Unner's Build, 2001 T4R 4x4

[Unner]

Day 6 – Theodore Roosevelt National Park & Montana

I woke up this morning and it was quite warm inside a black truck sitting in a field. I got out and took in the solitude of the campsite I had chosen. Then I cooked eggs and bacon.

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After eating and rearranging the truck, I was back on the road and headed towards Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This is a park I’d never really heard about before, but it looked like a nice stop with wildlife and the scenery of the Dakota badlands I’d never seen before.

I stopped at the Painted Canyon off the interstate and was pretty blown away by the view. The badlands are like nothing else. The colors in the dirt and the soft rounded hills are beautiful.

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After walking around this little area for awhile I noticed there was Bison poop everywhere. There were no bison here at the time, but it set my expectations high for seeing a Bison.

I got back in the truck, and just a few miles down the road I saw a heard of wild horses off the side of the interstate. I pulled off the interstate and walked up to fence of the national park to get a few pictures of the wild horses.

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From here I drove to the Southern entrance of the park, and bought a yearlong pass to all the national parks for $80. Considering most parks are $40ish to get in, this is a great deal if you plan to go to a lot of parks like I did.

The ranger told me that there had been lots of wildlife spotings, and if I’m lucky I’ll see a Bison calf.

The first stop was this prairie dog farm.

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The interstate winds along the southern end of the park, but it’s a fairly low traffic interstate which is nice.

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Then I came around a corner, and spotted a Bison standing around eating grass. This was really neat as I’d never seen one of these before other than maybe in a zoo.

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Then, around the next curve I spotted a campground and could see a couple more Bison! I drove to the campground and watched the Bison hanging out along the river.

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[Unner]

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I got back on the main road and saw another Bison, and a little prairie dog.

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Then, further down the road I saw many more Bison. Including these two that J walked right in front of me.

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Bisons in mirror are closer than they appear.

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The next stop was Wind Canyon Trail. A short easy hike up to a nice vista point over the river and some plains where Bison herds tend to frequent apparently.

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In this picture you can see the herd of Bison in the field.

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Really does look like the wild west out here doesn’t it?

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[Unner]

The road then meandered down towards where the herd of Bison were at, and from here I could see that there were several Bison calves in the herd. Some walking around, some passed out taking a nap.

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Some fire damage that scarred the hills.

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More wild horses along the road.

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I had gone through most of the park now, and decided to get back on the road and head into Montana.

I made it to the state line and stopped to grab a picture with the sign. With traffic zipping past me at 80 mph I didn’t stay for long.

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I stopped at a rest stop to get some park information and maps, and the lady working there gave me one of every book seemingly. Armed with information I got back on the highway. There were super long stretches of highway out here with no service, something you definitely don’t see on the east coast.
This interesting sign was at the rest stop too.

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And they sure don’t mess around with short trucks out here…

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I made it to the next rest stop here and stopped to use the bathroom. While I was here I popped the hood and threw my leftovers on the intake manifold to warm up. It worked really well actually.

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[Unner]

I had been watching my CB radio antenna spin in a circle this entire trip, but with the stronger winds in North Dakota and the higher speed limits in Montana I decided I needed to do something about it. At 80 MPH I could see the antenna slapping the spare tire, it was just about reaching to the other side of the back window.

I pulled off in a nice scenic place and grabbed my 550 paracord to rig something up. I ended up tying a slip knot on both end of a 3 foot section of rope or so. I looped one end around the roof rack, and the other end got cinched tight onto the CB antenna about 6 inches from the top.

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Hopeful that my new solution would keep the antenna still, I got back on the interstate. It worked!

The weather had changed though, and now it looked like I would be driving into some ridiculous Montana thunderstorm.

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After watching the lightning strike from this storm constantly off in the distance I decided to pull off the interstate to take a few pictures of the storm front as it moved east towards me. I was fascinated with the blue sky behind me, and the black sky ahead of me.

The lightning struck non-stop to the left of this road, and to the right the sun peaked through the clouds and across the horizon. It was like scenery from a calendar or a windows background.

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I stood here, taking pictures, watching the lightning streak through the clouds, and listening to the thunder roll across the land.

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[Unner]

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The amount of light produced when the lighting would strike was pretty neat.

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After about an hour of standing here, it was starting to get a little sketchy so I packed the camera up and got in the truck. Unfortunately, I now had to drive through this mess…

I got back on the road, and almost immediately I was in the middle of this storm. It was like being blasted with a fire hose, and the lightning was so bright and constant that I felt like I was driving during daylight.

The storm finally died off, and I made a stop in Billings. I picked up a couple things, including another SD card… When I got back to the 4Runner I had to make a decision on where to camp. After studying the weather forecasts the night before I decided that Yellowstone would be my next stop, and then I would head up towards Glacier.

It was late already, something like 11 PM, and I finally decided I’d be staying at a campsite near Cody, Wyoming. I gassed up, and got on the road. With the high speed limits even on state highways I made pretty good time to Wyoming and then Cody.

Once in Cody I stopped and packed up any open food I had, which was minimal, into an airtight plastic ammo can. Not the perfect solution, but a decent way to keep any bears away I figured.

I made my way up Cedar Mountain on Spirit Mountain Road which was a narrow shelf road with a sharp drop off on the one side.

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I made camp at an open area off the trail and enjoyed my view over the small city of Cody. I parked the truck on what seemed like a decently level area, rearranged my things to make my bed, and passed out.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Love it Unner. Keep the adventure coming. The West is like no other. They drive fast in Montana; during the summer a Porsche works well. Just hope you don’t see a tornado coming.

 

[Unner]

Love it Unner. Keep the adventure coming. The West is like no other. They drive fast in Montana; during the summer a Porsche works well. Just hope you don’t see a tornado coming.

Thanks, updates should keep coming, I've got 1,000 pictures from just Yellowstone and the Tetons. Those should be the next ones up. I can imagine a Porsche would be more fun to drive than a loaded down 3rd gen 4Runner... It's hard to keep up with those 80 mph speed limits if there's any wind blowing, or if you've got to go uphill.

 

[LittleCaesar]

That is why you need that 2uz transplant.

My uncle is friends with a banker in California that has multiple properties in Montana. The guy had a 4x4 Nissan hardbody for the snow but had a 996 to traverse the interstates there during the summer.

Yellowstone is fabulous. My great grandparents visited there back when it initially opened. Both had to take a test before entering to show that they could both change brakes due to the grades and how fast the brakes wore. That wouldn’t work today.

 

[Jebb209]

968 posts aaaaaaand caught up! Killer thread! After spending nearly a week reading this thread between work and play I'm sad I have to wait for more... Very well written and documented. Can't wait for more Unner! You have given me a renewed desire to get out and explore.

 

[Unner]

That is why you need that 2uz transplant.

My uncle is friends with a banker in California that has multiple properties in Montana. The guy had a 4x4 Nissan hardbody for the snow but had a 996 to traverse the interstates there during the summer.

Yellowstone is fabulous. My great grandparents visited there back when it initially opened. Both had to take a test before entering to show that they could both change brakes due to the grades and how fast the brakes wore. That wouldn’t work today.

That wouldn't work at all today. It would have been cool to see the park way back then, it's still breath taking today, but it's very busy, with lots of tourists who have no business driving a full size suburban at all...

968 posts aaaaaaand caught up! Killer thread! After spending nearly a week reading this thread between work and play I'm sad I have to wait for more... Very well written and documented. Can't wait for more Unner! You have given me a renewed desire to get out and explore.

Thanks man! Glad you enjoyed it and I was able to keep you busy at work haha. Definitely get out there and explore, there's a lot to see!

 

[Black798]

I can imagine a Porsche would be more fun to drive than a loaded down 3rd gen 4Runner... It's hard to keep up with those 80 mph speed limits if there's any wind blowing, or if you've got to go uphill.

Welcome to my life everyday haha. It's annoying because the whole state, to me at least, seems relatively flat, especially compared to say Colorado. But there's just enough hills to make that little 3.4 really earn each mile. Really gets a guy thinking about better gears and a blower

 

[Unner]

Welcome to my life everyday haha. It's annoying because the whole state, to me at least, seems relatively flat, especially compared to say Colorado. But there's just enough hills to make that little 3.4 really earn each mile. Really gets a guy thinking about better gears and a blower

Yeah it's deceiving out there because the grades are so long and consistent. You'll be going uphill for what seems like forever. Around here all the hills are straight up and straight down, but the highest point in the state is like 2,000 ft or something like that. Constant downshifting on the interstate, and don't even think about trying to use cruise control...

 

[Unner]

Things got crazy at work back in October, I've been working 60+ hours a week since then with grad school at night so not much time for here or the 4Runner. Last weekend was nice so I installed the Prolink I've had sitting around for a few months.

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I was parked at the mall a couple weeks ago and had someone make an offer on the 4Runner. He asked if it was for sale, and I said "No, not unless you've got a crazy number in mind." He said, "How about $12k?" I said, that's probably what it's worth, but it's worth more to me. I've got a crazy number in my head that you'd have to hit for me to consider letting it go. He said "What about $18k?" That was unexpected... The crazy number I had in my head was $20k... I'm still driving it, so that wasn't good enough of an offer apparently. We walked around the truck and he commented on how clean it was, etc.

Also starting to gather lots of parts for some maintenance this spring.
-Spark Plugs/Wires/Coil Boots
-Cleaning Throttle Body and Tightening Valve Covers
-Timing Belt/Water Pump/Fan Bracket/Fan Clutch
-Rear Diff/Transfer Case Fluids
-Automatic Shifter Bushings
-Install Hella Horns
-New LBJs just as preventative maintenance

Things are starting to slow down finally at work, so maybe I can get the remainder of my trip pictures posted before I hit the 1 year mark...

 

[LittleCaesar]

Unner I thought you may have hit the road taking up professional photography or even pulling stumps for a living. Glad to see your return.

Have fun with the maintenance. I have to attack those shifter bushings sometime as well. Take a little more time and clean the IAC as well if you never have.

 

[Road Bull]

Good to hear from you [MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION] !

I know how it feels to not have much in the way of time. I'm glad things are slowing down a bit for you. Nice Pro link too. I started doing some rough calculations in my head about how much I have put into my rig since I picked it up a few years back... That number started to grow and grow until I figured that was enough of that game! I too can't imagine coming up with a number that I would be satisfied with in order to part with it. And mine is nowhere near as clean as your rig. I figure that I am pretty much the "end-user" for my 4Runner.

I hope grad school is treating you well. What are you studying again? You need to plan another big trip so that I can see some more kick-ass pics again.

 

[Unner]

Unner I thought you may have hit the road taking up professional photography or even pulling stumps for a living. Glad to see your return.

Have fun with the maintenance. I have to attack those shifter bushings sometime as well. Take a little more time and clean the IAC as well if you never have.

Unfortunately I'm not a rogue travelling photographer. Also not pulling stumps in the southern heat, that would be miserable. I did my time working outdoors in the summers down here...

I did the shifter bushings today, easy project. Took 2 hours with a break to eat dinner halfway through. I can't believe how tight the shifter feels now, it's a huge difference.

I believe the IAC is integrated into the throttle body on the 01-02s so it does get cleaned with the throttle body, but I'll have to double check.

Good to hear from you [MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION] !

I know how it feels to not have much in the way of time. I'm glad things are slowing down a bit for you. Nice Pro link too. I started doing some rough calculations in my head about how much I have put into my rig since I picked it up a few years back... That number started to grow and grow until I figured that was enough of that game! I too can't imagine coming up with a number that I would be satisfied with in order to part with it. And mine is nowhere near as clean as your rig. I figure that I am pretty much the "end-user" for my 4Runner.

I hope grad school is treating you well. What are you studying again? You need to plan another big trip so that I can see some more kick-ass pics again.

It would be really had to put a number on mine also, I'm not sure what I would do even if the other person was holding cash in their hand. I also don't see anyone else driving away in my 4Runner, it's mine.

My undergrad was mechanical engineering, but I'm going the business route for grad school. I don't have any big trips planned unfortunately... The good news for you is I still have like 2 weeks worth of pictures from my trip last May that I haven't posted, which I plan to post soon haha

 

[Unner]

Finished the spark plugs, wires, coil boots, throttle body cleaning, MAF cleaning, and tightening of valve covers this weekend. Everything went pretty smoothly, all of the valve cover bolts were fairly loose and needed at least one full turn to get back to their torque. The throttle body and intake manifold was pretty clean though, which was nice to see. I tried to clean up the valve covers as well as they were starting to get kinda filthy.

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Still assembling the parts needed for the TB and WP job. I need to buy a pulley holder of some sort for doing the camshaft seals, I will most likely do them this time around as I didn't do them last time.

 

[Unner]

Alright, time to get started with some more updates from my trip almost a year ago...

 

[Unner]

Day 7 - Yellowstone

I woke up in the morning quite hot from the sun beating down on me again, and to the voices of some people that were walking the trail. I couldn’t tell the night before, but I had picked a pretty scenic campsite for the night.

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I packed my things, and headed back down the mountain. I decided I’d drive back into Cody to grab breakfast. I stopped at a small place called “Our Place”. They advertised 25 cent coffee, so I was sold. I was also the youngest person in here by 40 years that wasn’t with their grandparents, so it had to be good. I got the huevos rancheros and was not disappointed.

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After breakfast I went across the street and got gas. Now I was ready for Yellowstone. I hopped on highway 14 and headed west towards the park. The scenery got better the closer I got to the park.

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I made it through the gate, and started the long steep ascent up, the temperature dropping all the way. I passed by a frozen lake on the side of the road, that had attracted every tourist to stop and take pictures. I continued on and stopped at this vista point, looking over the still partially frozen Yellowstone lake. The water was so still the mirror like reflection off the water was stunning.

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I drove down the mountain to the lakes edge. A storm was starting to brew along the north side of the park.

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[Unner]

The frozen part of the lake started a little farther back from the edge of the water. The edge of the water was steaming. It seemed peculiar at first, then I remembered I was standing on a massive volcano.

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It’s a strange feeling to put your hand in water that’s literally got huge blocks of ice in it, and find the water scalding hot.

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The water was incredibly clear in the lake, and the green streaks in the water due to the volcanic activity are very interesting to observe.

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Back on the road, I spotted my first wildlife in the park.

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I pulled over on the side of the road and watched this massive guy eat some grass. These animals are huge…

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The storm seemed to be getting a closer and larger.

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