New Year, New Friends, New Trails

2017 started out with me stepping way out of my comfort zone and making new friends.  A few months back I started following a couple who was renovating an Airstream and posting their progress on Instagram.  Around Christmas they posted a picture of one of their Jeeps on a soggy trail on their way to find snow.  I commented, asking them to let me know where the snow was as Mike and I had already planned on Jeeping New Years day.  Little did I know that that post was an accident - it was meant for their other Instagram account I wasn't currently following.  Regardless, Brett reached out and said that they were planning on wheeling New Years day and invited us along.

The rest is history.

We left home at 7:00 AM and made our way to their campsite near Lake Pleasant.  It was raining and would remain cloudy and rainy all day.  No one cared.  About 13 rigs met up and took off just before 10AM.  The plan?  Crown King only on dirt.  Well, the Mill Restaurant, because stomachs always win during planning.

Off we went!

Until we hit a raging wash.

It wasn't worth the risk.  The power of water is unmatched and we turned back.

This shot was inspired by Liz.  I spotted her using this small puddle for creative shots and totally stole her inspiration.

The sun peeked out for a few minutes giving me adequate light for some pictures.  And Heather picked up on my unique was of taking pics on the fly: I sit on the window sill, hanging onto the roll bar with one hand and using my abs to keep me steady.  She called me a National Geographic Photographer.  Ha!  I wish!

The next plan?  Tiny bit of slab and off road at BumbleBee.  We lost a few folks to other plans and the herd started to thin out.

Elly and Rommel got a bit of rest on our way up north.

It pretty must misted on us all day.  But the farther north we went, the thicker the fog.  Climbing up towards Crown King, we lost a lot of the good landscapes.  A bit of a bummer for sure, but it made for some interesting overlanding.

We crested the mountain and started to see snow.

We stopped into the Mill Restaurant and had a killer meal among our new friends.  Kindred spirits, all of us.  Sharing stories of camping and wheeling and, of course, dogs.

Great food, great company, great music. #arizona #themill #livemusic @ouroverlandlife @ourairstreamlife @ktmmike

A video posted by Amanda (@the_adventure_wife) on Jan 1, 2017 at 2:16pm PST

From Crown King, we started our way towards Prescott.  I honestly couldn't tell you our route, as we were at the tail end of the group and just enjoying the trek.

The snow got deeper the higher we went and it was amazing!  A snow play break was in order.  The gaggle of dogs (and kids) had a blast.

The pittie and black dog were found by Brett and Liz the day prior. No tags and no owners in sight.  And they were amazing pups.  They spent the weekend with the crew, getting loved on and thanks to a spotted flyer were reunited with their people on Monday.

Heather made a sweet little snow man

Onwards up the trail!

We got out of the snow and right back into the fog.

Pit stop:

And then back into the snow! It got deep.  It got cold.  It got interesting.

Nighttime snow fun! ❄️❄️❄️#snow #jeep #overland #rubicon @ouroverlandlife @ktmmike @heideejk @peaksummitoverland @morning_star_adventures

A video posted by Amanda (@the_adventure_wife) on Jan 1, 2017 at 6:19pm PST

Finally we popped out into Prescott and stopped in town for some libations.  It was a great way to end a fantastic day.

I think we started 2017 off on the right foot.  We made several new friends.  We had an amazing time beating on the Jeep and playing in the snow.  We hope to have more fun overloading trips with the gang, and will surely head back towards Crown King to explore more.


Check out my SmugMug for the full album of the days adventures!

Waterslide Fun 2015

It's that time of year again, where the adults and dogs highjack the rented water slide to play.  Its been brutally hot this week and we've been looking forward to this.  The slide this year featured a twist at the end that was quite fun.  The dogs had a blast.

The slide had a leak so Elly and the other hounds found comfort in the shady mud.

Elly was kind of a kill joy today but Rommel made the best of the slide and the wading pool at the bottom.

 Our pitbull friends were self sufficient and were able to make their way up the ladder without aid.

At several points, Elly got lippy and hollered at Rommel.  She wanted him to play with her in the mud, he wasn't complying.  This shot made me laugh.  He's looking at me like "what is her malfunction?"

And without further ado, a video of our fun:

The Great Arizona Flood of 2014

Today, a monsoon hit the Phoenix area with vengeance.  For those not familiar with desert rains, they can be violent.  Not necessarily the rains themselves, but what they can bring.  Deserts have washes. Washes are essentially dry river beds.  Since they can be dry for 90% of the year, or even dry for years on end, humans tend to forget that they exist for a purpose: drainage.  Humans also tend to forget how deadly they can be.  Whole swaths of Interstate 10 were under water and consumed countless vehicles of brain dead drivers who thought that their Honda Civic could really make it through water up to their windows.

(photo from KNXV)

Entire neighborhoods were evacuated due to flooding and downed power lines.  But most people made the best of the new found (and short lived) lakes that sprung up throughout the valley.  Desert people LOVE water. Its rare to see so much of it here.  And the dry soil and high temperatures will make quick work of its disappearance. 

After a wet day at work, Mike and I took the dogs out to enjoy the lakes that formed in our own neighborhood walking path.  This is less water than we have seen in the past, but still enough to make our water dog happy.

The sun came out by 1PM, and by the time we made it out to play it was warm and wonderful.  Rommel and Elly thought we were the best parents ever. While she isn't a huge fan of swimming, she's an enormous fan of splashing and chasing in water.  And Rommel may as well have fins and gills.

Of course we took video again. Who can resist the joy of a dog in water?  (for those who watched my prior dog/water video, I apologize for the same soundtrack.  It's the only watery type music I have on my PC). 

Also, Blogger's mobile site does not like embedded videos.  For those using the mobile site, here is the link directly to the youtube video.