The Adventure Drop Route

The Adventure Drop Route
Crosscountry Route. Winter '09-'10

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Pacific Coast








The latest and greatest. We truly enjoyed thawing out in Ventura. I (Chris) got a chance to surf right out in front of the camp site on some really nice waves. Monday we left Ventura and headed north on route 1 also know as the Pacific Coast Highway. After an hour we were out of the city and in the middle of no where with the pacific ocean on our left and mountains on our right covered with cows and grass. We drove north to Pismo beach where the wind was blowing and we got our first chance to kiteboard. The area was awesome. We were allowed to drive on the beach just like at home. At the south end of Pismo beach there are massive sand dunes where people are allowed to take their four wheelers and dirt bikes to tear up some sand. This area was a huge hit with the rednecks of the west. There must have been 500+ campers and RV's along the beach with their OHV's everywhere. We decided to camp away from the party zone and in a county park off the beach. The next day we headed farther north and even farther away from civilization. The road was literally on the side of cliffs. Kind of scary. On one stretch of coastline we saw elephant seals napping on the beach. Allie could not figure out what the heck they were, I tried explaining to her that they were just like manatees but they can go on land. He headed up into the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park where we camped in the woods along side massive pines that were 6-8ft in diameter and about 100-125ft high. Today, New Years Eve, we are driving to Yosemite. But we are making a stop in Merced Ca to get the universal joints replaced on the drive shaft. We have been noticing a bad vibration while driving and decided to get it looked at before we get stuck on the side of the road. But hopefully we will be on the road soon and make it to Yosemite before midnight. Only bummer is we are heading back into the cold. There will probably be snow everywhere.



Monday, December 28, 2009





CA update

We have finally made it to the California coast! We had an awesome white Christmas in the Grand Canyon. Santa was able to find us even though we didn't have a chimney. We woke up christmas morning with the temp around 5 degrees!!! There was frost on the windows and door and allies water bowl was frozen solid. Burr. We were toasty under the covers but didn't want to get out. Seeing the Grand Canyon was so amazing especially with all the snow. We hiked below the rim a mile and a half and found out just how deep the canyon is. We went down 1,100 ft vertically and didn't even come close to the bottom. We will save that for another trip. One of the days late in the afternoon we were driving back to camp going an exhilarating 18mph we hit some black ice and did a 190 into a snow bank and had to dig our selves out. We found humor in it and so did the asian tourists in their buses. Luckily we were going super slow, no damage, and only took 8 minutes to dig out. We now have new respect for the ice. Moving foreword, we left the Grand Canyon and headed to the Mojave Desert preserve where we camped on some BLM land. By the way at the Grand Canyon and Mojave Desert the stars are so bright and amazing, no sky glow to ruin them. The next morning we continued west to Apple valley California to hike to some natural hot springs. We Got our first dose of in-n-out burger which is the best fast food ever and then headed to the trail head. The man who owns the land at the trail head met us at the gate. His name was mike and he was stoked to see our camper. He then took us to his collection of old tin campers in his back yard, most were run down, but he liked the one that had an oven (because his house doesn't have an oven). We then paid a camping fee and continued on, ditched the trailer, loaded allies pack up and hit the trail. Two miles down into a canyon we found the hot springs. We first had to jump rocks across a freezing river to get to the side with the springs. Very quickly we found out this is a hot spot for nudists!!! And all guys! Gross. But the water was super nice. Allie even made an accidental jump into the hot springs. After hanging out there we hiked back up to camp and had dinner and a nice fire. The next morning we packed up and drove to Ventura right on the beach. Traffic was crazy five lanes wide and everybody hauling butt. Here in Cali since we are pulling a trailer we are limited to 55mph. And everyone goes 80! We will be here in Ventura for the next two nights surfing the big waves in the freezing water and hanging out with our friends Jeff and his wife Shannon. Sara is especially stoked to be here in Ventura because the temps are 65 in the day and only around 45-50 at night. So we wont see any ice when we wake up. We will then head north on the Pacific Coast Highway. Hope everyone is doing well and had a Merry Christmas. Love, Chris, Sara, and Allie

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

some trip photos




from left to right Sara stepping out of the drop in the snow storm, a fossilized tree in the petrified forest






Sara and allie in the petrified forest













Inside the carlsbad caverns and then the entrance the the cavern.

The First Six Days

Our first night in Pensacola was great! (Thanks to the Spears.) We got to see the Naval Air Museum although we would have needed another 2 days to do it justice. The next night was spent in a rest stop in Texas. The next day we went to Carlsbad Caverns Nation Parks. It was breath-taking and indescribable. Truly the most amazing thing we have ever seen! We stayed at Brantly Lake State Park in New Mexico that night and drove through Roswell the next day. (But didn't see any aliens.) That night was spent at the Arizona welcome center rest stop so we could wake up and have a very short drive to the Petrified Forest National Park. We got there at 8:ooam sharp and spent most of the day there seeing the sights and walking the trials with Allie. It was amazingly colorful, but we didn't take any petrified wood home (because it's illegal and to leave it for others to see... one thing we've noticed on this trip is that people really ruin things for other people.) Then we headed west and decided to head straight to the grand canyon because a snow storm was headed our way. We drove through part of the storm and got to the campsite just in time. We woke up in the morning with at least three inches of snow on the drop!! We got to see the grand canyon with a fresh coat of snow. We then went back to the campsite and played in the snow with allie. She doesnt seem to mind the snow at all. We are going to have to huddle up tonight...the low is 6. Burr. Hope all is well. Merry Christmas to you all.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The Adventure Starts December 18th, 2009

We will leave NSB on December 18th, 2009 and return on January 18th, 2010. Watch for updates starting in a couple weeks.