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LittleDog

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Howdy again all. I've been a member here for a while, but stopped checking in after Covid messed everthing up. Stupid Covid.

Always liked the old jeeps, and finally got one in late 2019, with plans to travel across the country. That did not happen. I made two aborted attempts, each getting maybe a quarter or a third of the way across. Failure, though I did award myself an 'Attaboy' trip to Dollywood and her new resort, on the last day of their season. (Highly recommended) You know, for trying at least.

Then everthing got locked down. I'm from New Jersey and things were pretty scary in the early days. I spent much time during seclusion eating and drinking too much, joining the rest of the nation in learning how to make bread and pizza, daydreaming about going somewhere, anywhere, someday, and endlessly attaching and removing various bits of the jeep. That, and slowly going nuts.

Cabin fever finally drove me insane, and I was banished, for my own good, to the left coast this past April; I was escorted across many state lines by my brother and the double eponymous jeep and dog.

We drove pretty quickly, due to time constraints. After an inaugural night in a tent, a scant hour outside of our starting point, my brother basically said, "Screw this camping jazz" and proceeded book Airbnbs for the rest of the 3,000 miles. We made it to California six days later.

The jeep was packed to the sills and gills with junk, and had a cargo tray and roof box filled with more heavy junk. I was afraid to weigh it. A basically stock drivetrain/suspension 2.0L Sahara with ~30,000 mile stock ATs handled everything well enough, including: going too fast for too long in general, extreme winds and/or rain, me being too lazy to disconnect the sway bar on washboard/rutted roads, elevation changes, passing and being passed.

Now, due to various foolish doings on my part, I've also been banished from the west coast. Relatedly, I did zero jeep-y things whilst in California despite wanting to. I think the original banishment must have worn off by now, so I'm on my way back to NJ to check. Only this time, I hope to have fun. (In the same jeep, with the same dog, with much of the same junk, driving across the same country; if going back is any better, I think that I can tentatively assign my brother a negative-fun value)

In the interest of having fun, I thought it would be fun to join in the forum again. At the very least, it will help me document the trip a bit better. So here I am now, in the back of the jeep in some hills in Arizona, possibly surrounded by coyotes. I've already been on the road for a bit already, but I didn't think of doing this until just now. Well, 'just now' was actually a few hours of slowly poking this out on a phone ago, so it's really way past roadtrip-bedtime now. That, and my phone running low on battery, has me leave off with this:


Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221128_110259


At a KOA sometime last week, but as close to the begining as I can find. If the coyotes don't get me, I'll post more later.
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aldo98229

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LMAO! :LOL: :LOL::LOL:

Welcome back to the forum!

BTW: you could have camped just like that right on Sunset Blvd., along with thousands of fellow tenters...
 
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LittleDog

LittleDog

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@Reinen Actually, I just woke up in BLM, Bureau of Land Management, land. No coyotes.
Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221204_080120


Coming in last night:
Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221203_174325


I thought that I went to the end of the campers but around 6pm a trio of side-by-sides decided that I didn't add enough spice dust to my dinner and tore down the path:
Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221203_175742


But besides a little bit of a capella afterwards, it was a quiet night.

KOAs have their benefits; that particular one was very nice, and I was staying a few days as I was finishing some packing after my untimely and sudden exile from California.

@aldo98229 Thanks man. I remember you and Reinen from back when. Nice to see a couple of familiar faces still around. Sorry that Rairdon's of Bellingham still sucks.

You are correct though. I hadn't been to San Jose or San Francisco since before the Bad(ish) Times, and it was pretty shocking how it has become. Can't do anything about right now, though, as right now it's me and the jeep and the dog and the Voyage Home. To save the whales or something, I dunno, I forget.
 

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What do you mean you were "banished" from the West Coast?
 

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Reinen

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@Reinen Actually, I just woke up in BLM, Bureau of Land Management, land. No coyotes.
There you go. Much better! I still fail to see the benefits of a KOA, even nice ones.

I can tell you are from the coasts due to the need to clarify Bureau of Land Management. To the people in the western center of the US, BLM always has and always will mean Bureau of Land Management. National news reports from the coasts sounded really silly and out of touch for a while.

BTW, the trick to avoiding ATVs is to find camping spurs off the main road. The short side trails where there is no point traveling them unless you're looking for a camp site. If there aren't any, always get as far away from the road or trail as you can and strategically place vehicles as a barrier between the road and your outdoor camping area.
 

rdfact

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Looking forward to you documenting your journey.
Is that a swing out cargo carrier mounted to the bumper or hitch?
 

Beau Nugget

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What do you mean you were "banished" from the West Coast?
Yeah. That’s what I was wondering too. In my imagination that might be the most interesting part of this odyssey
 
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LittleDog

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@Reinen I am definitely East Coasty, maybe even pretend city-slickerish, but I also usually try to explain acronyms for our dear readers, because I hate reading them in articles and having to search all the way back up to the top for what they mean. I should really () them. Regarding KOAs, (Kampgrounds Of America[the wacky spelling supposedly because they couldn't register the word "Campground"]) a few bucks to top up water and electric, and maybe shower and laundry is sometimes welcome. And the last one I was at had a saloon! With more than just sarsapirilla, even. BLM land is only on this half of the country, so it's not normally on my radar, but I'll try to take advantage when I can. Good camp tips, thanks.

But the nation only asks for $12 in a little envelope and trust in the decency of society, so I did spend last night in Hole-in-the-Wall campsite in Mojave National Preserve where half a sunrise was better than none at all:
Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221205_061009


The pit toilets gave me the courage to try a pack of freeze-dried camping chili. Luckily, I remembered that I had some emergency Beano in the jeep. (I think all Beano is emergency Beano)


@rdfact It's on the hitch. It's hanging a bit low right now, because I forgot to shim the tray in my hurry. I like it because it always reminds me of Luke's landspeeder in the begining of the first movie.

Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221205_062340


You can chose driver or passenger-side swing models, but I like the driver-side, because it makes a little galley when I setup:
Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221205_062859


Please pardon our appearance, we are currently renovating.


@jack bauer and @Beau Nugget without getting into specifics, I wasn't quite run out of town by an angry torch-carrying mob, but there is a burn ban in California. You know how Ben Franklin said guests and fish begin to smell after three days? Well, after six months, I was evidently pretty rank. The story is more sad and full of regrets than anything amusing, so I won't get into it. Totally not my fault. But maybe I'll avoid listening to "Margaritaville" for a while.

Note: astute readers might note that I snuck back into California to get at least one national park under my belt before leaving.
 

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jack bauer

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@Reinen I am definitely East Coasty, maybe even pretend city-slickerish, but I also usually try to explain acronyms for our dear readers, because I hate reading them in articles and having to search all the way back up to the top for what they mean. I should really () them. Regarding KOAs, (Kampgrounds Of America[the wacky spelling supposedly because they couldn't register the word "Campground"]) a few bucks to top up water and electric, and maybe shower and laundry is sometimes welcome. And the last one I was at had a saloon! With more than just sarsapirilla, even. BLM land is only on this half of the country, so it's not normally on my radar, but I'll try to take advantage when I can. Good camp tips, thanks.

But the nation only asks for $12 in a little envelope and trust in the decency of society, so I did spend last night in Hole-in-the-Wall campsite in Mojave National Preserve where half a sunrise was better than none at all:
Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221205_062859


The pit toilets gave me the courage to try a pack of freeze-dried camping chili. Luckily, I remembered that I had some emergency Beano in the jeep. (I think all Beano is emergency Beano)


@rdfact It's on the hitch. It's hanging a bit low right now, because I forgot to shim the tray in my hurry. I like it because it always reminds me of Luke's landspeeder in the begining of the first movie.

Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221205_062859


You can chose driver or passenger-side swing models, but I like the driver-side, because it makes a little galley when I setup:
Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221205_062859


Please pardon our appearance, we are currently renovating.


@jack bauer and @Beau Nugget without getting into specifics, I wasn't quite run out of town by an angry torch-carrying mob, but there is a burn ban in California. You know how Ben Franklin said guests and fish begin to smell after three days? Well, after six months, I was evidently pretty rank. The story is more sad and full of regrets than anything amusing, so I won't get into it. Totally not my fault. But maybe I'll avoid listening to "Margaritaville" for a while.

Note: astute readers might note that I snuck back into California to get at least one national park under my belt before leaving.
So you had an campfire in a no burn area and got pinched or are we just talking about a stove running without a permit?
 

Beau Nugget

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So you had an campfire in a no burn area and got pinched or are we just talking about a stove running without a permit?
I think he was making a joke about how he wasn’t quite run out of the state by a torch bearing crowd because of the burn ban. I don’t think fire has anything to do with his departure.

My interpretation is that the permanent residents of wherever he had established his temporary residence grew weary of his presence and invited him to move along, probably with a great deal emotion and demonstrative behavior
 
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LittleDog

LittleDog

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Banished due to gear hoarding...
Hey, I resemble that remark! But it doesn't count as hoarding if I actually use the junk, right? Now cameras on the other hand, those I might be hoarding at this point.

@jack bauer Worse. I walked LittleDog on a 6 1/2 foot leash within a state park, and thought the 400Wh lithium battery in the eTorque counted the jeep as a Clean Air Access OK HOV vehicle.

Thank you, unknown mod, for moving this thread to Trip Journals and Reports. I wasn't really planning on doing one, but it looks like I am now. I especially like the photo you chose for the thread title. I begrudgingly accept that it captures my current travel mode pretty well.

If you can believe it, there used to be even more stuff. I had already mailed seven or eight boxes ahead of me, including the remaining 40% side of the rear seat and the subwoofer. I even sorted two more big boxes out while on the road, and wasted a day around Lake Havasu a few days ago trying to mail them. (The pony express-looking post offices that I found on I-40 didn't have packing tape, and shipping cost almost as much as the contents) Didn't even get to see London Bridge again, though apparently the area has become something of a party town.


Night-time in Mojave is supposed to be great for star gazing, but the moon is almost full now. The moonlit desert was a different lovely. There were coyotes out last night, but they also only sang a song or two a capella before turning in early. I sort of regret not fishing out the harmonica to go with the desert and the moon and coyotes and chili and fake little electronic campfire, but it's still somewhere in the final unsorted jumbletub that I didn't have the will to tackle. (Should have used the emergency backup harmonica though)

Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221204_162734


The jeep is in there somewhere, I promise.

The way out saw some cattle crossing the road, but very little wildlife in general. Well except for either the most aggressive or friendly, thirsty, honeybees I've seen in a long while. But they left at sundown. I accidentally hit the lone butterfly at 55 mph.

Note for the future, if you're in the area, there's a campsite opening at Mitchell Caverns at Providence Mountains State Recreation Area:

Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221204_135329


(The jeep is there too)

Huge, panoramic view on a cliff, with just the tip of a mountain behind you. Must get tons of wind though. Very few spots, and you pretty much camp right below the ranger station, right next to the parking lot. But I was promised wonderful sunrises by the wife-side of the couple that are stationed there and have been taste testing the wares. Plus a toilet! Opens in a month.

Heading out towards Arizona, there's the giant geodesic ball burger joint on the side of I-40 that's never open.
Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221205_120800

Jeep Wrangler JL Coast to coast drive in JLU, going home now. 20221205_120836


Google maps says Saturdays only. Apparently aliens eat there.
 
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LittleDog

LittleDog

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I think he was making a joke about how he wasn’t quite run out of the state by a torch bearing crowd because of the burn ban. I don’t think fire has anything to do with his departure.

My interpretation is that the permanent residents of wherever he had established his temporary residence grew weary of his presence and invited him to move along, probably with a great deal emotion and demonstrative behavior

Worse yet, I realised just today that I left behind all of the cans and jars, and tinned fish and meats that I'd slowly accumulated over there! My beef goulash! My ajvar and country pâté! My weird Mexican tripe stew that I never got to try! My expensive tuna belly in a can that I brought with me six months ago!! Every variety of Polar herring!!! Gah!

For some reason, though I left all of that stuff behind, I have a giant block of swiss cheese and like two pounds of loose, bulk grits that I don't really remember packing. I mean, loose like 'in a non-original container, but also kinda all around the container' loose.
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