Road Tripping for 2023

This year my wife and I have been discussing taking a 2 week road trip from Sedona to Denver Colorado. This would take us up from Sedona to the Grand Canyon, over east to Cortez Co, then north to Moab, over east again to Grand Junction, then to Morrison and ending in Estes Park. Along the way, I would love to do some fly fishing, fossil hunting, Gold panning, and just general exploration. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to bring my Jeep out there so will be renting something local. 

I would love to get some feedback from others maybe in region on what are "Must Do's" for the different towns. So far, I am looking at the following activities and stops:

Sedona:

• Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village
• Cathedral Rock
• Seven Sacred Pools
  
• Honanki & Palatki Heritage Site
• Sedona's Rainbow Trout Farm
• Multiple Wineries

Grand Canyon:

• South Rim Entrance
• Desert View Watchtower
• Grand Canyon Railway
• Horseshoe Bend
• Fly Fishing in the Canyon

Cortez:

• Mesa Verde National Park
• Montezuma Valley
• Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
• Notah Dineh Trading Co

Moab:

• Arches National Park
• Corona Arch
• Moab Cowboy Off-Road Adventures
• Potash Road Dinosaur Tracks and Petroglyphs

Grand Junction:

• Dinosaur Hill
  
• Multiple Wineries

Morrison:

• Dinosaur Ridge Discovery Center
• Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre

Estes Park:

• Rocky Mountain Park
• Museum
• Trout Haven Fishing Pond

The plan will be to fly into Sedona and back home from Denver. Would love to understand from others if we are missing anything that we should not. Mostly interested in Fly Fishing and Fossil Hunting locations/services and places where we can learn to pan gold (not too much of that on the East Coast). My wife loves to hit different wineries and antique shops and ghost towns...

The Journey is what counts, Adventure Awaits!

#jeeplife #rubicon #jl #wrangler #gladiator #jeep #jeepporn #retrorubicon

Jeepers Helping Jeepers

Over the years I have witnessed varying acts of kindness handed out within the Jeep community in many forms. From something as simple as helping a buddy with an install to figuring out some wiring, all the way up to lending a vehicle or providing missing parts. This just breeds good karma and is always welcome to see in our world these days.

On my recent Coal Mountain Spring Jeep Jamboree, I had the chance to see this play out in several ways when my friend lost his upper control arm mount while we were deep into the trials. This was not a minor issue and resulted in the end of his driving day. To make it worse,we were in a section of the trail that was about halfway, very tight and with no "easy" way out.

What happened next was really cool. A trail guide was actually the first one to notice the carnage and pointed it out. My friend made his way up to the top of the hill where the ground was semi-flat. Within a few minutes of hopping out of his Jeep, he was surrounded by other drivers ready to help. After several people assessed the situation and a trail fix could not be completed, two trail riders from Vermont slid under his Jeep and began to ratchet strap his broken mount back into place. They worked on the Jeep while laying on boulders without any issues. I along with other drivers provided all of our ratchet straps to aid in the "band aide". A driver who was quite a bit back from us, walked up and after noticing the extend of the damage offered to trailer home his Jeep so he would not need to worry about what to do with it.

There were several good humored shouts to burn it in place or push it back down the hill but all in all, everyone was very supportive and compassionate about the situation. It is very scary to see your Jeep broken down so far from a trail and home while not knowing how you can fix it.

Once the trail repair was in place and seemed to be holding, we still had to finish the obstacle and make our way out to a safe exit point. I led the way with my Jeep in case he needed a pull, but the trail guides and other drivers picked out the best possible track for him to proceed on doing as little damage as possible to his Jeep. Nick, from Jeep Jamboree, walked the entire obstacle along side my friend helping him with wheel placement and keeping a close eye on the ratchet straps.

Once we were able to clear the Blue trails, we set off on our own down the Green trails and waited at the crossroads for the head of AOAA to help us out the rest of the way. They guided us along the Green trails for an hour and a half until we were back at the parking lot.

The repair held the entire time and even when he loaded the Jeep onto the trailer for it's journey home. At the dinner that night, my friend also walked away with a "Major Award"!

We were able to finish out the weekend without too much stress knowing that his Jeep had a safe way home. He became my co-pilot for day two (and photographer) for the remainder of the trip. This was a great experience and I hope to join another Jeep Jamboree in the near future, maybe up in Vermont this time!

The Journey is what counts, Adventure Awaits!

Happy New Year!!!

Just a quick post to wish you all a very Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year. 2018 was a great year for me and I am looking for more of the same in 2019!

Attitude is what gets you out of bed each day and lets you choose to have a good day or a bad day - always opt for the Good Days! I am a firm believer in positive thinking and not because it holds some sort of mystical powers but because I feel people in general prefer to associate with positive thinkers. It opens you up to many more new opportunities than if i you approach your day from a negative perspective.

Choose to be positive and more than not, good things will be made available to you. Make sure that you take full advantage of the opportunities when presented because they will not stick around too long.

Anyway, off my soap box and back outside...I installed LED lights for my RSE Step/Sliders and wired up my brake controller, last thing on my list is installing my Midland MTX275 Radio.

The Journey is what counts, Adventure Awaits!

Down to the Wire!

So I received an email from my Jeep Dealership today stating that my JLU Rubicon will be there in a couple days! Wow, that is huge news for me, I was hoping that this would be a Christmas present (to myself) and now it looks like it might really work out. Still a little bit of a long shot but I am sending as many positive thoughts to the train and subsequent truck that will ultimately deliver my Jeep. Please avoid all storms and delays and drop my Jeep off before Christmas Day! If there was an appropriate dance to go along with my prayers, I'd be doing that too right now.

So now I have some planning to do...I have one more day left of work before I break for the Holidays and do not have to return to work until January 3rd! That should give me sufficient time to install the RSE Step/Sliders and the Teraflex Falcon Nexus Steering stabilizer provided my friend is not too busy and we have some decent weather. I would also love to take it wheeling over the break so I need to fit some "behind the wheel" time into the schedule and then there's going to be many hours just sitting in it with a stupid grin on my face, that should take the most time.

I got a survey to fill out from FCA the other day asking about my experience with Jeep Chat and specifically "Michelle" who helped me on one of my many requests for information. All in all, I think the chat was a positive experience and I would definitely use it again (when I order my Gladiator - don't tell my wife) but I thought of one major enhancement... PICTURES! Wouldn't it be awesome to receive pictures of your build along the way? It does not have to be too many shots but maybe 2-3, from each big milestone, maybe paint, interior, and it rolling off the line. You would think it would be easy enough to automate since they track these along the way by barcode. Once they hit a certain point, a digital camera snaps a quick picture and sends off an email to the lucky "soon to be" owner. It would definitely make me happy to get one in my email.

Not sure if this blog will ever become important enough for FCA to read so I am asking each of you to suggest this whenever you have a chance, maybe if they hear it from enough of us, they will think about it.

Now I need to get back to dreaming, I mean planning what to do first...

The Journey is what counts, Adventure Awaits!

Cool New (to me) Product Spotlight...

Okay, so I (like you) am always searching the web to find something new for my JL, that's what we do when we can't drive it. Since my JL is still sitting somewhere in a warehouse in Toledo, Ohio awaiting shipment, I have lots of time to google new parts (much to my wife's and our check account's horror).

I like to try and find new things that are not on every Jeep you see. On one of my recent searches for a new JL bumper, I came across Full Metal Fabworks out of Big Bear City, CA. I had never heard of them before so I spent some time on their website checking out all they have to offer. Sadly, they do not have many JL items yet but had quite a few JK parts that looked cool. I contacted FMF and Andrew replied the next day. I love the quick follow up and he indicated that they should start producing JL parts in the 2nd quarter of 2019 (so between April and June).

Now their bumpers are pretty cool and I liked the look but what I really fell in love with was their version of "tube doors". They call them the "ZSR Vertical Opening Trail Doors" and you need to check them out. They are a patent pending design and something really different. I have never seen a pair on a Jeep near me yet so that is pretty cool. They run about $1800 for a 4dr JK pair so they definitely don't fall into the "budget" category but sometimes I ignore the budget (shhh!). I need to find someone who has them and check them out in person. If any of you decide to purchase a set before I do or get to see them in person, please let me know what you think.

If you are in the market and you want something a little unique, these are worth a look...

The Journey is what counts, Adventure Awaits!

Jeep JL Build Update

So I am getting super excited, I recently learned that my Jeep JLU Rubicon's factory build is complete! I now have in my possession the build sheet and my Window Sticker! I am just waiting on shipment from Toledo, Ohio to my dealer in NJ, so hopefully, I actually have a shot at seeing my Jeep before Christmas/New Years' break is over. I would love to be able to play with it and start on some of the build (like the RSE Step/Sliders I have sitting in my garage) while I am off from work. I have also been online trying to decide on a new front bumper and steering stabilizer while I wait for it to arrive.

On top of this, the Jeep JL Wrangler was just named SUV of the year by Motortrend magazine! I do think the designers did a really nice job on the modifications to the JK to produce the JL without sacrificing much of anything. The JL is, without a doubt, the next incarnation of what made Jeep great and I think it will continue to bring new fans to the product line. And if that was not enough, take a look at the new Jeep Gladiator and you will be hard pressed to find a better line of vehicles for the outdoor and off-road markets. Very well done in my opinion! Only issue I see with the Gladiator is that now I want to buy both and I am out of money!

Back to my shopping, in searching for a front bumper, I had already shared that I really loved the AEV JL bumpers demoed at SEMA but I failed to catch one other contender, the new Bondi bumper from ARB! This is a very cool and different looking bumper than I am hoping to see in person soon. If I needed to buy a bumper today, it would either come from Artec Industries or Genright as I really like both of their offerings but after seeing the Bondi bumper, I think I will wait just a bit longer...

The next item I am definitely interested in is the Teraflex Falcon Nexus EF 2.2 Fast Adjust Steering Stabilizer that I have been reading some great things about. One of the common issues I am seeing on all the forums surrounds what some are calling "Death Wobble" but seems more to be a steering issue than real death wobble (but as I have not experienced either personally, I cannot say for sure). Either way, this steering stabilizer offers some great customization options for your daily drive, off-road excursion, and the highway commute.

The last item, for the first phase of the build, will be new wheels if I can afford them. I really like the bronze look on white jeeps and have seen a few that are peaking my interest... Which appeals to you the most?

  The Journey is what counts, Adventure Awaits!

Somewhat a bitter sweet morning...

So, yesterday was a bit cold but still a nice day without too much wind so I decided to take off the few items I planned to keep from my JK in the hopes of using them on my JL or selling them. As it turned out, I felt a little sad for INCUS (I named my JK) in those moments when, for the first time ever, I was stripping parts off of him with no intention of upgrading or replacing them. He looks a little naked now and it got me thinking about all the good times we had.

There were many fun times and I could always count on him to bring a smile on my face after a rough day at work. I put almost 80,000 miles on him from December 2013 until now and never had any issues. We have been all up and down the East Coast with him from Florida to Maine and as far west as PA (so not that far). I have driven him off-road in the snow, mud and sand, crossed some small streams and even climbed over a few rocks. After a thorough wash, he was presentable enough to take to my cousin's wedding in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina and he attended the funeral of a very good friend in upstate NY. He was the "go to" vehicle when my son learned to drive and was a huge part of him passing his "behind the wheel" driving test. INCUS was a part of the family and I preferred to take him out more than our other vehicles.

I know I will be very happy with my new JL but can't help feeling a little guilty or wondering what his new owners will be like. Will they take him out in to the woods and let him stretch his legs, allow him to play in the mud, or swerve to catch every puddle they pass? I can only hope so...

I realize now that I will miss him when he's gone and plan to enjoy my few remaining weeks with him and I felt compelled to jot down this quick tribute to all the joy he has given me and to say,

"Thank you, INCUS, I hope your next family deserves you and treats you right!" 

The Journey is what counts, Adventure Awaits!

To Sticker or not to sticker...That is the question!

So I think I mentioned a few posts back that I am trying to decide on an accent color. Right now it's between Orange and Blue. Just to refresh your memory, here is what my JL will look like. As you can see, there are Red highlights on the Rubicon lettering along with the "Jeep" logo on the sides so that will need to be addressed if I go with either of my two color choices. Additionally, I have always been a fan of the CJ look from the late 70's and early 80's and have recently found a pretty cool site for decals that has the retro decals from the real Renegade and Golden Eagle days and it got me thinking... Maybe I go all Retro and go with something like these:

Check out their Website for more ideas, they have more decals than I have ever seen.

I am not sure I will go with either as they are pretty BOLD and I am not that flashy but I do really like the look. For now I am still back and forth between the Orange and Blue but Blue is definitely pulling ahead. The other issue I have with both of these decals is that the JL Rubicon hood is not flat so I am not even sure these style decals will fit well. Just fun to dream...

On Instagram yesterday, I saw a white JK with a very similar Golden Eagle decal to the one above. It was not the newer decal and it looked pretty cool on that build. Got me thinking again but I do not want to copy someone else's build that much.

I plan to wait for a bit after I have my JL before I make any "lasting" decisions on decals but it's fun to plan what "could be..."

The Journey is what counts, Adventure Awaits!

Top Jeep Destinations... The Bucket List!

So I wanted to share my "Bucket List" of locations that I would love to visit in my Jeep. I may never actually get to all these places but it is definitely worth trying.  This is a pretty big world and we should try to see as much as possible before we retire and have to pick one place to live in for the rest of our lives. Here, in no specific order, are my tops picks because they either are awesome off-road destinations and/or they are places I really want to visit with my Jeep (some are a bit more realistic than others):

Wilderness Lodge - Walt Disney World

• Walt Disney World (been here, done that many times) - I just needed to add one place that I can check off my list as a win!
• Daytona's Jeep Beach
• The famed Rubicon Trail
• Moab Utah for Easter Jeep
• Deadwood South Dakota
• Ouray Colorado
• Bethel Maine - should hit this area on next year's Northeast Trip!
• Ocean City Maryland's Jeep Week
• Australia - I have a good friend who lives there and 4 wheels
• Land Rover's Test Track/Proving grounds in the UK just to show them how it's done!
• Washington State along the coast
• Oregon along the coast
• Napa Valley Wine Trip
• MARs! Would be pretty awesome to be the first manned 4WD vehicle to drive on Mars - I know this is a long shot but you never know who reads your blogs! NASA, if you are reading this, I volunteer me and my JL! (I'd take the Moon too if MARs is already spoken for...)

As you can tell, many of these trips are Jeep Jamboree events and that is perfect for me. They save me the planning that would need to go into a trip like this and also insure I am not out wheeling alone in an unfamiliar location. It's win/win! Check out their website for more details and other upcoming trips, but hurry, they sell out fast!

The Journey is what counts, Adventure Awaits!

2019 Northeast Overland Trip Plans

2019 Northeast Excursion Plans

So Far...

When I drove home last night from purchasing our Christmas Tree, I saw my trailer sitting in the driveway all alone with no where to go during this long cold winter! It started me thinking and when i start thinking, I always start planning my next adventure.

Our good friends purchased their camper the week after we purchased ours and we plan to tour around this great country of ours Overland style. We both took short trips this past fall to "break-in" our trailers but nothing more than 3 days and nothing farther than 500 miles.

Next year will be our first big trip and we are planning to hit the Great Northeast including a couple quick trips into Canada, our frosty but friendly neighbor. What I am thinking is that we will spend about 2 days in each area checking out the sites and trails as we explore new towns.

The first leg of our journey will take us up to High Falls Gorge in the New York Adirondack Mountains. This looks to be a great place to explore their 22 acre nature park. Their website boasts four splendid Adirondack waterfalls cascading over rocks into a deep crevice carved a billion years ago. You can also dip your fly line in the world famous AuSable River in the shadow of Whiteface Mountain as it cascades over ancient granite cliffs. This will bring us pretty close to Lake Placid where the 1980 Winter Olympics were held. There is plenty to see in the Adirondacks so we should have no problem filling only two days here!


From here, the plan is to head further north into the Great White North, well at least Montreal. I honestly do not know too much about Montreal so I will need to do some research before we head out but it seems to be a very diverse city with Old Town sections as well as modern districts all around. I
have also heard the shopping is great so my wife should really enjoy this stop. More to come on this once I have done more digging...

Hitching up the trailers once again, we will return to the USA on route to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. I was turned onto this place by Jim (did not get his last name) at the Quadratec Jeeps & Java event this past December. It has a 17 mile loop around the property that we can explore and the sights look amazing. This looks very serene and peaceful. After the trail ride, I am really looking forward to another fishing spot along the East Branch of the Penobscot River. A couple more days exploring the area will have us heading back into Canada but a bit further east this time.

Saint John in New Brunswick Canada is the next leg of our journey and one I am looking forward to.

I have always wanted to go here and witness the Reversing Falls in the Bay of Fundy. For those of you that are not aware, the Bay of Fundy have one of the largest changes between high and low tide on earth! This area is also rich in history going back to the whaling days and beyond. Depending on who you are talking to, New Brunswick might also have been the Vinland that the Vikings spoke of! That alone is enough reason to visit!


Once we have proven that the Vikings discovered North America long before Columbus ever thought to hop on a boat, we will be returning to Maine for the last major leg of our journey and the best part! Acadia National Park and I am ashamed to admit that this will be the first National Park that I have ever visited and I am 48! I am really excited to start this trip!
LOBSTER!!! I plan to eat enough Lobster that I develop an allergy to it. We will be heading to Cadillac Mountain to see the sunrise before anyone else in North America can, explore Bar Harbor before a classic Maine lobster bake, and drive the Park Loop Road.

On our way south to return home, we will be stopping at one of my favorite Lobster Pounds in Maine, The Bedrock Lobster Pound to fill up our coolers! This will be an EPIC trip.

I sincerely hope that this inspired you to sit down with your family and friends, open up a map and pick a path that you can explore! The Journey is what matters - Adventure Awaits!