Build My '78 FJ40 "44"

[Solace in Solitude]

love this whole thread. Thanks for sharing your journey. we need more dog pics!

Thanks!!

I don’t have much right now. We’ve been cooped up for months. Chester loves TV and naps, Teddy loves begging and playing with Chester.

 

[waiting for time]

Hang in there Danny, things will get better.
And there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers.

 

[alabamatacomaguy]

Dogs enjoy walks even small ones more than we realize. I go slow to let my little guy smell the flowers

He’ll be 16 this dec. I’m trying to make sure I give him the best time I can as much as I can.

He enjoys just being in the room with me which I try not to take for granted

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Hang in there Danny, things will get better.
And there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers.

Thanks Michael!!

I meant, don’t worry about sounding stupid, or dumb. Just ask your questions, get answers and move on.

But, I take your point.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Dogs enjoy walks even small ones more than we realize. I go slow to let my little guy smell the flowers

He’ll be 16 this dec. I’m trying to make sure I give him the best time I can as much as I can.

He enjoys just being in the room with me which I try not to take for granted

View attachment 2442581

I hear ya!!

Unfortunately, I have to stay indoors.

The air quality in Vegas, while not nearly as bad as in the areas that are actively burning, can negate the improvements I’ve made in my breathing.

I’ve slowly loaded the supplies, etc. I need, for my upcoming trip, during the pre-dawn hours, wearing a respirator, while the wind moves the smoke and makes the air more breathable.

it’s about a 6-hour drive, but my “house” will be in my rear-view mirror. So, I can stop and rest, if need be.

The Goshute Valley is almost on the Utah border, in the West Windover, NV area.

So, I’m hoping for the normal clean air out there. The wind blows frequently out there and generally from the Pequop Mountains, to the west, or the Goshute Mountains, to the east.

Chester is going with me, I don’t leave home without him. Teddy will stay home with Dianna, they’ll walk a lot. Chester and I will also walk a lot... hopefully, more and more each day.

I’m also taking my metal detector... plenty of old homesteads and the remnants of abandoned railroad sidings... not to mention drainages to detect.

I don’t anticipate breathing struggles out there, but I can always return home...

Of course, this trip is predicated on my Cardiologist visit, on Thursday...

 

[tls3601]

Hey Danny. I remember back when I got my ‘78 and darn near nothing worked right you were one of the first folks to offer help! Thanks to your help, Mike in the Pacific Northwest(sadly have not heard anything from him, his ‘78 was what I had in mind for my ‘78) and that of others along the way as well, it purrs now! I was saddened to hear you have sold 44 but also glad to see you are still active here on mud and I sure hope that continues and your health improves as well. Tom

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Hey Danny. I remember back when I got my ‘78 and darn near nothing worked right you were one of the first folks to offer help! Thanks to your help, Mike in the Pacific Northwest(sadly have not heard anything from him, his ‘78 was what I had in mind for my ‘78) and that of others along the way as well, it purrs now! I was saddened to hear you have sold 44 but also glad to see you are still active here on mud and I sure hope that continues and your health improves as well. Tom

Thanks Tom, I was glad to help!!

Yeah, I’ve missed Mike... I tried reaching him via several methods. His Wife is a Pediatrician, but couldn’t get a response from her either. I knew he wasn’t well...

 

[tls3601]

Thanks Tom, I was glad to help!!

Yeah, I’ve missed Mike... I tried reaching him via several methods. His Wife is a Pediatrician, but couldn’t get a response from her either. I knew he wasn’t well...

Well he is missed. So Danny are you in the Vegas area? Tom

 

[DSB345]

WOW! Danny, Sorry to hear you had to sell 44 because of your health. You contribution to the forum is inspiring and commendable. I'm sure you sold it to a good caretaker. I have enjoyed watching you as a explorer of nature. There were times I was having a really tough day at work and you would show us something beautiful in the desert and it took my mind right there. Really enjoyed your stories! Hang in there and maybe I can contribute to your well being one day as well.

Dave

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Well he is missed. So Danny are you in the Vegas area? Tom

I am, Tom

 

[Solace in Solitude]

WOW! Danny, Sorry to hear you had to sell 44 because of your health. You contribution to the forum is inspiring and commendable. I'm sure you sold it to a good caretaker. I have enjoyed watching you as a explorer of nature. There were times I was having a really tough day at work and you would show us something beautiful in the desert and it took my mind right there. Really enjoyed your stories! Hang in there and maybe I can contribute to your well being one day as well.

Dave

Very nice of you to say that, Dave!!

I hope your health issues have leveled out and that you’re spending more time with your 40s.

44 is in much younger hands and I’m perfectly fine with the years of fun I had with her!!

I’m also very happy that my pictures and stories brought a bit of amusement, relief, pleasure, or whatever to others... thank you for saying I helped you mitigate difficult times at work!!

This community has been a lot of fun and I’m feeling very optimistic, of late, that the boys and I will be able to continue this adventure (perhaps not quite as remotely as with 44) with my Tundra and trailer. If I’m right, we’ll be telling more stories and sharing more pictures... so, watch out!!

44 opened my eyes to a lot of places, in NV, that I can easily get to with the Tundra... some, even, with the trailer...places that are not overrun with people flying back and forth on ATVs and bikes... places where I can easily find the solace in solitude that I so adore.

Be happy, be healthy and be safe, old friend... and don’t ever take your eyes off what really matters to you most!!

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Time for an update:

Jaime had 44 detailed... first time since I bought her in 2014... she looks great!!

Chester and I made the 6 hour drive, up to the Goshute Valley, in the Tundra, pulling our trailer. The drive was easy... breathing, not so easy... but, driving with AC helped a lot.

The Valley has had very little rain in the past year... the dirt roads were deep with what rural Nevadans colloquially call “bug dust” ( When the Road Turns to Bug Dust ).

I had never heard the term until we encountered a game warden about 60 miles from any civilization.

I don’t know why it’s referred to as “bug dust”. But, anyone familiar with Doodle Bugs and the fine dirt around their holes, would recognize the meaning right off... you can easily see how, driving in, the dust changed my blue trailer trailer to Dune Beige.

The first week was a struggle... every semblance of exertion ( like raising up from my chair) resulted in struggling to get a full breath.

The second week showed improvement... I would get up in the morning and feel great... then I would use my inhaler and nebulizer and within 30 minutes, I would be completely drained of energy, nauseous and struggling to breath. Here’s Chester and I, listening to one of the Longmire books.

I spoke to Dianna and we agreed I would stop using the inhaler and nebulizer and if I didn’t improve, I would come home.

Oddly, once I was off the inhaler and nebulizer, I no longer saw the debilitating side effects.

While, I had side effects like this from my first inhaler, I never had them with this second inhaler... until this trip to Goshute.

So, the third week was great... I still couldn’t hike uphill, but I walked Chester 3-4 miles each morning, on two-tracks, and kicked his tennis ball down the roads. And we drove the various “roads” and visited a number of old ghost town remnants and collapsed dugouts and mine adits.

Great sunsets!!

Three weeks after driving in, we definitely needed 4WD to get back out to the highway... the hunters had really chewed up the tracks... bug dust was axle deep in many places.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

More pictures

 

[Solace in Solitude]

More pics

 

[Solace in Solitude]

More pics

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Last group

Smoky when we arrived

Clear and sunny when we started home

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Great pics Danny, I hope that breathing takes a turn for you and you get back to something of a normal. Good to see you're out enjoying yourself!

I parked my 40 in the garage 2 weeks ago and haven't even opened the door on it since I took a long trip, hell there's probably still trash leftover from a dinner on the go. I know my wader duffel and 3 fly rods are still in it.

 

[65swb45]

That’s a heaping helping of solitude. Hope you had solace...and brought some back with you.

Years ago Tina told me that I seemed happiest when I spent about one out of every four weeks in the desert.

A good woman can tell these things.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Great pics Danny, I hope that breathing takes a turn for you and you get back to something of a normal. Good to see you're out enjoying yourself!

I parked my 40 in the garage 2 weeks ago and haven't even opened the door on it since I took a long trip, hell there's probably still trash leftover from a dinner on the go. I know my wader duffel and 3 fly rods are still in it.

I hope you fly gear is dry Ryan!!

I’m doing really well, I actually have the energy to clean the truck and my dusty gear... slower than usual, but that’s a big improvement!!

Next week, I tackle the trailer...all I did upon arrival home is hose it off... there’s a LOT more to do... plus, I have a few repairs to do... but I have all winter, after I pressure wash the underside of the truck and trailer.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

That’s a heaping helping of solitude. Hope you had solace...and brought some back with you.

Years ago Tina told me that I seemed happiest when I spent about one out of every four weeks in the desert.

A good woman can tell these things.

Oh, I did Mark!!

... and I’ve always said, Dianna seems happiest when I’m out finding solace in solitude!!

I‘ve always wondered if Alejandro Escobedo might have taken the “Castanets” tag line from Dianna’s feelings of finding solace in solitary... “I like him better when he’s driving away”. Just a wayward thought.

But, after 50 years, I can tell she’s happiest when we get home... she does love Chester!!