Epic Trip #1

This was originally supposed to be a trip to attend Jeep Adventure Academy. They hold these event at 4x4 trails all over the country. It's $495 for a one day event where they provide off-road instruction for Jeep owners with basic things like recovery, airing down, choosing as proper line, etc. It's basically a beginners guide to Jeeping which may have been somewhat appropriate for me at some point, but I was probably too advanced for it even then.

I knew this going in but I thought it would be a fun experience and it would get me to go on an epic trip that would land me on the Rubicon Trail. The journey would be 2,844 miles one way, but you have to come back. And there would be other stops along the way - I had planned to go to Moab, Utah and then hop over to Las Vegas.

The plan was to go to Moab and spend a few days Jeeping there, then head over to the Rubicon Trail and attend the event. Next would be driving to Las Vegas to see Jordan. And lastly, head back to New York. The Jeep Adventure Academy people were responsive at first, but then they stopped responding a little over a week out. If I was going to drive cross country and spend a bunch of money, I needed to know it was with people I could count on.

I pivoted and decided not to attend the Jeep event, but going on the trip anyway. And the destinations I had planned on were means to an end. The goal of the trip was to take my new Jeep on an epic jaunty with some off-roading, and to connect with people and have fun experiences along the way.

Visiting Jordan was always a part of the plan and that didn't change. And Moab has some of the best trails in the world, so that was another leg that was staying put. I have a friend in Cleveland, so I thought, and I thought it would be funny if I got thew chance to see him along the way. So I made my plan.

I reached out to my Cleveland as I figured he would be, quite literally, right on the way as I head out west. My friend and it turns out he actually live in Cincinnati, which is of course, not on the way. It was a long shot and it would add an extra 2 hours onto my trip, but I reached out anyway.

It turned out he was free and he asked if the Cleveland Indians were playing that night I'd be in town, and if it was a home game and if I would like to go...planets aligning, which of course, they did.

The theme of this trip was to plan rigorously, just start moving and led the wind be my guide.