Jarbidge or Bust - "Overlanding" Nevada 2015

[FJ60Cam]

I see everyone (minus Dan, who is still hunting for the mother-of-all-campsites campsite) at a public spot off the side of the road.

Like the ones at Wilson Reservoir, these have a pit toilets, picnic tables (minus the hail shelter) and fire rings.

It is right off the dusty road, but also right next to the Jarbidge River.

This thing is roaring. I hope we'll be able to sleep with all the noise. We warn Andrew not to play fetch with Clive in the river, because he may be carried all the way to town in the current.

I am on the schedule to cook tonight. I am going to make some tomato soup and grilled cheese, the bread for the sandwiches being half the reason I went to the Apple Store vs. the AT&T store back in Sparks, since the bread I wanted to use could only be bought at the nearby Whole Foods.

Tom, however, has a mess of pulled pork that he brought to make carnitas and it is near the end of its shelf life. He asks if he could make them tonight.

I only need about a half second to think about it and am happy hand it off. I take the opportunity to unload some of my leftovers for appetizers and for use at dinner.

Dinner was absolutely fantastic, after which we were treated to a private fireside concert by Pasquale. The music and the setting by the river was just perfect. It was the perfect bookend to this epic trip.

 

[FJ60Cam]

Andrew and I went for a third night in the front seats. It is getting less and less comfortable each night, but somehow I still wake up refreshed and not at all sore.

Once again I try and be unnecessarily loud in the hopes that Dan will get up and fire up the spressolab. It either worked or he was already up, because we were sippin' on capps in no time.

He even lets me take 'er for a spin. I do the grinding (the hand grinder is harder than it looks), steam & microfoam the milk, pull the extraction and then freestyle some latte art. I title it: "The Stallion Pile"...

(This is a counterfeit Stallion Pile, a reproduction that I made at home. The original was consumed before it could be documented.)

 

[desertdude]

That was a fitting camp for our last night group camp. There was an old time opulence to that spot. The fire you and Andrew built really took off as I jammed away on a few originals. I slightly regret saying no to a Spresso Extravaganza Sumo style that morning...

 

[desertdude]

Adding to your narrative - I dug up a few iPhone photos from that camp...

 

[FJ60Cam]

After a steak 'n egg breakfast we get packed up. We're (Alex & I at least) about to hit pavement for good, so a quick once over of the truck is in order.

A re-tighten of all my exhaust bolts fixes the tic I was hearing. Everything else looks good, so I air up.

Once everyone is ready, we peel out. There is a bit of gravel road left as we climb back out to the top.

Gravel gives way to pavement, and once we reach the top, we find ourselves in a meadow just like the one that dropped us into Jarbidge.

 

[FJ60Cam]

I am third in line behind Alex & Dan, and they are hauling ass. I request a few more ponies from the Vortec to go catch up and as I pick up speed, I notice that my wheels are horribly out of balance. Just then, Andy comes on the radio and asks if anyone else is having mud-induced vibrations. Subaru Meadows strikes again.

If you want to follow along on Goodle Maps, we are on Jarbidge Road, heading towards 93, near Rogerson, Idaho. The road takes us across the top of the very cool Salmon Falls Creek Dam, a narrow, sweeping, single lane dam. We didn't, but this really deserved stopping to take pictures. Here's a few I found on the 'net...

We reach Rogerson, where we pull into the Sinclair to top off gas tanks. The first rule of "overlanding" is not to pass up a chance to top off your gas tank, no matter the cost. So we pull in to the combo gas station/trailer park, only to find that the pumps aren't working that day.

Alex and I are caravanning back home for at for the first leg of our route (Alex apparently didn't learn his lesson), and we are heading north to pick up I-84. The West-Coasters are headed south on their journey back home and head off down the road to working pumps. We have enough gas to make it to civilization, so we don't follow.

We do need to address the out of balance muddy wheels though. There's no way we can make it home like this. The gas station owner tells us that the trailer park has a hose and we are welcome to use it. While cleaning out my wheels, I find that one of the rear wheels is filled solid and the clay is now solidifying. Clay doesn't really dissolve in water, so I have to find a stick to fish all of it out.

Once clean, we roll out.

 

[concretejungle]

OK, let me interrupt for just a second here....

Yes, i agree this damn dam was cool and we should of stopped and taken some poser shots, maybe even flexed the cruisers out on the wall, but we just blew past it.

Most importantly, i am afraid there was a little misunderstanding at this point. I thought that everyone knew that once we got off the trail and out to civilization, Cameron and I would be heading east while the rest of the guys continued back in for one more day. Cameron, me and Dan arrive at a gas station that doesn't have gas. We decide to take a second and use the restroom and ask the lady if we can use the hose around the side to spray some mud off. By this time, Pasquale stops by and i tell him i had a blast and can't wait until next year, safe travels brother and he is off. Andy and tom continue on. Cameron and I jump back on the highway looking for a functioning gas station and then start the trek home. Tom calls me a few minutes later asking where we were and was a little surprised when i told him we were already pretty much gone. I felt really bad that i didn't get the time to properly thank Tom and Andy for their trip guidance, food, knowledge and companionship. I guess I am really bad about goodbyes and so i just turned east and laid into the gas pedal.

So i apologize to Andy and Tom for not saying goodbye and jumping on the road.

 

[FJ60Cam]

Yeah, I didn't want to make Andy & Tom look bad for not stopping for a good-bye hug...thanks for taking care of that


The story gets kinda boring for a bit, but here's our (Andrew & I) route home. Alex will stay on the gray line where we split off...

Crossing the Snake River...

Turn off to Utah...

 

[wngrog]

Does Andrew ride like that or does he usually have an iPad in his face?

 

[FJ60Cam]

We stop for lunch in Tremonton, Utah.

Over the past hour or two, I've noticed that my back window is getting covered by some sort of fluid mist. My front window is not, so I must be leaking something underneath.

When we hop out at the Tremonton Wendy's, I can smell gear oil. The entire back end of my truck is covered in a fine mist of the stuff. I look underneath and it looks like my t-case is leaking.

It's hot as balls under the truck and the leak has blown everywhere by the highway speed wind, so there's no point in crawling under just yet.

We both want to hit a spray wash, so I'll check it after lunch, a cool down, & a wash.

Once inside, every Mormon stereotype we've heard comes to life in front of our very eyes*. First off, the counter staff was super friendly and helpful, even directing us to the nearest spray wash. Second, all of the customers in the store look a little related, and then a van pulls up, and family rivaling the Duggars in size pulls up, people streaming out non-stop for at least five minutes.

We must look like aliens. The locals are staring at us the whole time. It was the weird kind of stare where they don't turn away or even smile when you make eye contact. It was like we were animals in a zoo.

*no ill-will directed toward my Mormon readers. We southerners have stereotypes that come to life at off-ramp Wendy's too.

 

[FJ60Cam]

Does Andrew ride like that or does he usually have an iPad in his face?

He doesn't usually have a scowl like that, but he isn't allowed much screen time on trips.

 

[TrickyT]

...
Most importantly, i am afraid there was a little misunderstanding at this point.
...
So i apologize to Andy and Tom for not saying goodbye and jumping on the road.

No prob-lem-o. Andy and I knew everyone was headed out to get gas. We just didn't know you, Cameron and Andrew were headed north and the rest of us were headed south for it. I had to pull out my map to figure out why you'd go north so you could travel south, but once I saw I-84 was only a little ways out of your way it all made sense.

After we gassed up in Jackpot, we continued to head south so we could pick up I-80. This also began our quest for self-service car washes. We all spent a pile of quarters in Wells (and left a pile of Subaru Meadows mud behind), but there was no way one car wash was going to be enough. Andy, Pasquale and I turned west at Wells, while Dan headed east on his way to Omaha. Another $15 spent at the car wash in Fernley the next day (and another pile-o-mud even bigger then what all those stallions had left on the trails), and I thought my '80 was clean enough I could bring it back into drought-ravaged California where it might never see water again until next winter. But I did luck out and found one more car wash shortly before I got home. It's now clean enough that I can bring it to a real let-the-hired-staff-wash-it car wash and not be refused entry.

 

[FJ60Cam]

Man, Dan shoulda rolled with us!

 

[spressomon]

Even after focussing water spray to the inner wheel's surface, while at the quarter car wash in Wells, afterward I couldn't go above 45mph without the entire truck feeling like all wheel studs had come loose .

Two separate I-80 pull overs, and judicious prying with my long screwdriver unearthed out of the drawers, finally got the near concrete like Subaru Flat's mud re-deposited in Nevada. Smooth as new.

I really wanted to just pull over and quick-camp (read: cheap ) somewhere in the middle of Wyomin....but damn near all the land north and south of I-80 is either private well ground or big evidence of much 'drunken party-ville shoot-up anything that they didn't drive in on' type of carnage everywhere else; I got the message loud clear I wasn't in Nevada anymore and pushed on. Tried to raise Jason (reeveci) in GR...turns out I had his old cell...then drove on and finally treated Rhone to a nice motel in Rawlins .

 

[FJ60Cam]

After lunch we head down the street to the car wash. I start off putting $5.00 in the machine, but this doesn't put a dent in the mud that is caked on every square inch of the truck.

I throw another $10 in, and then another $5.00, but it is still filthy. I have managed to at least knock the big chunks away from moving parts underneath and tried to clean the gear oil off everything as best I can.

We then pull around back and empty our Trasharoos in the dumpster. We also empty our jerry cans into our tanks with the shaker siphon. Don't tell my wife, but we never had to use the jerry cans on the trip. We managed to find gas at convenient points along the route.

The parking lot is shared with a quick lube place, so (knowing that this is a Mormon area, full of friendly, helpful people) I go ask if I can put my truck on their lift so see what is leaking and how to proceed.

The guy looks like he wants to help, and I try my best to look pitiful. He looks out over the empty shop and, after a long hesitation, says I can use the pit instead. But if I get hurt, they will have to kill me and stash me in a barrel of used oil.

That's a risk I am willing to take.

I pull up to the pit and the pit jockey navigates me in. I get the necessary tools out and head underneath, the most helpful & friendly jockey close behind. I crack open the t-case fill valve to check the level and fluid comes pouring out. Waaaaaaay more than I could ever put in there. My transmission is somehow filling into my t-case. I drain it down to the proper level and then go check my transmission level. (Right now I am very glad I didn't check it on the ground or on the lift. That would have been ugly.)

The jockey about poops his pants when I pop the hood, excited to see the Vortec where there should have been a "V6". Alex comes over at this time and starts the truck so I can check the level. I is low, so I pour in a quart. Alex shifts through the gears, opening all the solenoids and stuff in the transmission. I end up putting in most of another quart before calling it good.

This uses up my C-drew mandated 2 quart stash of spare ATF, so (since I happen to be at a lube shop) I buy two more quarts of the good stuff. My rationale is it took it this long to do that, so I should be able to make it home on two more since we are over half way.

I hindsight, I should have drained the t-case and refilled with 90 wt, but I wasn't thinking clearly at the time.

Just like our when we met our new friend at the Taste of Heaven, this can be no coincidence that we stopped in Tremonton of all places and found a friendly quick lube shop willing to look the other way to help us get back on the road. There must be a higher power watching over us (or at least over Andrew). We all gather for a quick prayer before peeling out full throttle toward the interstate.

 

[wngrog]

He doesn't usually have a scowl like that, but he isn't allowed much screen time on trips.

Clearly a chip off your cool demeanor block. My kids must be plugged in or I kill them.

I make them turn it off when I want to show them something but they, like me, bore easily and loudly.

 

[FJ60Cam]

He will play with his ipod as much as I'll let him, and there were several times when I had to force him to look at something that I thought was cool. I learned on the Rubicon trip that if I can keep it away from him for a while, he'll find something like sticks and rocks to play with. Harder in the car of course, but I'm tryna teach him how to just be bored sometimes.

 

[FJ60Cam]

We continue on through Utah, and hit Wyoming...

 

[TrickyT]

OK, those photos of the Juniper Grove campground really brought back memories of a fantastic evening around the campfire. I know the video here is nothing but sh!t and the audio capture was only the cheap mic in my iPhone, but turn up the volume and kick back to this tune from Pasquale.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Cam,

Not sure if you guys are already through Green River or not. If not, hit me up. Love to meet you guys.

Jason