16 day 5,000 mile road trip TX to LA, MS, OK, KS, NE, SD, WY, ID, UT, AZ, NM and back

[kyezrsoze]

Great story and loved the pics too. Sounds like so much fun. The night sky is amazing for sure. Thanks for sharing your story and i wouldn't mind seeing some interior pics of the items you added (fans, fridge, counsel cover, door storage). Thanks again.

I linked the fans and fridge. Other Mabett stuff is all over the site.

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[kyezrsoze]

How did you manage to get that many days off work?

Bittersweet. Wife’s health is failing so we’re traveling all summer with the kids.

 

[j_marinelli]

Awesome to see you making memories like this with the family!

 

[mcinfantry]

we did a very similar trip last year in the wife’s JLUR. 5 days in the big horns at family property and we barely left the property except to get food. That place was awesome on 4 wheelers

3 weeks and 6800 miles
Though I’d have my bronco to go this year

back in the JLUR in sept

 

[broadicustomworks]

Terlingua, TX...moon was waning but didn't come out until after midnight, that pic was around 11:30pm after all the lights at the bars/restaurants had gone out. Magical! You could see about 3 other nebulas also but that pic is straight from an iphone.

Awesome trip!
We stayed in Terlingua one night, camped in Lajitas one night, out in Big Bend another.
It was a life-changing experience there, and I'll gladly drive all the way back down there from NC to do it again, spend more time exploring. I had fairly medium cloud cover the time I was there, so I did not get to see any nebulas or the Milky Way as I had hoped.

But I did sit out by the glow of the campfire coals for several hours, watching the stars, listening to the Coyotes talk. Probably one of the top 2-3 most peaceful and relaxing moments of my life. Just me (everyone else was in the tent, crashed out), the absolute blackness of the dark night out there, and the wildlife. Silence (other than the faint sound of the Rio Grande) in between their calls so heavy you could feel it, night so dark you could actually tell there was starlight on the ground once your eyes adjusted to it. This was the night in Lajitas, which is a bit further down the road past Terlingua.

Highly, highly recommend everyone who can get out there, or any location you can that is away from civilization.
100% true on the BB trails. Rough riding until you figure out that it does start to absorb and float above the washboards and mess at a higher speed. At one point there on the southern end of River Rd (not really a road, just a sandy trail running right through the desert) I got it up to *a speed a bit higher than the posted park limit* and it was effortless and smooth as can be.

 

[bsmith922]

Awesome trip and great write-up! Sucks about Yellowstone (same happened to me a few weeks ago), but we made it to Badlands and Rushmore instead too, and we're glad that we did!

 

[Bikeric]

How did the Badlands suspension help with the Oklahoma Turnpikes? I notice no pictures from the Sooner State. Hard to keep the camera stable?

 

[68 galaxie]

Sweet looking ride, enjoy those memories, I like to ta a picture or two from a trip like that and place them in my house Every time I walk by the picture it brings back memories

 

[BlueBronco]

This post need more map. Lmk where you stayed in MS and I will dial in that stop and if you spent the night anywhere between SD and MS. I think I captured all the stops you listed but can add more if you like.

Edit. updated map. And route is the way the crow flies.

 

[kyezrsoze]

This post need more map. Lmk where you stayed in MS and I will dial in that stop and if you spent the night anywhere between SD and MS. I think I captured all the stops you listed but can add more if you like.

View attachment 351068

Stayed with friends in Brandon, MS. Then back to TX before heading to Badlands.
DFW, Brandon MS, back to DFW for a reload then to Wichita KS, Interior SD, Deadwood SD, Cody WY, had to drive around Yellowstone through Shoshoni WY to get to Jackson WY, Salt Lake UT, St. George UT x 2, Alpine AZ, Carlsbad NW, Terlingua TX, Marathon TX, DFW

 

[Taltyman]

And a swing and a miss on Colorado.

 

[mcinfantry]

This post need more map. Lmk where you stayed in MS and I will dial in that stop and if you spent the night anywhere between SD and MS. I think I captured all the stops you listed but can add more if you like.

View attachment 351068

What program are you using for that?

 

[kyezrsoze]

And a swing and a miss on Colorado.

If Yellowstone had closed down before we made it all the way north we probably would have headed over to Black Canyon, Moab, Arches, Canyonland, Capital Reef before hitting Bryce and Zion.

 

[BlueBronco]

What program are you using for that?

BlueBeam Revu. It is nothing fancy, just a pdf editor used for marking up and measuring construction documents. I found a pdf of a map online and just drew in the waypoints.

 

[Free Pizza]

Sweet looking

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