paddlenbike
10-10-2008, 10:58 AM
Just got back from a little road trip to the Grand Canyon, Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley. We took the Subaru to give the 4Runner a break, but that didn't stop us from offroading anyway. :thumbup:
Saw lots of wildlife on this trip; elk were everywhere. They would walk right into camp and hang out with us for a bit. They stopped just short of sitting down at the picnic table and having lunch with us.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2223.jpg
Grand Canyon South Rim. Plateau Point trail in foreground. It's 8.9 miles one-way from the rim to Plateau Point, then another 4.5 miles to the Colorado River bottom. Little bit much for a day hike.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2259.jpg
Lunch or dessert? Trust me, it is both. http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/emoticons/lickout.gif
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2260.jpg
South Rim and Colorado River, looking upstream toward Lake Powell.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2284.jpg
South Rim, again.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2357.jpg
Did I mention there were elk everywhere?
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2379.jpg
To break up the 12.5 hour drive back to California from the Grand Canyon, we left a day early and spent a day in Mojave National Preserve. Here the Subaru poses for a picture.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2448.jpg
Hello.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2450.jpg
We had Hole in the Rock campground pretty much to ourselves.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2457.jpg
The Subaru makes a nice road trip vehicle. I dig the interior.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2470.jpg
Gotta throw some vehicle content in here to keep this post offroad/car oriented. :D
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2481.jpg
This is roughing it:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2477.jpg
Road that leads to the Mojave Road 4x4 trail:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2495.jpg
I stopped to photograph this slow moving train. I was well off the tracks, but that didn't stop the engineer from staying on the horn as he rolled by at 10 mph. I need a train horn for the 4Runner...if you haven't noticed, they're loud.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2503.jpg
We did a 15 mile stretch of the Mojave Road 4x4 trail. It was quite easy, just a lot of "whooptie doos" and soft sand driving. This Outback is the turbo model with a 5-speed manual transmission, which comes with a viscous coupling center diff and a limited slip in the rear. The automatics have VDC, which will cut the throttle back if the wheels start to slip. What's the fun in that?
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2509.jpg
Big horn sheep:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2519.jpg
More wildlife. A wild burro spotted at the Cinder Cones/Lava beds:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2525.jpg
And yes, Indie dog likes her new toy.
Cinder cones/lava beds:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2527.jpg
Random shot of the straight highways heading home. We cut two hours off the GPS's estimated ETA coming home. :shake:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2533.jpg
Saw two more really cool things on the way home--either a large bobcat or a small mountain lion at the beginning of Monitor Pass and a full-on 200 pound mountain lion on the other side of Monitor Pass. Even though we were safe inside the car, the sight of this thing made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
Overall, good trip. Weather was great, not too many tourists and we had no problems making reservations at any of our stops. Grand Canyon was relatively quiet, with the exception of the temporary chaos that occurs when a tour bus pulls up and everyone pushes each other out of the way to get off the bus and take photos. Mojave and Death Valley were virtually empty, making this a great time to travel.
Saw lots of wildlife on this trip; elk were everywhere. They would walk right into camp and hang out with us for a bit. They stopped just short of sitting down at the picnic table and having lunch with us.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2223.jpg
Grand Canyon South Rim. Plateau Point trail in foreground. It's 8.9 miles one-way from the rim to Plateau Point, then another 4.5 miles to the Colorado River bottom. Little bit much for a day hike.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2259.jpg
Lunch or dessert? Trust me, it is both. http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/emoticons/lickout.gif
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2260.jpg
South Rim and Colorado River, looking upstream toward Lake Powell.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2284.jpg
South Rim, again.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2357.jpg
Did I mention there were elk everywhere?
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2379.jpg
To break up the 12.5 hour drive back to California from the Grand Canyon, we left a day early and spent a day in Mojave National Preserve. Here the Subaru poses for a picture.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2448.jpg
Hello.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2450.jpg
We had Hole in the Rock campground pretty much to ourselves.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2457.jpg
The Subaru makes a nice road trip vehicle. I dig the interior.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2470.jpg
Gotta throw some vehicle content in here to keep this post offroad/car oriented. :D
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2481.jpg
This is roughing it:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2477.jpg
Road that leads to the Mojave Road 4x4 trail:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2495.jpg
I stopped to photograph this slow moving train. I was well off the tracks, but that didn't stop the engineer from staying on the horn as he rolled by at 10 mph. I need a train horn for the 4Runner...if you haven't noticed, they're loud.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2503.jpg
We did a 15 mile stretch of the Mojave Road 4x4 trail. It was quite easy, just a lot of "whooptie doos" and soft sand driving. This Outback is the turbo model with a 5-speed manual transmission, which comes with a viscous coupling center diff and a limited slip in the rear. The automatics have VDC, which will cut the throttle back if the wheels start to slip. What's the fun in that?
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2509.jpg
Big horn sheep:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2519.jpg
More wildlife. A wild burro spotted at the Cinder Cones/Lava beds:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2525.jpg
And yes, Indie dog likes her new toy.
Cinder cones/lava beds:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2527.jpg
Random shot of the straight highways heading home. We cut two hours off the GPS's estimated ETA coming home. :shake:
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/2008_GrandCanyon/IMG_2533.jpg
Saw two more really cool things on the way home--either a large bobcat or a small mountain lion at the beginning of Monitor Pass and a full-on 200 pound mountain lion on the other side of Monitor Pass. Even though we were safe inside the car, the sight of this thing made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
Overall, good trip. Weather was great, not too many tourists and we had no problems making reservations at any of our stops. Grand Canyon was relatively quiet, with the exception of the temporary chaos that occurs when a tour bus pulls up and everyone pushes each other out of the way to get off the bus and take photos. Mojave and Death Valley were virtually empty, making this a great time to travel.