AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

I got one of these 90 degree cables (make sure you get one that is oriented for the USB on your tablet) so the cord points down and doesn't strain at all.

Then, I run it into my glove box where there's a USB connector from my head unit. Keeps the tablet charged at all times, and mostly no cords visible.

 

shit man. You can get just about any cable in any size on configuration haha But thats part of my job..

Anyways, mine works great. I love how its out of the way. it still seems like a constant freaking battle to keep cords from tangling in the center console though despite my efforts.

 

Yeah I tucked a lot of power wires for the APRS rig and the tablet. but the normal phone charger and two mic cables and a cable for music usually..still ends up a freaking mess..

Its good you get out a lot. I need to more. Our schedules are just..not good for that stuff. Be skiing more now though.

 

15 days should be easy for you. Easy to do that on a few weekends really. Hell even I hit over 15 days I think this year..

 

F.U.Rain Day 13 - Our Dangerous Move Into Capitol Reef National Park
October 11, 2018.

It rained on and off through the night. We were more sheltered though, so it wasn't too bad - and I'd definitely prefer rain at night to rain during the day. Well, assuming it stops early enough to dry out the tent!

I woke up around 7:30am, the rain still coming down and decided there was no reason to rush out of bed - so I didn't. Instead, I read the last of my book for an hour, waiting for the rain to let up. Coincidentally, just as I finished the last page, the rain stopped and I hurried to get my clothes on and get myself out and about to investigate the situation around camp.

No surprises here - it was cloudy and wet, the wash in the canyon behind us now running, where it hadn't been the night before.

​

​

​

Of course, what I really should have been doing was putting away the tent, even though it was wet - because it's always better to put away a tent when it's not actively raining on you! I wasn't the only one who made this miscalculation however, and as the rain started to fall again, Monte @Blackdawg, Mike @Digiratus, and I all gathered under Mike's awning to wait it out.

His awning really had been a lifesaver this trip.

After an hour, we finally decided that we'd stood around long enough - it was time to get going, despite the rain. So we each headed out, donned our gloves, and attacked our tents, trying to get them folded up as quickly as possible while keeping everything inside as dry as possible. Obviously. Dare I say we packed up in record time.

Having opted to stay aired down on the way back to the highway from our camp site, once we hit the highway we found the first big pull-out where we could air up our tires - we had some pavement to hit today, our route taking us to Halls Crossing, then across Lake Powell on a Ferry that only ran every two hours, off the ferry and through the town of Bullfrog, and finally north into Capitol Reef National Park where we hoped we wouldn't get stopped by snow.

​

But I'm getting ahead of myself, and plans never unfold as expected. So we were aired up and headed west towards Halls Crossing and the ferry - the next departure scheduled for 12:00pm. We had 75 minutes to make it 65 miles, and we had to fill up with fuel before boarding the ferry. It was going to be close.

​

As we drove, the rain slowed and stopped, eventually the sun starting to poke through.

​

​

With no traffic along the way, we made good time - enjoying the views of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area yet again - eventually arriving at Halls Crossing around 11:45am. Plenty of time to refuel and head down to the dock, where we got in line for ferry, this it's last week in operation before shutting down for the winter.

​

Within minutes they had us all loaded up on the ferry, our mud-covered trucks catching the eye of several other passengers and prompting several conversations during our 45-minute crossing of Lake Powell.

​

​

As we did, the sun continued it's attempts to break through the clouds - spots of light illuminating distant shores. It was just a matter of time really - the rain clearly done for the day in this neck of the woods - to our delight.

​

It wasn't long before we approached the Bullfrog marina, home to hundreds of houseboats - several of which we'd seen on the lake as we'd camped along it's northern shore, all of them clearly competing in a water slide competition. "They keep having to rebuild this marina." a local told us, "The water level is now down 64 feet from it's normal levels and 38 feet from one year ago." Holy smokes, guess that explains why we were driving off onto a temporary ramp - the concrete boat ramp was no longer long enough to reach the water.

​

​

​

Off the boat, we made our way into town and to a picnic area for lunch and a flushable bathroom break. And, an hour later, we were on our way north towards Capitol Reef National Park. Our plan was to take what we thought was a a lower-elevation route through the park, making our way north towards I-70.

​

​

We didn't make it far - in fact, we were still aired up and on pavement - before we came to a major wash. Now, I think that most days, this was is totally dry, but today it was by far the fullest, deepest, fastest-moving wash we'd encountered. As a BLM ranger pulled up behind us, Monte tentatively ventured in.

​

​

Moving slowly, it was quickly apparent to him that he'd perhaps made a poor decision. From shore, it was apparent that there was no "perhaps" in that equation - the upstream water halfway up his door, and nearly spilling into the bed as he pulled out of the wash.

​

​

And, while he had to stop in the wash to shift into 4Lo, he made it - the only casualty his passenger foot well, now saturated with water that'd made it's way around the door seal.

It was Mike's turn next. As he dropped into the wash, two cameras clicked away, catching him from each direction - the danger we were in more apparent now that we'd seen Monte make the crossing.

​

​

Mike made it across with liberal use of the skinny pedal, his bow wave spilling up and over his hood as he rushed to exit the raging water. "Nervous Mike?" joked Monte. :biggrin:

​

​

And then it was my turn. Having watched the two guys in front of me, I picked my line and watched my speed. Halfway across, I could feel the water rushing down the wash, the truck slipping ever-so-slightly downstream as it fought for traction. And then, I was out!

As the water drained from my skid plates I evaluated the situation. Engine still running - check; passenger foot well dry - check; AC idler pulley still silent - nope. It'd been less than a week and apparently I'd toasted another bearing. Yay.

​

We all chatted for a while on the far side of the wash, as the BLM ranger turned his truck around and drove away - the three of us safely across. "Well, that was definitely the most dangerous thing we've done so far." said Monte. "Probably pretty dumb, actually."

"Maybe it's a good thing we hadn't aired down - that got us an extra inch clearance." I added. "And I bet Mike's glad the Redhead weighs so much now!" [smile id=rofl"]

Unsure what lay ahead, we decided the worst case would be that we had to drive back through, and so we pushed on - up in elevation and finally into Capitol Reef. I was excited.

​

​

​

The going here was reasonably quick - the road having been graded recently, mud therefore at a minimum. It's not that we didn't hit stretches of it, but for the most part the mud here was sandy rather than sticky - something I especially was extremely grateful for.

​

​

​

The colors were amazing. Capitol Reef is named capitol for the white domes of Navajo Sandstone that resemble capitol building domes, and reef for the rocky cliffs which are a barrier to travel, like a coral reef. The rocks here range in age from Permian (as old as 270 million years old) to Cretaceous (as young as 80 million years old), the 200+ layers of sediment deposited when the area was at much lower elevations that it is today.

Then, between 50 and 70 million years ago a major mountain building event occurred when the Laramide Orogeny reactivated an ancient buried fault in the region. Movement along the fault caused the west side to fold and shift upwards 7,000 feet relative to the east side. It's only been in the last 15-20 million years that erosion has started to expose this fold, best along the 100-mile long Capitol Reef National Park.

​

​

​

​

As we traveled through the afternoon, it became obvious that the white sandstone was our preferred driving surface. It seemed to dry out quickly and didn't stick to the trucks in the same way as the red clay that hid underneath. And that clay got everywhere, and quickly. At some point, I just gave up trying to keep it off even the windshield.

​

​

Photo pivot!

​

By late afternoon we hit pavement again, on our way to Utah 24. Just as we did, a couple of Nissan Xterra's pulled up behind us, said their hello's, chatted for a few moments to learn where we'd been over the last couple weeks, and then carried on - the first other adventurers we'd seen the entire trip. And it wouldn't be the last time we'd run into them!

​

Now, we were on the hunt for a camp site. We explored several places along the highway - none of them what we were looking for. The first was only a couple feet above a major wash, the next was completely unsheltered from the wind. We'd learned our lessons in those situations over the last few days, so we continued on.

​

​

But eventually we found a good spot - only a few hundred feet off the trail we'd be taking the next day anyway. The ground was composed largely of white sandstone, and the trucks were sheltered in the shadow of the ridge. It was the perfect spot.

​

As the sun began to set, we setup camp. And that's when Monte noticed a buzzing coming from his ham radio antenna. And CB antenna. Unsure what it was from, we all checked our respective antennas to find that they too were buzzing away. And then in the distance - lightning. What we were hearing was an electrical storm, telegraphed through or equipment.

Cool stuff to discover as the clouds are turning color in the sky above, but not cool to have it start raining a few minutes later - sending us all to the safety of our cabs, where we hung out for half an hour until the storm cell passed and the sunset continued.

​

​

​

​

As the sun set we gathered around the camp fire to enjoy one of our last dinners together. And what a dinner it was - at least as far as I was concerned. Mike made guacamole (for something like the 9th time this trip). That, in addition to a dessert of cookies was the perfect cap to a fun day.

​

Knowing we didn't have many fires left, we stayed up until midnight, recounting not just the day but the entire trip. Favorite moments, tense times - all of them memories we'd remember for years. We had one more day - and little did we know now, but that last day would be the one that would finally force us to turn around and go back - something we'd escaped so far.

But now we're getting ahead of ourselves... because when we went to bed, we were looking forward to completing our trek through Capitol Reef National Park.

 

who makes the rear diff skid on the red taco?


good write up as always

 

It was made by Bay Area Metal Fab (BAMF).

 

He does still make them but the design is different now.

http://www.bayareametalfab.com/Rear-Diff-Skid-95-to-04-Locking-diff-only_p_94.html

 

Whoops! Edited....

 

I am big fan of your trip reports. Excellent photos and trip overview. I can only imagine how much time it takes to pull it together. Thank you..

 

@Jooeee! - Didn't see anything in your post. Hope you're enjoying!

Thanks much sir!

Thanks, and You're welcome!

It does take a bunch of time to pull it all together, but I love the creative process and the end result. Glad you're a fan too - my hope is that folks read this stuff and want to get out and do it themselves - I know that's how I was before I started getting out as regularly as I do now!

 

F.U.Rain Day 14, 15 - Impassable Roads and Unforgettable Memories
October 12, 2018.

I woke up on the last real day of our two-week adventure having slept well through the night. The rain stopped a couple hours after we went to bed, and as I looked out the tent window at an orange sunrise, I could see that most of the clouds had been blown away as well - it was going to be a beautiful day.

​

With no rain to worry about, my first order of business was to sleep for another couple hours - the tent warming up and mostly drying off in that time. Perfect.

I couldn't hole up all morning though, and with the sun up over the Henry Mountains to the east, I pulled myself out of the warmth and ventured out around camp. It was our first real opportunity to see the landscape around us - most of it obscured by clouds the evening before - and it was great, Capitol Reef's Golden Throne a bright backdrop to our trucks.

​

​

​

Unlike previous mornings, as I walked back to camp neither Mike @Digiratus nor Monte @Blackdawg were stirring. That was just fine with me - I pulled out my Kindle and started in on a new book, my back warmed by the morning sun. And so we were until 10:00am when the heat in the tents must have gotten overwhelming, driving Mike and Monte out of bed.

It was 11:15am when we finally rolled out of camp - one of our latest mornings onto the trail, but also one of our most pleasant. Our goal for today was to complete the northward trek through Capitol Reef National Park to UT 70, where we'd spend one last night before parting ways.

Almost immediately we were reminded how lucky we were for such a nice last day in the wild. The mud was thick; the pit holding it long.

​

​

It got everywhere. Again.

​

​

Hoping the entire trail wouldn't be this way, we continued onward - pretty quickly coming to drier ground as we moved north. the sites in Capitol Reef continued to be some of the most striking of the trip in my opinion, the layers of the rock so bright and colorful. Some formations - like a long, narrow, white sand dune - alien in their own surroundings.

​

​

​

We continued on - through muddy patches, through washes (muddy but no longer running), and over small ledges - for several miles until - as we rounded a corner, we saw two trucks approaching from the opposite direction. As they neared, they were the same two Nissan Xterra's we'd seen the day before. They were covered in mud and gesturing for us to stop.

​

"The road is impassable up there, you might as well turn around here." they said. "We were flinging mud everywhere and made it up the first climb, but there was no way we were going to make it up the second - it's a lot steeper."

Well, we weren't sure these were the right guys to believe that the road was impassable, but we were sure that we didn't want another day of 6-inch deep mud - especially our last day on the trail. So after a quick pow-wow on our next move, we decided that we'd head back to the highway and then north to Torrey and Loa, and then over the mountains to Solomons Temple and the Last Chance Desert.

Even travelling west on UT 24 through the national park, there was nothing to complain about - the views were still amazing, the sun was still shining. It was a great day, even if we were on pavement for the next 40 miles.

​

​

On the main route, we played tourist a bit as well. On the side of the road, the old Behunin Cabin. Built in 1882, Elijah Behunin and his family (a wife and 13 kids!) were some of the first to settle in the Capitol Reef area. Within a year, the family moved away to higher ground near Fruita - repeated floods of the Fremont River ruining their irrigation system and washing out their crops in this unforgiving landscape.

​

​

From there we continued on to an overlook dubbed "Panorama Point." That's perhaps the most promising way to describe an overlook for the three of us, and so we buttoned up the trucks in the packed parking lot and set out on foot - a 500 foot stroll to the point. The views there were reasonable - nice even - but nothing like some of the panoramic vistas we'd seen so far - so spoiled we'd been on our own.

​

Continuing on, we soon found ourselves in Torrey, UT - our bellies hungry and Slacker's Burger Joint beckoning. We drove past at first, but a quick chat on the CB confirmed we were all thinking the same thing - a burger and shake sounded delicious. So we spun around and lined up the trucks outside.

​

​

Burgers were ordered and thoroughly enjoyed. "Seems like we're easing ourselves back into normal life." I mentioned as we sat back after eating - no apparent rush to get back on the trail. We couldn't stay forever of course, and eventually we were back on the road and headed up towards Hens Hole Peak - snow clearly in our future, hopefully without too much associated mud.

​

But almost as soon as we started, we were stopped in our tracks again - the road closed ahead of us. Turns out there was a fire fighter training exercise going on sometime between July and October, and the good folks of the BLM didn't want to expose the public to any unnecessary danger.

​

Luckily, we found an alternate route and after a quick re-route, we were back on track!

​

​

As we reached the pass, we got our first taste of snow - and it was great. The sun shining and the sky blue, this was a whole different snow experience than we'd had on previous trips, and we soaked it all in - Monte especially happy for the cooler temps.

​

​

​

​

​

From viewpoint to viewpoint we continued to stop - each one unique in it's own way, the three of us happy to experience them all. And, as we started dropping down the other side, the warm, red Cathedral Valley sprawled out in front of us - quite a site to behold from the snow-capped mountains we now found ourselves on.

​

​

​

​

As we descended towards Last Chance Desert, the formations of Cathedral Valley loomed in the distance. In front of us, Solomons Temple; beside us, sandstone mesas - some slowing eroding into the valley, others standing tall beside it. And on the road - 2-3 day old tire tracks - Goodyear Duratracs, from our Xterra friends.

​

​

​

We eventually passed Solomons Temple - it's peaks some 350-feet above the desert floor, the top decorated by a white band of sandstone and a decorative cap of rocks. This peak is hikable - but not by us, and especially not on this trip - the summit guarded by sheer cliffs on all sides.

​

It was about this time that we started keeping an eye out for a camp site for the evening, the sun starting to drop in the sky to our west, our shadows getting longer. Still, we couldn't help but stop as the views just kept coming - Utah's super power.

​

​

As we made our way up and over our last dirt pass of the trip, a rock slide. Nothing major - the boulders were all easily manageable by Monte and I while Mike looked on. Well, not just looked on - egged us on for delaying the inevitable - our last camp. Perhaps he was right - a bit of delay distracting us from the inevitable end of an amazing trip.

​

​

​

The rocks cleared, we moved on again - eventually stopping for what would be our last time - as we found an old, dilapidated cellar of some sort, built into the hillside on the side of the road. We were of course unsure what it'd been used for, but on closer inspection it appeared to have been built (or repaired) more recently than it might appear - some of the boards dimensional lumber; some of the nails round wire nails instead of square cut nails.

​

And then, just as we emerged from the pass, Mike spotted a promising offshoot that led east into what little tree cover existed out here along the edge of Last Chance Desert. "I think this looks pretty good. Come take a look." he called out over the CB.

We did, and it was. We'd found our last camp. We each got ourselves leveled out, the evening light warming the landscape.

​

Setup this evening was a bit different than normal. All keen to get a bit of an early start the next morning, I was going to leave especially early - 5:30am - and try to make it all the way home in a single push. But we all wanted to be ready to go, and so before deploying tents, the first order of business was to air up our tires for what was only the third time in over 1,400 miles - a good 1,100+ of dirt.

​

And then as the sun set, we went about our business getting tents deployed and dinner made. We'd decided earlier in the day that we'd combine forces for dinner - Mike cooking up some of my potatoes and making guacamole for the last time, me cooking some of Monte's eggs, and Monte frying up the last pound of bacon.

Breakfast-for-dinner around the camp fire and under clear skies, with the last few cookies I'd made for dessert. Tasty.

​

​

Our campfire that night was one of our best of the trip. With two bundles of wood, we kept it burning hot - the heat helping to cut the chill of what was clearly going to be a clear, cold night. As we had the night before, talk was of our favorite parts of the trip and places to which we wanted to return - either to re-explore or see in more depth - the list long enough for several more trips!

As we did, my camera clicked away on Monte's tripod in the background - his attempt at the only star photo of the trip - the sky finally clear of clouds. We'd find out after several hours that the night chill had fogged up the lens early on - only an hour or so of photos salvageable.

Despite our best efforts, the wood supply seemed endless. With an early morning and a long drive, we decided to call it an evening just before midnight, a couple wedges still unburned. And so it was that it was time for a round of "good trips" and "safe travels" - my departure time much too early for those in the morning - that we climbed into our tents, moon and stars in the sky.

​

- - - - - -

October 13, 2018.

I woke early with the help of my alarm. 5:00am, it was by far the earliest I'd been up all trip and not only was it dark, it was cold. Freezing cold, literally. The clear cold night had left a heavy dew on everything and the tent was completely covered in a relatively thick layer of ice crystals. Nothing I could really do about that - so I pulled on my gloves got to work putting it away, the sides like cardboard as I folded it up.

As I pulled away at 5:30am I was both glad to be on the road toward home, and sad that that the trip was over. It'd been another amazing adventure through our beautiful lands - some places that few in the world ever see.

Within a few miles I reached the highway and headed north, the sun rising as I neared Salt Lake City, UT, and setting as I passed through the familiar state of Oregon.

​

Through it all, the truck performed flawlessly, even after two weeks of abuse - and after 18 hours, my 970-mile trip home would be complete, much of it driven into a 12mph headwind. A "brutal" headwind is how Mike described it, having followed the same route several hours later.

But, we were home - safe and with amazing memories. And eager for our next adventure.

Cheers Mike and Monte, it was an awesome time!

/END OF TRIP

- - - -​

Want to get notified of the next trips? It's easy, and the only email you'll get from me.​

​

 

Good times man

 

sorta. We went out to Fremont basically then back into the mountain.

 

Totes.

Yeah, definitely a cool road. Mud and elevation (snow) were what we were worried about staying on dirt, so we headed east (and north) on 24 until we could get back into the park north of Fremont (after having lunch at Slackers burgers), which led us over the mountain to Solomons Temple.

 

yeah that for most of it.

I had a huge route planned for that whole section but we ended not running most of it. Something to go back to.

 

Am I the only one that loves after a good off-roading trip when the tires look like this? With the fresh rubber and the dirt still in the tread, just looks so cool

 

I'm with you there.

 

We were just there back in October. The view over the lake was my absolute favorite campsite. I can't wait to go back! Gorgeous pictures as always.