BroncoHound
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Bud
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- Jun 10, 2020
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- Meridian, ID
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- 2020 JLUR / 2022 JLURD
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- Taxi driver-in-training
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- #31
Part 7 – getting home
The first couple days of the trip weren’t anything really noteworthy; it was all highway/interstate because it was August and I wanted to get out of the Texas heat as directly as possible.
Yeah, 106 degrees. Woof. Happily, the A/C in the Jeep handled the task just fine.
We made it just out of Texas the first day; driving until about 2am I got to Texline and decided to try out sleeping in the back with Bear. I had to unload the gear behind the Jeep and used a cable lock to the hitch to keep the honest honest. It occurred to me that a determined set of sticky fingers wouldn’t be deterred by a cable lock, but I’m a pretty light sleeper and had my pistol stashed next to me so I didn’t let the thought keep me up.
The next day we pushed through New Mexico for a bit then into Colorado and straight north on I-25 into Wyoming. Having worked for several years on a rotational basis in West Texas, I’ve made this drive probably close to a hundred times and it’s never failed to amaze me at how beautiful it is. New Mexico is nearly 7000ft elevation across Hwy 83 and is some STUNNING pasture and grazing land and southern Colorado is so very different from other parts of the state with a desert mountains feel all to its own.
The second night we stayed at the KOA in Buffalo, WY, once again in the back of the Jeep. Bear sure appreciated getting away from the humidity and oppressive heat (though it was still quite warm) and found a little grass snake to torment for a few seconds until I called him off to let the little guy be.
Speaking of heat, it was 99 freaking degrees driving across Montana the next day. Of course, I would spend nearly 2 years in summertime to finally get home during a record heat wave. Then again, 99 degrees in Missoula felt better than 75 degrees in Houston, particularly when hanging out down by the Bitterroot so Bear could say hello to all the college kids floating the river.
The next couple days were spent staying in a hotel and doing grownup shit around Missoula. For breakfast, Bear and I shared what I’ve started calling Cowboy Breakfast Tacos which were cold tortillas, boiled eggs, precooked bacon, and the staple of all foods, green Cholula.
And, by shared I mean I prepared and ate while he gave me this look:
Lunch was a similar affair, with premixed tuna salad sandwiches, carrots, grapes, and green Cholula and a local taste, Dragon’s Breath from Bayern Brewery. With a name like Dragon’s Breath, I was hoping it would have a bit of kick and spice but it was still a pretty run of the mill hefe. Bear and I had our lunch with Blue Mountain in the background, watching the hikers and joggers go up and come down the trailhead until, right as I had everything about prepped, it started to rain a bit.
I’ve often been asked, being a California-born, Texan-raised, military brat who didn’t move to Montana until he was in his 30’s, why I feel such a love and pride in the state and why I say, barring any more major life changes, I don’t see myself living anywhere else.
‘Nuff said. In Montana, even the Prius owners are self-aware and carry a sense of humor. I jest, but it does speak to the reason, beyond the stunning landscapes and breathtaking scenery, that Montana is such a special place to Montanans. Much like Texas was when I was young, being a “Montanan” is more a frame of mind than a geographic reference. It seems Texas has certainly lost that identity in the last 20 years or so, and who knows, Montana might soon as well. The population of the state is booming due, in large part, to the tech companies evacuating San Francisco and the Los Angeles folks bailing out for a slower paced, simpler way of life as well. For now, though, Montana still lives up to its motto of “last best place” to me.
What I learned on the way to Montana:
The first couple days of the trip weren’t anything really noteworthy; it was all highway/interstate because it was August and I wanted to get out of the Texas heat as directly as possible.
Yeah, 106 degrees. Woof. Happily, the A/C in the Jeep handled the task just fine.
We made it just out of Texas the first day; driving until about 2am I got to Texline and decided to try out sleeping in the back with Bear. I had to unload the gear behind the Jeep and used a cable lock to the hitch to keep the honest honest. It occurred to me that a determined set of sticky fingers wouldn’t be deterred by a cable lock, but I’m a pretty light sleeper and had my pistol stashed next to me so I didn’t let the thought keep me up.
The next day we pushed through New Mexico for a bit then into Colorado and straight north on I-25 into Wyoming. Having worked for several years on a rotational basis in West Texas, I’ve made this drive probably close to a hundred times and it’s never failed to amaze me at how beautiful it is. New Mexico is nearly 7000ft elevation across Hwy 83 and is some STUNNING pasture and grazing land and southern Colorado is so very different from other parts of the state with a desert mountains feel all to its own.
The second night we stayed at the KOA in Buffalo, WY, once again in the back of the Jeep. Bear sure appreciated getting away from the humidity and oppressive heat (though it was still quite warm) and found a little grass snake to torment for a few seconds until I called him off to let the little guy be.
Speaking of heat, it was 99 freaking degrees driving across Montana the next day. Of course, I would spend nearly 2 years in summertime to finally get home during a record heat wave. Then again, 99 degrees in Missoula felt better than 75 degrees in Houston, particularly when hanging out down by the Bitterroot so Bear could say hello to all the college kids floating the river.
The next couple days were spent staying in a hotel and doing grownup shit around Missoula. For breakfast, Bear and I shared what I’ve started calling Cowboy Breakfast Tacos which were cold tortillas, boiled eggs, precooked bacon, and the staple of all foods, green Cholula.
And, by shared I mean I prepared and ate while he gave me this look:
Lunch was a similar affair, with premixed tuna salad sandwiches, carrots, grapes, and green Cholula and a local taste, Dragon’s Breath from Bayern Brewery. With a name like Dragon’s Breath, I was hoping it would have a bit of kick and spice but it was still a pretty run of the mill hefe. Bear and I had our lunch with Blue Mountain in the background, watching the hikers and joggers go up and come down the trailhead until, right as I had everything about prepped, it started to rain a bit.
I’ve often been asked, being a California-born, Texan-raised, military brat who didn’t move to Montana until he was in his 30’s, why I feel such a love and pride in the state and why I say, barring any more major life changes, I don’t see myself living anywhere else.
‘Nuff said. In Montana, even the Prius owners are self-aware and carry a sense of humor. I jest, but it does speak to the reason, beyond the stunning landscapes and breathtaking scenery, that Montana is such a special place to Montanans. Much like Texas was when I was young, being a “Montanan” is more a frame of mind than a geographic reference. It seems Texas has certainly lost that identity in the last 20 years or so, and who knows, Montana might soon as well. The population of the state is booming due, in large part, to the tech companies evacuating San Francisco and the Los Angeles folks bailing out for a slower paced, simpler way of life as well. For now, though, Montana still lives up to its motto of “last best place” to me.
What I learned on the way to Montana:
- The rear A/C vents behind the center console are AWESOME for Bear. While chugging along I aimed the vents and Bear alternated between it hitting him in the face and belly while he napped. 4-door, Bear-approved.
- 17.8mpg on the first tank. I estimated about 600lbs of additional gear, 70mph most of the time, and tires at 50psi cold (54psi hot).
- The Jeep drives on the highway VERY smooth at 54psi. The added weight, along with the higher pressure and 10ply tires made a very smooth ride.
- Ice in the cooler melted within the first couple hours (before the first fuel stop). Next time don’t forget to get the cooler out of the 110-degree garage and bring in the house to cool off until 10 minutes before leaving, dummy.
- Next time, make chicken salad instead of tuna salad. Tuna is more aromatic, even after the plastic dishware has been washed. The tuna did keep for 8 days in the cooler though, and tasted great all the way through.
- Keep the drivers door net empty on long trips if you like to make seat adjustments. With a pair of gloves, small bottle of hand sanitizer, 2 rolls of dog poop bags, and some spare plastic grocery bags it makes for a tight fit to reach your hand down and make seat back and lumbar adjustments while driving. Or maybe I’m just used to my full-sized pickup where there is probably 8”+ of space between the door cubby and the seat adjustments, or my Hilux from Australia which didn’t have a door cubby at all.
- The 3.6L Pentastar is still the same ol’ 3.6L Pentastar, which is barely adequate. The manual transmission seems better than the JK manual, but the system as a whole just makes the driver sit there and wish you had another 100hp/150tq at your disposal to make it a truly competent road vehicle when on slightly larger tires with some added weight.
- I forgot to re-aim the headlights after loading the Jeep down. I discovered this the first night and had to buy a phillips screwdriver at a truck stop along the way because I didn’t bring one with a long enough shank to reach the headlight adjustment screws. Which brought another thought: why no auto-leveling headlights on a $51k vehicle sold in 2020? My 2004 Honda S2000 had auto-leveling headlamps.
- My first night sleeping in the back, I realized my lower back sat right in the crevice from the rear seat being folded down. It wasn’t a deal-breaker, but it made me realize with a fair amount of morning stiffness that it needed addressing. I took some spare towels and rolled/folded them under the blanket cover to soften up that crevice and level it out a bit and it worked great. At exactly 6’0” tall, I can JUST barely lie out in the back with my head tucked into the corner of the passenger seat and rear passenger door with my feet going towards the drivers side rear of the Jeep. That still gave Bear plenty of room to sleep next to me, so it was a pretty good setup.
- The Jeep loves Colorado. I hit 19.4mpg average fuel economy which was the highest of the trip just north of Denver with speeds between 70-75mph.
- The sweet spot on these tires for road driving is 50psi cold. I tried airing them up to 65psi cold (which is max rating) and it made the ride a bit too harsh, though the Jeep was noticeably more peppy at takeoff. I’ll continue to keep them at 30-35psi for around town/daily driving and air up to 50psi for any longer road trips.
- Wyoming was not a fan of 6th gear. 6th was all but useless in the hills and with a crosswind of any kind.
- The factory Rubicon suspension seems to be handling the weight fairly well aside from all the rear squat. The suspension was still comfortable and responsive to road conditions. It surely won’t do with any more weight, though, so the wheels were already turning (pardon the pun) on suspension upgrades that will be “necessary” before a roof rack and RTT get ordered.
- The navigation froze up one time on the trip up. I shut the Jeep down and restarted and it self-corrected.
- Bear LOVES his new Jeep. He’s been super comfortable and relaxed in the back, sleeping while we were on the freeway and loving the back windows being rolled down when we arrived somewhere interesting.
- The big honking key still doesn’t make sense, unless it’s to be used like a roll of quarters when getting into a fist fight. It is nice to be able to lock the glove box and center console with the Jeep running, though.
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