The Rubicon Jeep Trail in California

This is not really a normal post for me because it does not involve quilting.  I did post about the hand work I did on the trail earlier.  Some of my readers husbands have an interest in the crazy things we do with our four wheel drive Toyota trucks.  Perhaps this post is for them.  For me, it is a history of wonderful time with family.

We camped near Loon Lake the night before starting the trail.  Photos are in a previous post.  Our Toyotas were packed for a three day trail trip with two night's camping on the trail.  

There were many jeeps  on the trail that were not a part of our group, but we had the opportunity to help some of them because one member of our group took a welder.  In case you are wondering, there are lots of break downs on these types of trails.  We always travel in small groups and bring extra parts and tools with us.  We intentionally go over big rocks and difficult train.  During challenging obstacles, those on the trail stand around and watch giving applause and cheers when an obstacle is conquered.

These photos are from our group.

"Bruce", the vehicle shown, is pretty popular in our group and has a history of passing from the owner that named him, to us, and then finally to our nephew.  Bruce is a jeep but has been modified with other parts.  Bruce has no doors which makes watching the tires easier.  He is missing a windshield, so the occupants wear glasses to keep bugs and such from flipping into their eyes.

"Blue" is our truck.  I like that he fully protects us from the weather inside the cab.  I like temperature controlled environments.  He needs a roll cage some day which concerns me sometimes.  I typically get out during tippy obstacles.

"Runner" belongs to my daughter's family.  Runner can hold all the kids and has a cover that can be enclosed or rolled up.  He is a beast!

This Toyota is nameless, but he is a part of our group.  He belongs to the son of our great friends!

The white Toyota belongs to our friends.  I work with her at my school and our husbands have known each other for years.

Bruce again...

We spent hours driving around lakes - beautiful!  I will say that the first day on trail we only went 3 miles in 7 hours.  You can walk faster than you can drive.  I got my steps in.

Here are some camp photos.  We drove in one day, camped, drove further the next day and then came back to camp, and drove out the last day.  Each family did a meal to feed us all.  It made packing simple.

It was so so so hot!  Because camp was at a lake, we played in the water both nights before dinner.

The Rubicon trail is located near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  It is known as America's most difficult jeep trail, but I beg to differ.  Perhaps it is because it is really quite a drive from anywhere.  Getting there on the paved road was long, winding, and involved driving up a mountain for hours.  

My brother-in-law made trophies for each of us in the group.  The children were given necklaces to give away to other children on the trail.  They were received with great smiles.  I love them!  The vehicles on the trophy are the actual ones in our group.

The children in our group had custom engraved necklaces.

Here we are for a photo op at the end of our three day trail.

Runner, Blue, a Toyota, Bruce, and another Toyota.  This was our group.

We played at Loon Lake before bed.  It felt so good and was beautiful until we saw a snake in the water.

The littlest got a bath in the motorhome sink.