March was a crazy event month for us, which is usually what happens when spring arrives in Arizona. The snowbirds are leaving, the weather is great and the desert is in bloom. We had three weekends in a row of activities, kicked off by meeting some of our Expedition Portal friends out at the first annual So Cal Desert Rendezvous.
The Rendezvous was mainly organized by our friend Dave, aka TACODOC, who was kind enough to take the lead on searching out an area, getting permits, dealing with the BLM and things of that nature. He picked a spot that was a perfect halfway point between those of us who live in the valley and the folks who lived in the LA area. We were hoping to drag a few more Arizona members out with us, but it just ended up being us and a new guy who we haven’t heard from since! Another local friend of ours, Zach, from Overland Gourmet did eventually make his way out to cook epic meals for everyone.
I had read on the internets (that was my first problem) that there was gas in Desert Center, so we neglected to stop in Blythe. In the gas-sucking FJ, this ended up being a mistake…when we reached Desert Center it was a ghost town! Luckily we ran into a random guy who told us there was gas at Chiraco Summit not too far away. We made it there on fumes, then backtracked our way back to the exit for the campsite.
When we arrived at the site it was in a beautiful spot next to the mountain and a small hill. Some friends of ours had already arrived and were saving spots near the back at the base of the mountain. This would prove to be a secluded, but miserable spot later on the next day. After setting up camp it was time for dinner, drinks and friends around the campfire. Dogs welcome too! The mingling went on well into the night, with Zach finally arriving around midnight...but he wasn't off to bed! This madman set up the Overland Gourmet kitchen and starting cooking a midnight snack for everyone! What a guy. Everyone was having a great time, some a bit too much as we had one small medical emergency after a young Marine took a spill on his motorized bicycle breaking his collarbone. Luckily we had lots of medical personnel around and he was able to sleep on it and drive himself out the following morning.
Saturday morning came with a flap, flap, flap on the RTT. After breakfast some went exploring, some went shooting, but I was happy to just relax with a book, or try to anyway. The wind became so bad by lunchtime we decided to eat in the cab just to escape it. Tents and toilet enclosures were blowing and flapping all around. I really couldn't take it anymore. Blame it on living in St. Johns, where the wind is regularly 50-90 mph, but I have no tolerance of the wind. Give me freezing rain, snow, heat with humidity and I'll hang out around the camp with you all day long; but the wind I just have no patience for.
After lunch, Josh went and joined in to the trail cleanup and I climbed back into the RTT to try and read. I came out and ventured over to the cleanup raffle they were having just as it ended. We took the time to tour and talk with people about their different set-ups as we had been growing less and less fond of the RTT.
About that time some folks from the BLM came by and said some of us were camping too far off the trail, even though the map submitted with the permit had listed the entire area. Those of us who were back by the mountain were too far and were asked to move, which I was more than happy to comply with and get the hell out of the wind tunnel. I also wasn't interested in getting our organizer in trouble or not being welcome to come back and use the area next year. After some grumbling and griping, we all moved eventually....some to the other side of the small hill which unfortunately split the camp a bit, and a few just went home rather than unpack everything again. We were able to move fairly easily by having me walk with the RTT ladder as Josh drove. Others just threw their whole tents in the back of the pickup!
As camp settled back down we had one more task to accomplish before the night and that was to fix a flat tire. Somehow, after having these MT/R's on for 30+k miles, we finally ended up with some damage: a rusty nail. Josh did his first tire puncture repair flawlessly and the tire held all the way back to Phoenix and beyond, no problem. After dinner we concluded the evening around a huge campfire with talk about the future of the space program, military stories, and continued amazing cooking from Zach.
As we said our goodbyes the next morning and broke camp, I think we both knew that the time had come to move on from the FJ, but we didn't know that it would go so quickly and this would be our last adventure with it. We had many, many great times with this vehicle and it was a project we both put our heart and souls into, but our adventures and needs had changed. Luckily for us, the vehicle went to someone who will use it and enjoy it and continue to take it many exciting places. Thanks for the memories R2FJ!!!
*Also a special thanks to our friend Linda who provided most of these pics. I had my camera with me but was not in a real snappy mood, so without her we would not have very many pictures to post here! Thanks Linda!!
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