SOAZ
Tim and Kelsey get lost..
So, we missed the simple things. It's not that we don't love having a fridge and a poptop with nice suspension, but there is something about simplicity. The same reason a motorcycle ride can be so much better than a ride in a much more comfortable new car on the same road. You're out IN it.
Well, that's what I'm going with anyway.
We had a buddy offer to let us stay with him for a few weeks so we could "basecamp" at his place. That let us move a few things into Tonto, our 1976 FJ40. (There is a Petrolicious article on him or the story of finding him etc is here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/our-1976-fj40-tonto.947218/)
Here is Tonto, but basically he's an Arizona truck we "found" in the desert with mice living in him. The top is from a not so Arizona FJ40 so there is some rust. We rebuilt the axles and did basic servicing to him years ago and each time we come home he just starts right up and like an eager dog it's like he's wondering where we're going to go exploring.
Alright, so back to the trip. We figured we'd load up a cheap cooler, a tent, some clothes and just head out into the desert for some exploring. The load up looked like this.
The tan Scepter water can we stole from our other truck Goose. For 15 years I've been sure that cheap hardware store tap would either break off or leak and so far so good. It's been in constant use for a long time. The cooler was just a cheapo and the tent was a decade old Big Agnes 2+ tent.
Recovery gear? We have a shovel and the old 8274 that's still going strong. A tire plug kit, compressor, a shite Harbor Freight bottle jack and some general tow straps.
The most high tech part of the gear was the Garmin Inreach which we tucked into the center console, just in case.
So, off to the desert we went. The highway was the scariest part of the entire trip. Tonto can do 65MPH (Barely) which seems very slow on the I-10. After that white knuckle drive we were happy to hit dirt.
Perfect weather to go camping...
A tire gauge is a pretty good air down tool.
We stopped by the Chinese graves near Harquahala. There's a lot to explore around here, but we still felt too close to civilization so off we sent.
This area of desert is so pretty. At this point we were on part of the Arizona Peace Trail. It's a big loop through Western AZ.
As we were driving along Sacagawea (I call Kelsey that because she always spots things I miss) spotted some petroglyphs off to the side of the trail. There is something about spotting something or "finding" a trail or track on your own. Nothing wrong with driving to where you know something to be, but it just doesn't give you that feeling of adventure. In no way were we the first to see these, but it was exciting to spot them naturally and hike up to take a look.
I discover and name this hill... Carl.
Well, that's what I'm going with anyway.
We had a buddy offer to let us stay with him for a few weeks so we could "basecamp" at his place. That let us move a few things into Tonto, our 1976 FJ40. (There is a Petrolicious article on him or the story of finding him etc is here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/our-1976-fj40-tonto.947218/)
Here is Tonto, but basically he's an Arizona truck we "found" in the desert with mice living in him. The top is from a not so Arizona FJ40 so there is some rust. We rebuilt the axles and did basic servicing to him years ago and each time we come home he just starts right up and like an eager dog it's like he's wondering where we're going to go exploring.
Alright, so back to the trip. We figured we'd load up a cheap cooler, a tent, some clothes and just head out into the desert for some exploring. The load up looked like this.
The tan Scepter water can we stole from our other truck Goose. For 15 years I've been sure that cheap hardware store tap would either break off or leak and so far so good. It's been in constant use for a long time. The cooler was just a cheapo and the tent was a decade old Big Agnes 2+ tent.
Recovery gear? We have a shovel and the old 8274 that's still going strong. A tire plug kit, compressor, a shite Harbor Freight bottle jack and some general tow straps.
The most high tech part of the gear was the Garmin Inreach which we tucked into the center console, just in case.
So, off to the desert we went. The highway was the scariest part of the entire trip. Tonto can do 65MPH (Barely) which seems very slow on the I-10. After that white knuckle drive we were happy to hit dirt.
Perfect weather to go camping...
A tire gauge is a pretty good air down tool.
We stopped by the Chinese graves near Harquahala. There's a lot to explore around here, but we still felt too close to civilization so off we sent.
This area of desert is so pretty. At this point we were on part of the Arizona Peace Trail. It's a big loop through Western AZ.
As we were driving along Sacagawea (I call Kelsey that because she always spots things I miss) spotted some petroglyphs off to the side of the trail. There is something about spotting something or "finding" a trail or track on your own. Nothing wrong with driving to where you know something to be, but it just doesn't give you that feeling of adventure. In no way were we the first to see these, but it was exciting to spot them naturally and hike up to take a look.
I discover and name this hill... Carl.
