Old truck exploring.

[billiebob]

Gorgeous Toyota. Glad to see I'm not the only one who "tents indoors".

15 years ago I figured new 4WDs were getting way too fancy and omplicated. Today it is even worse so I'm pretty sure the next vehicle I buy will have a carburetor just to guarantee there are no computers on board. Right now we have 2 TJRs and "the wifes Subaru". The only "new technology" I like is an RV Refrigerator. Otherwise I travel about as simple as you but with a homebilt square box.

Very cool trips.

 

[toylandcruiser]

Gorgeous Toyota. Glad to see I'm not the only one who "tents indoors".

15 years ago I figured new 4WDs were getting way too fancy and omplicated. Today it is even worse so I'm pretty sure the next vehicle I buy will have a carburetor just to guarantee there are no computers on board. Right now we have 2 TJRs and "the wifes Subaru". The only "new technology" I like is an RV Refrigerator. Otherwise I travel about as simple as you but with a homebilt square box.

Very cool trips.

There were computers in carbd trucks back in the 70s and early 80s.

 

[SOAZ]

Good morning! Nothing like getting a fire going while you have coffee on a cold desert morning. We headed out and decided to skip a side trip to another cabin we know of in the area. As we passed the turn there were deep ruts and a berm at the corner. The last time we visited it the road was so faint it was hard to follow. Having a spot put on the official download that thousands of people use has it's impact. I guess I should be glad more people are out exploring, but once I see a trail that burned in, it just doesn't feel like adventure anymore and that's what we were craving. So, on we went and decided to try some random side roads as we went.

Hello burros.

We putted along for hours. Checking out some old mines and some townsite remains. We didn't take any photos, it was just one of those days for us. We mentally noted side trails we wanted to come back and explore one day.

We got to one section of trail that was perfect for a trophy truck or a dirt bike... That meant it was perfect torture in the FJ40 rattle trap. We putted along using first gear for hours. If you tried to go a bit faster you'd hee haw with everything bouncing around all over the place. We laughed and ************** about how much it sucked constantly. It was hilarious. It was frustrating, but somehow nice to be forced to slow down at the same time.
Thankful for a dirt road we we're able to use THIRD GEAR. Woohoo!! Pretty much at Trophy Truck speeds we headed south.

Just putting and putting. Thankful for the Aux tank we'd drained it and were now on the main. Enjoying not having seen anyone for a few days.

I'd always meant to check out the Fisherman Intaglio. It's basically a picture of a fisherman with a spear that's really only visible from the air. Sort of a mini version of what we'd seen in Nazca, Peru earlier in the year.

Here is a pic of this one. We took some drone footage for the video, but that will take some weeks to get to in editing. It's pretty cool and this is just one of many found in the area.


Check out more of the Geoglyphs in the area here:

Blythe Intaglios - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[SOAZ]

Well, we were getting close to civilization so the choice was to push forward into town to get fuel and some more water so we could get far enough out the other side or put on the brakes now so we could camp with no one around.
Once we spotted this little canyon our decision was made for us. Camp now!

We put up the tent and walked around. Just looking at random cactus and trying to spot far off animals or hawks. Something about this canyon seemed under-appreciated or maybe just overlooked. I love that feeling.

Speaker transfered to the camp table. This evening we decided that we'd done enough cooking over the coals and so it was time for an easy dinner. Soup.

That's my wife. Get after it!

You know those sunsets where every second in prettier than the last. Settle in for too many sunset photos.

As far as dinner went, we did have Smores. We're not savages.

 

[REF]

Nice.....following your journey as we’re currently camped out in the Sonoran Desert nation monument, no one around, perfectly peaceful!! Looking forward to exploring some of these areas too, but happy to be in warmer weather at this point after making our way down from northern AZ.


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[SOAZ]

Mmmm, good morning. Coffee. The little plaque we found a few years ago in the soil while operating a loader to build the driving course at Overland Expo. It's also, as everything in this report, a major award.

After a bit of smooth dirt we hit pavement and filled up. Fuel, water, beer and because we eat clean and fuel our bodies right... egg mcmuffins...

Just before we left town we had to stop and say hi to Hi Jolly.

With that we were back onto dirt. Heading up a sand wash that keeps getting deeper and more loose. Ol Tonto was doing well, but we decided to throw the hubs in to get the front tires helping as we went. Eventually we stopped at some petroglyphs that were marked on the maps.

From there we headed further south and west up into some jagged mountains nearby. Eventually we got onto a trail called the Good the Bad and the Ugly. Spoiler, it's not that bad, but definitely took some pedal dancing, 4wd and left foot braking to get through. It was a fun couple hours of working together to make sure ol Tonto didn't suffer any bumps or issues.

I don't miss the 35" tires too often, but when I do, it's in the rocks or sand.

Look at that sick flex!

We just putted along. Tonto doesn't mind this stuff. I just have to concentrate and make sure I muscle the non-power steering wheel through it all where I want it.

One last bumpy bit and we were out the other side. Flying along in 2nd gear like a gazelle. A friggin gazelle I tell ya. ...with shop rags tucked into three or four of the most squeaky spots to try and dampen the noise.

We headed southwest until we hit the Colorado river. There are some great campsites and some sketchy vanmethlifers along here, but the further you go the cleaner and nicer it is.

Go little Tonto go!

The road stayed pretty decent until it didn't. It started to turn more and more into a 4x4 track which was great to see. We got some sick video of Tonto doing work in 2wd up some rock stepups and canyons which I DON'T have here! Disappointment...
So, we explored some old mines and kept putting along through canyons until we decided to start looking for a camp. The sun was getting low and we knew that there was a city to the south of us. Better to stop now and enjoy a fire than be near other humans. Eew.
These fellas were watching over us.

We ended up on a side wash and then another side wash from there. Remote-ish enough for me.

I like sand camps because instead of piling up rocks we just dig a little hole for the fire pit.

Pretty little spot. We had soup and smores again. Laziness was winning. We were tired after a long day of... driving n stuff. Surprisingly the 2 bags of ice we started with were still half there. It'd been a pretty cold desert trip so far.

 

[Ace Brown]

I really like your reporting style. Keep it coming on. I hope to explore that same area next month.


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[Regcabguy]

Great account! I had a 1973 and would haul 4 of us,surfboards,provisions,tents etc out to a distant surf spot in Baja. Swaying the whole way but once offroad it would go anywhere. I'd drop the air down in the 10 x 15 bias ply tires and we'd conquer the dunes going out there. Once we arrived,we'd eat on the grate I always brought burning lobster trap lath. Then some shots of mescal and more than a few beers. The stars would be out and we could see cars driving on the main highway. This would be in the mid 70's. Unfortunately though mine had manual steering which would beat you to death.

 

[SOAZ]

Great account! I had a 1973 and would haul 4 of us,surfboards,provisions,tents etc out to a distant surf spot in Baja. Swaying the whole way but once offroad it would go anywhere. I'd drop the air down in the 10 x 15 bias ply tires and we'd conquer the dunes going out there. Once we arrived,we'd eat on the grate I always brought burning lobster trap lath. Then some shots of mescal and more than a few beers. The stars would be out and we could see cars driving on the main highway. This would be in the mid 70's. Unfortunately though mine had manual steering which would beat you to death.

That's fantastic. A buddy, Jonathan Hanson, lead Kayaking tours in Baja many decades ago and talks about the rough ride, dealing with tubed tires and once having to replace a fuel filter knowing the starter was broken so he had to get the new filter on and fuel moving towards the carb before it died. Haha! Something about Baja makes all adventures more epic.
Manual steering on ours too, it's a good shoulder workout after a few days and hundreds of miles of dirt!
Cheers!

 

[Tennmogger]

This is another great read! Love the old iron.

 

[SOAZ]

Good morning. That was a good campsite. The burros came by to check us out, but otherwise it was an uneventful night.
We kept heading south and mile by mile the 4x4 trail turned more and more into a road.

Good sign. Informative... It's just lacking something.

Exploding children. Yes. You guys nailed it. These signs must get stolen at a pretty high rate.

Beautiful morning along the Colorado river. It looked like most of this area had some recent fires. It's so dense in the unburnt areas that you can imagine if it gets started it's going to burn until it's basically, all gone.

We cruised through the Yuma Proving Ground for a while. We had a tank race across the road about a mile ahead of us. I don't have that video here.... disappointing...
Here's a consolation Huey.

We hit the canal side road for a few hours. It's a pretty drive. You pass fields for hours. There are even little private landing strips with a house and two or three hangars for crop dusters. Pretty cool little setups.
90% of all leafy vegetables in the USA are grown here and most of the wheat grown here is shipped to Italy for the Pasta industry. Wild stuff.

Sometimes you see a bar with some art that just needs a photo. I bet that's a great place to find a fight on a weekend.

As we headed East from Yuma we topped off the fuel tanks and our bellies one more time. Then it was time to head north back towards the I-10 and where we'd started this adventure.
Along the way is this Arizona Game and Fish building. It's intention was for hunters to use, but it's been ruined by people and never repaired by the AZGFD.

 

[SOAZ]

As we headed north we got back into the pretty desert. It's funny how the perfect elevation and soil can cause the desert in one area to be barren and the very next valley is lush with Palo Verde and Saguaros. I love that.

Something about this terrain just makes me want to stop and explore or at least slow down.

There are some nice little arches around this area.

How many photos of one arch is enough?
One more, okay.

Automatic gate openers can't be understated in their importance. I love you honey.

 

[SOAZ]

It was that decision point. We were out of the "good" food. We'd already broken into our bugout bags (a couple ziploc bags with Cheezits and Turkey Jerky) during an emergency snack attack. I kid, I kid.
So, we decided it was time to get back to the world and get back to some projects we have to get done.
We pulled out the cheapo "slime" brand air compressor. I just made sure it was a dual piston one so it doesn't take forever and has a bit of a tendency to overheat less often. It's a cheapo for sure.

With that, we just had to survive a night drive a hundred and something miles back to our buddies house and our other home on wheels. We'd driven over 600 miles of dirt plus a couple hundred miles of freeway over 5 days. Good little loop.
It was the first time in I can't remember how long, maybe a year, that we didn't edit videos or work for more than a day in a row. Yah, we shot some video and flew the drone etc during the trip, but we enjoyed being disconnected for the most part. Just enjoying back to basics and what we love about exploring in the first place. Only doing what we felt like doing when we felt like doing it.
I love this truck, I love wandering around the world with Kelsey. Simple pleasures. Here's to 2021 and hoping we all have a lot more adventures.

 

[ripper1600]

Great trip! The basics help with focusing on exploring and making memories.

 

[Arjan]

Thanks Guys !

Love the story.