AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

Hey, man. I just finished reading the first adventure story about the Owyhee Trails and I've gotta say...it was amazing. The writing style made it feel like I was actually right there along with you two during the entire trip. Looking forward to reading the others!

 

Thanks, appreciate it! One more installment for Idaho coming tomorrow morning and then a trip to California still to post.

Oh man, Owyhee was GREAT. One of our first trips of the sort and we hit it at just the right time with green hills and whatnot. Glad you enjoyed and have fun with the others. Full list of them here, a bit more consumable: https://adventuretaco.com/tag/big-trip-start/ (or, if you want to read chronologically: https://adventuretaco.com/tag/big-trip-start/?order=asc)

 

Idaho Epilogue: We Found the Overland Trail
July 4-5, 2018.

Having parted ways with Ben @m3bassman and Kristen after a wonderful couple days in Idaho, our first and second stops were in Boise for some fuel and food. We'd hoped to hit up a place that @pizzaviolence suggested as "the best taco's in Idaho," but being the Fourth of July, it was unfortunately closed.

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Instead, we grabbed some burgers before heading south-east - a four-state day in store through Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and finally California where we planned to find a place to camp for the night.

Off the dirt, we racked up miles quickly - many of them unmemorable given the mostly flat, arid landscape between Boise and Reno. But we we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless - music, podcasts, and conversation entertaining us between stops.

As we've adventured far and wide, I've always wondered what the truck weighs fully loaded, but it always seems we're in a rush to get where we're going, or that the truck scales are open when we pass them. Luckily today, we were in anything but a rush and as we passed through the Owyhee area of Oregon, one of the first scales we came to was closed for the day.

A perfect opportunity.

As it turns out, the truck is not light. 2700 lbs on the front axle; 2820 lbs on the rear - for a total loaded weight of 5520 lbs! Just a bit over the stock weight (of 3425 lbs)!

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Perhaps more interestingly at the scales, the ground was covered with Mormon Crickets. These things are freaking huge - maybe 3-4" long, and they clearly "swarmed" through the area - though apparently they don't fly, so that's got to be crazy to have them overrun a place on the ground!

Oh, and when they are swarming, they eat each other. And that propells the swarm forward. You know, so you don't get eaten by the guy behind you.

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Throughly weirded out, we continued on through Oregon, passing through the Owyhee Canyonlands - one of the first places we took the Tacoma to explore just two years before. How different it was - basically stock - just that short time ago!

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<div style="color: #999999; text-align: right;">The truck, just two years ago.</div>

And then, in the middle of the canyonlands, we passed through Jordan Valley and the Sinclair station where we'd delt with the first check engine light of our adventures!

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Onwards through northwestern Nevada we continued, fueling up just before we hit the California border to take advantage of the lower gas prices. And as evening arrived, we climbed up and over Donner Pass, a beautiful drive even if it is paved!

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And then, on our way into Truckee, where we planned to head into the woods and find a spot to camp for the night, we discovered an adventurer's dream: the Overland Trail.

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Of course - and we should have realized this - overlanding has been usurped by the masses. The Overland Trail was paved. The perfect place to take that mall-crawler that you don't want to get dusty. You can even deploy your RTT in the parking lot outside your hotel room...you know, for authenticity!

Naturally, this wasn't our speed so we popped back on the highway to get away from the hustle-and-bustle and eventually found ourselves on dirt roads in the thick of the Tahoe National Forest outside of Truckee.

As I setup the tent, @mrs.turbodb got started on dinner - flank steak, mashed potatoes, and a salad made from lettuce she'd grown in the garden - a great way to end a four-state day.

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By the time we finished eating it was dark and we were spent. Indepencence Day fireworks booming in the distance, we climbed into bed and thumbed through just a few pages in our books before falling asleep in the warm night air.

Naturally, we'd positioned ourselves to take advantage of the sunrise the next morning and as the sky started to show signs of life, I pulled out the camera to try and caputre those magic moments.

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But the warm bed was more magic-er, so it wasn't long before I climbed back up the ladder for another couple hours of shut-eye and reading! Of course, eventually, @mrs.turbodb kicked me out of bed again and I got breakfast ready (cookies...so complicated!) and explored around camp a bit in those special-light hours of early morning.

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Then, we were off! Happy to be on dirt, we spent an hour just exploring the network of roads we'd discovered the night before - it was great! Overland Trail, eat your heart out.

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But eventually, we got back on the road. Our goal was the Bay Area, where I'd be dropping of @mrs.turbodb and heading out with my Dad for a week-long trip in the Sierras - the final week of three glorious weeks in the outdoors.

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As we pulled in to The Bay, the golden hills and oaks were out in full glory - just a sneak preview of the beauty that was in store from California in the days to come.

...but that's another adventure.

Miss part of the story?
Two-and-a-Half Days in Idaho [Part 1] [Part 2] [Epilogue]​

 

Where in the bay were ya? That’s my neck of the woods.

 

North Bay this time - San Rafael area. But not for long - just long enough to reprovision and tag along for another adventure. Grew up in the east bay; played many a baseball game in Concord!

 

Nice I was in that area today. Rode my bike from tomales bay to point Reyes light house.

 

Point reyes is awesome. Gorgeous coastline.



Great trip reports Dan! Always enjoyable.

 

Yeah I didn’t get to see anything lol so damn foggy today, never burned off. Made the 35 miles pretty miserable haha

 

Its that time of year with the marine layer. Probably made for a good respite from the heat in the east bay though.

 

You have one the best threads on this forum. From the high quality pictures to the great narration. Every time I read through I wonder why I am sitting on my couch and not exploring.. Keep it coming!

 

Exactly

 

Thanks guys, appreciate it!

Oh, and get out there and explore, the pics I post here don't do it justice.

 

I will try.

 

Awesome pics brings back a lot of memories as I grew up in Tahoe and San Francisco!!!

 

Somewhere in the Sierras
Part 1: We Arrive, and It's Amazing

July 8, 2018.

Our awesome trip to Idaho ended like no other trip we'd taken to date - in more ways than one. Of course, we'd found the Overland Trail, but more importantly we'd ended the trip in another state, with no pit stop at home to shower, refuel, re-provision, etc.

Instead, we ended up in California - the (north) Bay Area to be exact - for a quick shower, shopping, meal prep and to repack the truck before my Dad and I were off for another week of camping at ******* Creek in the Sierras.

And this wasn't just any trip - this was a trip to his favorite, secret camp spot - a place that he and his buddies have been going for more than 25 years, and which has remained largely unchanged in that time. This year, it'd be only him and one of his friends (the "old fogies"), and me; sworn to secrecy for all time.

About a 6-hour-plus-stops drive, we were ready to go early as the sun rose - both trucks packed the night before.

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A quick stop to pick up our third man (though, let's be honest, I was the third guy) and we set our sights east and south, over bridges and through the fields - a sunny, warm California day making for a pleasant trip.

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As is the case with every 25-year tradition, we stopped for fuel at the same places as always, and lunch was at the same burger joint - ***** ****** Diner. I failed to get any photos of this place, but it's a hopping place in a small town, clearly a favorite of passers-through. The walls and ceilings are covered in old LP covers, and you can order pretty much anything you want, as long as it's essentially a burger.

Refueled, we headed out of town and in no time we were on our way into the mountains. Still on paved roads, Dad came over the radio to let me know that we were making a quick pit stop. I hadn't noticed any reason for that, but that's normal since I'm the slow one in the family. Of course, on popping out of the trucks, I snapped a quick photo.

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And then I saw (or more correctly was pointed to) the reason for the stop. ***** Rock. This thing is crazy - a truck-sized rock, balanced on a pedestal, eroded over the years where it stands. Definitely something you don't see every day.

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But a quick stop was all that was called for - we had a destination to get to, and no time to waste. After-all, once we got there, we had to hurry up and relax for the rest of the week! Shortly we were on dirt, well into the "secret" location. With the fogies travelling more slowly in their Jeep Grand Limo than I could go in the Tacoma, I took the opportunity to snap a few photos of the beautiful, mountainous landscape as I waited for them to make some headway up the trail.

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Eventually we made it to a section of trail that Dad considers a bit of a "gatekeeper" to the camp site. It's not all that rough by any stretch of the imagination, but it's also not something you'd want to take your family sedan on. Of course, the Jeep Limo is essentially a family sedan, so Dad came over the radio to let me know that he was going to, "Put it in 4Lo and raise the suspension for more ground clearance."

I found myself both laughing and jealous. Laughing for obvious reasons, and jealous because he apparently had a button in the limo that would engage a compressor that was continuously plumbed to all four corners of the Jeep. Nice.

And with that, he carried on, now noticeably higher on his 20's and street slicks. So Jeep.

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Slow going, we eventually reached camp - fine with me as there was lots of eye-candy along the way, even if the road was a bit dusty.

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And then we rounded the corner to camp. I think I gasped out loud as I clambered for the camera. I would end up taking dozens of pictures of the views from camp, so amazing they were.

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In camp, everything has a place, and every place is based on tradition. This would be demonstrated on a regular basis - sometimes even hourly - over the course of the week. Lunch was at noon. Swimming in the creek, 5:00pm sharp!

And it started with camp setup, which was really more like a series of well-groomed rooms in the forest. "Tools and water over here. Kitchen stuff on the tables here. Rocks around the camp fire arranged 'just so.'" It was great.

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Everything unloaded, my "young" muscles were of less use to the fogies and they shooed me off to find a place to setup the truck and my CVT palace. I knew just where I was headed - the edge of the ridge, above the creek, with a view into the valley.

And - even sweeter - getting level meant a bit of flexy-flexy. Eat your heart out Ben @m3bassman.

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And then we relaxed. Books came out, as did crossword puzzles. A cursory tour of the area, and of course dinner was delicious and on-time. Eventually, our first sunset and campfire, enjoyed without the camera - there'd be plenty of time for that in the coming week.

 

You're killing me Smalls.

 

Literally finished the Idaho report and I get a notification for your California trip, this going to make Monday at the office go quick .

You ever planning on doing a coast trip? Oregon, Redwoods (Nor Cal) or Big Sur since you mentioned you were from the Bay Area.

 

Seeing your 'shorty' camp chair next to the 4 old style, metal folding chairs that no one has seen since 1975 definitely made me laugh out loud.

 

LOL.

Northern California for sure - Plumas National Forest area has a lot of stuff I'd love to do, just need to research it really. Not sure about a coast trip - I guess if I could find a good route, that'd be awesome...but it feels a little monotonous to me (and light on dirt - the CA coast is so populated these days), esp. since I try to stay off the sand as much as possible (well, really, out of the salt). My truck's days of cruising Pismo are long over.

Hahahahaha, those old chairs are so awesome, aren't they?!? I grew up in those things, and hadn't seen them since camping as a 10 year old. A couple of them have clearly been fixed several times, the old rivets long gone, replaced by bolts. It's all about tradition for these guys.

Oh, and as you may have noticed, there were two of them and four chairs. You know, so you can set your stuff on the chair next to you, rather than reaching to the ground!

 

Sierras Part 2: Wait, Adventure Without Driving?!
July 9-12, 2018.

Having enjoyed even the short bit of dirt into our Sierra location, the next few days would be a whole different type of trip than I'm used to - we'd be sleeping in the same spot each night, there'd be no scramble to reach camp before dark, and any excursions were more likely to be on foot than in the trucks.

Come to think about it, this was the camping I'd grown up with - well, except that it was a camp site much more like those of my trips today (as opposed to the "crowded" camp grounds of my childhood).

Of course, such a trip means that times of day tend to blend together as routines are established (or, in the case of the fogies - followed to a tee) so that's how I'll relate the experience here... minus the out-of-camp adventures, which will get their own post!

Sunrise

Positioning the truck and setting up on the edge of the canyon below camp predictable of me to say the least, but I knew it came with a gamble. As usual, I'd want to be up early to capture sunrise, but I was unsure if the mountains around us would block the colorful displays (morning seemingly more finicky than evening).

Of course, nature has a way of working things out - every morning that I was able to rouse myself early, there was a unique display of light to enjoy.

Shadow rays, cast by what were essentially the only clouds in the sky one morning.

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Pink poof balls another.

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And there were of course the more traditional orange horizons as well.

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Mornings

One of the best parts of staying in the same spot every day was that mornings were lazy. Well, all times of day were lazy but for me, lazy mornings meant that after capturing sunrise, I could climb back into the tent and read my book until I fell asleep again...waking up a second time a couple hours later, to enjoy what usually ended up being a bit of exploration around camp.

Of course, I wasn't the only one out an about, enjoying the day before the heat started baking the exposed granite. Pops was up too - birding to his hearts delight with ******* Dome in the background.

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******* Creek always looked splendid in the early morning light, and of course the sound of the water rushing over the granite was music to my ears. I spent several hours over several days hopping from rock to rock, exploring the creek and it's immediate surroundings.

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Of course, Pops and I weren't the only ones enjoying our surroundings. The other veteran of the trip was out and about himself, one morning reporting a fresh bear track he'd found in the road. Cool!

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Eventually though, we'd all rendezvous back at camp, where we'd partake of a small breakfast and commence relaxation. Reading all around, crossword puzzles for the old guys, it was a tough life.

Until it got tougher: lunch.

Lunch

Lunch every day was amazing, and I got no photos. Each day, Pops and I were treated to what can only be called a "professional grade" sandwich. Starting with a delicious sliced sourdough, the contents included deli meat, cheese, fresh tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, red onions, and of course condiments of our choice. Paired with chips and our favorite beverage, lunch quickly became one of my favorite times of day.

Oh, and I only made the mistake of having half of one of these beauties on the first day. From then on, it was a full sandwich for me!

Afternoon (Naps, and a Dip in the Creek)

As you can imagine, after a delicious sandwich and a morning of exploring, 94ºF afternoons were a perfect time to take a nap - and I tried to almost every day! But of course afternoons were another great time to be out exploring.

Some of the Junipers around camp were grand, and likely hundreds of years old.

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There were blue-bellied lizards everywhere, seemingly engaged in the same enjoyment of the area that we were - out sunning themselves on rocks until we'd walk by and they'd scurry away.

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And of course, there was just nature's beauty to take in.

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As afternoon turned to evening, we'd head down to a favorite swimming hole at the creek for the ritual swim, the water in the 60's - refreshing when the air temps are nearing 100ºF!

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Sunset

Sunsets turned out to be amazing. Perhaps we just lucked out, or maybe they're always like this in such a special place. The entire sky would fill with color - be it pink or orange - and the reflection on the white granite ground would give the entire area a glow that is hard to describe.

(Apologies for the dump of photos - I culled as much as I could before settling on these seven.)

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Nights

As the sun set, we'd light up the camp fire and whoever was in charge of dinner for the evening would set to work. With a "full kitchen area" including a stove, grill, freezer+fridge, and about 15-feet of counter space, dinners were as fabulous as the rest of the trip - we ate well.

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And after dinner, we'd enjoy the fire into the night. Usually, I'd read my book while the oldies worked on crosswords - surely trying to hone vocabulary that they'd forgotten years ago. I'm not sure if they ever finished a crossword without cheating, or if they ever finished at all - since I was always off to bed well before they were.

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Nights were warm and just a little breezy - a perfect combination in my book. And the stars. Of course, like anywhere remote more of them were visible - luckily for us, moonlessly for the majority of the night. Definitely no expert, I tried to capture the beauty one night while I slept...

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The Rest of the Time

Of course, we weren't always in camp - most days included some sort of exploration away from our base, given so much around to locally explore. But that's another chapter...