Eat.Sleep.Jeep.Repeat
EAT. Who would have ever thought that you needed to be in the middle of the desert to have the best home cooked meal of your life. From someone that struggles not burning the house down from her modernized convenient kitchen, I was especially impressed with the Dutch oven and Camp Chef stove. At every stop our Trail Boss Bob Levenhagen was cooking a gourmet meal five-star meal. No lie, we are talking Bourbon Pork and Apple with a side of Caramelized Green Beans with Cherry Upside Down Cake for dinner and French Toast and Bacon with fresh brewed coffee for breakfast. The staff took care of the entire meal preparation and clean-up well into the night while the guests kicked back and relaxed around the camp fire. Food was one less thing for me to prepare, prep and plan, which in my world is priceless.
SLEEP. Every night when we got to our destination for the evening we all picked out our camping spot and set up camp. There was a variety of sleeping arrangements from ground to roof top tents. We were up against the deadline of the sunset and had to hustle and becoming experts at the quickest setup routine, or as I like to call it a friendly race for some of our couples. The evenings became cool as soon as the sun went down with temperatures as low as thirty-two degrees. Every night the guests took time to watch the sun go down behind the mountains and paint the sky full of vibrant colors over our campground. And the stars. You haven’t seen anything like the stars seventy miles from manmade light. For this city slicker, it was the best week of a night’s rest I’ve had in my life.
JEEP. Now, the trips are open to any capable off-road vehicle, and our Trail Boss drove Megalander a Megacab Dodge truck, however for this adventure, all nine vehicles participating were Jeeps. The entire trip was mapped out and pre-run, all we had to do was follow our fearless leader. We covered sand dunes, rock obstacles, dirt roads, steep switchbacks, cliff ledges, and canyons. With the variety of wheeling the trip offered, there was something for everyone and a different challenge for each driver. The banter over the radios and socializing at each stop brought on nick names, and funny stories we will be sharing for years to come. Off-roading together also brought many opportunities for camaraderie and working as a team lending a hand on recovery or a trail fix, or letting a fellow Jeeper borrow some supplies or making a margarita on the rocks, no pun intended, around the campfire.
REPEAT. We completed over four hundred miles, seventeen trails and country roads, in a six-day period. Each day we got up, enjoyed our breakfast, packed up and hit the trails again. Our Trail Boss included fun excursions along the way such as hiking in Arches National Park and the famous Milts Stop and Eat in Moab, UT. We had a schedule to keep us on track, and places we needed to be on time, but still had the opportunity to stop, (some of us more than others, right 10-100 Dennis) and take in the scenery and beauty of the experience along the way with downtime every morning and night. Every moment, was not like the last, and will be remembered and treasured for years to come.
For the most part, we were all strangers, who all left as life-long friends. What are you waiting for? Sign up for your 4xploring adventure today, I know the entire 2018 Fall Adventure crew will!
Report by Angela Hinkley TNT Terrian Master
