After OX2012 wondering

[Larry]

After spending a very enjoyable weekend in Flagstaff at OX2012 we hit up some of the usual hotspots the remainder of the week.

Reading reports of Antelope Valley, Zion and Toroweap are nothing new on Expo but I don't think anybody ever really gets tired of seeing pictures of that area, so here goes…

Rolled into Page to send a refreshing night at the Courtyard Marriott only to learn a Ring of Fire eclipse was about to occur in a few hours. The hotel was kind enough to hand out eclipse glasses for guests to view the spectacular event. Come to find out, people traveled from around the world to Page to view this event as it was supposed to deliver the best view of the Ring of Fire. These people were hardcore eclipse chasers with mega buck telescopes and other electronic equipment. They were also very inviting of us to through their scopes. It was cool!

My mother-in-law enjoying the eclipse. My neither wife nor FIL are into the outdoors thing but MIL loves it so she travels around with the boys.

Looong shadows!

The next day we took an Antelope Valley tour. WOW! That was cool!

After that we cruised up towards Zion only to find there was a car fire inside the long tunnel so we had to turn around and camped at a nice little roadside camp ground.

The next morning upon reinterring Zion we got behind a fellow Expo member that was migrating back home to Canada from OX2012. Very nice old Toyota FJ!

The drive through Zion was also the perfect place to test out the GoPro camera. Beware long videos but fun to watch. I still can't get over how well the GoPro's work!

At that point we decided to head down to Toroweap to spend a couple days. Just as I finished airing down the tires Expo member xtremexj and his wife pulled up in their F250. Unfortunately we all got into the Toroweap camp ground too late to do much hanging out. Shane also took off pretty early the next morning to head home while we stayed a full day and an extra night. It was great to spend an entire day and two nights at Toroweap just hiking around and snapping pictures. We also saw an Expo member with the Kimberly camper towed by a 4th gen 4Runner. Unfortunately, we didn't get to speak with them either before they pulled out the next morning.

 

[Larry]

Talk about a freak of nature. Look how the stock bent over then continued to grow upward. Odd

Snug as a bug in a….err, Cactus Flower

We must have taken 50 pictures to catch this bee in flight

Decent campsite at Toroweap. Not my favorite spot there but it was better than nothing and kept the wind at bay.

Had to nurse this little problem all the way out of Toroweap as the rear trans mount bolts pulled the threads out of the Advance Adapters NV4500 tail cover. Nothing a quick stop at the Kanab hardware store couldn’t fix

The ole rig suffered a broken eyeball too

GoPro video of the last few miles to the Toroweap overlook. Not sure why the GoPro videos give the illusion the vehicle is moving faster than it really is though??

 

[Larry]

SPOTAdventures summary of the 1,860 mile trip.

 

[FLYFISHEXPERT]

Thank you for sharing! I saw your rig at the show...Very cool!

You went through Zion the day before we did.

 

[gm13]

Nice to see some familiar views from someone else's perspective. Desert Bighorn? Thanks for posting

 

[Larry]

Thank you for sharing! I saw your rig at the show...Very cool!

You went through Zion the day before we did.

Thanks Beau!

We really enjoyed the cooking presentation that you and Krista put on Saturday. We were in the front row behind your 4Runner. Me, my MIL and my buddy in the wheelchair. The food was great! Great recipes you have too!

 

[1leglance]

Great write up Larry and tons of fun camping with you guys at the OX12....that fried corn was the best!

The desert bighorn sheep on the rocks was a cool shot.

So on your rig, how did you know that bolt was loose....noise, feel ??

thanks for posting and see you guys soon again I hope

 

[Larry]

Great write up Larry and tons of fun camping with you guys at the OX12....that fried corn was the best!

The desert bighorn sheep on the rocks was a cool shot.

So on your rig, how did you know that bolt was loose....noise, feel ??

thanks for posting and see you guys soon again I hope

Yes sir! We had a blast. We’ll have to get together again when you get back from Australia. The sheep picture turned out quite well considering we were moving when I took it.

Regarding the trans mount bolts, I actually noticed it when I was airing down the tires on the way in. While airing up or down tires I usually eyeball the under carriage and under hood to make sure everything is kosher. Sure enough, I found these bolts loose. Could have been bad if both bolts would have fallen out. The bolt on the right (foreground) only tightened up about a 2 turns and jammed while the other bolt was completely missing. I grabbed a new bolt out of the spare nut and bolt bin I carry but that one also worked loose by the time we got to the Toroweap campsite. Once we got back to Kanab I picked up a longer bolt to thread into the adapter where it had enough threads that I could add a prevailing torque lock nut on the top side. That got me home but I still need to do a proper repair this weekend. These things happen on the trail…..always carry extra hardware for these types of surprises.

 

[TangoBlue]

Great write-up! Wish I could take nice pics like those...

 

[roverrocks]

Great pictures and adventure!! Loved the bent yucca flowering stalk.

 

[James86004]

Nice trip write-up. We really need to take our daughter back to those places we used to visit before she was born.

After that we cruised up towards Zion only to find there was a car fire inside the long tunnel so we had to turn around and camped at a nice little roadside camp ground.

The car on fire was not just any car, it was a 1964 Shelby Cobra! From the NPS Digest:

A 1964 Cobra sports car valued at $800,000 was completely consumed in a fire in the Zion Mount Carmel tunnel on the afternoon of Monday, May 21st. The fire was reported to the park just after 5 p.m. and the park’s structural fire engine company responded along with the Springdale/Rockville fire department and two wildland fire engines. A Type Six engine with a 250 gallon tank and a pump capacity of 150 gallons per minute entered the tunnel with two firefighters wearing SCBAs. A second Type Six engine, two Type One engines, and the wildland engines provided backup for the initial attack engine. Firefighters with the initial attack engine were able to successfully contain and extinguish the fully engulfed sports car. The two occupants of the car had found relatively safe refuge in two of the tunnel’s gallery windows. All other vehicles and people exited the tunnel prior to initial attack efforts. The two occupants were transported by ambulance to a local hospital. The tunnel and road were closed for two-and-a-half hours. The insurance value of the sports car was reported to be $800,000.

 

[Larry]

The car on fire was not just any car, it was a 1964 Shelby Cobra!

WOW! That makes perfect sense as we had to camp right outside the East entrance to Zion at a privately owned camp ground. As we were cooking dinner we saw a whole slew of Cobras pass by headed East. It looked like an outing for a Cobra Club. We never did see a tow truck with a burnt out car on it so they must have hauled it out through the West side. Bad deal for one Cobra owner. Funny, the next morning we didn't notice any evidence of a fire in the tunnel. We thought they were pulling our leg.

 

[TexGX]

Larry,

Great write up. Look forward to trying to meet up in CO.

TexGX

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Hey Larry...just caught up with your post here. Good job on the pics and the video. I enjoyed meeting you and Colorado Bill at OEX and talking stuff. Your rig is a real head turner and you both have great fab skills. I might have to talk with Bill about a copy of your rear bumper for the MDR...should be easy since he owns(ed?) one. And his Ramcharger is a classic!

I responded to your request and hope I did it correctly. I'll shoot you a private message.

Richard :sombrero: