This turkey can trot...

Black Friday Cheryl and I went North to test the Jeeps off road prowess with my Jeep club's first annual Turkey Trot.

 

The recent snow fall had me concerned as the Jeep is only on 28" all season sneakers and, well, short compared to many of the built up Jeeps in the club.  We played follow the leader and drove some unmaintained class VI roads in Southern NH.

We held the group up for about a half hour when the Jeep couldn't climb a snowy, slippery ledge.  A committee immediately convened and the problem was solved, we were on our way.

Tow strap committee

We were on our way, or so we thought....

 

We ultimately needed a tow for the next 100 yards through a steep rocky section of trail.  The Jeep sacrificed a plastic center hub cap but otherwise survived unscathed.

A rolling stone gathers no moss....

Same goes for Jeeps.    After nearly 14,000 miles in six weeks the Jeep enjoyed a rest in the driveway.  However in this time some life sprung up along the windshield seams.   Some plant spores fed by nutrient rich dust and ample water coming down the windshield took root and flourished, briefly.

Something's growing

More something

The Comanche's "rest" was nearly six weeks before I took to looking after its wounds.  I had the catalytic converter replaced and found several intake manifold bolts went missing during our journey.  We also now have a leaking power steering unit, leaking front shocks and our tires are badly worn and cracked. The later will have to wait till budget allows for repairs.

The early snow in the North East (Halloween weekend) brought a lot of trees and limbs down.  The Jeep was called into service pulling some large hanging limbs to the ground at my parents house.  This added insult to injury with it's all ready badly mangled bumper.

Boo-boo bumper

The Jeep is happily resigned to hauling firewood and bikes around for the time being.

The End?

This journey has come to a close.  There will be more, perhaps not as lengthy.  In our haste we missed the South, and much of the East.  They will be easier to visit should we have less time available.   There is also much to see and do in our own backyard.   

The Jeep limped into the driveway and I imagined it would then expire just as the Bluesmobile did to Jake and Elwood Blues.  It did not and soldiers on, just a flesh wound, I suppose.

There’s lots I'd like to do to make future trips less taxing on the motor and the body. 

1)Exhaust system; by design it sits much lower than it could.  The catalytic converter and muffler could be raised as much as 4” keeping them less prone to damage.

2)Mechanical fan needs to be replaced with electric; lighter and less drag on engine.

3)Air box needs modification to allow the engine to breath better.

4)Splash protection added under engine, some creek fording in Colorado brought this point home as evidence of spray/splash was very high in the engine bay.

5)Idiot lights replaced with actual gauges.  These lights only alert you to a problem that has already occurred.

6)Modest suspension lift of 1-2”

7)Fabricate winch mount to be hidden behind front bumper.

8)Hard wire on-board air system (currently portable)

9)Dual isolated batteries to allow running electrical accessories/charger without worry

10)Fabricate new rear bumper allowing for better departure angle and 2” receiver for towing.

11)Upgrade headlights.  We didn't do much night driving but found driving in our own shadow due to cars behind with brighter lights harrowing. 

I am sure there is more, but this is all that comes to mind this late at night.  Budget rules the roost now that I am on a fixed income.  I suppose I could get another job......nah not yet.

Stay tuned.......

Burlingame

A nice night and day with Cheryl and kids.....good to be (almost) home.

Eight States

We were up before 7 and I took advantage of the showers.  Took about five minutes to get hot water and then it smelled funny.  Oh well, I probably smelled funny anyway.  Made a quick breakfast of oatmeal and hit the road a few minutes after eight.

We camped close to the West Virginia /Virginia border so we crossed quickly.  After a few hours we saw a sign for National Historic Battlefield so we stopped.  Despite the fancy sign, we were greeted by a rough gravel parking lot torn up from numerous donuts.

Massive battle?

Not the kind you eat, the kind teenagers do when they get their first car.  Not me though, my first car didn't have that kind of power.   Plus any car can do a donut on gravel, amateurs.

We crossed back into West Virginia then quickly through Maryland into Pennsylvania.  We were making good time but the Jeep was running rough.  I began to worry about New Jersey/New York traffic.   The Jeep has not had a cooling issue yet but crippled I feared New York would do it in.  Traffic got heavier as soon as we got to Northern New Jersey and continued all the way through Manhattan.

Thankfully the traffic never stopped moving and the Jeep limped along.

Connecticut.  Hereby declared Traffic Capital of JeepincrossAmerica.blogspot by me.  It was stop and go through 60% of the way across on Rt.95.  They are used to this I guess as they have strategically placed traffic bulletins warning of traffic delays.  What was irritating is they don't tell you why there is a delay.  Plus as soon as you cross the posted delay area you are greeted by another illuminated sign announcing another delay of 13 miles or so. I just want to get home to my Love!

At any rate we made it into Rhode Island and stopped at Burlingame State Park Campground.  We got in around 7:45PM, found our site and walked over to surprise Cheryl at her site.  Happy times.

The journey continues............stay tuned.

smoke

We stopped for brunch today and the truck is still smoking when I stop.  Looking under I find the catalytic converter roasting hot.  Possible causes; bad gas, unburnt gas getting through combustion.  Both these are likely possible.  The truck does seem to have some sort of exhaust restriction.  If the cat is getting plugged, I imagine it will be very loud when it suddenly fails completely.  Fun times ahead.

West Virginia

We drove across Kentucky, bailing on the interstate and taking some nice secondary highways.  Through the Daniel Boone National Forest down Rt77 near the Red River Gorge and the National Scenic River.  Close to the West Virginia border we stopped and had the oil changed on the Jeep again.  I had them check the rear differential.  It was full!?  Still has me worried though, as it was definitely leaking.  More small highways and through the New River Gorge National River.  We started looking for camping, and now the Jeep is smoking when I stop.  I suspect the oil change guys spilled a bit during the oil change, I hope. 

We eventually found camping at Greenbrier Mountain Campground.  We saw deer, heard turkeys and saw some of the biggest bats this trip, cool.

I am worried about the truck, again after having other people work on it I am having concerns...

Ginormous

This morning I took advantage of the laundry at the campground and got another load cleaned and dried.  Last of the laundry on the road I suspect.(I hope)

Filled up twice today, now at about 400 mile intervals.  Mileage seems to be making a rebound, (22+mpg) but now I am overdue for an oil change.  I am still watching that rear differential too, I’ll have to get that topped off with gear oil.

 
We drove through the rest of Missouri today into Illinois and through on to Indiana.  Headed south crossing into Kentucky.  Lots of detours today for construction and flooding.  The Missouri River is the boss around here.


We eventually made it to Mammoth Cave N.P. and got in the last "Historic Tour" scheduled.  It was amazing and appropriately named.  Pictures soon, though they stink due to the low light.  Trust me it was amazing.


After our tour we bought a park patch as they were out of Junior Ranger badges and headed to camping.
We drove east to My Old Kentucky Home State Park and grabbed a spot in the primitive camping area.

Your mileage may vary...........

We made it all the way across South Dakota to the southeastern most point, crossing the Missouri River into Iowa, then several hours later into Missouri.   

 
We got our worst mileage of the trip, just over 18.5 mpg.  We had to fill the tank at our last stop (Vivian, SD)with premium unleaded as they were out of regular.  Right from the get go the Jeep had issues.  In sputtered and misfired for the first 50 miles on that tank-full.  It was lethargic and sounded like the high RPMs were masking continued misfires.  I initially thought I had allowed air into the fuel system when we last ran out, coupled with sediment churned up by the new gas added at fill up.  At any rate I knew it was fuel/fuel delivery related and worried the fuel pump may be going.  It is in the tank and I wonder if running it low/empty so often was overheating it.  When submerged the gas actually acts as a coolant for the pump.   
As I mentioned we ran out unexpectedly early.  I have been running the truck hard, better than 70mph for hours on end, just maintaining the speed limit which varied from 70 to 75.  That certainly would hit our mileage, but wouldn’t explain the sputtering.  I wonder if they had water in the fuel tanks, with regular out, perhaps premium was running low and condensation/water was mixing in.  We topped off with regular gas in Emerson, IA and again in Red Oak IA, after another bad leg: 18.57 mpg.

A long day in the car we stopped in Oscala, MO for camping.  A site near the highway with all the fun that includes.  Still not far away from Sturgis to escape noisy motorcycles.  They had a pool so Tyler was quite happy, spending the better part of an hour climbing in and out with new friends. 

Tyler and I are also becoming amateur entomologists and have developed a unique way to store our specimens.   

Nice wingspan.

Quite the collection, ehh?

Rush more

Another cold morning, 42 degrees, not the 50's our camp host predicted.  As usual with chilly mornings we were off quickly and had breakfast on the road.  We made it to Mt Rushmore before 8AM and were herded into the parking garage.  No public parking here, in fact we saw very little N.P. presence.  It appeared the Park service has signed over control of the memorial to private concessionaires.

We took some good pictures, hiked a bit around the base and escaped before the crowds.

We made it to Hill City and had breakfast then checked out the dinosaur museum.

We headed over to Wind Cave National Park, our third cave Tyler frequently announced to whomever was within earshot.  Tyler earned another badge also.

Devil's Tower

It was cold and we stacked the covers on during the night.  37 degrees by morning, I checked our thermometer when the camp ‘host’ fired up their generator at 5AM.  Not nice.  A long drive ahead I reached through the cab windows and fired up the truck and heat while we dressed.  Breakfast on the road, too cold to linger.

Into the Shoshone N.F. and towards Cody, WY for some breakfast and grocery shopping.  We stopped at Shell Creek overlook and took some pictures of the falls and pools below, I could see fish swimming in the pool.   

Up near Ranchester we hopped on Rt90 and kept pace with the 75mph speed limit.  The truck is actually climbing better at 75 than when the limit is 55 or 65 on the climbs.  I was playing roulette with gas mileage again.  At about 480miles on the tank I skipped the exit reading “Last services for 66 miles”  Let’s see how we do.  The Jeep hiccuped a little as we crossed Crazy Woman Creek (44.249902,-106.429895) but kept rolling to within about 12 miles of Gillette.  Almost made it.  We transferred our reserve tank and continued on.  Signs for Devils Tower are starting to appear.

The tower is impressive, as are the people climbing it.

There are lots of folks on motorcycles here.  Too many, but they are all friendly and courteous.  I figured out a short while later when I looked at the map; we are very close to Sturgis, SD, a motorcycle mecca.  We would get closer still as we headed into the Black Hills N.F and on to South Dakota.  Let’s hope we have a better night this time.

We headed South down 385, passing hundreds of motorcycles rolling in the opposite direction, to camping at Robaix Lake ($9.50).  Rushmore tomorrow and early if we are lucky.

Yellowstone

Well before Stanley, Id we awoke late, around 715AM and rolled out East towards Lowman.  I passed the Julie Creek trail I rode last summer, mountain biking, and found the Kirkland hot springs.  Time for another dip before we move on.  These springs were much more accessible and had camping on site also.  Wish I had remembered that yesterday.

It was a chilly morning and it was tough to leave the warmth of the spring, but I still hoped to make Yellowstone or get very close by the end of the day.  The GPS put our arrival at 6PM, but it tends to estimate long. 

We crossed into the Sawtooth National Forest, then the Salmon-Challis N.F passing Borat whoops, Borah Peak at 12,662’,  Idaho’s highest point.  Passed across the Snake River Plain, electing to skip Craters of the Moon Nat. Mon and Preserve, and into Caribou-Targhee N.F.  As we neared Kilgore, ID it got interesting.  GPS still suggested a 6PM arrival time, however it was trying to steer us down a “Minimal Maintained Road” as the signs indicated.  We bypassed this road.  When the GPS recalculated it estimated an arrival of 8PM.  I guess it was a shortcut.  We’ll try it, after all we survived the Canyonland’s back-road to Moab.  A short ways in to this one lane two tire track road we saw a small sign indicating it was Old Rt22. Cool.

Minimal maintenance

It was twisty and hilly and crossed about 19miles of open range.  As we drove our arrival time estimate continued to drop, ultimately putting us in Yellowstone a little after 3PM, what a short-cut. 

After Kilgore we went North on Rt20 into Montana and the West Yellowstone park entrance.  Traffic picked up but rolled smoothly, nothing like the mess at Yosemite.  We stopped at the nearest Visitor Center, gathered Tyler’s Junior Ranger workbook and headed to try and catch Old Faithful’s next predicted eruption.  It was late, thankfully, as we would have missed it.  It did not disappoint.  We took lots of pictures, ate an overpriced so-so meal and watched the next eruption some 90 minutes later.  Many of the other geysers were active as well.  I noticed all lodging and camping were full so we would have a long drive out.

Tyler wanted to walk the boardwalk around the geysers and pools so we lingered until sunset.   

How long could it take to get out of the park anyway?

Long.  We rolled into camping at 10:30PM.  Tyler had been dozing off and on for much of the drive out.  We grabbed site # 1 because that is how we roll and it was the last available.  $7.50, another bargain.

Stanleeeeeeee

Drove into Stanley, Id this morning.  Have a good signal and got the Kindle rebooted,  it works!  Today we're still trying to make a run for Yellowstone or at least close enough that we can hit it early tomorrow morning.

Pine Flats

Well had I paid a bit more attention when choosing our campground yesterday, I wouldn’t have selected one on a dead end road.  It was a simple mistake, the road crossed the center seam of our map book and I didn’t flip it to check closely enough to see if it continued on the other side.  It amounted to a bit of backtracking and most of the morning driving South as there was no road East.

We also caught a good deal of construction and traffic.  Tyler had never been to or seen a hot spring so recognizing a few town names from my mountain biking trip last summer we took a smaller road East towards Lowman, Id.  We camped at Pine Flats CG a little bit East of Lowman.

We got in early, 1:30PM and visited the springs.  I then took some time to clean out the Jeep, air out our linens and do a bit more organizing.

We took another trip down to the springs then back to camp for dinner.  It is hot now, 89 degrees, but I can feel the air cooling as the sun drops.  We are back on Mountain time now also.

There is no quick way East to Yellowstone, but I hope to make it tomorrow.

Hanford?

We left Lake Kachess and headed East, out of the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest and through the Wenatchee National Forest, stopping briefly in Che Elum to do some laundry and update the blog.  Tyler tried downloading another book to the kindle with little success.  It was more temperamental about signal quality.  We were done in under an hour, the high powered machines cleaned and dried quickly.

With time against us we have been doing more highway miles than we would like.  The Jeep is holding up well, screaming to maintain 65-70 mph.  I suspect that is responsible for our poor gas mileage.

We traveled along the Lewis and Clark Trail, or Clark and Lewis Trail depending on who’s your favorite.  I don’t see why Lewis got top billing.  We drove Rt12 through Eureka, Prescott and Dodge to Clarkston.  Clarkston, Wa is adjacent to Lewiston, Id and significantly smaller.  Clark gets disrespected again. 

We drove by Hanford Reach National Monument and saw nothing.  Just a small sign indicating it existed and nothing more.  No Visitors Center, no explanation what it is.  When we get an internet signal I’ll have to look it up.  Perhaps it has some historical significance.  It borders a large area under control of the Department of Energy.  I am not sure what they do in there, but it is a massive expanse of land surrounded by fences and gates. (figured it out...Hanford Nuclear Reservation)
At any rate we made it in to Idaho today and camped (after a long day of driving) at Castle Creek CG in the Clearwater National Forest along the South Fork of the Clearwater River, surprise!  A nice campground of ten sites we shared with four other families.

Unfortunately the Kindle has stopped working, Tyler’s last attempt at downloading a book was the last time it worked.  We suspected he left the wireless antenna powered and the battery was just dead, but even after a long full charge the screen stays blank.

 
Clearwater on your Google Maps: (45.82857,-115.96885)

Mt Rainier

I have no memory of where we camped last night.  Oh yeah, we were at a private campground with the entire dry camping area (no water, sewer, electric) to ourselves.  Weekday (Sun-Thu) camping has been best for us, ample sites to choose and firewood to harvest from abandoned sites.  We saw bats while around our campfire last night and I heard coyotes early into the night.  Oddly in all our camping it was only the second time I recall hearing them.

46.53539,-121.77438

Target today was Mt Rainier and we camped not too far from it.  We arrived early to find the South West approach shrouded in clouds.  It seemed unlikely we would get a glimpse today.  We stopped and read some information at a kiosk and read of the rain shadow the mountain casts and how the opposite side got little rain.  We were off.  Sure enough as we came around the other side we were greeted by clearing skies and much better visibility.  But where was the mountain?  My navigator with his improving map skills correctly concluded it was behind us.  We kept looking over our shoulders at clearings until we found one that afforded us a great view.

 

Falls Creek near Rainier.

Still lots of snow!

I was hoping to camp another night on the Pacific so despite Tyler’s lack of interest I set a course for the coast.  When we got close to Tacoma we detoured North to visit my cousin Lee and her husband Mark.  We had a nice time talking about our trip and Tyler was tickled to meet their dog Chili.  Tyler was hoping to meet their boys but they were off enjoying their summer vacation.

Two weeks.  Two weeks and we have to be home.  I wrestled with our next target and I ultimately gave up on the coast and set a course for Yellowstone.  I want to see it midweek or not at all.  I suspect it will be crowded even then though.

There will be a few detours with our route as usual.  Never can be sure what we’ll find between here and there.  We rolled in to camping at Lake Kachess and found a nice site for $10. (47.35655,-121.24700)

8:32AM, May 18, 1980

Up early and too cold too linger we escaped from Nottingham and headed for the Columbia Gorge.

 A guy we met at Oregon Caves suggested seeing it, as did the Pacific Crest through hiker we talked to at Crater Lake.  The German family we exchanged camping tips with at Newberry suggested avoiding camping in the Gorge, no escape from the highways or railroads on either side.

We cruised West on the Oregon side towards Portland.  It was windy, the weather visibly deteriorated the closer we got to Portland, the rain never fell though.  We stopped at one of the Visitor Centers for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.  Sadly they too, were no longer employing Junior Rangers.  No worries though, we took some pictures at Multnomah Falls on the Lewis and Clark trail.

We grabbed the freeway a bit (yuck), and crossed into Washington state.

Mt. St. Helens slowly grew on the horizon, but not before the Jeep sputtered and stalled.  Out of gas again.  I was trying to make it to Battle Ground, WA but ran out in Dollar's Corner, WA.  A little better than before, just over 21mpg.  Lets hope the mileage keeps improving.  

We stopped at Ape Caves in search of the legendary cave apes.  We found a natural lava tube at Mt. St. Helens and hiked nearly 3/4 mile down the easy side of the cave.  It was awesome and nothing like Oregon Caves.  The park service did this one right.  If you want to explore the tubes, dress warmly and be sure to have at least three sources of light.  The park has not wired the cave or made the path user friendly save for a set of stairs to get you through the natural opening to the floor of the tunnel.  Except for one low point it was large enough you could drive a Jeep right through this cave.  Well, the 51 Willy's could make it with the windshield folded down.

Oh and it was dark, despite the popularity of this part of the Monument you felt truly alone as flashlights didn't carry far as the cave twisted and turned.  Just the soft echo of other voices and cave apes let you know others were down here.

The park service was renting lanterns for those less prepared.

After the cave and upon a rangers recommendation we drove to Windy Ridge and were afforded a close look at the damage caused by the eruption and pyroclastic flow.  Trees all leveled laying in one direction.  The lake still partially covered in 30 year old downed timber.  As you got further away only the largest trees stand as solitary statues, dead and bare of any branches.

We headed North, again, to the tallest point in Washington, but stopped at a commercial campground on the way, $22 and we have the entire tent area to ourselves with plenty of firewood to boot.  We win.

And just enough signal to send text only blog updates.  Pictures tomorrow we hope.

Where is my Maid Marion?

We ended our day at Crater Lakes in a motel, our fifth motel/hotel of the trip.  It was a log cabin themed affair with live bullets embedded in the clear cover and seat of the throne.  Classy.   At any rate it was clean and after partaking of what they called a continental breakfast we were off.

Our first stop was the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, one of our country's youngest, created in 1990 if I recall correctly.  It has a large obsidian rock flow.   Obsidian being very sharp is often used as surgical scalpels, particularly for the eye as it is superior to steel and gives clean cuts that heal with little scarring.  I tested this theory on my finger tip.  Yup, it's sharp.

We did a short hike through the flow with Ranger intern Ashley then returned a short while later as I had forgotten a camera.

They didn't participate in the Junior Ranger program, but we had fun nonetheless.

After we were done exploring we headed North, hoping to see the highest point in Oregon (11,239').  We spent the night, figuratively, in the shadow of  Mt Hood at the Nottingham campground.  It was called Robin Hood a few years ago but it got sacked by the East Fork of the Hood river.  We grabbed one of the last two sites available.  Always tough to find camping on weekends.  The RVer's take over everything with all their junk in tow.  (Sorry, Pam and Dan).

We had a nice fire and paid the Sheriff the $12 dollar tax when he came collecting.  Still a great deal!  We had a good night, though I was awakened at 12:30AM to the sound of something brushing against our screened windows.  I kicked the side of the cab and whatever it was moved on.  We both awoke again a little later to crawl deeper under the covers.  A cold night, morning temp was 40 degrees.