GeoYota - Sold to a good dude in the AZ desert

We rode Phil's World a total of four days, and did I mention how great the mountain biking was here?

We saw license plates (not just on rentals either) from many states at the TH parking lot, as well as some pretty cool adventure vehicles and Tacomas.








There was a workstand, shaded area with tables, and nice portable restrooms at the TH. Seriously nice trail system at PW.

 

Gotta get to work...I'll post up some of the snaps from our day in Telluride next.

 

Awesome trip! I really like the Mesa Verde area

 

Finally decided to pull the trigger and take the leap into the roof top tent world.

I bought a Skyrise 3 at a recent REI garage sale parking lot event, scored a great price, about 60% off of retail for this lightly used RTT. It was missing two buckles from the rain fly, and the mattress cover has bit of pilling, but for $750 off, I'll take it.

Mounted on the Thule Xsporter



Deployed

 

looks nice what is the weight capacity of the thule racks?

 

450 lbs. "dynamic."

 

Where the heck is hidden valley


Gorgeous truck

 

Thanks man...2nd owner and I searched for a while here in SoCal.

You know, Hidden Valley

 

So, life and work kinda blew up in October '17...mom passed away after battling lung issues for years, and now caring for my recently widowed dad has become a "full time/part time" job in addition to work, marriage, and a new lab rescue we picked up here in San Diego.

But, a few snaps from our recently completed Death Valley trip with a few buddies of mine from my Nissan days.

First night camp at Trona Pinnacles:





The next day we drove to Ballarat, sampled some "moonshine" that tasted more like paint thinner ...but you only live once, right?

Ballarat is also home to "Tex" Watson's (of Manson Family Infamy) Dodge Powerwagon, here's a snap of my lovely wife next to his ride.



From there we proceeded up Goler Wash to the old Manson Hideout at Barker Ranch to check it out. We got a bit lost trying to find the place, but discovered a really cool graveyard/junkyard of old cars a short ways up Mengel Pass, then circled back and had a lunch break at Barker Ranch.

Most of the buildings at Barker Ranch were destroyed in a fire in 2009 (allegedly started by someone usuing a propane stove in one of the main cabins), but this one remained. The sad part of this is that this area was used as one of the Adopt A Cabin areas and renovations had been done just before the fire, with a new patio/pergola installed. I also read about the history of the ranch, and discovered that there were at one time several fruit trees that were fed by a gravity style irrigation system. Pretty cool, and sad that the real history is obscured in the Manson's Family infamy.



Inside there was a makeshift "log book" that included signatures and odd scriptings dating back to 2012.

 

Lunch was nice here, as the temps were just about perfect. In the mid 70's during the day, and really only dipped into the mid thirties at night. The breeze at night, or should I say wind, was the mitigating factor. If it wasn't blowing, it was nice. But, it blew three of the four nights we camped, which made for chilly campfires, and flappy tents.

A couple more snaps from the Barker Ranch area.



Creepy bunny



After lunch, we headed up Mengel Pass, which was a really great 4WD trip up and over. The front side featured lots of rocks, some articulation with off camber stuff, as well as fantastic views from the saddle/peak of the pass.

Group shot.



We also had a visit from the ultimate "rock crawler" while we snapped photos and relaxed at the top.



A better shot with my friend Will getting up close and personal for his IG feed.

 

Almost forgot...we saw a LOT of wildlife this trip. Tarantula's, burros, hawks, quail, but the highlight of the trip was from night one, at the Trona Pinnacles.

During our campfire one of my buddies pointed behind me and said something was moving in the dark behind me. I whipped around and could see something darting in the shadows, so we threw some light over there and low and behold...



This little dude was cruising around, very curious about us, and not at all afraid of a goofy group of humans enjoying their campfire. He hung around the perimeter of our fire for a good 45 minutes, and when I went close to him he actually came within 4 feet of me. He was so calm, and at one point actually laid down just outside of our fire ring. Comical, and very cool to see a grey desert fox in its natural habitat.

Here is a better shot I snapped when he was really close to me.

 

Awesome! Love the pics.

 

Thanks man...as you know DV is such an incredible place.

 

The Mengel Pass Monument is a tribute to Carl Mengel, who is actually buried a short distance from here.






Personally, the views in Death Valley are like no other. The expansiveness and beauty there are IMO, unparalelled. This shot is looking east from the top of Mengel Pass.



Our destination from here was to check out the Geologist Cabin area, near Striped Butte and find a suitable camp for the evening. We had no idea what we would find, but it would end up being one of the best camp spots I have ever experienced.

 

Nice rig and cool adventures.

 

Thanks...much appreciated

 

Love your roof rack install. I just picked up a complete one for 25$ at the chula vista wrecking yard. Did you shorten the main tracks at all?
Oh and also small world, im pretty sure im the guy who bought those retrofitted lights from you.

I had to change out the HID kit for another, but now they are going strong with high beam action.

Athough the lenses are due for a change.

-Anthony

 

Thanks Anthony...yep, that was me!

Sorry to hear the original HID's didn't work, but sounds like you got things on a "brighter" track!

Yes, I eventually ended up trimming my roof rack tracks about 1.5 inches (each) in the front and back, so the track more closely follows the roof line without the gaps in front and back.

Looks much better now for sure.

 

Truck update, been busy with work and family travels...picked up a used/new to me set of Raceline wheels to match the black paint scheme of the Tacoma...really happy with the results...

Before:




After:




During the tire/wheel swap at Discount Tire it was discovered that I had a gash in the sidewall of one tire, and a slash to the cords in the tread of another...listen to the tire guru's when they tell you to buy the tread replacement warranty, as it cost me $500 for two new tires instead of the free replacement had I spent the extra dough up front last time.

Anyhow, now I have to new BFG A/T KO2's and will pick up another two in the near future so all four tires are on the same wear track...does anyone else have this form of "tread borne OCD??"

 

Im just trying to make sure my measurements are straight and the rivnuts are going in correctly. I dont need any more ventilation for my headliner haha.

-Anthony