More often than not we elect to spend our birthdays or celebrations somewhere in the middle of no where instead of in town at a fancy restaurant. It's just the way we roll as you all know by now.
So Yosh's b-day was coming up and she asked me.. "where can we go?" With gas prices rising and many of our friends wanting to join us locally, we decided to stay close to home. Hole in the Wall is a campground in the Mojave Preserve. We chose this route vs remote or back country camping because it would make it easier for the folks that don't go out often to setup and generally take care of their needs. Also, everyone would arrive at different times so it was really easy to find.
Heading out with a few rigs..
A friend of ours Linda which some of you may know, woke up early morning friday to head out and grab campsite for everyone. This was really nice of her and we all appreciated that. Nothing like having a large group and having everyone spread out, or the last guy show up and there's no spot for him/her.
Welcoming Scott and Stacey to camp with the appropriate handheld beverage.
Getting camp setup.
Truck tents were very popular on this trip.
And for good reason. They're easy to setup, somewhat affordable and offer up a ton of room off the ground.
Linda in her versatile-fit-anywhere Astro Tiger pop top.
The first order of business was to get Seans smoker going as soon as possible. We were to have two 3lbs tri tips ready by dinner. With the wind it wasn't going to be easy. We had to hide it from the elements so that it would stay warm enough.
This Bradley portable smoker is really nice. It runs off small 1lbs bottles and uses batteries to automatically load the wood chips into the smoker when needed. The unit also packs up small and isn't all that heavy.
While we waited it was time for a cold one. Choose your preference, bottle or can.
Penelope looking cute as ever and very colorful!
The sunset was epic..
After the sunset, the party began. There was so much food it wasn't even funny. Big thanks to Eric from Eat Chow for cooking up so much good stuff.
The next morning we headed out to do some exploring, but before we did Yosh received a gift to keep her warm at camp.
Airing down after we left the pavement.
A TreadLightly! meeting before heading out to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Headng up Lanfair Road, our first stop was the Nevada railway crossing monument.
Not far down the way, we turned east onto the Mojave Road to see the penny can.
We put a coin in for good luck and headed on down the trail.
Just south of the Penny can over your shoulder, the FAA air beacon can be seen.
Next stop was some Petroglyphs i know about. I won't reveal their location but most of you know which ones these are.
These are some amazing pieces and the most i've ever seen in one given area.
The water tank, last time i was here this was dry.
After checking out the Petroglyphs we headed back west towards the Joshua Tree forest. Some sections were a bit tight for the full size trucks, but everyone made it through unscathed.
I was testing out a new teardrop by Socal Teardrops. It made it through nicely.
After a couple hours into the trail ride we broke for lunch at Caruthers Cabin.
The teardrop made for a perfect lunch platform.
After lunch we kept on trucking west through the trail, crossing Cedar Canyon Rd and dropped down to Rock Spring.
Scotty heading down the steep grade with his Cummins diesel.
Our Landcruiser 80 series with trailer in tow. We received no pushing from the trailer at all, or at least that we could feel.
Eric in his custom fabbed up JK
People were getting worn and ready to head back to camp, so we slowed down for Rock Spring and headed up to the Rock House for our final stop instead.
The Rockhouse was built in 1929. It was built by a World War I gas victim named Bert Smith, who homesteaded here in 1929 and didn't expect to live long. However, he lived in the house until 1954.
It was time to head back to camp for the day.
Heading back via Cedar Canyon Road
Back at camp, again, no disappointment in the sunset department.
After arrival it wasn't long till everyone got started on the potluck for Yosh's birthday.
The cake was insane.
The next morning the sunrise was spectacular.
After a packing up, some headed for home and the superbowl and we headed for Kelso Dunes.
The Kelso Dunes are the second highest dune set in California. Second to Eureka.
Last time we were here i wanted to hike to the top, but wasn't ready for the challenge at that time. This time i was climbing them, come hell or high water. Justin joined me.
Heading out.
It's a hell of a lot farther than it looks.
Yosh and Dixie walked out a bit and then relaxed and waited for us.
After a long haul i finally get up the ridge. This is where you can't give up, you can smell the top.
About an hour twenty make it to the top. Exhausted.
Taking a break at the top. Enjoying the view as long as i could.
On full robot mode on the way back. Legs burning, trying not to look up.
After making it back to the trucks, I was stoked to have made it and the girls and Dixie were at the parking area waiting with cold drinks. I devoured two sandwiches in a matter of minutes.
At this point, we decided to stay out another night and drive into work from camp the next morning. The trouble was deciding where to camp so that the drive wouldn't be too painful the next morning. We decided on Joshua Tree and beings that it was superbowl weekend we'd have a great chance of getting a campsite.
Heading to Joshua Tree near Amboy CA. You can see the Amboy Crater in the background.
Pulling into Indian Cove at the state park near 29 palms.
Another night, another camp. There were only a few left.
Some nice T-bones marinated in Jack Daniels marinade and cooked over open fire. A great way to end any day.
The next morning we woke up bright and early to head into work. Yep, sometimes we just can't get enough and i wish we could stay out full time, but duty calls and we have to punch the clock to pay for play.
Thanks everyone that came out to Yosh's birthday. She had a blast and so did i. Lets do it again sooner, than later.
Photos by Adventureduo, Linda Jones, James Chatary, Sean McGinty and Justin Majich.