The calendar has flipped to 2017 and we are well into planning our year of adventures. Most will be quick trips that won't require us to travel far while one or two destinations may take more than just an airplane ride to reach. But that's for later because as cliche as it may be, I just can't put a period on 2016 without reflecting on the places we've been and the things that we learned throughout the year. I will just hit the highlights because if you want a more detailed rundown of our adventures you can always look through our older posts. So, here we go.
Early this spring we attended the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah. This event celebrated it's fiftieth year and shows no signs of slowing down. If you're into off-roading you've likely heard of the event and if you haven't you need to check it out. Southeastern Utah's gorgeous red rock canyons and breathtaking vistas are on full display by way of over 30 back country trails and nine days. You can learn more about this event at www.rr4w.com.
We returned to one of my favorite places on this Earth in 2016, Yellowstone. It's hard to beat the beauty of the world's first national park. In my mind Yellowstone must have been the last place that God created before putting away his paint brushes. The deep canyons, numerous water features and it's unique wildlife are preserved in the most natural state as possible in this technology fueled age. The only piece of technology needed here is a camera. Don't forget to bring extra memory cards.
The highlight of the year would have to be the trip we dubbed the "Rubisemite" trip. We put together our first major road trip for this one with the main objective of running the Rubicon Jeep trail in California. Of course the challenge was to drive from Salt Lake City, Utah to the trail where we would need to keep four Jeeps in one piece while traversing over twelve miles of the roughest and most technical trail known to the off-road community, take a road trip to two ghost towns and a national park, and return home intact. No problem. With the added challenge of fighting off record numbers of bees we finished the trail a little battered, a little tired and a lot happy. We pushed south into Yosemite National Park where we were met with large crowds of people and some gorgeous views of Half Dome and the Yosemite Valley.
An epic trip yes but looking back we may have been a little crazy in trying it but in the end it worked out and I can't think of a trip where I had more fun. 2016 brought us a lot of fun adventures but it wasn't without it's difficulties. We up and moved to California, something that wasn't really expected but we are dealing with it. And the worst part of the year for us came in late October when we had to say goodbye to our dear friend, Jeep the Adventure Dog. He enjoyed rides in the Jeep and didn't seem to mind being bounced around in a Polaris RZR either. It still hurts that he's gone but in the end we know it was for the best.
So that was 2016 in a nutshell. Overall I think we had a great time despite some of the challenges but if every experience was easy the stories that came from them would be boring. We thank you for being with us in our first year and we look forward to bringing you more stories from 2017's adventures. Stay safe, find adventure and get off the couch. It's time to live life in 2017. Brandan
