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The De-Tour Trip Report - as told by turbodb (September 2017)

Discussion in 'Trip Reports' started by turbodb, Aug 5, 2018.

  1. Aug 13, 2018 at 1:12 PM
    #21
    Digiratus

    Digiratus Adventurer

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    That's right. I forgot that Derp owes me 5 gallons
     
  2. Aug 14, 2018 at 11:07 AM
    #22
    turbodb

    turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

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    Chapter 7
    The De-Tour: Day 8 - Ghost Towns
    September 24, 2017.

    We woke up in Monte's driveway without having been rained on at all the previous night. Glorious.

    Ben and Kirsten had taken off early - around 7 - since they had a long drive in front of them before work the next day, and we got word from Glenn (who'd stayed at a Super8) that he too was taking off, and that Derp could keep those gas cans…but not more excuses for showing up without extra fuel.

    Ready for some downtime, the rest of us took it easy, happy for both the break in the weather and the mud-free ground.

    I made breakfast in the driveway - the last of my eggs, sausage and strawberries, and even used a plate, knowing that there was a kitchen sink just inside the back door that I could use to clean up! Mike and Mark headed to the local coffee shop, where - as luck would have it for Mark - they were big on the country music. And Monte and Devin - with a real bed - slept in.

    It was noon when we started thinking about getting back on the road, but we knew that there was some ham and CB radio tuning that we wanted to do - and where better to do it than here with Monte's dad (the expert)? So, we all got our rigs dialed in using his fancy tools, and he even made a new mic for Mark, who'd previously been able to listen but not talk.

    Oh well, that'd been nice while it lasted.

    Finally, at 2:30 we headed out - first to the grocery store to provision, and then south. First towards Kirwin, an old mining ghost town, then towards Lander and the surrounding area, and then ultimately to a new adventure in Utah.

    But, we're getting way ahead of ourselves.

    On the road to Kirwin, we passed a herd of farmed buffalo, and then our first stop was at the abandoned Double-D Dude Ranch - our first of three ghost towns for the day - where we also aired down for the remainder of the relatively-easy-but-still-bumpy road to come.

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    From there, we continued up the valley through snow, early fall colors, and several wide water crossings. A beautiful drive really.

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    At the end of the road, we found Kirwin (and a logging operation that was tearing the place up) and as we got out to take a look - a quarter mile stroll across the creek - it started to snow.

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    That didn't stop us - well, except for Mike, who stayed in his truck to enjoy the warmth - and we set out to see what had been left behind when the town had been abandoned in 1907, after an avalanche from the 12,000-foot peak behind town swept away a cabin and the general store, killing three. That was the point at which the remaining 200 occupants decided they'd had enough of the harsh winters and lack of gold, and packed up their things for the last time.

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    One of the coolest buildings was the cover to an old mine shaft. While the shaft was long-boarded-up, the machinery used to pull gold-poor ore out of it was still largely in-tact. A big steel barrel that the ore would be loaded into, as well as the gears and pullies that were used to raise and lower it were easily accessible.

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    Trying our hand at the levers, we discussed how these would have worked - probably along with some leather belts that the levers would have engaged, these wheels would have acted as clutches between a steam engine and the ore barrel.

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    As the snow-fall got heavier, we decided it was time to head back to the trucks and find a place to camp for the night.

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    The plan had been to camp at one of the campgrounds back down the road, but we weren't sure we wanted to deal with the snow again, and a quick CB vote meant that we rolled by them without even slowing down. We'd head south, destinationless, hoping for warmer weather.

    It was at this point that I mentioned how I "wouldn't mind" a hot spring. I had no idea that Thermopolis - the world's largest mineral hot spring - would end up being just 30 minutes from the spot where we ended up camping for the night.

    So we headed east (on our way south to Lander), and once again Devin worked her Google-fu to find us some BLM land where we could camp. Even better, there was apparently a ghost town (Gebo) on that land - our third of the day! - that we could explore in the morning.

    Of course, having left Kirwin around 6:30pm, it was dark by the time we arrived near Gebo at 9pm, and as is often the case with BLM, there were hundreds of roads that crisscrossed the land, so we split up to find a good camp spot. Mike ended up finding everything interesting - first a set of "small buildings" that his headlights illuminated coming around a turn, which ended up being a pretty creepy cemetery we'd explore the next day; then a camp spot on high ground that would turn out to be overlooking the valley the next morning.

    Happy to be in camp - and without rain or snow - we setup tents, started a fire, and got to making dinner. For me, it was a second night of chicken and mushrooms (with salad) followed by cookies that I shared around. It was our second wood fire of the trip, and the first fire that wasn't ended by rain or snow. We soaked it in until midnight, knowing that the rain we'd been running from all week was coming our direction.



    - - - - -

    Enjoying the De-Tour story?
    There's more - @Blackdawg also wrote up a version. Check out his version of this chapter here: [Chapter 7]

    or, check out the full story with these links:

    As told by @turbodb: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
    [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13a] [Chapter 13b]

    As told by @Blackdawg: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
    [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13]


     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2018
  3. Aug 14, 2018 at 11:18 AM
    #23
    Blackdawg

    Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

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    Short simple chapter. Yet. So damn refreshing haha
     
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  4. Aug 14, 2018 at 12:50 PM
    #24
    Digiratus

    Digiratus Adventurer

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    I'm sure Kirwin was interesting, but the idea of trudging through more snow just wasn't appealing to me. I am grateful you guys didn't spend more time exploring it. I'd love to go back to explore it sometime, as long as it isn't snowing.
     
    turbodb[OP] likes this.
  5. Aug 16, 2018 at 7:55 PM
    #25
    turbodb

    turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

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    Chapter 8
    The De-Tour: Day 9 - I want to see some sand dunes
    September 25, 2017.

    The rain we'd known was coming did in fact come, but it passed by 7:00am the next morning as the sun and blue sky revealed themselves through the clouds. In what was becoming a ritual, I got up and explored the area around our camp before the rest of the crew got out of bed.

    It was always exciting to see where we'd ended up the night before!

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    In the distance, some abandoned structures dotted the badlands - not part of the ghost town of Gebo, but likely mines abandoned long ago.

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    Closer to camp, evidence of the high winds was obvious, honeycombing the sandstone in dramatic fashion.

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    After exploring, I headed back to camp where everyone was starting to stir. Mark was first out of his tent - likely because sleeping on the ground was less comfortable than the RTTs on Igor and the Red Head - and started making breakfast. The racket he created soon roused everyone else and for the first morning on the trip, we all broke out the kitchens to enjoy a warm meal before we hit the road.

    As we did, we marveled at the morning, and remarked that if we'd known the weather would turn nice when we traded Frankenstein for Igor, we'd have done so days ago!

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    Off to a late start, we headed back down the road towards Gebo, which we'd read about online the previous night, was an old coal town established the same year that Kirwin was abandoned - 1907. It remained an active town until 1938 with over 20,000 people living in the area. As the town was abandoned over the years, it fell into ruin until 1971 when it was (mostly) bulldozed, except for a few buildings and the cemetery.

    The chain-link-surrounded cemetery was where we were headed next, and one by one we each entered and reacted to it in the same way - "oh my, these are all children." With 40 or so graves, all but three were under 5 years old, with the majority being days or months old - it was a sad situation that showed us just how hard life in Gebo must have been.

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    Eager to move on, we got back in the trucks for the short jaunt to the outskirts of Gebo. The remains of several homes still stood, and we spent time noticing the details - root cellars, floor joists integrated into the rock walls - these had been well made back in the day.

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    We explored the rest of Gebo as well, noticing the materials and style, remarking how cool it would have been to see it in its heyday.

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    We left happy to have stumbled upon this cool find, and excited for what lay ahead since we could see the weather was starting to clear. Our trip now was southernly - first to Thermopolis, and then on to Lander where we were going to have lunch (at what turned out to be 3:00ampm). From there, we were unsure of our plans but knew we'd get it figured out!

    At Thermopolis, we got out to explore. The worlds largest mineral hot springs, over 3.6 million gallons of water flow out of the spring every day. It's no wonder that several resorts have sprung up around it, each harnessing some of the water for soaking tubs, pools, and even water slides!

    Also at Thermopolis, a few young boys were in the parking lot when we pulled up. "Wanna trade?" they asked about our trucks. We mostly ignored them, except to make sure our trucks were all locked. As they pulled away, we got one of our best laughs of the morning - one guys car backfired every time he reved it. Boys :).

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    Hungry and with two hours of driving to Lander, we climbed back into the trucks and headed out. In Lander, we'd meet up with Brett @BossFoss (and his cousin Hunter) and Marc @SconnieHailer (plus his wife Jen and new baby Calvin) for burgers and a conversation about our next steps.

    Because, as Mike had pointed out earlier in the day, as much as we wanted to save The Tour, we'd been stymied by several trails and were now nearly "done," a week ahead of schedule. Still, we weren't yet willing to call it "The Broken Tour," because man - that was depressing! A few weeks later, we'd name it "The De-Tour," with hopes of "The Re-Tour" next year.

    But for now, we decided that we'd hit the Killpecker Sand Dunes and then make our way down to utah the next day. That would get Mark one more trail for the trip (he had to be at work by 9:00am the next day), and we figured that where there were sand dunes, there must be sun and warmth. Right?

    Wrong. instead we got mud and the coldest night yet, and Mark never got to see the dunes. But let's get to that part of the story in a little bit… As we sped down the muddiest mud that was Killpecker trail, the sun was getting low on the horizon; the colors were incredible, and to top it off, we saw four herds of elk.

    So cool.

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    The vastness of the space was also incredible - a road at the bottom of the valley headed straight, as far as the eye could see. All mud of course, but pretty from way up here.

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    And as we drove, the light got orange-r and red-er. Rain and mountains in the distance was highlighted in rays of gold. The sky was nature's canvas, and we soaked it in.

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    As the sun set, Derp came over the radio, "hey guys, let's hurry up, I came for sand dunes, not more mud!" Of course, if we'd learned anything by now it was that we almost never made it to camp before dark and tonight was no different - it was 9:00pm again when we finally decided to stop - not quite to the end of the GPS track, but close, and as far as we felt safe going in the dark (traction in the mud was so bad that Mike slipped into the ditch on the side of the road…though he was able to self-recover).

    Unsure of road conditions further on, Derp decided to stay the night - he'd leave at 4:00am the next morning, and get to work an hour late - but at least he wouldn't be stuck in the mud all night.

    So we setup camp and got a fire going under clear skies.

    Of course, nothing on this trip was going to be easy, and those clear skies meant cold skies - the coldest we'd have on the trip at 24-degrees overnight - but that was something we'd only have to deal with in the morning.

    As the coyotes howled literally all around us, we were off to bed around 11:30 so Derp could get an early start, and hopefully not get fired the next day!

    Derp would never see the sand dunes, even though we were camped at the base of one nearly 200' high.



    - - - - -

    Enjoying the De-Tour story?
    There's more - @Blackdawg also wrote up a version. Check out his version of this chapter here: [Chapter 8]

    or, check out the full story with these links:

    As told by @turbodb: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
    [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13a] [Chapter 13b]

    As told by @Blackdawg: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
    [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13]​
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2018
  6. Aug 16, 2018 at 9:08 PM
    #26
    Digiratus

    Digiratus Adventurer

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    Ha. I must have missed Josh...:rolleyes:

    :boink:That third guy was Brett's buddy. I can't remmemmber his name. @BossFoss
     
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  7. Aug 16, 2018 at 9:11 PM
    #27
    turbodb

    turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

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    Thanks. I clearly knew none of them! :) Let's figure out who it was so I can get it right!
     
  8. Aug 16, 2018 at 9:18 PM
    #28
    Digiratus

    Digiratus Adventurer

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    Monte might remember but I'm sure Brett can tell us. And don't forget Jen, Marc wife and the kid ( I don't know his name either).
     
  9. Aug 16, 2018 at 9:23 PM
    #29
    Blackdawg

    Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

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    Good stuff!

    Josh wasn't in lander though ;)
     
  10. Aug 17, 2018 at 5:12 AM
    #30
    BossFoss

    BossFoss You think the carpet pissers did this dude?

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    Other guy was my cousin Hunter and Marc's kid is named Calvin.
     
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  11. Aug 17, 2018 at 9:00 AM
    #31
    turbodb

    turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

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    Thanks guys. Got it updated!
     
  12. Aug 18, 2018 at 12:24 PM
    #32
    joshipps

    joshipps Well-Known Member

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    Wut I miss
     
  13. Aug 18, 2018 at 1:54 PM
    #33
    turbodb

    turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

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    Well, being that I was the new guy on the trip, didn't know anyone, and am terrible with names, I had you down as someone who met us in Lander. Of course, we'd have loved if that were the case...but alas.

    Of course Mike and Monte were quick to call me out - you know how it is with those guys. :crapstorm:

    So now you're no longer in the chapter. :sorry:
     
    joshipps[QUOTED] likes this.
  14. Aug 18, 2018 at 4:33 PM
    #34
    joshipps

    joshipps Well-Known Member

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    Sick dent
    Me too :rain:
     
  15. Aug 18, 2018 at 5:01 PM
    #35
    Digiratus

    Digiratus Adventurer

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    A helluva good time. :p
     
    joshipps[QUOTED] and turbodb[OP] like this.
  16. Aug 23, 2018 at 7:38 PM
    #36
    Digiratus

    Digiratus Adventurer

    Joined:
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    Roaming the PNW
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    The RedHead
    2002 XtraCab TRD 4x4 SCv6 AutoTrans With Lots of Mods ADS COs w/Compression Adjusters Camburg Uniball UCAs Whiteline Lower Control Arm Bushings Kartek 7" Limit Straps Plastics Guy Front Bumpstops Custom Alcan Springs +800 lbs +3" ADS 10" Stroke Triple Bypass w/Resi Rear Shocks Custom Rear Shock Relocate All-Pro U-bolt Flip w/Timbren Bumpstops 4.88 Nitro Gears ARB Front Locker ARB Twin Compressor Black 17x8 Konig Countersteer Type X 285/70r17 Falken A/T3w Gunmetal 16x8 SCS Ray10s 255/85r16 Maxxis Bighorns Limited Edition (Relentless) Elite Front Bumper Smittybilt X2O 10K Winch Diode Dynamics SS3 Sport Selective Yellow Fog Lights in the Bumper Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro 4,000 Kelvin SAE Driving Lights with Clear Lenses on the Bumper Morimoto D2S Projectors XB35 Ballasts + 4300K Bulbs Badland Sliders FrankenFab Tire Carrier Swingout bumper w/kitchen BudBuilt Front & Bellypan Skids BAMF Rear Diff Skid Dometic CFX 55im Fridge/Freezer Alpha II Hardshell RTT Badland Custom Bed Rack Denso 210-0461 105 amp alternator Dual Northstar 24F AGM batteries BlueSea 7622 ML-ACR Battery controller Peak DBI Dual Battery Voltage Monitor Magnuson MP62 Supercharger w/2.37" Pulley Haltech Elite 2000 Standalone ECU Denso 650cc Fuel Injectors Doug Thorley Headers Aeromotive Stealth 340 Fuel Pump TransGo A340F Reprogramming Shift Kit Magnaflow Hi-Flow CAT, Magnaflow 18" Muffler w/Vibrant Resonator 13WL Brake Calipers Braided Steel Brake Lines ScanGauge II OBDII Scanner Kenwood TM-71A Dual Band Ham Radio Larson 70CM/2M Antenna Uniden 520xl CB radio 3' Firestik Adjustable tip antenna Pioneer DEH-P9400BH HU Alpine Amps & Type R components (F) and coaxials (R) Wet Okole Seat Covers Weathertech Digital Liners Deck Plate Mod 1" Diff Drop Carrier Bearing Drop
  17. Sep 13, 2018 at 10:41 PM
    #37
    turbodb

    turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

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    AdventureTaco
    Chapter 9
    The De-Tour: Day 10 - The Final Three
    September 26, 2017.

    Derp would never see the sand dunes, even though it turned out we were camped at the base of one nearly 200-feet high. Having set three sequential alarms "just in case," when his first alarm went off at 4:00am, he bucked his usual trend and got up and out of camp relatively quickly. It was still dark, but we could hear him reving along the muddy roads for a good 20-30 minutes, so we were pretty sure he made it out alright.

    Back to sleep for a few hours, when I woke again at 7:00am, it was cold. 24-degrees cold. Ice crystals inside the tent cold (from my breathing). Of course, there was ice outside the tent too, from the heavy dew.

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    But the sun was out, and that was great. So, all bundled up, I grabbed the camera and headed out to explore. I wondered how close we'd gotten to the sand dunes the night before, and whether I'd see any of the 50-or-so coyote's we'd heard. It turns out that we'd just reached the edge of the dunes, and it was time to climb them!

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    I ended up walking a full circle around camp checking out the situation. To our north and east were the dunes; south and west was sagebrush. Everything frozen - covered in ice crystals that sparkled like fleeting diamonds in the morning sun.

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    As the sun beamed down and I climbed up and down the surrounding dunes/hills, the world began to warm. As I looked down on camp, I realized two things: First - that those three trucks were the three that we'd see each day for the rest of the trip, everyone else having come and gone. Second - dang, those trucks looked good.

    Monte would - later the same day - capture it well: "No better sight than a first gen's butt." Mostly right, if you limit the statement to trucks I guess.

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    For two hours I continued around camp. Each time I thought I'd head back, there was something "just a bit further" that seemed worth checking out. I was never disappointed. A mallard, sparkling green in the sun. Grand vistas of our camp site, CVTs perched on top of Tacomas. Flowering sage, covered in crystals. And finally - just as I was heading back in - a coyote.

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    Back at camp, I felt like maybe I'd already used up my picture quota for the day. Lucky for me, there was no such thing! We got to putting away camp as a Cessna flew low overhead, and headed out relatively early - to make sure that Mark had made it out safely and to visit the Boar's Tusk - the remnants of a volcano some 2.5 million years old.

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    As we reached the "main road" to Boars Tusk, mud conditions had improved dramatically from the night before, so we knew Mark had made it out. We'd later find out that he made it to work (bummer for him!) with no problem.

    Shoulda held out 'till daybreak Derp! Could have seen those dunes :).

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    At Boars Tusk, we considered a hike up to the base of the rock, but decided against it. We had a long day ahead of us and we were excited to hit our next stop - the petroglyphs (and hand imprints). So we booked it back out Boars Tusk, enjoying the badlands and some of the muddier spots on the trail!

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    Only a few miles away we reached the petroglyphs, which were about a quarter mile away from the end of the road. While it wasn't too steep, it was at 7100-feet elevation, so Mike got a head start up the trail as the rest of us took photos.

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    The petroglyphs themselves date back 200-1000 years, and depict bison and elk hunts, horses and more. Even more interesting are the hand marks - rubbed into the rock over centuries, they're eerie and cool at the same time.

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    As we wrapped up and headed back down to the trucks, we decided it was time for and early lunch. It turned out to be a fun one too, as we each had various bits more easily accessible than others. Happy to share, everyone ate a bit of their own, and a bit of everyone else's stuff as we lounged in our chairs in the sun.

    And then we were off. A quick stop in Rock Springs for fuel and a CF card reader for Mike and then it was into Flaming Gorge, Igor piloted by a new driver!

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    Eventually, we came up on the Flaming Gorge Dam and Visitor Center, which we hoped we'd be able to get a tour of (but unfortunately had missed the last tour of the day). While there, we did get to see the largest fish ever caught in Wyoming however - a 54-pound lake trout pulled out of the reservoir!

    Seriously, what is a trout doing at 54 pounds? Probably something nefarious.

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    By now, it was getting to be mid-afternoon, and we all knew that meant Mike was getting anxious about camp - specifically, would we reach it before dark?

    We started giving him a hard time about that, until he asked a question we viewed as suspicious: "Do you eat pork?"

    Now - of course we eat pork. We'd all thoroughly enjoyed Ben and Kirsten's breakfast-in-the-snowy-sunny a few days earlier. We'd all been eating meat at lunch and dinner the days before… So we wondered, "What's going on Mike?"

    And then he said, "If we get to camp before dark, I'll make carnitas tacos."

    And then he added, "With my salsa."

    There was suddenly a new urgency to get to camp, and fast. Or at least, relatively fast and definitely before dark.

    Around 6:15pm we found ourselves in BLM land once again, and we took a spur road off of the highway outside of Dinosaur, Colorado to look for a spot. With a few roads to explore, we split up and within 20 minutes we'd settled on a flat area that was sheltered and "meh" far enough from the highway.

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    We setup camp and then did something we weren't all that familiar with at this time of day - we relaxed and enjoyed the evening! It was a beautiful evening and a fabulous time.

    Plus, there were tacos. With salsa.

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    Life doesn't get all that much better than fresh tacos eaten around a campfire, and so we each enjoyed several of the delicacies, with many thanks to Mike!

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    Talk that evening was mainly about the following day - we'd reach the head of the Kokopelli trail in Loma, and then make our way towards Moab. And, as we went to bed, we marveled at the night sky. Full of stars and the moon, that meant it was clear. And that meant we were likely to wake up in the morning dry - it really was coming true… "go to Moab; it's always sunny in Moab…"

    [​IMG]



    - - - - -

    Enjoying the De-Tour story?
    There's more - @Blackdawg also wrote up a version. Check out his version of this chapter here: [Chapter 9]

    or, check out the full story with these links:

    As told by @turbodb: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
    [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13a] [Chapter 13b]

    As told by @Blackdawg: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
    [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13]​
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2018
  18. Sep 13, 2018 at 10:56 PM
    #38
    Blackdawg

    Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

    Joined:
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    Wyoming/St. Louis
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    ALL OF THEM!...Then some more.
    haha very nice! Always the different details. I love it.
     
    turbodb[OP] likes this.
  19. Sep 17, 2018 at 2:11 PM
    #39
    Skyway

    Skyway Well-Known Member

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    Great report!
    :thumbsup:
     
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  20. Sep 20, 2018 at 10:13 PM
    #40
    turbodb

    turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

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    AdventureTaco
    Chapter 10
    The De-Tour: Day 11 - Unescapable Rain
    September 27, 2017.

    It was a wonderful night. There was no rain, no snow, and no ice on our tents as the sun rose into the sky. Having seen our campsite the night before, this morning was more about getting new perspectives and enjoying the sounds of the world waking up around us.

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    I headed up onto the rock outcropping south east of our camp and waited for Mike, Monte, and Devin to get up and meet the day. Mike was first out to make his hearty breakfast - two cups of coffee, followed shortly by Monte and Devin who munched on a couple of granola bars; not a whole lot different than the bowl of cereal I was eating as we all enjoyed the warmest morning of the trip so far.

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    Enjoying ourselves and taking it easy, we finally headed back to the highway around 10:45am and turned to the south. We hit Dinosaur, Colorado within minutes, but had another couple hours of driving to get to our destination: Loma, the start of the Kokopelli Trail that would take us to Moab.

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    Refueled, we continued on. CB chatter ranged from completely silent as we each listened to our own tunes to downright chatty, all of our spirits raised, and us looking forward to the Utah dirt. Monte, Devin, and Mike had all been relatively recently, so a combination of "remember" and "we need to" hit the airwaves.

    And of course, along the way we stopped a few times for photos.

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    When we got to Loma around 1:00pm, it was time to refuel - which was unfortunate. Because, you see, there was only one Conoco in our path, and it was one Mike recalled from their last trip as, "being expensive, not having any firewood, and as only having a honey bucket out back."

    Monte suggested that he was just a grumpy old man - did he want to drive 40 miles out of our way to a different gas station? "Sort of," Mike said.

    I could tell he was "sort of" joking.

    In the end, we paid outrageous prices for gas, and used the honey bucket. The day was saved however when we discovered that they now carried firewood, so we stocked up on a couple bundles for the nights to come. And then, we were off to the Kokopelli, where we ate lunch at the trailhead parking lot before airing down and heading out.

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    The beginning of the Kokopelli is cool because you first drive through a tunnel that goes under the highway, and then you start winding your way pretty quickly through some cool rock formations (and definitely different than we'd seen in Montana and Wyoming)!

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    And then, not long after, we got away from the freeways. We had 136 miles (ok, probably 130 now) of dirt in front of us, and we were all looking forward to it more than I think any would have admitted. Even Devin was in better spirits with the "no rain" weather, and riding in Igor.

    OK, let's just admit it - it was the lack of Frank that was raising her mood.

    Whatever it was, we bumped along taking in the amazing views, and soon we started to get into some more "fun" parts of the trail.

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    And then we heard Monte over the radio, "Well, that's narrow! Might be the end of our trip!" We couldn’t believe it - we'd come so far, what could possibly cause us to turn back now?

    We got out to look at the narrow spot in the road, and it was eerily reminiscent of the narrow spot where Frank squeezed by and Zane had to be winched back to safety. But this time, there was no mud and with some careful driving we were able to squeak by.

    And trust me - it felt narrower than it looks in these pictures.

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    Our target camp site 60 miles ahead of us, we tried to make good time through the remainder of the afternoon. That meant that we only stopped about 20 times for pictures rather than the walking pace that we may have otherwise taken. And as we took pictures of our trucks and surroundings, bikers and motorcyclists would stop to take pictures of us.

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    There were carved canyons and red rocks for miles. Washes and green valleys below we would take photo after photo hoping to capture the grandeur.

    It was impossible. But we tried.

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    Eventually, we came to a washout that we were all wondering about - Monte and Mike because they'd been surprised by and done it before, and me because I'd read about it in their last trip report, and they'd been talking about it on and off - wondering if it'd be in worse shape - for the better part of the last couple days.

    When we got there, I could see why.

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    A good 10 feet or more deep, sandy on both sides, and muddy in the bottom, this would have been a place (frankly of many) where I'd have been like, "OK welp, guess it's time to turn around." But not today, we were going for it!

    With lockers on the front and back, Mike went first.

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    He climbed right out, which raised the confidence level for Monte and I. Prematurely of course.

    Monte was next. Down was of course easy. It was up that was tough.

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    In the end, after giving it several goes and just chewing up the exit for the next guy (wonder who that is?! Oh, right, it's me!), it was clear that he wasn't going to make it. So we hooked him up to Mike's winch and popped him out easily.

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    And then it was my turn. Again, down was easy. Essentially, "keep your foot to the floor on the brake and slide all the way down anyway." It was up that was the issue. Having just watched Monte scrape up his bumper in his attempts, I gave it two shots and then also settled for a pull from Mike.

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    The toughest obstacle now behind us, and the sun getting lower in the sky, it was inevitable that Mike would start talking about whether we'd make it to our camp site or if we should look for something closer. Ever the optimists, we pushed on.

    It seemed that around every turn I wanted to stop for pictures. Even as we were driving, there were parts of the trail were 100% ledge - the first time I'd driven on such terrain. Very cool. Had to take pictures.

    Loved every minute.

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    And then, just as the sun was setting, we arrived at camp. Nestled against a fold in the rocks (which I guess technically isn't a fold, since these were caused by erosion), it was clear that the next morning's exploration would be a fun one!

    That is, as long as it wasn't raining. Because just then, as we unfolded our tents, we felt the first drops fall from the sky.

    W.T.F.? Seriously?

    "Just go to Utah they said," mocked Monte, "It'll be sunny in Utah they said."

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    We were of course a little disappointed, but by now we were also used to the rain. As we cooked and ate dinner - this time in the dark and so taco-less - one of us smartened up and retired to Igor to read her book. The rest of us hung out by the camp fire, happy at least that the rain was relatively light and that we could talk about Tacoma's.

    In this case, about tires - because after this trip it was clear I needed something a bit bigger than stock. Some 33's. And if you're going to get 33's, Mike and Monte assured me - you may as well consider some new wheels… because, you know, with some 16" wheels, you could also get some Tundra brakes.

    Of course, it was easy to spend money on someone else's truck, so they also suggested a front locker, regearing - either to 4.56's or 4.88's, steel plate reinforcement for my frame ("before it gets all tweaked like ours" they said helpfully), and of course probably a dozen other things I didn't even understand.

    These were my people. Or I was theirs. Or something. It was great.

    As the rain started to pick up, I took that as my queue to hit the sack, saying "I'm out when that flame goes out." I think Mike only distracted me a couple times so he could throw two or three more logs on the fire (without me noticing) to get me to stick around for another half hour. But at 11:30pm, we all decided it was time, and we hoped that the rain would let up by the next morning.




    - - - - -

    Enjoying the De-Tour story?
    There's more - @Blackdawg also wrote up a version. Check out his version of this chapter here: [Chapter 10]

    or, check out the full story with these links:

    As told by @turbodb: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
    [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13a] [Chapter 13b]

    As told by @Blackdawg: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
    [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13]​
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2018

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