A Month on the Road - Live Updates

[swooshdave]

At Painted Canyon — Day 28 and I finally get to use my recovery gear. I’m coming out of the canyon and see a van on the side of the road. I can tell they are stuck. I got out and woke them up. It was a couple from France and their friend from San Diego. After a few tries (always try the minimum first) I got them out. The Bronco didn’t even struggle. And it was safe.

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[swooshdave]

Barring any misadventures I should be home tomorrow or the next day. I’ll do a recap as soon as recover. Thanks for following along!

 

[zyglyrox]

Looks like you had a blast!

 

[swooshdave]

Looks like you had a blast!

Without a doubt.

Back to reality soon.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I’m still alive. Some highlights

Little Pigs in Asheville, NC.

Antique Archeology in Nashville

Broncos in Texas.

Tonight I’m outside of Roswell, NM. UFO Museum in the morning then off to Tucson.

Love the adventure! Thank you for sharing with us.

 

[swooshdave]

I made it home. About 9k miles! The last 50 miles might have been the hardest.

 

[swooshdave]

Now that I've had a few days to decompress I thought I would share some notes.

Impressions:
Was it as fun as the pictures showed? No, it was more fun. I met some people from other forums (not Bronco) for the first time in person and they were all totally cool and super nice. I think it's important to meet people in real life, especially folks you've interacted with for many year online.

How much did I really plan? As little as possible. I had a list of potential stops that I had started before the trip. And I had a list of people I wanted to see. Coordinating with other people actually required the most planning. I had contacted them beforehand and then I as I was in the area.

My "must see" list was Bronco Knoll and Moab. But that was about it.

For picking camping spots I mostly used https://www.campendium.com/ and https://thedyrt.com/ but I was also just Googling for "the best camping spot" for a given area.

Out of the 30 days I only spent 3 night in a hotel. But I also only camped 9 nights. Which was way less than I though I would. The rest was staying with family and friends. I wouldn't have minded camping more but I wasn't turning down a bed and hot shower either.

Favorite camping spot? It's between the spectacular view at Porcupine Rim and the solitude of Johnson Valley. But then the Painted Canyon isn't far behind. Ah, heck, they are probably all a tie...

Biggest surprise? How few people I actually ran into in the wilderness. We were at Sand Flats in Moab and I was shocked at how few people we saw there on a weekend. I think in two days we maybe saw 5 Jeeps. A lot more UTVs but even those were far and few between.

Most pleasant surprise? The UFO Museum in Roswell. I had very low expectations and it actually was very well presented.

Biggest regret? Not doing Hell's Gate.

Gear:
On the last day someone asked me if I would change my load out and I said no. Which surprised them. I never didn't have what I needed. The one thing I thought I would use but never did was the portable toilet. But better to have it and not use it that not have it (you can't always dig a hole in some places). Most of the disperse campground actually had pit toilets. I wasn't expecting that.

Keeping it simple with Mountain House and trail mix kept be going just fine. I took a ton of inspiration from @B Miller and his YouTube channel. Keep it simple and you'll be fine.

MVG (Most Valuable Gear): Top of my list was the tailgate table. Invaluable to have somewhere to stage and cook on. The Inspired Overland RTT was perfect for me. Just big enough and nice and light. Having cold drinks in the fridge might seem like a luxury but when it was 105F in New Mexico and grabbing a cold Gatorade was perfect. And then another key item from NW Bronco was the MSR Dromedary Bag Water Reservoir. It was great for washing hands or kitchen stuff.

Will I ever get a chance at a trip like at again? Probably not. But I'm ready for short trips and there are plenty of places nearby that will be just as fun. Ok, almost as fun.

Anyways... I'm happy to answer any questions and I hope you have a chance for your own adventure.

 

[swooshdave]

Oh, There's a butt load in Moab. We were there two weeks ago.

Saw no Broncos on the trails but a couple in town.

 

[B Miller]

Now that I've had a few days to decompress I thought I would share some notes.

Impressions:
Was it as fun as the pictures showed? No, it was more fun. I met some people from other forums (not Bronco) for the first time in person and they were all totally cool and super nice. I think it's important to meet people in real life, especially folks you've interacted with for many year online.

How much did I really plan? As little as possible. I had a list of potential stops that I had started before the trip. And I had a list of people I wanted to see. Coordinating with other people actually required the most planning. I had contacted them beforehand and then I as I was in the area.

My "must see" list was Bronco Knoll and Moab. But that was about it.

For picking camping spots I mostly used https://www.campendium.com/ and https://thedyrt.com/ but I was also just Googling for "the best camping spot" for a given area.

Out of the 30 days I only spent 3 night in a hotel. But I also only camped 9 nights. Which was way less than I though I would. The rest was staying with family and friends. I wouldn't have minded camping more but I wasn't turning down a bed and hot shower either.

Favorite camping spot? It's between the spectacular view at Porcupine Rim and the solitude of Johnson Valley. But then the Painted Canyon isn't far behind. Ah, heck, they are probably all a tie...

Biggest surprise? How few people I actually ran into in the wilderness. We were at Sand Flats in Moab and I was shocked at how few people we saw there on a weekend. I think in two days we maybe saw 5 Jeeps. A lot more UTVs but even those were far and few between.

Most pleasant surprise? The UFO Museum in Roswell. I had very low expectations and it actually was very well presented.

Biggest regret? Not doing Hell's Gate.

Gear:
On the last day someone asked me if I would change my load out and I said no. Which surprised them. I never didn't have what I needed. The one thing I thought I would use but never did was the portable toilet. But better to have it and not use it that not have it (you can't always dig a hole in some places). Most of the disperse campground actually had pit toilets. I wasn't expecting that.

Keeping it simple with Mountain House and trail mix kept be going just fine. I took a ton of inspiration from @B Miller and his YouTube channel. Keep it simple and you'll be fine.

MVG (Most Valuable Gear): Top of my list was the tailgate table. Invaluable to have somewhere to stage and cook on. The Inspired Overland RTT was perfect for me. Just big enough and nice and light. Having cold drinks in the fridge might seem like a luxury but when it was 105F in New Mexico and grabbing a cold Gatorade was perfect. And then another key item from NW Bronco was the MSR Dromedary Bag Water Reservoir. It was great for washing hands or kitchen stuff.

Will I ever get a chance at a trip like at again? Probably not. But I'm ready for short trips and there are plenty of places nearby that will be just as fun. Ok, almost as fun.

Anyways... I'm happy to answer any questions and I hope you have a chance for your own adventure.

Thank you for the mentions and I’m happy your set up worked well! Glad you had a great time and happy you made it home safe. See you soon!

 

[BigFootie]

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[ElDuderino]

Great thread.

This is the main reason I bought my Bronco, to make it into an adventure vehicle.

I’m planning a 3-4 trip out West to Colorado/Utah/New Mexico next summer. In the meantime I’m modding out my Bronco to be more liveable. One of the main things I’m deciding on is a RTT. How did the Inspired Overland tent work out for you? Is it the regular or the XL? I’m torn between a used Superlite, a GFC RTT V2, and an inspired overland XL (which I see is currently sold out).

 

[swooshdave]

Great thread.

This is the main reason I bought my Bronco, to make it into an adventure vehicle.

I’m planning a 3-4 trip out West to Colorado/Utah/New Mexico next summer. In the meantime I’m modding out my Bronco to be more liveable. One of the main things I’m deciding on is a RTT. How did the Inspired Overland tent work out for you? Is it the regular or the XL? I’m torn between a used Superlite, a GFC RTT V2, and an inspired overland XL (which I see is currently sold out).

For me the tent was perfect. But it’s small and if you’re over 5’9” you may be cramped. But if you lay at an angle you’ll have more room.
The one thing I’d look for is a tent that’s completely sealed when closed. Some of them have snap covers which may not seal. The Inspired Overland zips shut with a waterproof zipper. When you get in dusty conditions you’ll appreciate it.

 

[swooshdave]

While I didn’t take a lot of video I try to get a couple clips of various spots. There’s some good drone footage from Bronco Knoll and some entertaining dash views from Moab.

 

[BostonSasquatch]

Oh, There's a butt load in Moab. We were there two weeks ago.

"What's the last thing to go through a bug's mind when it hits your windshield?"
"It's butt!"

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Went exploring around Sand Hollow today. Lordy, OnX Off-road app sucks. You would think you could find a trail and hit start and it would show you the way. But no. At one point I’m on a 5/10 rated trail. There were some serious pucker moments. While I got them on video I’m sure everyone will just scoff. Camped out by the lake tonight. Lots of bats eating lots of bugs.

Woohoo! Looks like a blast, thank you for sharing with us. Enjoy your Bronco!

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