Went for a quick paddle...220 miles away.

[dumb lady]

Great pix, nicely narrated. The burried car on the beach was almost surreal looking. I heard about the storm damage from a friend in Oregon. Sad.
Looks like you had a great adventure. I'm jealous too.
Well done & thanks for posting, Mr T-Low.

[T.Low]

Ive been realizing lately that time is fleeting and there is so much so close to me to see; the Olympic Penninsula, Vancouver Island (could be many, many trips there) Eastern Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia could be a lifetime of exploration! Yeah, I need to install a pop top. Soon.

Very cool pics. I'm jeleous!!

I've spent no time on the WA coast and my wife, daughter and I plan to do some camping there one of these summers. (Won't be this summer as we are headed east.) You are right, there is so much area to explore in WA, OR & BC. And don't forget ID too!

Eventually I will have my van back on the road... and when I do, maybe we can meet up somewhere in the State and do some exploring.

You've got a place in Bellingham to stay, with a couple of guest rooms, and a couple hot showers, and a place for your wife to change the oil in the van. From here you can day trip to Mt. Baker or Vancouver, take the foot ferry dinner cruise to Victoria and back (departing and returning to Bellingham and I've spotted Orca whales from the deck both times we've taken that trip and Fiancee was quick with the camera), overnight the San Juans, and I'm just 20 minutes north of HWY 20 (come over the pass from Winthrop) and I-5. Just gimme a little advanced notice. Invite is open to anyone.

[snapple]

Thanks for the awesome pics!
Definitely helps with the cabin fever syndrome! I'm impatiently waiting for my order from Overlands!
Peace, Bill

[T.Low]

(Laura Croft, Tomb Raider, what else?)

There is no one else,

Thanks for postin the pics and letting us share,like Dunedog said... its been a long winter for us folks back east the pics help to fight the cabin fever.Looks like the lifted van is working just the way you intended

Since you mentioned that, I thought about it and the lifted van is working in even more ways than I originally had hoped. I didn't realize that driving the van would be an activity in itself, I just wanted it to be the pack mule ( or the sherpa) that supported my other activities.

Last week, for example, I put my bike on the back of the van to go meet the guys at the trailhead, and when I got there, I just drove on buy and waved and went for a nice drive down some mountainess roads I haven't been on in a while. You should have seen the dumbfounded looks on their faces as I drove by all ready for a ride but just waving and not stopping. And again, I couldn't have done it without this site.

[blake_sandman]

Wow, thanks for reminding me why I love this site.

[WVKayaker]

Awesome pics and narrative!

How's that thing handle sand?

And the clearcuts are down right ugly and disgraceful!

And no I wouldn't try crossing the creek with out at least another vehicle and tow/recovery strap. Better safe than very sorry!

I am soooooo jealous!

Thanks again for the awesome show dude!

[T.Low]

Awesome pics and narrative!

How's that thing handle sand?

And the clearcuts are down right ugly and disgraceful!

And no I wouldn't try crossing the creek with out at least another vehicle and tow/recovery strap. Better safe than very sorry!

I am soooooo jealous!

Thanks again for the awesome show dude!

Thanks WVK.
In the loose beach sand it wandered and floated slightly off track . While I have some sand driving experience, most of it seems to be in the realm of trying not to get stuck rather than the Hmm, this rig tracks better than that rig. I wonder how much is because I still haven't done my four point alignent, yet. Or how much is tire, or even COG...?
It also bogged a little more than I liked but I know I need the 4:10's so thats no real suprise. There was never a threat of getting stuck in the sand; combination of AWD Astro super power and driver experience. The hard pack was smoother than most paved surfaces. It was sweet. There were a couple shallow wide creek crossings that were really cool, in a sort of mini, "mock up" kinda way. Almost embarrassing how much I enjoyed them.





And no I wouldn't try crossing the creek with out at least another vehicle and tow/recovery strap. Better safe than very sorry!

Yeah, me neither...except some how I ended up doing it. Hmm. But again, I was suprised at how easy it was. I filmed it by holding the camera out the window while driving. When I looked at the recording, even though it was at least a foot deep, I realized that with the slight momentum I wanted to carry, the tires had actually pushed the water away from the wheels so the hubs were never in the water.

Is there a spot on the site for uploading vids? Like all good and exciting activities, it was all of 4 seconds.

[astrozam]

Is there a spot on the site for uploading vids? Like all good and exciting activities, it was all of 4 seconds.

LOL, No... you would have to use a photo-host,then post a link,most folks use photobucket.

[WVKayaker]

Upload it on You Tube then post the link here...

I am weary of driving in sand. I would like to try Assateague Island and The Outerbanks...I've 4 wheeled there but not in my van, and I've seen some folks have a tuff way to go sometimes. Saw a 4x4 dually get stuck out there...

[T.Low]

Upload it on You Tube then post the link here...

I am weary of driving in sand. I would like to try Assateague Island and The Outerbanks...I've 4 wheeled there but not in my van, and I've seen some folks have a tuff way to go sometimes. Saw a 4x4 dually get stuck out there...

Excellent point, WVK; the more things you've seen go wrong, the more conservative you tend to be. Some people think I am extreme or a risk taker. Actually, I NEVER do anything just to see if I can do it. I only do something that I am pretty certain I can do. Or atleast can visualize the wrong way and the right way.

I'm sure this saying has been applied to many things, but I use it mostly for white water kayaking:

There are old boaters and there are bold boaters, but there are no old, bold boaters.

[WVKayaker]

I am an old Bold Boater...Been paddling since '85 and been through hell and back. In the pic I posted of the dam earlier today, we were paddling on the river, and the water was about 5 feet higher...None of us even knew the dam was there...
When we were packing up the canoes to do the overnight trip, the river rose 3 feet in 45 minutes. It was hell on wheels. My buddy Bobby broke his ankle the following evening trying to drag a 30 foot log to the campfire. He was my canoe partner. The next day we hit the river, broken ankle and all, 39F degrees.
Here we are in a slow spot on the river and I notice this roaring sound and can't figure out what it is, when all of I sudden I see the flat line of the top of the dam, and yell out it's a f--kin' dam!
We were about 50 feet from it. So we paddle through the woods on the left side of the dam (the right side was cliff wall)
We finally made it to a point where we could get out and pull the fully loaded canoes over the dam, and the portage 50 yards down under the spillway...where 6 30 foot long logs were rolling around backwards under the spillway. If we had gone across that....toast fer sure!
And of course Bobby had a broken ankle and couldn't help us at all do the portage. The turbulence at the bottom of the dam was so wild, we had to wade through chest deep water, through the trees before it was calm enough to get back in the river.
Here's a recent pic of the dam. Imagine it with 5 or more feet of water?

At the top of the pic is where we had to paddle to for the portage.




This pic was taken last weekend of the lake section above the dam


The other two guys I was with lost it at the low water bridge below the dam. It was like a chapter out of National Geographic!

Sorry for the thread hijack....just had to tell that tale....

[T.Low]

The perfect recirculation of the low head damn, aka, The Keeper, or "Not the Place To Be". Nasty. Doesn't matter who you are or how strong or fit you are, a man is no match for that type of keeper. Always bring a throw bag and some paddling partners that have sharp rescue skills. Pheeuw.

[T.Low]

Thanks Miss DLady. It was a great little 2 1/2 day weekend. The only way it could have been better is if the water was warm like you have down there!

[phr1$k37]

AiYa I have been missing out!

mdmead - you live in WA! You should get moving on fixing up your ride - a bunch of us should meet up for a run about and THEN we DO have recovery vehicles!!! 1' water ... please ... well until we find out there is another 2' to drop from dead weight hah ha >.< Been there done that thank God for recovery vehicle and plywood.

TLOW! Dude where was that in WA? Looks very nice. About the sand part sadly that is something we have to becareful with. I have the 3.73 with G80 which is better than yours but what we share is that the AWD is not a low-gear and we have big dead weight. Thread those sand mush parts carefully and always bring shovel and a few carpets or what ever to get out of those pinches. One year we went camping and I parked her about 25' away from the riverbed, we were about 10' away from the vehicle. mid-night we hear loud "splashing" like river current on rocks. Got out my friends lifted Jimmy had slid part way into River, I was next but was stuck so those carpets saved my vehicle which ended up pulling the Jimmy out. Park safely as well. I swear the sand looked packed and dry to the toes.

[canadavan]

That is what its all about. Thanks for sharing TLow. Boy, I really want a lifted AWD...