Our Adventure Driven Life so far (Part 1)

   We are in the middle of our adventures in the western part of the country. So figured it is about time to share some updates and experiences to this halfway point of ours. It is incredible to look back at how we got here, how we are doing exactly what we set our minds out to do. Over a year ago now we took our first trip, which helped inspire us to live the adventurous life we are now. At times it was easy to become doubtful we could pull this off, but if it's something that drives you, something that keeps your mind going at crazy hours of the night, you seem to find a way. Nothing has seemed impossible for us, sure at times difficult, unfavorable, and intimidating, but never impossible. I believe what helped it to seem possible was overcoming and changing our mindset. As the great wrestler, Diamond Dallas Page said "If you say 'I can't,' you'd better add on 'yet'. Once you start to change that inner dialogue, things that would seem completely impossible become possible". We made a list of where we wanted to be, what we wanted to accomplish, and what we wanted to experience. With the mindset of everything is possible we are making our list happen.  

   So let's talk about where we are on our list of adventures. Our first stop was beautiful Hurricane, Utah. The landscape there was out of this world for me. The red rocks, canyons, arches, mesas, and buttes, made it seem as though I was visiting the old west. It was an offroader or overlander's dream world, with trails everywhere to take OHV or even an equipped SUV or truck in my case. Days were hot but nights were cool and amazingly starlit. With Covid shutting down many of the national parks, we couldn't explore Mt Zion by foot but were able to drive through it. Mt Zion is a must-see for adventure seekers. Sure it is a tourist attraction but if you can get there early enough, and avoid crowds, it is so worth it. The drive alone, along the Mt Carmel highway, is incredible. I was able to visit smaller state parks while there, one being right across the street from our camp called Red Cliffs Reserve. I recorded our first actual video during a small hike through this beautiful place, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B49mTV20Pgw. Incredible scenery, with a canyon and a pretty chill swimming hole at the bottom. The trail is covered with desert flowers and shrubs and along the way saw some unique wildlife like lizards and some birds I've never seen before. Things to be careful of while visiting this area of the country; the crosswinds will mess you up when driving, especially if you are towing or driving an SUV. Certain animals I recommend keeping your distance from are the snakes...pretty much any snake just to be safe, I believe there are a few species of rattlesnake in this area, scorpions do live here as well, though I did not see any, there is supposedly one called the bark scorpion that can ruin your day. Other than avoiding unique critters and being prepared for crazy winds on the highways and byways, the state is incredible, the rustic desert landscape will have you wanting to get out on the trails,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U2pAFV_zwM&t=454s. 

The trail to Mollies Nipple 

Historic Site outside our camp

MT. Zion National Park

     No cross-country adventure would be completed without a visit to Las Vegas, or at least we thought so. The drive to Las Vegas, we got beat by some of the strongest crosswinds we had ever encountered (so far). In the desert, there is nothing to block the wind, like trees, hills, or mountains so winds at a constant 20mph, which can be pretty harsh while towing a travel trailer, and Cheryl wasn't having a good time driving the Prius in the crazy winds either. Once we got into Vegas we made camp. The camp was tight but seemed odd that it was surrounded by a barbed-wire fence. The oddity of the fence did make sense though once we stepped foot out of the park. Just outside the confines of the gated camp, you could hear police sirens non stop, car alarms, people, screaming, and or fighting. The town seemed rough and run down, it wasn't a place you would want to walk at night. The Vegas strip was very eerie, as all the casinos were closed due to Covid 19. I did, however, manage to create a video of the shuttered strip,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U2pAFV_zwM&t=454s. Though our journey here wasn't all bad. We did get to visit Lake Mead and a very nice drive along scenic North Shore road. We also managed to address the issue of the Prius not handling so well on this long trip...by trading her in for a VW GTI. The new VW handled much better in the wind as well the scenic curvey roads than the Prius, giving Cheryl a much safer experience, driving to our next location Acton, California. 

Scenic North Shore Road

Cheryl and the GTI

    The Drive from Nevada to California was pleasant. Even though it was driving through miles of the desert still, Cheryl felt better because of the GTI, and the lack of strong crosswinds made it more relaxing for me. Once we crossed the border into CA, we were in the Mojave desert. The vast miles of desert landscape here looked incredible. It was scattered with Joshua trees, red rocks, a hint of wild rosemary could be smelt while passing by, and a salt flat could be seen from the highway. There is something romantic about this desert, something untamed and wild. Once we made camp in Acton, I had planned to do a solo overland trip into the Mojave...though changed my mind after reading some horror stories of camping alone in a desert like this. So instead I went on a solo camping trip into the Sequoia national forest. The forest of redwoods and mountains inspired me to create a video of this trip,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrJ6nSEf10U&t=319s. Walking the trail of 100 giants was unbelievable. I remember reading about these forests in a book I had as a child, and now seeing them in person I was even more amazed. Some of the trees were large enough to build a house inside and the height of them will give you a nasty kink in the neck trying to view them. As for our camp in Acton, I fell in love with this area. The town of Acton is a small cozy old western style town with a rich history of gold and silver mining. Our camp had nice views and trails to walk our overly hyper pup and the neighbors were very nice, even met some other full-time RVers. Acton seemed to be a great area to seek other adventures including a short trip to Vasquez Rocks, which is a group of incredible rock formations so out of this world that many sci-fi movies and shows like Star Trek used them. As a car enthusiast, Acton was a great area to get to Angeles Crest highway to enjoy an awesome scenic drive. I did a car review of our GTI on this road,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9icOqUWgg0. The views from the crest were breathtaking and I understand why it's so popular amongst journalists and fellow car enthusiasts. Some kids want to be great explorers, heroes, or race car drivers, for me I wanted to be all the above, so for my birthday, we took another venture about 40 minutes north of Acton, to another great place for car enthusiasts named Willow Springs international raceway. When approaching this race track, you can see cars racing on it from an easy mile away, because the tracks are located in the middle of the desert, just below rolling hills, it appeared to be a desert oasis. Once there I started scheming of ways I could be there more, I could get a seasonal job here, we can buy a piece of land and put a cabin close by the track and come here for a few months out of the year...all I know is I could picture myself there, working on my lap times, in my dream Porsche. Willow Springs was like no other racetrack I've ever been to, It had everything, 3 tracks ranging from Big Willow...a 2.5 mile course of 9 turns, streets of Willow a 1.6 mile track, Horse Thief mile a 1-mile track with 11 turns and as well a skidpad for drifting. The track is filled with a history going back to 1956 and incredible racers like Michael Andretti and Ken Miles have raced on its tracks. Willow Springs was the last adventure we had in the Acton location and was, to me, the best way to end it and head to the next spot, which will be covered in part 2.

                                                                       Vasquez Rocks 

                                                              Sequoia National Forest

Trail of the 100 Giants

                                                           Some Supras at Willow Springs