Part I: Trip Introduction

I will be camping in the desert for 10 weeks starting in March 2024 as I discover the New Mexico, Arizona, and California deserts. I'll be departing the Black Hills in my 2020 Tacoma (Taco), which I highly customized for the trip during the summer of 2023. I'll carry a Honda 3kw generator to power my cooking, lighting, computer, and Starlink satellite receiver. 

I promise I have no intention of becoming a YouTuber, but I'll have a drone and I'll link to exciting videos I create in my travels.

Modifying the Taco was a 5-month project that was only done with the help of Spencer Joseph from Joseph's Garage in Norwell. We wrenched, grinded, wired, and welded as we added $30k worth of gear to a $35k Tacoma. A few items included a new mid-travel off-road suspension, rooftop tent and storage, off-road lighting, a water purifying & storage system (need that in the desert), and an electrical system.  

The Taco had its shakeout voyage as it relocated to its new home in the Black Hills of SD. Bernie B traveled out with his FJ, and we put both vehicles through the paces in Sept 2023. I also took a one-day extreme rock crawling class that taught me so much about handling off-road obstacles. I will need that skillset in the desert.

Many folks have asked me why I am doing this trip alone. The simple answer is Julianne doesn't want to camp that long, and no one else has signed up! Folks always talk about traveling the world, but I always just wanted to travel this country. 25 years ago, I made it my longest-term goal. I'm retired now, so no more excuses!

Since 2016, I've traveled most of the East Coast, exploring the Appalachian backcountry by adventure motorcycle and snowmobile. When the country was hunkered down with COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, I rode the mountain forest roads 2,000 miles from GA to NY, camping illegally in the closed campgrounds (no one was around). 

Now, it is time for the Western USA. However, the severe landscapes of the Rockies require different off-road equipment. Hence the modified Tacoma.

As an aside, I'll have my backpacking gear in the Taco. Since I'm a lot older, I have lightened up my backpack by adopting "Hammock Camping." Some overnight backpacking will be required to get to some of the best remote mountain spots not attainable by vehicle. I'm glad the new generation drones are light as a feather!

I'll use this blog as my depository of pictures, thoughts, and video links to the "great stuff" I find in the desert. Until March, I will continue to research and plan my route as I stay in shape, hiking the volcanic rain forests of our new winter home in the Caribbean.

Stay tuned, I hope you will find this interesting

Jim G - Writing from Norwell, MA