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3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona

kiese02

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Just got back from a 3,500 mile road trip from Illinois to Arizona and back with our 2020 JLUR with the 3.6. I took my family of 4 plus our dog and we pulled a SPACE trailer to a cabin in the mountains outside of Payson Arizona. The cabin was our basecamp for the week!! Our cabin was so remote in the mountains north of Payson that we did not have cell service except to text which i loved, the teenagers, not so much(or so i thought)!! The trailer was around 900lbs loaded and the JLUR pulled it very well especially in the mountains. I averaged 17.1 mpgs overall and I was very happy with those results. Before we left home i challenged my family that they needed to take at least 3 pictures on their phones everyday of something that they thought was cool or interesting and every night after supper we gathered in the cabin and checked out each others photos and discussed them. Below you will see several photos taken from not just me but my family. This trip is a very memorable one for sure but it was the moments after supper each night that we spent browsing over not just the 3 photos each had taken but several that choked this dad up!! I know the role electronics takes in everyones life now a days and i don't like it even if i have to use them as well so i wanted to use the electronics in a memorable way. We all think it was a success!
Now on to our trip:
We started in central Illinois on Christmas Day and headed towards Payson. We split the drive up and reached the cabin by the end of day 3.
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 20201225_123240


We explored around the Payson area and hiked in the Tonto National Forest a couple of days.
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 407883-11a5e34d3091707eef17b2c911877439
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 20201231_130129


The highlight of our trip for all of us was heading to Sedona to tackle Broken Arrow and Schnebly Hill trails. We headed straight to Broken Arrow first and i will admit we had never taken our Rubicon offroading before this. Our Rubicon "Maggie" handled the trail with ease. My family had a blast and we had several people who were on "Pink Jeep" tours come up and comment that they were envious they weren't able to drive these trails in their own Jeeps!! Broken Arrow gave us our first taste of offroading and i believe the first of many more experiences!! We had a blast in Sedona for the day and we all still talk about the turn at the top of the "steps" looking down.



Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 407902-7e32eb201b22956d3812ead301ae4562
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 407895-d041817d7a8cde1b04dbdc5820a4aa19
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 20201230_104110
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Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 20201230_104056
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 407896-bc7f0cf271fa1fb4de4134aac3903bfd
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 407898-7b78c4d40a0f3eceafb938cfe1b06577
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 407897-c5586681e451a538f6bdaec5f48d68de
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 407899-4a7b6ef7d486813f2b913186b0d78685


Unfortunately my small dash camera malfunctioned and we lost the video recording of the Broken Arrow trail. Schnebly Hill trail was fun as well with beautiful scenery everywhere.
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 20201230_112332
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona DSC_0269.JPG
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona DSC_0268.JPG
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 20201230_123539

After we drove Schnebly it was time to start heading back to our cabin. The next day we spent around Payson driving several Fire Roads and finding a couple trails to explore.
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 20201231_151328
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 20201231_151342

After several days enjoying Arizona we unfortunately had to head back to reality. The drive back was pretty uneventful except for a surprise snow/ice storm between Oklahoma and Missouri!
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 20210102_194259

Our "Maggie" was a great travel vehicle and handled everything we threw at her. The only gripe we all had was that after being in the jeep for the 24 hour drive home we were ready to be out of the seats. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as my family enjoyed taking them and sharing in this beautiful country we live in! We are already making plans for our next vacation!!
"Life is way too short, go enjoy it"
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 20201227_170414
Jeep Wrangler JL 3500 mile round trip road trip to Arizona 20201226_083448
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Packnbeer

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That looks like it was an amazing trip! The idea of no cell service for a week sounds like heaven. Great looking Rubi (Maggy) and a beautiful dog. We take our dogs everywhere with us.
 

Mr Lee

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We have been to sedona several times. It is only a 2000 mile rounder for us though. Next time plan to do some hiking there as you can combine the off roading with it also.
The picture challenge is a excellent idea.
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