Cruise Moab 2011 - Pic Heavy

xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
I drove around 3200 miles round trip to go to one of the best Toyota wheeling events there is, and I figured I'd post up a trip report. The first weekend in May, the TLCA clubs Rising Sun 4x4 and Wasatch Cruisers put on Cruise Moab. I'm not sure how many years its been going on, but it's a really well run event. There are all sorts of Toyota rigs there, and it was a lot of fun to see what everyone was driving.

I drove to Dallas, TX on Monday, and we headed out of Dallas on Tuesday morning at 7:00 AM.

Leaving Dallas:
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From Dallas, we drove up to Amarillo, and then took I-40W over into NM, and then drove up to Santa Fe, NM where we camped for the night. We stopped in historic downtown Santa Fe for dinner at the Sleeping Dog Tavern.

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After dinner, my buddy hopped in the back of my truck so I could give him a lift to his 4Runner, and we continued the trek up the mountain to our camp site in Black Canyon.

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The campsite was about 8000' ASL according to one of the folks staying there. It was absolutely spotless, and we were one of three tents in the whole thing. It was in the 50's when we got there, and we were quite comfortable setting up camp for the night. However, once the sun dipped out of sight, it cooled off really quickly. It was eerie how silent it was late in the day. There weren't even animal noises at all. It was almost like being in a soundproof booth. There also was no cell signal, so I ended up relaying an email to my wife via ham radio (2M) to let her know we were safe in camp, and in for the night.

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The temp when we woke up was 29*F:
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We were comfortable overnight, but rolling out of a 20* bag when it's that cold sure took some motivation.
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xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
From Santa Fe we drove up to Durango for lunch. It was a nice short drive after the long day before, and we were greeted by some frosty beverages at a local brew pub.

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From Durango, we drove up into UT, and through Monticello to Moab.

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We checked into Slickrock campground near the north end of town, and got to our incredibly dusty campsite. This would be home sweet tent for the next 4 nights.

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We got a good nights sleep, and then the next morning we got on the road to drive down to our first trail, Chicken Corners. We had a quick stop in a dirt lot to air down.

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The first stop on the trail was a small pull off to look at some petroglyphs. I have no idea how old they were, but we stopped to get a group shot for the parents and in-laws.

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There were a lot of really scenic spots on Chicken Corners. It was a really easy trail, but it was a great introduction to offroading, from some great guys. All of the Rising Sun 4x4 Club leaders and gunners were really experienced, and had great pointers and information for some total noobs.

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We stopped for lunch at the foot path that gives the trail its name, Chicken Corners.

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I walked out on the ledge to get some shots of the canyon.

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After lunch, we loaded up and headed out.

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and one of the guys managed to get a good shot of me going over one of the only "obstacles" on the trail.
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We stopped to explore some caves and take some more pictures.

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xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
The last day we did 7 Mile Rim, and it had some really cool features.

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The dog stopped to take a look at some buttes.

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We met up with the group from the Wipe Out Hill run, and had a big cookout.

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Then, the last night I went out to Arches National Park to take some night shots.

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And then after some beers we started messing around with the flashlight.

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Silverback

Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
Great pics man!!!
 

yotarob

Kiss My IFS
nice trip man! very cool pics
 

BirdTRD

beLIEve
Great pics. Thanks for sharing. Ate at Steamworks huh? 45 minutes from my house. Did you cut through Farmington or up over Wolf Creek Pass to get to Durango? They've got some decent beers there.
 

xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
Great pics man!!!

Very nice pics.

nice trip man! very cool pics

Great pics! Moab is awesome.

Great pics, thanks for sharing!

Thanks guys, it was a GREAT place to wheel (duh), and it was a great place to photograph as well.

Great pics. Thanks for sharing. Ate at Steamworks huh? 45 minutes from my house. Did you cut through Farmington or up over Wolf Creek Pass to get to Durango? They've got some decent beers there.

On the way up we went 84 to 160 into Durango. On the way home we went through Shiprock, Farmington, Bloomfield, then 550 down to I25, then down to I40.

What part of NM are you in?
 

BirdTRD

beLIEve
Im in farmington. I wish i had known you were coming through. I could have run u through the glade real quick or atvleast gotten a bite to eat
 

AlienXtx

Nignog
Badass man, looks like a blast.
 

Taco Loco

Tired and Lazy, married to ‘The Laundry Fairy’
Great pics man!!!

Very nice pics.

nice trip man! very cool pics

Great pics! Moab is awesome.

Great pics, thanks for sharing!

Great pics. Thanks for sharing. Ate at Steamworks huh? 45 minutes from my house. Did you cut through Farmington or up over Wolf Creek Pass to get to Durango? They've got some decent beers there.

Badass man, looks like a blast.

x10 ^ enough said... Looks like y'all had a really good trip!
 

xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
Im in farmington. I wish i had known you were coming through. I could have run u through the glade real quick or at least gotten a bite to eat

You know anything about RL's A1 Body Shop? My buddy rear ended me at a stop sign in Bloomfield, and his truck is up there getting fixed.
 

xodeuce

mmmmmmbourbon.
Yup, she's a Vizsla. Name's Cili. I have a male too, but she's a lot more submissive and was a great traveler, particularly around all the kids. She was awesome on the trails too. She'd just curl up and snooze in her bed and every now and then look up and be like, "Hey, stop going on this steep stuff. I slide into the seats."
 

cmack

I am CANADIAN.
Sick pics! Looks like a blast!
 
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