Keep it coming.
Father and Son take a cross country trip..
- Thread starter concretejungle
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sethzilla
SILVER Star
Can't wait buddy.
Funny story about the Cheerwine.
When you mentioned you were from North Carolina I started jonesing for it!
- Thread starter
- #43
R
Loving the thread, Alex! You have me wishing that we took the more northern route on the there.
I still haven't quite adjusted to real life after returning.
I still haven't quite adjusted to real life after returning.
alk747triodad
SILVER Star
I love this thread too, Alex. You must of had a journal to record all of these great day-to-day stories.
So happy for you that you did this trip. I remember your post after the December 2011 URE ride, "remember that each and everyday is a gift and you might not have another chance!" Looks like you took that to another level.
Now, we want more!
What's the story behind those glasses in post 27. Lydia says they are regular sunglasses but I think they look like pilot goggles?
So happy for you that you did this trip. I remember your post after the December 2011 URE ride, "remember that each and everyday is a gift and you might not have another chance!" Looks like you took that to another level.
Now, we want more!
What's the story behind those glasses in post 27. Lydia says they are regular sunglasses but I think they look like pilot goggles?
- Thread starter
- #47
Thanks guys!
Ramon, i totally thought about age and that the days were getting numbered for my dad in where he would be able to go on a trip like this and enjoy it. That's part of the reason i decided I wanted to invite him on this trip.
I'm at the apple store exchanging my second smashed iphone in two days! I'll try to write a little more this evening when i get back home.
Ramon, i totally thought about age and that the days were getting numbered for my dad in where he would be able to go on a trip like this and enjoy it. That's part of the reason i decided I wanted to invite him on this trip.
I'm at the apple store exchanging my second smashed iphone in two days! I'll try to write a little more this evening when i get back home.
Very nice Alex. Ironic that your first time out wheeling in the west corresponded when I moved east to GA. Wish I could have nbeen in the run but life intercedes.
I'm very stoked you and your father had suck and epic experience and the Wagon Run with the NorCal crew is the place to do it!
I'm very stoked you and your father had suck and epic experience and the Wagon Run with the NorCal crew is the place to do it!
Trying to talk my Dad into a trip like this. I need to buy an 80 or find a lot of $$ to get my 40 ready. I would like to do a Death Valley and eastern Sierra trip with him. Have not done one since I joined the marines corps in 2002.
Meatball
Meatball
elkaholic
Left turn ...freakin wipers!
That storm actually formed over Chyenne, WY. I was headed back towards NC on I-80 as it built right on top of us. Damned near blew us off the interstate with straight line gusts of 50+ MPH. This is in a 38 foot RV towing the 200 on a trailer.
Glad you made it through OK
Glad you made it through OK
Around 3:30 we started to notice we were heading for a storm. It really did look spooky and my dad was worried. Not to worry i told him, we are in a land cruiser.
As we got closer and closer to the storm, the temps cooled and the wind picked up. We were driving into a headwind for the last hour and it picked up. The MPG on the cruiser fell a little and you had to keep your focus not to get blown out of the lane. Then the rain began. It got heavier and heavier until you could hardly see 10 yards in front of the truck. I tucked in behind a big rig and before you knew it, his hazard lights came on and we were stopped! The wind was blowing so hard i could hardly see the truck in front of us and my cruise was wobbling in the wind! Holy cow i was a little spooked but didn't want my dad to know it. Were we in a tornado! I don't know but i don't like this at all. Here we were in the middle of nowhere west kansas in a horrible storm. Oh shucks, we will be fine, just turn the wipers on full speed and let's drive around this 18 wheeler and keep going.
Pow! A huge piece of ice hit the windshield and me and dad looked at each other at the same time and said "****!" Pop, another hit, pop, pop, pop they started falling and slamming into the windshield of the cruiser. They were golfball sized hail stones and they were pummeling the cruiser. I was worried the were going to take out the windshield so i slowed back down to a near crawl. I had to keep my cool because i didn't want dad to know i was nervous. Man was my adrenaline pumping, this was adventure i told him. He said, yea right, this could be our death! I said wrong my elderly companion, this was just part of the adventure and didn't i mention we were in a cruiser! I decided to test her and started driving again. I felt we needed to drive out of this storm ASAP and so that's what we did.
- Thread starter
- #51
Finally realizing that we were "here," we decided to set up camp for the night. This was one of the times i was really happy that i was staying in the cruiser since there was hardly a flat place to be found to pitch a tent, and afterall, if you did find a place to pitch a tent, it was on solid rock.
I managed to pull the 80 down off the top of the rock to get out of any wind if there was one and to try to block any possible wind from the one flat spot with some dirt that dad found to pitch his tent. Now i guess i should mention that before the trip we decided that i would sleep in the truck and dad would pitch a tent since i'm a light sleeper and he snores, and, he likes to get up at the break of dawn and i do not. So this worked out very well.
What we were not expecting were the cold temps at night. Actually, cruiserdrew had told me it was going to be cold at night, but i thought in my mind it's summertime and it can't be "that" cold...
Dad put the tent up, i leveled the cruiser out on a few stacked rocks and folks started to roll in slowly. I finally got to meet Robbie and see his ride (I have to admit i was VERY excited as i always have felt that Robbie was a rock star in the cruiser world and i was honored to be trail riding with him. I also had told dad about Robbie and helped put dad's mind to ease since the entire trip he kept asking what if something breaks, what if we break down, and i would always reply with "well, we will have to fix it or, call Robbie in because Robbie could probably fix our truck with his pocket knife"). As more people rolled in the cruiser scenery continued to improve and i also started to realize i was still on east coast time. Man, this was going to be tuff on me because i don't want to be the first to bed, but it's getting dark quick, we have been driving for days, it's getting cold and we have full bellies.
So in my attempt to stay awake i decided to walk down towards the river to take some pictures and to take the scenery in while dad said he was going to "hang out" which to me is code for take a nap. This is when i realized that the altitude was going to affect me. I had been trying to get in shape before the trip but having to stop three times while walking back up, let's say 300 yards, from the river back to camp was humbling.
By the time i got back up to camp it was really getting dark, cruiserdrew was finishing cooking some pizza in his killer camp oven and i was happy to take a few slices off his hands. Dad was asleep and i was worn out, so i snuck off to bed. I hate doing that but have also found that i hate catching grief for going to bed early, so now i just disappear into the night.
Right before i was hitting the sack, Kevin drove up in his fj45 from Canada and i instantly knew this guy was a tuff guy. He tossed a sleeping pad down on the cold rock surface under his truck and went to sleep.
When we woke up the next morning to line up for the driver's meeting, there he was and let me tell you it was COLD that night! There is no way i could have handled sleeping on the rock under my truck in those temps, and I realized i was not Tuff and i was immediately humbled.
I managed to pull the 80 down off the top of the rock to get out of any wind if there was one and to try to block any possible wind from the one flat spot with some dirt that dad found to pitch his tent. Now i guess i should mention that before the trip we decided that i would sleep in the truck and dad would pitch a tent since i'm a light sleeper and he snores, and, he likes to get up at the break of dawn and i do not. So this worked out very well.
What we were not expecting were the cold temps at night. Actually, cruiserdrew had told me it was going to be cold at night, but i thought in my mind it's summertime and it can't be "that" cold...
Dad put the tent up, i leveled the cruiser out on a few stacked rocks and folks started to roll in slowly. I finally got to meet Robbie and see his ride (I have to admit i was VERY excited as i always have felt that Robbie was a rock star in the cruiser world and i was honored to be trail riding with him. I also had told dad about Robbie and helped put dad's mind to ease since the entire trip he kept asking what if something breaks, what if we break down, and i would always reply with "well, we will have to fix it or, call Robbie in because Robbie could probably fix our truck with his pocket knife"). As more people rolled in the cruiser scenery continued to improve and i also started to realize i was still on east coast time. Man, this was going to be tuff on me because i don't want to be the first to bed, but it's getting dark quick, we have been driving for days, it's getting cold and we have full bellies.
So in my attempt to stay awake i decided to walk down towards the river to take some pictures and to take the scenery in while dad said he was going to "hang out" which to me is code for take a nap. This is when i realized that the altitude was going to affect me. I had been trying to get in shape before the trip but having to stop three times while walking back up, let's say 300 yards, from the river back to camp was humbling.
By the time i got back up to camp it was really getting dark, cruiserdrew was finishing cooking some pizza in his killer camp oven and i was happy to take a few slices off his hands. Dad was asleep and i was worn out, so i snuck off to bed. I hate doing that but have also found that i hate catching grief for going to bed early, so now i just disappear into the night.
Right before i was hitting the sack, Kevin drove up in his fj45 from Canada and i instantly knew this guy was a tuff guy. He tossed a sleeping pad down on the cold rock surface under his truck and went to sleep.
When we woke up the next morning to line up for the driver's meeting, there he was and let me tell you it was COLD that night! There is no way i could have handled sleeping on the rock under my truck in those temps, and I realized i was not Tuff and i was immediately humbled.
- Thread starter
- #52
I woke up in time to make some coffee and oatmeal for breakfast, and break down camp before the drivers meeting. I realized that the bonus of being on east coast time was that i would have no issues getting up early, so that was a plus one in my book.
As we headed back out to the entrance of the trail (only about 100 yards from where we were camping) cruisers were lining up and air was escaping tires everywhere. Quickly i tried to introduce myself to folks and that's where i officially met Kevin, Iggy, Pighead, chatted with Alvaro again and met Brock and Brian. There was too much going on for me to try to meet everyone and also get the tires aired down before the meeting and figured we had all week to chat and meet.
Cruiserdrew started the drivers meeting and my adrenaline started to climb. I had heard all the crazy stories about this trail being a man eater and that i would be lucky to make it out alive. For all i knew, there were lions, tigers and bears and there was no yellow brick road to follow, just our trail leader, which i had total faith in. Cameron does a great job in his trip report emphasizing how us east folk guys had mentally prepped ourselves for the worst.
We listned to Andy talk about being on our best behavior because of the sierra club and their possible hippie stalking that they might do, we discussed trail etiquette, what to do if you get stuck or break down, spill kits and my favorite, don't forget to crap in a bag not on the ground!
I was excited and dad was even more nervous now. I wasn't sure if he was nervous about the hard core wheeling we were about to do, or how he planned on crapping in a bag.
Andy said jump in the front of the line and i did, and we were off. We were wheeling!!
This is where one of my few regrets set in. I strapped the gopro camera to the front of the ARB and did not take very many pictures. I wish i had but i did not want to keep jumping out of the truck to take pictures and hold anyone up. So i have some video but not a lot of pictures.
As we headed back out to the entrance of the trail (only about 100 yards from where we were camping) cruisers were lining up and air was escaping tires everywhere. Quickly i tried to introduce myself to folks and that's where i officially met Kevin, Iggy, Pighead, chatted with Alvaro again and met Brock and Brian. There was too much going on for me to try to meet everyone and also get the tires aired down before the meeting and figured we had all week to chat and meet.
Cruiserdrew started the drivers meeting and my adrenaline started to climb. I had heard all the crazy stories about this trail being a man eater and that i would be lucky to make it out alive. For all i knew, there were lions, tigers and bears and there was no yellow brick road to follow, just our trail leader, which i had total faith in. Cameron does a great job in his trip report emphasizing how us east folk guys had mentally prepped ourselves for the worst.
We listned to Andy talk about being on our best behavior because of the sierra club and their possible hippie stalking that they might do, we discussed trail etiquette, what to do if you get stuck or break down, spill kits and my favorite, don't forget to crap in a bag not on the ground!
I was excited and dad was even more nervous now. I wasn't sure if he was nervous about the hard core wheeling we were about to do, or how he planned on crapping in a bag.
Andy said jump in the front of the line and i did, and we were off. We were wheeling!!
This is where one of my few regrets set in. I strapped the gopro camera to the front of the ARB and did not take very many pictures. I wish i had but i did not want to keep jumping out of the truck to take pictures and hold anyone up. So i have some video but not a lot of pictures.
- Thread starter
- #53
We tucked in behind Doug and his family so we could draft him up some serious granite. Our destination that day was Buck Island where we would be meeting some other cruisers and camp for the night.
According to the horror stories and that fact that cruiserdrew had me mentally set up for failure (Sorry Andy, i was worried! ) we should reach buck island, god willing, by dark.
Cruiserdrew had told us at the driver's meeting that there is a place to bail not too far in and that these upcoming obstacles were just a warm up. if these worried you, then you should exit at that spot. I can tell you that there was no way that i was exiting that trail! Not a chance.... well, maybe catastrophic mechanical failure, but that would be the ONLY way i was backing out now.
With my new, aired down to 18 psi BFG KM2's sticking to the rocks, we rolled in. I told dad that i was going to see how far i could go before turning on the rear locker. He didn't understand what a locking diff was up to this trip, he was about to get a real life course in lockers 101.
About 300 yards in...Radio chatter.... something about someone has sheared off an output shaft off his t-case. Wow! Already.... Dad was starting to give me the look and the 100 questions again.... then more radio chatter.... something about a blown rear ring and pinion... WHAT!
"Don't worry dad, it's not like we are overweight with a worn out 2.5 inch lift or anything... we should be fine" i kept reassuring him.
Once it was determined we couldn't really do anything for them, they would have optons to hold out for the sweeper run or have someone coming in tow them out. We kept moving on.
Finally hit a few obstacles where i had to lock the rear diff and dad was impressed. Then came our first real climb... alrightyyyyyy
Tom lined me up and i decided instead of trying to play around i would lock the front and walk this like Doug just did. Locked her up and climbed up. Dad was pumped! High five's throughout the cab. Dad kept saying to me "there's no way my dodge truck would do this"... no i don't think so dad, and i wouldn't want to try.
Buck Island here we come. Pow.... dad cringed. Holy crap he said what did you just hit?!! I said to him it was just my rear bumper, that's what it's for.... Bam! I hit it again, and then slider dropping down onto a rock really got us both going! This was the full serving of adventure with a heaping helping of adrenaline we were looking for.
After about an hour of the occasional smack of steal on granite, dad went from cringing, to just lackadaisically making remarks of "I think that was probably just the rear bumper... again"
According to the horror stories and that fact that cruiserdrew had me mentally set up for failure (Sorry Andy, i was worried! ) we should reach buck island, god willing, by dark.
Cruiserdrew had told us at the driver's meeting that there is a place to bail not too far in and that these upcoming obstacles were just a warm up. if these worried you, then you should exit at that spot. I can tell you that there was no way that i was exiting that trail! Not a chance.... well, maybe catastrophic mechanical failure, but that would be the ONLY way i was backing out now.
With my new, aired down to 18 psi BFG KM2's sticking to the rocks, we rolled in. I told dad that i was going to see how far i could go before turning on the rear locker. He didn't understand what a locking diff was up to this trip, he was about to get a real life course in lockers 101.
About 300 yards in...Radio chatter.... something about someone has sheared off an output shaft off his t-case. Wow! Already.... Dad was starting to give me the look and the 100 questions again.... then more radio chatter.... something about a blown rear ring and pinion... WHAT!
"Don't worry dad, it's not like we are overweight with a worn out 2.5 inch lift or anything... we should be fine" i kept reassuring him.
Once it was determined we couldn't really do anything for them, they would have optons to hold out for the sweeper run or have someone coming in tow them out. We kept moving on.
Finally hit a few obstacles where i had to lock the rear diff and dad was impressed. Then came our first real climb... alrightyyyyyy
Tom lined me up and i decided instead of trying to play around i would lock the front and walk this like Doug just did. Locked her up and climbed up. Dad was pumped! High five's throughout the cab. Dad kept saying to me "there's no way my dodge truck would do this"... no i don't think so dad, and i wouldn't want to try.
Buck Island here we come. Pow.... dad cringed. Holy crap he said what did you just hit?!! I said to him it was just my rear bumper, that's what it's for.... Bam! I hit it again, and then slider dropping down onto a rock really got us both going! This was the full serving of adventure with a heaping helping of adrenaline we were looking for.
After about an hour of the occasional smack of steal on granite, dad went from cringing, to just lackadaisically making remarks of "I think that was probably just the rear bumper... again"
Damn Alex all these pics are making me home sick 
nice pics and great writing....really has me thinking...so how much did you spend on gas for the whole trip?
- Thread starter
- #56
I honestly have not added it all up. I do "think" based on my glance at 1/2 of the credit card statement that it was less than i expected, but not cheap. I did not want to take away from the trip by focusing on costs, but i do understand that this is something you need to budget for.
I "think" i spent somewhere around $1800
Figured it would be somewhere around that. Sounds like a lot a first but not really if you factor what 2 tickets to Europe of other places would cost. Its actually a cheap vacation for what you get out of it.
- Thread starter
- #58
We had a fairly intense day of wheeling, went up walker hill, cell phone rock (which kind of sucked because i finally had let my anxiety go about my cell phone. I talk on the darn thing for a living and it rings off the hook, so there are times where it drives me crazy. I was glad it had no signal), drove by a port a john in the middle of nowhere (Side note about this one too..... i asked andy how in the heck do they service that thing out here!? I would like to see the pump truck that drives out here... he said it's serviced by helicopter...that's an expensive crapper 
) Got to see big sluice and other famous spots on the trail.
Eventually we made it out to a great spot to eat some lunch. We all stopped and spread out so that we would not clog the trail for others and everyone started to eat, chat and look at trucks.
I climbed under the truck looking for carnage and was pretty impressed. The front diff was holding up and not leaking, no leaks at all for that matter. All the bare metal scratches appeared to be on either skids, sliders or bumpers, so all vitals still intact. Now i can relax and eat my lunch knowing everything was good to go.
As we talked more and more folks in all kinds of cruisers moseyed through the area and watched truck after truck plop down into a big water hole full of invisible rocks. We had just come through this water hole and the water had gotten nice and muddy so you couldn't see all the rocks hiding in there. I made a turkey sandwich, reached into the fridge and pulled out an ice cold coca-cola and took in the views. This was the life. I also had a feeling that i could make this trail and really my worries started to diminish.
Woody and his crew came through, snapped some pics, chatted, watched a few more cruisers come through the water hole, and then off they went. So we loaded up and cruiserdrew said we are almost at buck island. He reminded us that there was a big jeep crew already there and would be there when we got there. No problem, we are all cool and we will let them have their space and we would have ours.
) Got to see big sluice and other famous spots on the trail.Eventually we made it out to a great spot to eat some lunch. We all stopped and spread out so that we would not clog the trail for others and everyone started to eat, chat and look at trucks.
I climbed under the truck looking for carnage and was pretty impressed. The front diff was holding up and not leaking, no leaks at all for that matter. All the bare metal scratches appeared to be on either skids, sliders or bumpers, so all vitals still intact. Now i can relax and eat my lunch knowing everything was good to go.
As we talked more and more folks in all kinds of cruisers moseyed through the area and watched truck after truck plop down into a big water hole full of invisible rocks. We had just come through this water hole and the water had gotten nice and muddy so you couldn't see all the rocks hiding in there. I made a turkey sandwich, reached into the fridge and pulled out an ice cold coca-cola and took in the views. This was the life. I also had a feeling that i could make this trail and really my worries started to diminish.
Woody and his crew came through, snapped some pics, chatted, watched a few more cruisers come through the water hole, and then off they went. So we loaded up and cruiserdrew said we are almost at buck island. He reminded us that there was a big jeep crew already there and would be there when we got there. No problem, we are all cool and we will let them have their space and we would have ours.
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Love the pics! Looks like a good time
On a side note Al your from so cal! This is my Neck of the woods! NORCAL baby!
.
Meatball
On a side note Al your from so cal! This is my Neck of the woods! NORCAL baby!
.Meatball
Unbelievably jealous here. I've wanted to meet Andy for a couple of years now. He's given me tons of great advice on my build
Do you have a link to the full album of pictures for us to use as our computer backgrounds?
Do you have a link to the full album of pictures for us to use as our computer backgrounds?
