Unner
New member
Moab, Part 1 of Many
After months of researching, reading, and dreaming of Moab it was finally time to go. I had planned everything out in the weeks before, done a final inspection on the truck, changed my oil, and packed my things. About 6:30 AM I pulled out of the driveway to pick up my friend who would be joining me on this adventure. Most people would say you're crazy to take a truck with this many miles across the country and into the desert. I knew we would have no issues. It's a Toyota, Let's go Places!
IMG_20170310_062924626 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
We got on the road, and headed north, passing through Nashville, St. Louis, and Kansas City. The plan was to camp at Wilson State Park in central Kansas, putting us about 13 hours from home, with about 10-11 to go to Moab. We made it with no issues, making great time even passing through several large cities. We only stopped for gas and to eat. There's not much to see in this part of the country... We made it to Kansas, and the sun was starting to go down. We pulled into Wilson State Park around 9:30 and it was cold and windy. We made hot dogs, and a small fire while we set up the tents. We went to bed early knowing it was going to be cold in the morning. The thing that had me more worried though was the chance of snow/freezing rain they were calling for early in the morning. We woke up and thankfully there was no precipitation falling, that would not have been a fun way to start 10 days of camping, but it was bitterly cold. I woke up and could hardly feel my feet, it was something like 28* with a 15 mph wind at least.
Our campsite, we were the only ones camping here this night believe it or not...
DSC05356a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
I made myself get out of the tent and put shoes on and walk around. We packed up camp, took a few pictures and got in the truck with the heat blasting headed back towards the interstate. Getting out of Kansas was the only thing on our minds at this point.
DSC05366a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
On the way in we thought the ground around us looked black and scorched, but we couldn't tell for sure at night. In the morning we confirmed it. The ground all around had been burned from wildfires. You can see it on the tops of the hills in the picture below.
DSC05368a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
It was cold and miserably windy driving through Kansas, and we ended up driving into a short lived snow shower. It ended up getting worse than this, it began to stick to the roads and the temps were still dropping. We were ready to be done with Kansas...
2017-03-31_11-45-35 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
When we finally reached the Colorado border everything got better seemingly immediately. The sun came out, the temperature increased into the mid 50's and we finally found a place to eat.
We got back on the road, heading towards Denver. We took a quick detour through Denver, picking up a spare alternator because my garbage non-Denso one was starting to whine and I didn't want to be left stranded anywhere.
Then it was onto I-70 through the Rockies. The truck did really well, pulling up the hills just fine, keeping up with traffic even HEAVILY loaded down. We were probably pushing 6,000 lbs or more at this point.
Interstate 70 through western Colorado should be on everyone's bucket list of roads to drive. It's the prettiest interstate I've ever been on. Nothing compares.
DSC05454a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC05459a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC05502b by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC05508a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
We stopped at this scenic overlook, I'll let the pictures do the talking.
DSC05526a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC05530a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC05531b by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC05534a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC05535a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC05561a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
We made it as far as we could through the Rockies until we lost light, and then decided to stop and grab dinner because we wouldn't be making it to Moab until late because of all the stopping for pictures of the mountains. This is where things got interesting.
About a month or two before this trip I sent a PM to a member on TacomaWorld, [MENTION=141769]Blackdawg[/MENTION], asking him a few questions about Moab and Utah since I knew he had been several times, and gone fairly recently. We decided we wanted pizza and found a Dominos in Rifle, Colorado that we figured would be good to stop at. A $9 large 3 topping pizza sounded perfect. We were sitting there eating our pizza, and I'm looking out the window at the gas station across the street when I notice a green double cab first gen Tacoma with a bed rack and RTT filling up. I didn't think much of it, but the more I thought about it the more I realized I think I knew who drives that... As we left the parking lot the green Tacoma was leaving too. Now I could see that it had gold wheels, and I knew that it was [MENTION=141769]Blackdawg[/MENTION] driving Igor. We both got on I-70 westbound and I realized he's probably going to Moab also. Where else would a built Toyota be going westbound on I-70? I caught up as fast as I could, pulled in front and flashed my lights at him. He flashed back, but apparently didn't think much of it as he was deep in a conversation, he just noticed a cool 4Runner in front of him.
He followed me for a bit, and then realized he recognized the truck and pulled up next to me, signaling to talk on the CB. I disconnected my CB several months ago because I had nowhere to mount the antenna with the new bumper so this wasn't possible. I just gave him a sad wave and he got in front of me. I followed for the next 50 miles or so down I-70. Suddenly I see his right turn signal come on and he gets on the brakes, waiting for me to signal that I will exit too. We both get off the interstate at Loma, Colorado and jump out of the trucks, awestruck at the dumb luck of crossing paths on the way to Moab. The chances must have been one in a million. I'm 1,500 miles from home at this point crossing paths with someone I spoke to on the internet months ago about going to Utah. Monte hadn't even planned on coming to Moab until a few days before as well. We had a short conversation on the exit ramp to Loma, Colorado. Monte said he and a friend are camping near Onion Creek tonight, and running Top of the World in the morning. He invited us to come along, and I gladly accepted. We topped off in Loma, Colorado, and I followed Monte down some winding back roads through Utah, sometimes wondering where we are going, what I'm thinking following this guy I talked to on the internet and met by chance into some remote place to camp with him and one of his friends...
ImpromptU-Ah-7.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
Bombing down these winding canyon roads at night with the nearly full moon shining bright was amazing, I knew we would be in for a treat in the morning when we could see where we were at. We got to the Onion Creek trailhead, aired down, and Monte got his friend Ben (@m3bassman on TacomaWorld) on his Ham radio. Ben said he was about 10 miles in at a campsite on the right. Monte said, "Alright, we'll be there in a little bit. I picked someone up on the interstate that'll be joining us tonight." That was the end of the conversation. Leaving Ben wondering who in the world Monte had picked up and why he was bringing them camping...
I got introduced to Moab quickly, running Onion Creek at night after having been in Utah for maybe an hour at this point. We ended up driving about 12 miles in, and still couldn't find Ben, so we turned around to back track and finally found him. We parked the trucks introduced ourselves, and sat around the campfire telling stories, still in awe of the sheer luck of us crossing paths like this. We set up camp, and went to bed after a very long day. 24 hours of driving in two days, we covered 1,600+ miles. We were finally in Moab, and things were going great.
Then we were greeted with this view when we unzipped the tents in the morning.
DSC05565a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC05566a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
After months of researching, reading, and dreaming of Moab it was finally time to go. I had planned everything out in the weeks before, done a final inspection on the truck, changed my oil, and packed my things. About 6:30 AM I pulled out of the driveway to pick up my friend who would be joining me on this adventure. Most people would say you're crazy to take a truck with this many miles across the country and into the desert. I knew we would have no issues. It's a Toyota, Let's go Places!
IMG_20170310_062924626 by Unner Unner, on FlickrWe got on the road, and headed north, passing through Nashville, St. Louis, and Kansas City. The plan was to camp at Wilson State Park in central Kansas, putting us about 13 hours from home, with about 10-11 to go to Moab. We made it with no issues, making great time even passing through several large cities. We only stopped for gas and to eat. There's not much to see in this part of the country... We made it to Kansas, and the sun was starting to go down. We pulled into Wilson State Park around 9:30 and it was cold and windy. We made hot dogs, and a small fire while we set up the tents. We went to bed early knowing it was going to be cold in the morning. The thing that had me more worried though was the chance of snow/freezing rain they were calling for early in the morning. We woke up and thankfully there was no precipitation falling, that would not have been a fun way to start 10 days of camping, but it was bitterly cold. I woke up and could hardly feel my feet, it was something like 28* with a 15 mph wind at least.
Our campsite, we were the only ones camping here this night believe it or not...
DSC05356a by Unner Unner, on FlickrI made myself get out of the tent and put shoes on and walk around. We packed up camp, took a few pictures and got in the truck with the heat blasting headed back towards the interstate. Getting out of Kansas was the only thing on our minds at this point.
DSC05366a by Unner Unner, on FlickrOn the way in we thought the ground around us looked black and scorched, but we couldn't tell for sure at night. In the morning we confirmed it. The ground all around had been burned from wildfires. You can see it on the tops of the hills in the picture below.
DSC05368a by Unner Unner, on FlickrIt was cold and miserably windy driving through Kansas, and we ended up driving into a short lived snow shower. It ended up getting worse than this, it began to stick to the roads and the temps were still dropping. We were ready to be done with Kansas...
2017-03-31_11-45-35 by Unner Unner, on FlickrWhen we finally reached the Colorado border everything got better seemingly immediately. The sun came out, the temperature increased into the mid 50's and we finally found a place to eat.
We got back on the road, heading towards Denver. We took a quick detour through Denver, picking up a spare alternator because my garbage non-Denso one was starting to whine and I didn't want to be left stranded anywhere.
Then it was onto I-70 through the Rockies. The truck did really well, pulling up the hills just fine, keeping up with traffic even HEAVILY loaded down. We were probably pushing 6,000 lbs or more at this point.
Interstate 70 through western Colorado should be on everyone's bucket list of roads to drive. It's the prettiest interstate I've ever been on. Nothing compares.
DSC05454a by Unner Unner, on FlickrDSC05459a by Unner Unner, on FlickrDSC05502b by Unner Unner, on FlickrDSC05508a by Unner Unner, on FlickrWe stopped at this scenic overlook, I'll let the pictures do the talking.
DSC05526a by Unner Unner, on FlickrDSC05530a by Unner Unner, on FlickrDSC05531b by Unner Unner, on FlickrDSC05534a by Unner Unner, on FlickrDSC05535a by Unner Unner, on FlickrDSC05561a by Unner Unner, on FlickrWe made it as far as we could through the Rockies until we lost light, and then decided to stop and grab dinner because we wouldn't be making it to Moab until late because of all the stopping for pictures of the mountains. This is where things got interesting.
About a month or two before this trip I sent a PM to a member on TacomaWorld, [MENTION=141769]Blackdawg[/MENTION], asking him a few questions about Moab and Utah since I knew he had been several times, and gone fairly recently. We decided we wanted pizza and found a Dominos in Rifle, Colorado that we figured would be good to stop at. A $9 large 3 topping pizza sounded perfect. We were sitting there eating our pizza, and I'm looking out the window at the gas station across the street when I notice a green double cab first gen Tacoma with a bed rack and RTT filling up. I didn't think much of it, but the more I thought about it the more I realized I think I knew who drives that... As we left the parking lot the green Tacoma was leaving too. Now I could see that it had gold wheels, and I knew that it was [MENTION=141769]Blackdawg[/MENTION] driving Igor. We both got on I-70 westbound and I realized he's probably going to Moab also. Where else would a built Toyota be going westbound on I-70? I caught up as fast as I could, pulled in front and flashed my lights at him. He flashed back, but apparently didn't think much of it as he was deep in a conversation, he just noticed a cool 4Runner in front of him.
He followed me for a bit, and then realized he recognized the truck and pulled up next to me, signaling to talk on the CB. I disconnected my CB several months ago because I had nowhere to mount the antenna with the new bumper so this wasn't possible. I just gave him a sad wave and he got in front of me. I followed for the next 50 miles or so down I-70. Suddenly I see his right turn signal come on and he gets on the brakes, waiting for me to signal that I will exit too. We both get off the interstate at Loma, Colorado and jump out of the trucks, awestruck at the dumb luck of crossing paths on the way to Moab. The chances must have been one in a million. I'm 1,500 miles from home at this point crossing paths with someone I spoke to on the internet months ago about going to Utah. Monte hadn't even planned on coming to Moab until a few days before as well. We had a short conversation on the exit ramp to Loma, Colorado. Monte said he and a friend are camping near Onion Creek tonight, and running Top of the World in the morning. He invited us to come along, and I gladly accepted. We topped off in Loma, Colorado, and I followed Monte down some winding back roads through Utah, sometimes wondering where we are going, what I'm thinking following this guy I talked to on the internet and met by chance into some remote place to camp with him and one of his friends...
ImpromptU-Ah-7.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on FlickrBombing down these winding canyon roads at night with the nearly full moon shining bright was amazing, I knew we would be in for a treat in the morning when we could see where we were at. We got to the Onion Creek trailhead, aired down, and Monte got his friend Ben (@m3bassman on TacomaWorld) on his Ham radio. Ben said he was about 10 miles in at a campsite on the right. Monte said, "Alright, we'll be there in a little bit. I picked someone up on the interstate that'll be joining us tonight." That was the end of the conversation. Leaving Ben wondering who in the world Monte had picked up and why he was bringing them camping...
I got introduced to Moab quickly, running Onion Creek at night after having been in Utah for maybe an hour at this point. We ended up driving about 12 miles in, and still couldn't find Ben, so we turned around to back track and finally found him. We parked the trucks introduced ourselves, and sat around the campfire telling stories, still in awe of the sheer luck of us crossing paths like this. We set up camp, and went to bed after a very long day. 24 hours of driving in two days, we covered 1,600+ miles. We were finally in Moab, and things were going great.
Then we were greeted with this view when we unzipped the tents in the morning.
DSC05565a by Unner Unner, on FlickrDSC05566a by Unner Unner, on Flickr
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