There and Back Again, a Goats' tale - part 1

4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
Greetings fellow Overlanderists!

While this trip is not really "completed" I don't plan to post too often so I'm posting in Overland Trip Reports...

We began this leg of our journey on Aug. 1, 2021 in Bullhead City, AZ. When we set out, the only firm plans we had were an appointment in Belgrade, MT in early September and Overland Expo West in Flagstaff in late September. The trip has taken us through Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and finally back to Arizona - about 5000 miles so far.

Our traveling arrangements include a 2018 Tacoma TRDOR (the Goat) and a 2020 Off Grid Expedition 2.0 trailer (Dusty) - and an occasional motel\airbnb when weather conditions force us inside...

This will not be a day-by-day breakdown or anything fancy like that, just a few of the highlights for those who might be interested. I'm going to break this down into separate, individual posts because it seems to work more smoothly that way (especially when you're trying to upload using a cellular connection...).

We originally planned to spend as much time as possible in southern Utah but we got chased out of this spot by smoke after only a few days...Smoke would continue to be a constant enemy throughout the month of August.....

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Sometimes when they say "road" what they really mean is "you're just going to drive right up the wash, so hope it doesn't rain". At least it's a beautiful wash! Side note: this was the road we were actually looking for. Prior to finding it though, we took the wrong road which petered out in a sandy wash that was 4 feet deep and no wider than the Taco. I'm bummed that I didn't get any pics of that but when we go into "man, we might really be stuck" mode, we don't usually think about getting pics...Suffice it to say that the Goat once again impressed and got us out of there without even getting out a shovel!

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4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
In an ultimately futile effort to outrun the smoke, we moved farther north and up to higher elevation. Alas, after a few days, the smoke caught up with us again anyway...

This spot is at about 9900ft elevation and is the highest point we have camped on this trip. It is also the place where I learned that my CPAP machine doesn't work properly above 7500ft - an uncomfortable lesson...

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Once in a while you come across a campground that is *almost* as nice as camping in the backcountry - except for the folks who arrive in rolling apartments and can't manage one night without running a generator...seriously, those $300k rigs don't have the battery capacity to make it one night???!!!

This is the Salmon River in Idaho. Idaho really is the place to be if you like rivers. You can't swing a cat without hitting a beautiful river in Idaho. We stayed here 6 nights which, at the time, was the longest the weather had let us stay in one place.

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A lovely drive that we took one day. We saw 2 separate herds of antelope on this drive!

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4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
Still looking to outrun the smoke we headed up to northern Montana - with mixed results.

When I drove over this bridge I realized right away that I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't get a picture ?

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This is the Fairview Ranger Station (way) outside of Libby, MT. This represents the northernmost point of the trip - less than 100 miles from Canada, as the crow flies. We spent 4 blessedly smoke-free days here. We met a friend here who actually stayed in the (clean but kind of creepy) cabin, we stayed in the camper outside.

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Just another gorgeous morning in the Rocky Mountains!

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We eventually arrived for that appointment in Belgrade and I have to give a plug to the fellas at Overland Cruisers. You can't ask for a better shop or nicer, more knowledgeable technicians. They installed new LiFePO batteries, solar controller and a DC charger in the camper. We had kind of been limping along on the first part of the trip just itching for these upgrades. Life has been easier since.

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4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
With the trailer work completed, we now had a little over 2 weeks to get down to Flagstaff for OE West. Neither of us had ever been to Wyoming before so that seemed the obvious route. The drive took us through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. That is certainly some beautiful country but the crowds and the traffic just pushed us right on through without spending any real time. We generally try to avoid the National Parks and their attendant, oblivious, crowds...

This spot was a real gem but WINDY. This trip has taught us that beautiful views almost always come at the cost of lots and lots of wind...You have to look close to see our rig setup on the point there. You'll say "man that looks windy" and you will be right. I'm not going to be specific about where this is. Some of you may recognize it since just knowing that it's Wyoming narrows it down a lot...

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After hauling them around for a couple thousand miles we finally had the chance to get our watercraft out here! A great day of paddling with lots of water fowl and kind of OK views....

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4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
Continuing the journey to Flagstaff took us through western Colorado. I highly recommend driving the little roads north-south through western Colorado. It's an experience, especially with a trailer.

We did a quick overnight at this spot because WY turned us into gluttons for wind-punishment. But we didn't have any neighbors and it's pretty tough to beat that view out of the camper door in the morning...

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Some friends had invited us to spend a few days in Silverton, CO so we did some urban camping (if you can really call Silverton "urban")! These were the coldest nights of the trip. We intended to spend more time here but when it got down to 23F overnight we had to move out. I'm not a fan of worrying all night about whether or not my water heater is going to freeze (which it did not, but I wasn't going to push my luck).

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4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
Bugging out of Silverton early at least gave us a bit more time to spend exploring New Mexico before we had to get to the expo. Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico were all states we had never camped in before so we were really excited to add them all to the list!

I already know what you're going to say - "wow, it looks like it would be windy there too!" You're right - a trend is definitely forming here...This place was stunning and we were fortunate enough to be out here on a clear night under a full moon - just otherworldly. But yes, it was very windy most of the 4 days we spent here...We've gotten quite skilled at knowing when to take the awning down by now - and when to not bother even trying to put it up.

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And we finally made it to OE West! It was our first expo and a bit overwhelming but we had some really great neighbors and overall it was a good experience. I had the most trouble getting power here out of the whole trip so far. I think I moved the solar panels at least 10 times every day....or at least it felt like that. Give me the desert any day!

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4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
After expo we were finally ready to get back to southern Utah at last - but again, not for as long as we'd hoped...We spent a week at this spot during which we had a bit of rain and, of course, plenty of wind. I am completely in love with Juniper forests - I have come to believe that my own personal natural range is the natural range of the juniper. After our week here the forecast was calling for more rain and lower-than-comfortable temperatures so we were once again forced to say "goodbye for now" to southern Utah.

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Which brought us back to Arizona again, just moving south with the weather. So far this is the southernmost point of our journey - less than 100 miles from Mexico, as the crow flies. This has also been our longest stay in one spot so far - 11 days and counting. And yes - of course it's windy but that's pretty much all we know anymore!

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That's all I've got for now. I'll try to give another update in another couple months or so as there is no specific end date for this adventure.

Thanks for reading and safe travels to you all!
 
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4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
Great report. Thanks for letting us “ride along”. Question: What did you do for 12 days in one place?
Well, we took several drives to explore the area, walked around in the desert a lot, read a lot of books and occasionally (when we had to) did some work. I've spent a good amount of time just sitting and looking at the mountains...This is our full-time life so we basically just live, we just happen to do it outside...We did need to run to town for a resupply and a shower (50 mile round-trip). Feels a little like cheating but you can only make it so long in a teardrop in the desert before you need more water (and beer). We would probably stay here longer but we're running up against our 14 day limit...
 

Ace Brown

Retired Ol’ Fart
I’ve never had any problem staying in one spot multiple days. I once stayed on a beach in Baja for nearly four weeks. But that spot had plenty to do and see.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

XJLI

Adventurer
This sort of thread is exactly what ExPo was 8-10 years ago and we need more of. Every couple of weeks someone does it right, thanks for the writeup. Keep on truckin.
 

pith helmet

Well-known member
Great stuff! A couple questions: what made the cabin creepy? can you post some more shots of your paddling some time?
 

RCP

Member
This sort of thread is exactly what ExPo was 8-10 years ago and we need more of. Every couple of weeks someone does it right, thanks for the writeup. Keep on truckin.


I haven't been here for 8-10 years, but I agree, this is the type of content that brought me to this site and keeps me here. I am fortunate enough to live in Utah and these types of posts keep inspiring me to get out and explore more of this state and the surrounding area.
 

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