Car Camping / Trip Reports / Photos / Buildouts / “Overland” / Expedition Rigs Area (homeless?)

Reminds me of the time I got a dose of carb cleaner on my crotch. Sitting cross-legged on the garage floor with a Honda CB750 carb assembly on my lap cleaning the accelerator pump tube.

I was wearing jockey shorts, shorts over them, and overalls. Carb cleaner soaked through to the jewels. We had a detached garage, wife was in the kitchen, heard me screaming. I wasn't screaming like a little girl, close to it but more of a caterwauling howl. Intense burning pain.

She thought murder was being committed, opened the door and saw me high-stepping and waving at her, howling unintelligibly. I was trying to say "Get out of the way!!", but it was more like "GAAHHH! WAAHHH! HIEEEEYAH!!!"

I was yanking at the overalls and she saw the stain on my crotch and told me she was thinking "If all you did was pee your pants why all the bellowing?" By that time I cleared the steps and she Ole!'d me through the kitchen door and followed me into the bathroom yelling "What, what happened? Did you cut yourself?" I managed to get out "WATERRR! SOAP! GAAAHHH! HELP OVERALLS! WAAHHHHAH!"

She grasped that I wanted to strip and pulled the back collar down but my arms got stuck in the sleeves so I was fumbling dancing around outside the tub trying to get the shorts unbuttoned. Did so then tripped backwards over the tub and smacked the back of my head on the tiles.

That shut me up and she got the water started, actually started laughing when she didn't see blood, said "Gas! you poured gas on yourself you idiot!" It was horrible. Bike ran good, though.

 

I'd slept well through the rain, earplugs doing their job to mute the noise of the drops on the tent. But they did little to soften that first clap of thunder. It wasn't until the next flash of lightning that I could count the delay - about 8 seconds - not too bad.

But then more lightning. And more. It was constant, as the wind continued to whip at the tent. And it was getting closer. 7 seconds. Then 5. Eventually, I could barely...

...read the full story: F.U.Rain Day 6 - Less Than Two Seconds

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--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1&2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6]​

 

...The view at Alstrom Point was better than I'd expected. I suppose I'd have known what it looked like if I'd checked it out online before the trip, but it was such a nice surprise to see it for the first time when I arrived in person.

Read about this special place, and take in the photos: F.U.Rain Day 7 - We Arrive at Alstrom Point

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F.U.Rain Day 7 - We Arrive at Alstrom Point

--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1&2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6] [day 7]​

 

...We'd spent a good amount of time on this canyon crossing and we had a way to go before we reached the Grand Bench. Our discussion now - given the clearly impending rain and weather warnings on the ham radio - was about whether we wanted to camp at Grand Bench or try to make it out and back through this section of trail before the ground was saturated.

Ultimately, we decided that either way we were going to Grand Bench, and that we better get on it. So we did.

Read what happened, and check out some crazy photos: F.U.Rain Day 8 - The Grand Bench is a Grand Mess

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F.U.Rain Day 8 - The Grand Bench is a Grand Mess




--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1&2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6] [day 7] [day 8]​

 

...Finally, we spotted the main wash through the canyon. Still a half mile or more away, it was clear to us at this point that we were likely to have a problem - the wash, which had been completely dry the day before, was a rushing river, all the washes we'd passed so far feeding into it...

It was muddy and we had a quarter mile of wash to drive through...

It was F.U.Rain Day 9 - "Seriously?"​

F.U.Rain Day 9 - "Seriously?"




--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1&2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6] [day 7] [day 8] [day 9]​

 

...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!

See and read the conclusion to the great adventure: F.U.Rain Day 14, 15 - Impassable Roads and Unforgettable Memories​

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F.U.Rain Day 14, 15 - Impassable Roads and Unforgettable Memories​

--- and here's the whole story ---
[day 1&2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6] [day 7] [day 8] [day 9] [day 10] [day 11] [day 12] [day 13] [day 14 & 15]​

 

October 26, 2018.

"Let's go somewhere." said @mrs.turbodb after I'd been home just a short time from my previous trip. That was of course fine with me, and so we set about finding a place to go. It was going to be cold and rainy on the Washington coast, so we set out looking for somewhere warm...

...As we started into Succor Creek Canyon, we were both looking forward to the drive - this area was so beautiful the last time we were here - the hills covered in May's spring green grass, blowing in the wind. The hillsides were golden this trip, but striking nonetheless.

Read and enjoy the photos in Winter Escape - Hot Springs and the Alvord Playa (Part 1).

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Winter Escape - Hot Springs and the Alvord Playa (Part 1)





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Our night on the Alvord Playa was uneventful - the wind picked up a bit around midnight, easily remedied by closing the door on the windward side of the tent. And, one of the nice things about winter - at least when you're camping - is that sunrise is a bit later. For us, it was nearly 7:00am before the light started on the horizon...

Read the full story, and our unexpected encounters at Winter Escape - Hot Springs and the Alvord Playa (Part 2)

- - - catch up on the full story - - -
[part 1] [part 2]
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Where in RI is this?

Ty

 

Excited to test out the rear shock relocation I'd just completed, I headed north from Phoenix toward Las Vegas to pick up @mrs.turbodb who was flying in for a two-ish day trip along the Old Mojave Road - a historically significant trail through the Mojave National Preserve in southern California...

...that wouldn't turn out at all as we'd planned!

Check out the first installment and tons of photos at
Mojave Road Part 1 - We Head West​

Mojave Road Part 1 - We Head West

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...At 60 feet in, the water was quite clearly up over the top of the tires and bottom of the doors on the driver side and I could tell it was even deeper on the passenger side - @mrs.turbodb now much more serious about the crossing than she'd been the afternoon before. And we were still getting deeper.

"Hope it levels out." I think I said out loud, "We're getting really close to the intake." My adrenaline at this point was high, but I kept my cool and made sure to keep a good bow wake in front of the truck.

Read the story and see the puckering-pics:
Mojave Road Part 2 - So Much Adrenaline I'm Shaking​

And check out the entire Mojave Road trip [part 1] [part 2]




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Did some splorin!

 

Hiking Death Valley (Feb 2019)

Before it even began, the trip was off to a rough start. See, we'd planned - if you can call deciding to go on a trip just a few days prior to departure, "planning" - to leave two weeks earlier, but inclement weather caused us to push the trip back. Even so, the weather report was iffy just a few days before the new date - something we decided we'd ignore so we could get out and explore.

Check out the first two days in part 1 of this adventure:

The Day the Tent Closed...with Us Inside
and We Luck Out and It's Beautiful​

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more photos and the whole story:
The Day the Tent Closed...with Us Inside
and We Luck Out and It's Beautiful​

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...As we made our way into the hills, we eventually turned into a wash and behind down into a hidden valley, simply following tracks from visitors that were few and far between. And before us, the colors were suddenly amazing. I let out an audible "wow," over the CB - Ben and Zane still a ways back - and stopped to capture the situation.

Read the full story and check out all the photos:

Hiking Death Valley Part 2 - Room Canyon and...Water Crossings?​

Hiking Death Valley Part 2 - Room Canyon and...Water Crossings?


catch up on all parts:
[part 1] [part 2]​

 

February, 2019 may have been one of the wettest months in DV for a long time

 

... it wasn't long before we arrived at our destination, technically known as: some spot along the road. We pulled off as far as we could - careful to stay within the grading berms - and prepped ourselves for the journey ahead. Lunches were made, water bottles filled. And then, we set off across the desert. Truth be told, it didn't look that far to the other side.

Check out the full story and photos in part 3 of Hiking Death Valley. It covers two days for your viewing pleasure:

We Trek Miles Across the Desert and
A Deer Destroy's the Hellas - and We Destroy a Deer - on the Long Drive Home​

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Missed part of the story? Catch up with it all
[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]​

 

Saw some White Pelicans today, amazing flyers for their size. They were soaring way up, I guess looking to migrate north. I don't see them often.

 

Love having the toolbox/side cubby. No longer loading an entire kitchen tote in the back. It is always loaded and ready to go.

 

This is a great idea.

 

...A short drop from the viewpoint down into the canyon and we were almost immediately in what I think was the most breathtaking canyon of the trip - Canyon sin Nombre.

Not only were the colors amazing, but so was the geology. The entire area had been uplifted in giant synclines and anticlines, and then crushed and folded into amazing shapes. I wasn't the only one who wanted to stop and get out for a closer look - we were both hopping out of the truck on a regular basis at this point.

See tons of photos of what it looked like and read the rest of the adventure at
Anza-Borrego Part 3 - Stymied at Sandstone Canyon​

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Anza-Borrego Part 3 - Stymied at Sandstone Canyon​

catch up on the entire story here:
Double Fun @ Anza Borrego - March 2019


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