT I planned on mounting it at the rear as well, until Ian suggested that I mount it forward so that way its easier to access the fuel cans, cases, etc. while standing on the tail gate. Made perfect sense to me and has worked extremely well when lifting those cans up onto the roof. The space and accessibility is maximized on the roof in addition the larger items can hide behind the RTT airflow.
Mauka2Makai
Explorer
Thanks for another great trip report. A few more drives up and down Racetrack Valley Road and those washboards will have your eyeballs falling out of your head! It sure reminded me why I love nylon-insert locknuts and lock washers. Nasty nasty washboard.
Thanks for the recommendation of Scotty's Castle. We skipped it on our recent trip because someone else suggested it was a good thing to skip if you were short on time... Sounds like one of those "YMMV" things but we'll definitely check it out next time.
Glad your family enjoyed it as much as mine did. Cheers to us for successfully converting them
Yeah Dave seeing your family in the freezing cold out at Homestake definitely inspired and motivated us. I think were ready for warm beach weather already.
Mauka2Makai
Explorer
I air down to ~ 22psi maybe I could go lower... I'm always paranoid that I'll blow a bead at higher speeds. I usually travel ~30-40 mph on the washboards so finding that sweet spot can be tricky. Your going to have a fun time... your stoked.
Sempertoy
Explorer
Sounds cool, in my experience 12-15 is just about right. But, that's me. I am SUPER STOKED about my trip. I debated for a long time between DV and Moab, and I figured I may as well enjoy Cali while I'm here.
Sempertoy
Explorer
Just a few other ideas
http://www.expeditionportal.com/resources/91-guide/704-how-to-reseat-a-4x4-bead.html
I personally took advantage of Sierra Expeditions free shipping to get a couple things for our upcoming trip. I am worried about tire problems as well. So I picked up one of these little guys
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=4138
And because of an awesome trail side fix I witnessed in Big Bear I got one of these too. It's pretty amazing what a few of these plugs will do
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=379
http://www.expeditionportal.com/resources/91-guide/704-how-to-reseat-a-4x4-bead.html
I personally took advantage of Sierra Expeditions free shipping to get a couple things for our upcoming trip. I am worried about tire problems as well. So I picked up one of these little guys
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=4138
And because of an awesome trail side fix I witnessed in Big Bear I got one of these too. It's pretty amazing what a few of these plugs will do
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=379
FireGuy
Adventurer
I think will try it your way first. Gonna try and get the tent on next week, just finished up mounting the Baja Rack. It actually has a lot more wind noise than I was expecting, may try moving it forward or back more.