Big White Truck Crosscountry

Thanks Dan, that means a lot. Just wanna look back at these days and not regret them. I don’t think I will.

 

One can always look at a glass and ask the old question, half full or half empty? Truth is its always full, maybe half air, but still full. Just got to see beyond most, and you already have that trait, so regret you will not ever. May wonder what if, but you definitely won't regret.

 

I promised updates so here's the first since returning.

I flew back to Spokane because there is an insane heatwave passing through (110f) and I did not want to leave my truck in an open parking lot. The forecast when I left was for highs of 70-80 through the beginning of July. I put everything in the bed in the cab before I left, including, yes, my propane tank. Probably not the best idea, but at the time, I was obviously not thinking straight under the circumstances and did not expect this weather. Propane tanks are pretty much impossible to explode, I was more worried about the BLEVE causing a lot of pressure in the truck. Not to mention that I left batteries from all sorts of things in there as well, and didn't crack a window due to my newly minted fear of mice. Ultimately though, it came down to the fact that I would not be able to sit comfortably at home without knowing if my truck was okay. It all worked out though. Next time I'll leave a window cracked or let someone steal my tank.

I flew out of Charleston at 5:30, which meant it was going to be a long day. Arrived in Spokane at 12:30 local. From there, oil change, tire rotation and Walmart. It was fricking roasting. I finished all that, then headed to the same campsite in the panhandle of ID that I stayed at last time. Mainly because I already knew it, and temps were expected to be in the 90s and there was a river. The difference, though, I actually explored it this time.

I got there at 6, and spent the next day (yesterday) to rest before heading East. The highs were not in the 90s, it hit 104.





Yes, I did dive off the tree. There was a deep section of water on the left side. On the downside, mosquitoes were terrible. If I wasn't in the water or in my tent, I was being bitten. In spite of that, this was the greatest day of my trip so far. Better than the sunset at White Sands. It was a gift from God, and the timing had to be intentional.

This morning, I left and headed East. I'll save that for the next post where I sum up my time in Montana. But needless to say, it lives up to the "Big Sky Country" motto. I don't know if I'll be able to convey it through pictures, I certainly didn't understand before seeing it in person.

 

It has been quite enjoyable to read about your expedition. Kudos to you for ceasing the opportunity and take the adventure.

Thanks for sharing.

 

I've enjoyed reading of your adventure.

My cousin did the same type of thing you are doing. He told me he would wait at motels for people walk out of their room to check out and ask them if he could shower real quick. Surprisingly he was rarely told no, but he's approachable likable guy.

 

Bad Ass.

 

Wow, thank you guys. I’d have never imagined that someone would like to read about my little adventure. Kinda want to do a tour of the truck and my setup now. Maybe next week. And the shower part is smart. I might be forced into that real soon.

Thanks haha

 

I look forward to your posts as well.

 

Amazing photos; we just left the Lowcountry last year. You should plan a trip up the ALCAN and visit the 49th state—I can give you something amazing places to visit, and the best time to go is May-September, so you’ve got time!

 

Wow!! Glad to hear

I want to do AK/Arctic Ocean. That was my plan originally but it was probably too adventurous for someone whose never camped before. Probably not this fall, but I’d love to next september.

 

well, we should chat. You don’t want to go in September—even in the south on the Kenai peninsula it’s rainy and highs in the 40’s. Best time is May-August. Message me and I will be happy to give you tons of destinations and the gouge on things to hit/avoid.

 

Montana is insane. It’s going to be awhile before I am able to write up the post for it. Met up with some friends in Bozeman for a few days as well. If I was going to live anywhere besides Charleston (which I won’t), Montana would take the cake so far.

 

Just remember you are there in the Summer.

 

A friend who lives in Billings told me it was -30 this winter. I wanna visit in the winter for sure, but yeah, I’ll stick to Charleston.

 

Montana is on my bucket list.


Jealous.

 

Well, close your eyes for this post. Because everything, every piece of Montana-related culture you've ever experienced, does not adequately convey Montana. Even knowing this, and being a professional photographer, looking at my pictures and then the scene in my head, the photos do not do it justice. You need to see it for yourself.

And so lets take a trip, back to June 27th. Before I made that last post, I had already left the Idaho panhandle and headed East. First stop: Glacier. Slight problem with that, Glacier has this funky ticketed entry system. You must have a ticket (90% or so of which are sold months in advance) to enter, on top of the park entrance fee/pass. I figured this out through a friend, but it was too late. I tried to get tickets when I was back home in Charleston, and I even got them in my cart, but the site crashed. They released at 9, I had them in my cart at 9:00:05, and still didn't get them.

Knowing this, I made my way to Wallyworld. Less than an hour from the entrance, and I had heard it was like Bozeman/Page Walmart where it's basically a campground. That last post, the truck by the lake, that was on the way to Walmart. Not a bad spot for lunch.


I arrived around 3 or so, and it was exactly what I had expected.


People were out playing cards, kids playing lacross, dogs barking, people bringing groceries back to their rolling houses. Seeing this, I thought I'd try the tent, but as it got darker, it got increasingly more sketch, so I opted for the bench seat. My bench seat setup is simple, I have a sleeping pad from REI, I take a sleeping bag from the tent, and I bought the biggest sheet I could find, so I spread that out. It hangs up front by the windshield reflector, and over the back seat headrests. I basically make a little cave. It's pretty dope.



It was not all sunshine and rainbows though - actually it was entirely sunshine. It was atleast 90, and in the middle of a black parking lot, probably over 100. I spent most of the day in Walmart, meandering, and Costco, where I used my membership for the first time this trip to have somewhere air conditioned to sit. And best of all, the Costco had churros, unlike the one back home. $3.49 - no sales tax. God bless Montana.


I also went to Wendy's one night and the 4 for 4 was $4 even. I was confused for a minute. The next morning, I headed into Glacier. Again, pictures, words, videos, nothing does it justice. You must go see it for yourself. I left Walmart at 3:45, and hit the West Entrance by 4:30. Ticketed Entry goes into effect at 6am, but I wanted to avoid the crowd that was avoiding the crowd...
I've been so busy the past few days, I haven't even seen the Montana pictures on my camera, let alone edited them. These iphone shots will have to do until then.

Logans Pass

The path (more like deathtrap) to Hidden Lakes. The trailhead starts at Logan Pass (where this picture is looking), and from my understanding, part of it is glacial, because it was not even close to being thawed.



Hidden Lake, Montana

After that grueling hike, I needed a big lunch. So I made some steak. Not sure what cut, it was like $9/lb at Walmart, but it was better than anything else I'd had.

I did not get sick, despite undercooking Walmart steak.

The backdrop didn't hurt either. From there, I was off to explore the east side of the park and finish the Going to The Sun Rd. The road did not disappoint, I knew I wanted to come back for sunset. In Saint Mary, I grabbed a shower (surprisingly hard to find) and did not find cell service. That basically got me stuck in the loop of not editing pictures the day of - which is why you're only getting iphone photos.


This truck looks so frickin good, 11 years later, from every angle. (Continued)

 

Continued

After that shower, I realized it wasn't good enough. It was still in the 90s, and on the way to the campground, I found this..


This was taken from a small bridge, the river is what feeds Lower Saint Mary Lake from the main one. It was freezing, maybe in the 50s? Either way, I lasted a minute in the water, got out, and was chilled to the bone. That kept me cool for about 10 minutes. Then I did it again.
Something that my phone doesn't really pick up is just how blue the water was. Most of my international travel has been to South America, I've been diving in Belize, which has very blue water. This was even more impressive.


After that bone chilling experience, I wasted enough time to make it past the ticketed entry threshold (5pm). So I headed back into the park to find a nice spot for the sunset. And boy, did I.
Yours truly

Right across the highway from me was this ice cave, where frozen snow was still on top, and a waterfall had cut through it underneath. Could've killed me, but didn't, so now you can see it too.


After that, I headed towards the visitor center at Logans Pass, where I slept. Although explicitly stated that camping is not allowed, there were a few others up there, so I popped my tent, crawled in with 3 bighorn sheep eating around 25ft away, and dozed off. Sleeping has become sort of optional for me. I normally dream when I sleep, which is a good sign, but nowadays, whenever I'm awake, my life feels like a dream. It kind of blurs the lines between real and fake. I don't know if that makes sense.

The next morning, an early hike up to Avalanche Lake. Did not disappoint, and did not help knock me out of my dreaming situation.


And then I left out east, through Saint Mary. Though I am not limited by time, I am limited by excitement, and I don't want to spend so much time in any place that I become bored of it.

 

From Saint Mary, I headed towards Yellowstone. I spent one day there, I was told it was a half day park due to how easy it is to access everything. So if you're going, plan a day.
This was my campsite outside West Yellowstone, I was more worried about the lightning storm. It passed a few miles west, thankfully.


The next morning;








After Yellowstone, I headed south towards the Tetons. Then a friend of mine texted and asked if I was near Bozeman.

My friend Noah, who I worked with at the surf shop back home, became a fly fishing guide in Montana/Wyoming for the summer. I had no idea, and I don't think he knew I was even in Montana until that day. So I flip a U-ie, and head to Bozeman where he and some friends are hanging for a few days.

I think we spent 3 days there, not sure. Bozeman is insane though. I will be back, especially when I'm 21. I don't think anyone in Bozeman is actually from Bozeman, except for one of our friends, which adds to the chaos. Bonus was the corgi.


First things first: restocking the essentials.


One of those days, they offered to teach me to fly fish. I will definitely be taking it up when I get back home. We drove a good ways up a pretty garbage FS road, and then hiked 2 1/2 miles up to an alpine lake at 9,000ft.




I don't know why these photos specifically are so blurry, sorry.

I was told there was literally a 100% chance each of us caught a fish, and as you probably expect, no one caught anything. The trout were rising, but probably just to mess with us. It was still a dope day and it will not be forgotten.

From Bozeman, I headed south past Big Sky, towards Wyoming. I camped in an amazing spot (right next to a Day Use Only sign) for the 4th, avoiding the heat and the crowds.




From there, on the 5th (yesterday), I headed to the Tetons. I'll save Wyoming for it's own set of posts, but I swung thru Idaho for a bit and it was incredible as well


This whole region is insane. I would love to visit in the winter, we'll see what happens. But during the summer, it is no wonder it is one of the most highly visited regions in the country.

And now I'm sitting in an Albertsons in Jackson, WY, waiting for it to cool down. It's 2:49, so I'm probably stuck here for a bit before I head back to camp (somehow, again, next to a no camping sign). I'll share my adventures here in a bit.

 

Absolutely amazing beauty, kinda jealous to be honest. Hope you are staying aware of your surroundings up that way. Looking forward to your next post

 

Thanks!! And I think I am, though I haven't seen a bear - either I genuinely haven't seen one, or I am not aware at all. Hopefully the former.

 

Hey guys, so an update. I’m back home in SC for a little bit before I roadtrip up to Maine! Not sure when I’m gonna leave, but I definitely want to get the fall colors.

I’ll finish off the last few days (end of WY, South Dakota and Nebraska) in the next post. I was pushed back east as the heatwave moved, and I was basically stuck in 90-100f heat every day. Not fun.

I also recorded a walkthrough of my truck setup for y’all, and will post that soon. I also am excited to say I’m working with Jackery USA to share their solar generator products and how I use them on the road, so expect a review of that setup at some point in the near future.



for now, I’m finally home and have air conditioning. WiFi. A fridge. The stuff you forget about.

Glad y’all enjoy reading about my meandering, SD and NE were amazing.

 

That’s awfully considerate of you to carry your friend’s beer for him. Especially since you can’t partake given you’re not 21 yet

Thanks for the updates. You’ll be telling stories of these adventures for many years.

 

Haha of course. It was an IPA anyways

 

I agree with the Montana part. Worked out there for a few months and loved it.

 

Here it is! Excuse the hair, Nebraska is windy.

if you have any questions, I’ll answer them here!

Tour of Fulltime Living in Toyota Tundra
https://youtu.be/xTEeArgcyw4

 

Nice set up, Thanks for sharing your truck and adventures.

 

Thank you! Glad you enjoy.

 

Wow. Amazing trip. I've been to some of the places you visited in the southwest and understand the "pictures don't do it justice" bit. Thank you for sharing, great write up and great pictures.

 

Thanks man! And yeah, that is absolutely true.
Speaking of which, writing the Wyoming post now!