Almost Didn't Make It Back, Part 1

We had planned to visit family in Colorado and Kansas, so we decided to make an expedition trip out of it, trying to camp and visit as many new places as possible along the way.  A month prior, I had sold my FJ40 Land Cruiser and I bought an 80-series ’97 Land Cruiser that would better fit our family that was already built from someone in Colorado, and added a Serengeti Roof Top Tent, ARB shade awning, and built some homemade drawers for the cargo area. From our home in San Diego, our plan was to take the southern route through Arizona and New Mexico, visit and stay with family in Colorado Springs and Kansas, and then come back through Colorado, Utah, and then home through Nevada. We loaded up the Cruiser with all the gear to spend over two weeks on the road with myself and my wife, and our two kids, ages 6 and 2.

It was an epic trip…..somehow, we made it back home safely, miraculously…..unfortunately, the Cruiser did not…..here is our trip report:

Day One:  Sedona, AZ

We had done the Grand Canyon on a previous trip, so we wanted to do another area we hadn’t done before. Sedona was the easy choice. We had heard so much about it from here on this site, as well as from other people. We ended up staying in Sedona for two nights, but we can’t wait to go back, as there is so much to see and explore there, it was absolutely beautiful there. After leaving San Diego early and driving for quite a while to get to Sedona, we decided everyone need to stretch their legs for a bit, so we stopped into the downtown area to check everything out and find out about where we would be approved for backcountry camping. We knew we wanted to check out some of the ruins sites, so we ended up finding a place to camp out near Honanki Ruins. We set up camp, which was a bit of an adventure deploying the RTT and awning for the first time in the field just as a quick rainstorm started dumping on us. Naturally it let up just as we finished setting up camp. Pizza was on the menu for dinner….it turned out great. As for the first night in the new RTT, it was brutal as our 2 year old daughter refused to sleep since she so excited she had three other roommates she usually doesn’t have (even though we did a 6 day camping trip in Death Valley earlier this year).

Day Two:  Sedona, AZ

After a nice relaxing night of full rest (well….not entirely accurate), it was time to explore Sedona. After breakfast, we packed up and headed over to the Honanki Ruins. It was awesome that we got to actually got to see these ruins where ancestors of the Hopi lived and thrived in the hot Arizona sun. The ruins were at the base of this sheer cliff that shaded them from the heat, and where everything else was blazing hot, it was actually cool and comfortable in the shade protection of the cliff. Plus there were some great petroglyphs.

As we headed away from the ruins, we wanted to see some of the famous landmarks of Sedona. We went up to the Chapel of the Holy Cross since we knew the view over Sedona would be spectacular, and it didn’t disappoint. The views were amazing and breathtaking. It’s a popular tourist spot, so we didn’t stick around for long, and headed over to Cathedral Rock. With the two little ones, and the temps approaching 100, we didn’t hike much of it, but we plan on doing it in the future when the kids are older.

One of the things I wanted to do while in Sedona was a little wheeling with the new Cruiser, so Broken Arrow was on my must-do list. We headed over to the trailhead and started airing down, just as a couple of the Pink Jeep tours came by, asking if we were going to “come out and play?” The Cruiser performed great. We got out and walked around on Submarine Rock. And then checked out the awesome view at Chicken Point. Heading out via the Devil’s Staircase was a good time too. Such a fun and scenic trail.

Our plan was to head out for New Mexico early the next morning, so we wanted to make camp on the outskirts of Sedona. I had heard Schnebly Hill Road was very scenic as you got out above Sedona, so we headed up there to camp for the night. We actually met up with another Expedition Portal member (SilverBullet) on the drive up at one of the overlooks. We continued on, and ended up finding a great spot in the woods that was much cooler than the previous night, and everyone got a better night’s sleep.

Day Three: Petrified Forest / Painted Desert, AZ

Our destination the next day was Chaco Canyon, but we needed to stretch our legs along the way. When we were planning it out, the Painted Desert / Petrified Forest was a logical rest stop. It was a great quick stop, the colors in the Painted Desert were spectacular.

Day Three: Chaco Canyon, NM

Visiting family in Colorado Springs was our destination, so that was where we were on our way to. We had done Mesa Grande on a previous trip, so we wanted to find something new on a different route. And then from research on Expedition Portal, I read about this little known, off the beaten track treasure known as Chaco Canyon. The few posts I had read about raved about Chaco Canyon, and it looked very interesting from my research, and it did not disappoint. It was one of the highlights of the trip. One of the most impressive things I have seen. First of all, it is in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico. We entered the park via an endless dirt road and were greeted by some locals (cattle ranging free on the road). Once in the historical park, we were blown away by the ruins. These ruins were over 1000 years old and they allow you to walk in them and explore them. It was amazing to think that this architecture from more than 1000 years ago was so advanced and well constructed that it is still standing. Even the outlay of these great houses were so well planned out, you can’t be anything but impressed and in awe. I was so glad that we made this a part of our trip, I would recommend Chaco Canyon to anyone. Amazing.

We ended up camping in the park’s campground, which was great because there is a ruin right there, along with some petroglyphs. It was awesome. On the menu for dinner was some Caesar salad and breadsticks. The kids had fun watching the bats fly around camp at dusk, and we had some Jiffy Pop popcorn from the fire in the evening, which is always a fun treat when camping.

Day Four thru Ten:

We packed up in the morning in Chaco, and were treated to a spectacular rainbow over the horizon as we broke camp. We headed up into Colorado through the gorgeous Santa Fe National Forest, which made the long drive very nice and scenic. We arrived into Colorado Springs, where we stayed with family for several days, and then onto Kansas to see more family.

Part 2 continues the journey.