5 week cross country trip

[DbltreeBelgians]

Picked up a Keystone Fuzion 419 toy hauler back in March so Jill and I decided to load the Polaris General up and head west.


 

Left Ohio on Saturday May 13th and arrived in Grand Jct. Colorado on Sunday evening. Hit the mother of all potholes on I-70 in Denver and my dash lit up like a Christmas tree. Lost ABS, cruise control, traction control, hill decent control and a host of other functions but the truck was drivable. Found the hit was so harsh it sheared the lower airbag mount off and cut the left rear ABS sensor wire. Ordered a new sensor, repaired the airbag mount at my sister's house with the help of the Lincoln welder they have and that ain't gonna happen again.
Took the daughter out to do a little off-roading at Bangs Canyon outside of Grand Junction on Friday the 19th. What a beautiful ride. I took her to the Billings Canyon Jeep trail to show her some extreme 4-wheeling. It's not a trail my machine come close to running but we went as far as possible. Here's a couple pics that tell the tale.



 


 
I heeded the warning on the 2nd picture and we turned around and used the bypass. All in all it was a great ride and Dani had a blast.
Next stop is a week at Sand Hollow in SW Utah, then a week at Moab Utah, then we trek north to Grangeville Idaho to visit my aunt. We'll the turn east for Billings Montana , Fargo, somewhere near Duluth, across the U.P. of Michigan and end our last stop in Wolverine Michigan Father's Day weekend. I may have to make a detour to Detour Village also if the boss will have a couple visitors for a few hours or so.
I'll get to see some country I've never seen before and I'm sure by Father's Day I'll be ready to get home.
More to come later.

Brent

Edit:

Pics of the cut ABS sensor and my Polaris General 



 



 

Brent 

[thecfarm]

Guess I can't tell you stop in for a visit.  :D
Have fun!!!

[Magicman]

Sounds like an exciting trip Brent.  Enjoy !!

[barbender]

Geez that sounds like some pothole!😬 I'm jealous of the trip though, sounds like a blast!

[sawguy21]

You say you have an aunt in Grangeville ID? I have family there I have never met, maybe we are cousins. ;D It is not a large community.

[DbltreeBelgians]

My dads younger brother and SIL and 3 boys moved to Grangeville in the mid 80's from NW Ohio. My uncle passed years ago and the boys have all flown the coop and are all married with their own children. I haven't seen my cousins since they moved.
Highly unlikely we are even remotely related but hey, it was worth a shot eh!!
It will be good to see her again but she doesn't know about it yet.
Was on top of Grand Mesa today and they are still snowmobiling up there.



 



 


 


 
Snow still pretty deep. They really need it out there to help with the long running drought and to refill the reservoir's 
Pulling out of Fruita Colorado in the morning and headed for Hurricane Utah.

Brent

[Magicman]

I have made many tracks on Grand Mesa.  We have also had snow to shut our hunt down and make us move out, twice.

[DbltreeBelgians]

That don't surprise me at all Lynn. I lived in Grand Junction for many years and I've seen all kinds of weather on the Mesa. I got married to Jill at my parents place at Arrowhead Ranch near Blue Mesa reservoir on July 2nd and as soon as we said our vowels the thunder clapped and it snowed, hailed and rained. Had to shovel the wrap around deck off.

Brent

[barbender]

"And Brent, do you take Jill to be your lawfully wedded wife? In sickness and in health, for better and for worse?" "A,E,I,O, and U."

[firefighter ontheside]

Dang.  Sorry about the truck issue.  At least you were able to fix it.  The airbags working well otherwise to level the load?  I have hit some potholes in Illinois with the camper on that I swore were going to take the axle off my truck or camper.  Illinois idea of dealing with the problem of bad potholes is just to put up a sign that says "bump ahead".

[barbender]

I was quite indignant at the fact that in Illinois you have to stop and pay tolls, to drive on their trashy unmaintained highways🤬

[DbltreeBelgians]

Yes Bill the bags really help stabilize the load. The truck did ok without them except you could really feel the truck roll side to side on a turn or a cross wind. Now the factory helper springs don't even come into play. I'm glad I put them on.
When we hit the Utah state line everything smoothed out. By far the best roads we've traveled so far. Colorado by far had the worst roads and I always thought Michigan roads were rough. Not even close.
And the scenery in Utah was out of this world. I've seen a lot of canyon and desert country but places like the Goblin valley and the San Rafael Swell were stunning. And who would have ever thought they would have huge hay making operations out here. Jill looked it up and they have over 800,000+ head of cattle and many large dairy farms.
We took the General to Sand Hollow State Park on Wednesday and had a decent ride. I did get scolded by Jill for a few stunts I pulled. I dropped off a ledge that was so steep that I hit the front bumper of my machine and gassed it at the last second to keep from flipping over forwards.  She flat out told me "Don't EVER do that **** again" !!! Yes my dear I won't, trust me!!  ;D  
I have a lot of GoPro video of our rides but don't have a clue as how or where to post them. I didn't take much pictures as I was driving but here's one.


 

Torquerville Falls is on the agenda for Friday and I'd like to day trip to Hoover dam and Lake Mead and also Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.
We'll see what we have for time left before heading to Moab on Memorial Day.

Brent

[firefighter ontheside]

Be careful on the road to Toquerville Falls, MORR is always getting people unstuck or rescuing their broke down rig.  Leaving for Croatia today!

[beenthere]

Yes Bill the bags really help stabilize the load. The truck did ok without them except you could really feel the truck roll side to side on a turn or a cross wind. Now the factory helper springs don't even come into play. I'm glad I put them on.
When we hit the Utah state line everything smoothed out. By far the best roads we've traveled so far. Colorado by far had the worst roads and I always thought Michigan roads were rough. Not even close.
And the scenery in Utah was out of this world. I've seen a lot of canyon and desert country but places like the Goblin valley and the San Rafael Swell were stunning. And who would have ever thought they would have huge hay making operations out here. Jill looked it up and they have over 800,000+ head of cattle and many large dairy farms.
We took the General to Sand Hollow State Park on Wednesday and had a decent ride. I did get scolded by Jill for a few stunts I pulled. I dropped off a ledge that was so steep that I hit the front bumper of my machine and gassed it at the last second to keep from flipping over forwards.  She flat out told me "Don't EVER do that **** again" !!! Yes my dear I won't, trust me!!  ;D  
I have a lot of GoPro video of our rides but don't have a clue as how or where to post them. I didn't take much pictures as I was driving but here's one.


 

Torquerville Falls is on the agenda for Friday and I'd like to day trip to Hoover dam and Lake Mead and also Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.
We'll see what we have for time left before heading to Moab on Memorial Day.

Brent

You can make YouTube or Rumble videos from the GoPro vids and link to them in your posts. Look forward to seeing them, as agree that Utah has some extraordinary sights to see.

[DbltreeBelgians]

Went to Torquerville Falls on Friday. Having not been there before and looking at the Ride Command mapping in the Polaris I decided to go right at the split in the road. Kinda glad I did go that way as we dropped down a loose boulder infested very steep grade that I'm not sure I'd have made it up had I went left and ran the looped trail in a clockwise manner. Then we came to a stream crossing and the General sounded like an outboard motor with the muffler being submerged. Jill thought we were goners. Forded the stream and stopped to let Duke cool off in the water.



 

He was loving it. We ended up crossing the stream about 4more times and finally came upon the falls.



 


 

Jill and Duke at the top of the falls. It's kinda neat as you can walk or drive across the top. Not slippery or any too deep. The place was packed with people and dogs running back a forth across the top.



 

But from the looks of this guy the water might have been a touch bit nipply so to speak.
On our return back to the trailhead we continued on a counter clockwise route and it was mostly smooth sailing. Met a lot of jeeps and 4x4 vehicles so the place was gonna be packed and we got out in good time.

Brent

[DbltreeBelgians]

On Saturday we made a trip to the Hoover Dam and lake Mead. Sad to see the lake level so low as you can see by the bathtub ring on the canyon walls.



 

Found out no pets allowed anywhere other than documented service dogs and we had Duke with us. I really wanted to tour the inner workings of the dam. Jill said go and she would stay with Duke in the truck and maybe take a nap. She had been there long ago and wasn't the least bit interested in touring the inside of the *DanG dam. So off I went. First was a movie on the construction then a tour of the power plant and then inside different levels of the dam.



 





They had one turbine they were in the process of reassembling after major maintenance. The overhead cranes were massive.
Then into the bowels of the beast.



 



 

This was a 6' diameter shaft that lead to one of I believe 4 vents on the face of the dam. Next picture is looking out the vent to the Colorado river below.





This place is a masterpiece of engineering and hard to even fathom the amount of blood, sweat, and tears involved in building it.
As we were leaving I asked Jill how far to Vegas as I had never been there. So off we went just to say I did it. Never again!! Not my cup of tea. So then I asked her how far to California. She said about an hour or so. So south we go on I-15. Made it to the first exit in California and turned around and made my way back to southern Utah. We hit 4 different state on Saturday and I'll probably not ever make it to 2 of those states again. Maybe I'm wrong about that but at least I can say I've been there, done that. I'm good with that.

Brent 

[Magicman]

I agree about California but.... The Redwoods are worth seeing but that is kind of a trip all of it's own.

Keep on keeping on and I am enjoying your trip.    

[Don P]

I was in that generator room and tunnels.. 51 years ago. I don't think the towmotor has even moved  :D. There was not a rebuild underway then and the lake was at full pool. My instamatics are long gone. At the time they were still pumping cooling water through the concrete, at almost 40 years old it was still hot because of the slow heat mix and the incredible mass of it. At around 90 I wonder if that part is done.

[DbltreeBelgians]

@Don P  I inquired on the cooling tubes. My reason was I figured by now they would have corroded. He stated exactly and they have actually filled them all with grout as the tubes have rusted away by now. The tour was amazing.  I would've paid extra to tour the maintenance shop but 
no bueno!!!    Bummer
We're in Moab now. The drive up I-15 to I-70 was total chaos. Everyone must've been heading back to Salt Lake City area. Once on I-70 eastbound and down it was smooooth sailing and no traffic to contend with. South on Rt.191 to Moab was pretty good too but northbound was bumper to bumper with everyone heading home. Should be a good week here other than the Colorado River is flooding due to snow melt upstream.

Brent

[customsawyer]

Enjoying the pictures. Keep them coming.

[nativewolf]

What a great trip but if you miss CA you are missing on the most incredible natural wonders in the world.  The Big Sur is just...amazing.  Redwoods, the CA coastal highway, and on and on.  San Diego is still a good visit, San Fran used to be my favorite city in the USA but they let it go to heck.  Wineries are neat in northern CA.  Small towns along the coast of CA are mostly worth a day in and of themselves.  It's still pretty rugged and wild in many places.  

If you are into technology touring SpaceX or Tesla's factories is pretty awesome if you can arrange that.  It's one of the most dynamic places in the USA and though I don't live there I encourage you to at least take the CA coastal highway for some good long distance.  

I've traveled on a good many continents (still need Antartica) but have seen a many incredible sights.  Nowhere packs it in like CA.  Coastal BC/Alaska is neat, Fjords in Norway/Lofoten Islands- neat.  Tasmania-nice.  I have not been down the coast of SA, would like to see southern Chile one day.  I have not been to see the highlands of Ethiopia- that's a to do as well.  Japan is ok- nice scenery and comfort never far away, Indonesia nice but so dense.  Malaysia is under appreciated but the wild parts are really not easy to access.   I could go on but missing CA is a big miss.

[barbender]

The natural wonders of California are high on my list of things to see someday. The populated areas don't interest me at all, though.

[sawguy21]

We were on I-80 just outside SF on a Friday afternoon, found a way out of that gong show quickly. I thought I had seen traffic but nothing like that.  LA was no better. Big Sur is definitely worth seeing but very touristy (expensive). I enjoyed visiting California but have no desire to live there, the cost of living is brutal.

[DbltreeBelgians]

@nativewolf  I would love to see the redwoods and the Sierra's. Yosemite would be awesome too. But the big city's and big crowds, well that ain't in my wheelhouse. Not much for the ocean either. That's just me, to each his own. I love the mountains, the red rocks of the canyon lands and the forests. I'm sure there are many beautiful place I'm missing out on and some day I'll knock a few more off my bucket list.
Jill would love to do a river cruise in Europe. She loves castles. And bagpipes. She plays bagpipes with Toledo Fire Pipes and Drums. I'd love to go to Switzerland, Germany and Austria but with the way the world is currently I think I'll just keep me feet planted on good ole U.S.A. terrafirma for now. I don't have a passport so I can't even go to Canada.

Brent

[barbender]

Brent, maybe we could do a guy's trip and our wives could go do a European River cruise. I'm all about the mountains, forests and wild country. No passport here, either🤷

[DbltreeBelgians]

@barbender ,
We'll be passing through Minnesota on our return trip heading for Wolverine Michigan for Father's Day weekend to do a trail ride in honor of my son-in-law's dad who passed away a few months back at the young age of 53.

Brent 

[barbender]

 Darn it, that is way too young😢

 What route are you taking across Minnesota?

[nativewolf]

Well there is plenty of time for the next trip and so many places to go.   

[firefighter ontheside]

We were happy to get stamps in our passports.  We got Germany, Bosnia and Croatia.  There is the potential for us to cross into Slovenia.  I'm not any anymore worried about my safety in the Mediterranean than I am in St. Louis.

[Don P]

I haven't crossed in many years, is a passport now required at the Canadian border?

 I'm pretty much the same, respectful of everyone's sovereignty but I haven't lost anything outside our borders I need. BC is beautiful tho'.

I know its in my genes but bagpipes sound about like running a bandsaw through a duck  :D.

[barbender]

FFOT, saying you feel as safe in the Mediterranean as you would in St. Louis doesn't have a positive connotation for me😁

[firefighter ontheside]

I know Barbender.  I don't go down there a lot, but when I do I keep an eye out.  I feel safer here actually.

Yes a passport is required for Canada now.

[Southside]

Is it required to get into Canada or back into the States? 

[Andries]

Probably both SS.
Funny how perspective changes it. I remember how passports became a thing, right after 911. 
Overnight, one was needed to get into the US. 

[Magicman]

In 2019 a Passport was not required to get into Canada but it was required to get back into the US.  Personal identification was required to get into Canada i.e. drivers license, etc. but of course the Passport served as that which is what we used.

[Ljohnsaw]

In 2019 a Passport was not required to get into Canada but it was required to get back into the US.  Personal identification was required to get into Canada i.e. drivers license, etc. but of course the Passport served as that which is what we used.

Back around 2015 we traveled to Utica, NY for my niece's wedding.  Since my sister lives in Branford, Ontario, Canada, we swung up there for a visit.  I remember reading somewhere (here?) that you don't need a passport to get into Canada, just to get back into the US.  So, the passports were packed in the trunk when we crossed over.  Stopped on the Canadian side, she asked for passports.  So I repeated the above.  She didn't like that.  Said something about Canada being a foreign country (not our most norther state ;)).  I hopped out, dug through the bags and handed them over.  On the way back the US CBP just glanced at them and sent us through.

[Magicman]

Yup the mind set of the official always must be obeyed.  I finally learned after more than a dozen crossings to keep my mouth shut and only answer the questions as asked. 

The snottiest agent that we have ever incurred was on the US side at Port Huron, MI.  I think that he had just discharged from the Army as a Buck Sergeant.

The above was an exception because all of our other crossings have been pleasant and uneventful.

[Southside]

Back in the day I had a permit that allowed me to cross the border at any point, not just Customs, but anywhere either way, and I had a permit to carry a handgun in Quebec, all because of my job. The Canadian Customs officials were always nice, even had one take me out to dinner with his wife and niece he wanted to set me up with. The US officials on the other hand, that was a different story some times. 

That issue was resolved one time when a power hungry officer went a bit too far and the port commander came out to see what was going on. When he realized we were the guys they call for help "Mr "Overcompensating" got a talking to. 

[Andries]

We travel across the border a fair bit, at least 10 to 12 times per year. It seems the most zealous border officials are the ones from your own country. Getting told that you have to "drive into garage number three due to a random search" is another way of saying that an hour of your life just evaporated. 
Resist the urge to question or talk back, because otherwise it'll turn into three hours of your life just evaporated. 🤦‍♂️

[DbltreeBelgians]

Darn it, that is way too young😢

What route are you taking across Minnesota?

Well I guess we're going to Fargo on 94 then something like Rt.75 to Rt.2 to Duluth according to my copilot and navigator. Then across Wisconsin to the U.P.
To be honest that's subject to change. I'm thinking of having a decal made for the back of the toy hauler that reads 
"No Agenda"  That way if I happen to veer of course "it ain't no big thang"
As long as we're in Wolverine Michigan by Wednesday or Thursday before Father's Day.

Brent

[chet]

As there are only 2 routes across the UP there is a 50/50 chance yer driving past my place.  :D

[DbltreeBelgians]

Got to Moab Monday evening and got set up. Didn't do much on Tuesday. Stayed in the trailer quite a bit because the mosquitoes are ferocious here. Now I know this area had dinosaurs roaming all around but I think some made through the ice age as these mosquitoes are the size of a pterodactyl and they show no mercy. Really surprised me to see them so bad here but they did have a wet winter and spring.
So I decided to plan a trail ride for Wednesday. Destination Hurrah pass and Chicken Corners via Kane creek road.



 

Something about a hanging rubber chicken makes ya wonder what you're in for.
We'll let's say I could've been hanging on that sign post too. Jill wasn't impressed with my driving skills. 



 

I thought my skills were fine. Hey I got it stopped.



 

Jill didn't see the humor and her and Duke walked until the view changed in her favor. The video on the GoPro will have to be edited after some of the things she called me.
On the return from Chicken Corners we came across a really cool memorial from way back in time.



 

This was a really nice memorial. There was live ammunition, coins, an old saddle and lariat. He died way to young but I don't know the circumstances.



 



 




 

Duke was having a blast but boy was he a filthy mess from the dust after swimming when we got back to camp. He got the garden hose treatment and he crashed all night long.
Looks like rain and possible thunderstorms today so I think we'll find something else to do today. I'm not keen on getting caught in a slot canyon or dry wash turned raging river. 

Brent

[Old Greenhorn]

Joseph Johnson was apparently and interesting fella.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35095944/joseph-hills-johnson

Got this from a quick search:
"Joseph Hills Johnson was the 12th of the 14 children born to Joseph Horace and Julia Hills Eagar Johnson. He was born in Moab, Utah, December 2, 1895. He married Ruth Westwood December 31, 1916. They were the parents of six children. He was the sheriff in Moab. Joseph Hills Johnson died December 30, 1927, when his horse fell after stumbling into a hole near the Colorado River. His last child, Loren, was born a few months after his death."

 He is buried in Grand Valley Cemetery in Moab.

[DbltreeBelgians]

We'll that answers that. I figured he had a shoot 'em out with some cattle rustlers or something of that nature.
Thank you for the info Tom 

Brent 

[Magicman]

There can always be worse days:
DKCC6899 - YouTube

[barbender]

I would be very surprised to have mosquitoes attacking me out in that country. I plan on it in forested areas, kinda think I'm going to get a pass in dry country. 

[DbltreeBelgians]

I had to do a double take Lynn. I thought maybe you had video of Howard up behind the house going after another log.  ;D  Just messin with ya Howard.
And as for the mosquitoes I'm tellin ya they be bad nasty. Open the door to the RV and there's a whole platoon waiting to attack. This only seems to be in low areas. Get up on a plateau or away from water and no Skeeter's but the dog pecker gnats are just about as bad.

Brent

[Walnut Beast]

Great pictures. Glad your having a great trip! 

[DbltreeBelgians]

Got to meet Rory Irish and his crew Mike and Shawn from Trail Mater off-road recovery. These guys were as genuine as they come. Just regular Joe's that happen to have a great YouTube channel. Took time out of their busy day to talk with us. Couldn't be more pleased.




 



 



 

On Friday we hit Hells Revenge, Porcupine Rim 4x4 trail and Fins & Things trail. Did see a brand new 4 seat Can Am Maverick rolled over on its side. I got out to check on any possible injuries but the only thing hurt was mainly the guys pride. They flipped it back on its wheels and I left.



 



 

Ouch!!
Had a good ride and we were pretty much tuckered out when we got back to camp.

Today I decided to hit the Kane Creek 4x4 trail. Had no idea what lay ahead of us. Met a group of 3 machines a few miles in and stopped to chat. One of them asked Jill if we had ever been on this trail and she said NO!! They said you don't know about "Hamburger Hill"? Oh the look on her face!
On down the trail we stopped in the creek under an undercut formation to cool off and let Duke swim a bit.



 


 
The group of 3 came past us and they picked up another couple in a little Can Am. We all met up at the base of Hamburger Hill. Well this got interesting real fast. By the time it was over Jill and Duke along with another lady and a group of 6 kids walked about a mile to a swimming hole while I crawled and scratched my way up then winched 2 other machines up the boulder strewn trail. By the time we all made it to the swimming hole one Polaris RZR had broke both left side axle shafts and in the end broke a third one and I had to pull him to the end of the trail. Finesse on the skinny pedal wasn't in his manner.



 



 

We finally made it back to highway 191 and a half a mile down the road I blew a drive belt that I had smoked trying to pull the broken RZR. Made it into a rest area and changed out the belt. Only lost a few cogs but it sure made a racket when let go.



 

We're done riding in Moab and will spend Sunday cleaning things up and packing up and be ready to head to Idaho Monday morning.
Sorry for the long post but I was a bit behind on updates on our trip.

Brent

[Machinebuilder]

Great report Brent
I'm glad to see you're better at writing than I am :D

[DbltreeBelgians]

@Machinebuilder
I'm not to good at typing this stuff up. Constantly correcting and making revisions. Hopefully I get my point across and don't bore y'all.
Not much to report today as it was break down camp and travel from Moab to Heyburn Idaho. Other than idiot drivers on I-15 in Salt Lake City pretty much uneventful. We are set up on the Snake river in a city owed and operated RV park. Nice place.
Tomorrow we'll head out bright and early (yeah right) :D for Twin Falls then Boise and finally Grangeville . We'll probably set up at my aunts place for a few days. We'll be about 1-1/2 hours from Lewiston so Jill would like to catch Oregon and Washington if at all possible. Yellowstone has my interest. Then it's eastbound to Billings Montana. We'll see what happens. Like I said earlier, "No Agenda"

Brent

[barbender]

The Tetons and Yellowstone are definitely worth the time spent, if you have enough available. The last couple of times we were out there was during Covid. Although the Parks and most campgrounds were packed, everyone was pretty pleasant and it seemed like everyone was just happy to be out enjoying nature. With Covid, there weren't really any foreign tourists. That may be different now. In my experience, they are the ones doing a lot of the stupid stuff and being rude.

[DbltreeBelgians]

Got to Grangeville Idaho and set up the camper at my aunt's place. Quite the challenge getting a 44' 5th wheel up her drive but all went well. My cousin showed up from Coeur d'Alene to visit with us. He is a "LEO" for the US Forest Service and had business to tend to in Grangeville with the Sheriff and Undersheriff for a couple days so timing was perfect. He knows these mountains like the back of his hand so he took us on a fantastic journey. Wildlife was on Jill's hit list and he didn't disappoint. We saw moose, deer, elk, turkey and more. Never saw a bear or cougar though.
Here is one of the best scenes we could of asked for. A cow elk and her calf.



 




 

It's a little blurry due to zooming in with the phone but so awesome to see a calf nursing.
Then we went to an old Ranger's station. The corral's are still in use as is the old barn but the Ranger's station and bunkhouse are not anymore but it was a great sight to see.



 



 



 



 



 

We left on Friday headed for Miles City Montana up over Lolo pass. Beautiful drive through the canyons and along the rivers. The road was very winding and a bit snug in places but all went well and we decided to just catch some shuteye in a Walmart parking lot in Miles City. Only got a few hours of sleep as this seemed to be the local place for kids to hang out and blow off some steam at night. Lots of yelling and burnouts in cars and Harley's. Woke at 05:30 and hit the road not sure where we were headed but ended up in Nevis Minnesota. My son-in-law stayed at this place on a beautiful lake when he was working pipeline so I called my daughter and knowing she was good friends with the couple that own the resort (Starlight Bay Resort) they made us a spot in the woods right on the lake. How great is that!! Dale and Britney are fantastic people.



 


 

We'll stay here for a few days and rides some trails then head for "Yooper" land then our final destination Wolverine Michigan before heading south back to Ohio and home.
More to come later,

Brent 

[Walnut Beast]

Looks like a great trip. Did you rent that Polaris General or is your fifth a toy hauler and it's with you? 

[barbender]

 Those 5th wheel toy haulers are pretty serious pieces of equipment to tug behind you, especially out west. What does yours weigh, Brent?

 Nevis is about 60 miles from my place.

[DbltreeBelgians]

The General is mine. I tote the it all over the country. Let's say it's my happy place. Wherever it'll take me I'm happy. 
As for the trailer it's a Keystone Fuzion 419 toy hauler. Empty the trailer specs out at 15,300 lbs. and loaded I'm well over 18,000. My F-350 has no issues tugging it through the mountains. The 6.7 Stroke has all the "Cojones" needed and does a fine job. And I absolutely love the engine brake. Rare to touch the brakes coming down a mountain pass. But the mileage sucks hind end. And the DEF usage is lousy at best. Not impressed with that at all. It's all based off of the mileage I'm getting. The more fuel poured in the cylinders the more DEF it consumes. IMHO it's all a bunch of BS but that's just my opinion. I guess my dad summed it up well when he told me "if ya wanna dance ya gotta pay the band"!! My choice and I'll live with it. Is what it is!!

Brent

[Walnut Beast]

Very nice setup!!  Yes indeed having the General to explore and run around is absolutely the ticket.

The nice thing about the Toyhaulers is the the garage room when the toys are out it's like having one big extra room. You probably have the electric chain system with extra storage and seating in the garage and electric fuel station outside 

[DbltreeBelgians]

Yes sir, it has a 15' garage with 1/2 bath and the ramp doubles as a patio







 

Duke approved  ;D

Brent 

[Ron Scott]

Very nice unit!

[DbltreeBelgians]

Well our 5 week 15 state journey has come to a conclusion. After leaving Nevis Minnesota we made it as far as Marquette Michigan and it was getting late and parked at a Walmart there as it was too late to find a campground for the night. Left the next morning and went to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Jill had never been there but I had years ago while snowmobiling in Munising. The fog was so thick we could see anything so no pics of that. Headed for Grand Marais and yep, fog so thick you could cut it with a knife. Headed south and set up camp in Newberry for the night. Had all great intentions of taking a detour to 
De Tour Village to visit Jeff at the cabin. He told me there was no way I'd get my 5th wheel into his place and nowhere to pull off so over the Mighty Mac we went and set up camp in Wolverine.
Well I just had to see that Case 580 extenda hoe so I headed back across the bridge and look what I found



 

Jeff gave me a grand tour of the property and I will say it was grand. I see why he likes it so much.



 

Jeff leading the way down many trails. He let me ride the big 4 wheeler.



 

One of many deer stands he has for him and his sister.



 

Spotted this critter on a trail. No quills for us luckily.



 

Made it to the pond and spotted this predator snacking on a frog. Left it alone, walked around the pond and came back to the snake but the frog was gone. Did notice the snake was kinda bulging in the mid section. It decided to take its meal and swim across the pond to the other side. Jeff got video of that I think.



 

The sunflower was looking good. Nice fresh blades!!



 



 

The grand entrance and of course the cool mailbox post.

We finished off our trip with a memorial ride for my son-in-laws dad on Father's Day weekend to the cemetery. Never seen a more beautiful cemetery and you wouldn't know it was there just driving by high on a hill nestled in the pines overlooking the road between Wolverine and Indian River.
All in all it was a great trip other than a broken windshield in Price Utah and the nasty pothole on I-70 in Denver that took out an ABS cable on my truck. Made it home to Ohio Monday even and got unloaded and a new windshield today.
That's all she wrote folks. Thanks for coming along.

Brent

[barbender]

I'm sorry I wasn't able to catch you when you came through Minnesota, Brent. I had some stuff going in the timeframe you were coming through. Glad you had a great trip!

[DbltreeBelgians]

@barbender , it's all good. Would've loved to meet up but there will be another time. Had a great time trail riding in Minnesota. I'd like to come back and ride more.

Brent 

[Walnut Beast]

Thanks for the great pictures of your fantastic trip and the pictures of Jeffs slice of heaven