The Good Times, Great Memories Tour - 2008

[tdesanto]

KC,
What a rare talent you have my friend. Started as a quick browse, ended in a full read but I should have known better...
Well done.
Cheers,
P

Yes, by now, we should all know that you're gonna get pulled in for at least an hour+

But, that's time well spent.

Thanks KC

 

[FourByLand]

KC,

Thanks for taking the time to include this leg of the trip to your plans, I really enjoyed the lazy afternoon sitting around laughing and getting to know you and the beautifully witty Mia Bell.

Anytime, Anyplace my friend!

:costumed-smiley-007

 

[jim65wagon]

See, KC, it's well written stories like this and the beautiful photographs taken that make me want to load up the truck and head west. The reality is, my wife and I both have to work tomorrow, and the kids have school, so I'll sit here another night impatiently waiting for a weekend with warm enough nights so we can get out and revel in some serious mellow...

Oh, and not to take away from your T (which I really like) but that Tundra with the flippac is totally cool!

 

[grahamfitter]

See, KC, it's well written stories like this and the beautiful photographs taken that make me want to load up the truck and head west. The reality is, my wife and I both have to work tomorrow, and the kids have school, so I'll sit here another night impatiently waiting for a weekend with warm enough nights so we can get out and revel in some serious mellow...

Oh, and not to take away from your T (which I really like) but that Tundra with the flippac is totally cool!

Yeah, what he said. Your words and pictures really are most wonderful.

Cheers,
Graham

 

[suntinez]

Formalities give way to familiarities, and we're toasting in no time like old friends. It's one of the great things about this forum.

x2 on that KC! All the expo people I've been lucky enough to meet are just exceptional - and fascinating in their own way.

Was really great meeting you and Mia, likewise seeing Gavin/Louis again. Considering your FWC thread was the one that got me to stop lurking here, a double treat. Even though you forgot to bring it! Oh well, pretty sure I'll get to see that window on it one day ...

Here's a couple of my pics from the trip:

Good times indeed ...


The real reason Gavin was late:

Later, amigos!

 

[ScottBailey]

Better visibility made slashing our way up interstates much easier too.

KC,

Great write up.

As an aside, w/ a good set of tow mirrors you might find lane changes easier, faster, and safer w/ the FWC. With my gargantuan OEMs, I usually find lane changes a breeze regardless of traffic.

SB

 

[kcowyo]

See, KC, it's well written stories like this and the beautiful photographs taken that make me want to load up the truck and head west....

Oh, and not to take away from your T (which I really like) but that Tundra with the flippac is totally cool!

You think I don't feel the exact same way when you post those dream inducing photos from the OBX? When I mentioned eating po' boys on the NC shore, I'm specifically thinking of Emerald Isle, Beaufort, Wrightsville, Ocracoke, Avon, etc. That's your backyard but for me, they might as well be a million miles away. However, I do love it when I see your Tundra in the sand...

I guess the "grass" is always greener, huh?


Linda's Tundra & Flip-Pac combo is sweet. Enough room for everyone and she's done some neat add-ons like a deck, sliding storage drawer and electrical panel. She's quite the cook too.

I haven't had the chance to look over many Land Rover Discoverys lately. But I know quality and well designed when I see it. I'm not putting over his vehicle just because he made us tasty sandwiches on his Snow Peak sandwich grill, but Louis has a LR that would turn any head. The green color (which permeates everything from his ride to his wardrobe) accented by the black custom bumpers & sliders, black fender flares, black wheels, black roof rack and dark window tint, is tied together in such an attractive package, that I immediately turned green myself. With envy.

I've also gotten a few inquiries about some changes to my own truck. Yes, I scored some new tires recently. I've been wanting try out the Interco TrXus MT's for a long time now and got a lead on a set of slightly used ones for a steal. They were not my preferred size of 285/75/16, but rather the popular tall 'n skinny 255/85/16's. So I jumped on the sheep wagon and mounted them up.

I'm not crazy about the size. Tall 'n skinny just looks anemic on this wider than a Tacoma, T100 of mine. The 285's were a better aesthetic match IMO. They howl on the road some (not too bad, but noticeable) and their performance in the snow is no better than the BFG KO's that I can tell. I really like the tread design and appearence of the tire. And I'm sure I would like them even better in a 285 size.

After Streakerfreak had to bail me out last August, when one of my tires got a puncture, I finally smartened up and bought the ARB Tire Repair kit. We didn't need it this time out fortunately, but it was good peace of mind to have. I also finally invested in a Scepter Military Spec fuel can for this trip. I have sweated being on "E" in Death Valley and Nevada enough to have learned my lesson. More peace of mind...

I've been asked about the Columbus and how we mounted it to the truck. The tent mounts onto crossbars like Thule or Yakima or that brand Slee sells (African Outback...?). A full review of the Columbus is available in the first issue of Overland Journal, so I won't do that here. But the Columbus attaches via a u-bolt kit to the crossbars. Because the tent was only on this truck for this trip, I ordered up 2 Thule bars and cut them down to the width of my bedrails. Then I drilled holes in them and my bedrails and with a 3/8" bolt, nut and washer, fastened then to the truck. We then set the tent on the crossbars and fastened them via the u-bolts. Pretty easy -

You can see the slight gap, about 4", I left on both sides which allowed me to stick my arm in there to reach our gear in tubs. It worked out for this trip but I would do a different packing arrangement if this were my fulltime set-up. The tent is off the truck now. So are the crossbars. I have to cut them down again a little and then mount them on the Landcruiser. So my bedrails are left with a couple of extra holes but that's no biggie...

And let's call this next tidbit,


Things I learned on this trip #8 -
When taking pics, look closely. You might spot a problem with your vehicle....

I thought this was a fun photo snapped in Anza Borrego. I liked the angle and the light. Then I noticed my spare was dangling a wee bit. Somewhere along the way the tension had slacked and it was wobbling around back there. I tightened it back up and didn't have any problems with it for the remainder of the trip. Scary to think though what could have happened had I not seen it when I did.


I've got 1 or 2 more entries before wrapping up this trip thread. I just wanted to share some more photos real quick and answer some questions. Thanks for coming along this far. Be back with more soon -

:campfire:
.

 

[p1michaud]

Thanks for coming along this far. Be back with more soon -

:campfire:

No need to thank us, as the arm chair travellers we thank you for sharing....:sombrero:

:lurk:

 

[Streakerfreak]

kcowyo
ExPo Glamper

That is hilarious!

Look forward to hearing the last entries. Very good reads so far.

 

[fiddy]

Great report - thanks!

 

[kcowyo]

"Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world."
- Hans Margolius


South of the hot springs lies the Saline Lake and the salt tram ruins. One hundred years ago this was a bustling excavation site. Salt from the lake was loaded and transported via a 14 mile wire rope tram system, over the Inyo Mountains into Owens Valley. Miraculously, 20 tons of salt per hour rode up the rickety gondolas, 7,000ft in elevation. An engineering marvel that ceased production only when the maintenance costs became too much.

Today only the salt and the decaying tramway towers & platforms remain...

There is one other thing to find at the lake. You can't dig it up. You can't cart it over the mountains. You can sense it. You can hear it. You can take it with you if you try, but you can't show it to your friends back home. It's impossible to find anywhere else...

Silence. Absolute silence. It's enormous.

We stop to absorb the view and to feel the silence. It is awesome.

We are all alone in an isolated valley. I live in the least populated state in the nation. I'm used to big empty spaces. But the huge scope of this area makes the mind think big thoughts. Thoughts of what was once here and the lives lost transporting salt out of this valley. I feel a kinship to those who are drawn here, to those men and women who love the silence and solitude... I immediately understand.

Then another one of those damned military jets does a fly-by, shattering the silence and my moment. And just like that, the moment is gone. Fortunately our photos and my memory bring it all back. All of that silence, all of that nothingness, all of that space, all of that reflection....

We continue on our way, south out of Saline Valley and onto Panamint Springs. We pay twice the going rate to top of the gas tank and continue east by Stovepipe Wells. I never tire of the drive through Death Valley, it is so simple, yet diverse. Long straight aways, passing sand dunes and snow capped mountains. And just when your mind starts to accept the stark natural beauty of the region, up pops a castle and the mind has to accept that nothing is as it seems in Death Valley. Nothing.

We stopped at Scotty's Castle long enough to take a few photos and to watch a coyote lurking in the parking lot, scavenging for abandoned food. An out of place visitor in all of this opulence, he goes unnoticed by the guests and employees. Nose to the ground, he rounds the corner in search of nourishment. Feeling full myself after our visit to Death Valley, I have little doubt that he will find exactly what he needs.

 

[jim65wagon]

This should have been a story in the OJ. Excellent job KC!

 

[kcowyo]

"There are far lonelier roads in Nevada than US-50. Highway 6, for example. Highway 375, also known as the "Extraterrestrial Highway", is practically as lonely as space travel."
- Richard Menzies


Unbelievably, I woke up for the second time in my life in Tonopah, Nevada.

The night before we had rolled into town and opted for hot showers and a room out of the cold wind. We had come up far short of reaching our goal on the eastern side of the state for the day. As luck would have it, Tonopah had cheap gas, a few motels and a pretty good Mexican restaurant.

We had dinner and cocktails in a dimly lit corner booth. I couldn't help but hear as the young waitress told each of her tables how she had passed her driver's license test that very afternoon. They all congratulated her and some inquired, 'And how're your folks doin?'... There was a lot of familiar chatter. It was a dining room full of family & friends and we were neither. But we were happy to be there among them. I turned up a Pacifico and tried to think of a more liberating day in life than getting the ol' drivers license.


Things I learned on this trip #9 -
In a small town cantina on a Friday night, try to just blend in...

Tempting the bad movie come-to-life gods, we pony up $36 to stay at the Clown Motel in Tonopah. Sideshow Bob checks us in and gives me an unnerving grin as I walk out of the office... But the room was clean and had only 7 or 8 creepy clown pictures on the walls. It would do and now we can say we survived the Clown Motel in Tonopah. Judging by the frost on the lid of the Columbus the next morning, getting a room was a good call.

Riding east, we head out of town early. I want to take a different route across Nevada than I have before. With a full Scepter can just in case, we turn down Hwy 375, the Extraterrestrial Highway. It is a clear, cool morning and we have the road to ourselves. In the first 100 miles from Tonopah, we pass only three other vehicles. The tiny outpost of Rachel, sits 120 miles into the lonely, with only a few Joshua Trees for neighbors. There are a couple of people loitering around a single store. I'm pretty certain they're going to unzip out of their skins at any second and reveal themselves to be aliens from another planet, so we don't stay long.

From clowns to aliens to the absence of everything, we're kinda having a weird morning... Pushing on, we eventually get to the small town of Caliente and the first services in 182 miles from Tonopah. Imagine driving anywhere in the US on a paved highway for 182 miles without seeing a single gas station. In 2009.

I'm drawn to stop in tiny Pioche, after seeing a sign for Tillie's Store offering, "Everything from Vasoline to Gasoline". I'm a sucker for good advertising and I have good feeling as I take the turnoff into town. Pioche immediately reminds me of Jerome, AZ. Houses and businesses, old and older, built onto a hillside with an expansive view of the valley down below. It's an old mining town gone bust, and like the buildings, hanging onto that mountain for dear life. But it has character and charm. And it is the home of the Overland Hotel and the Overland Saloon.

Coincidence? I think not....

I have one last stop in mind before our trip, becomes officially our trip home. I'm headed for Great Basin National Park by the Nevada & Utah state line. It's a desolate and remote park but unique in it's altitude and depths. Wheeler Peak ascends to 13K feet in elevation over the park while under the mountain lie vast limestone caverns and caves. High up on Wheeler Peak are a few choice campsites where I hope to stay for the evening.

I scare up a few wild turkeys on the road up to the peak. They're running across the road in the late afternoon trying to keep warm. We are watching the view below as we climb, elevation markers placed at every 1,000 ft. interval. Snow accumulates on the ground, piling up higher and higher as we go. At 8K ft., the gate to the top of Wheeler Peak is closed. A recent snow storm had piled up too much for the park service to keep up with. Dejected, we turn back down the mountain, without even having seen the peak. And then Mia points out the shadow of Wheeler Peak unrolling onto the valley below. It was the biggest shadow we had ever seen....

And with that sunset, our tour was over. We made other plans for the evening and shot across Utah, returning home the following day.

For eleven days, we travelled over 2,800 miles through the scenic southwestern US. Along the way we reconnected with old friends and made new ones. We visited new areas to us and returned to some old favorites. We were taken in by good friends and turned out by bad weather. There was enough time and enough miles to reflect on the past and plan for the future. We caught some lucky breaks, we ate & drank like royalty and we laughed until it hurt more than once.

When looking back, we may not remember the days, but we remember the good times. From those good times, sometimes we get memories that will last a lifetime. So take the good times and great memories as they come and we'll see you down the road...


- KC

~ 30 ~
.

 

[articulate]

Everything from vasoline to gasoline.

So which one did you buy?

Superb tale. All adventure travel should be thus. And renamed "living life." Inspirational without the altar call. Nice work.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Fantastic KC, fantastic.