radin2son Posted October 13, 2015 (edited) We don't have a Qversion and most of the time we don't feel a need for it. The manual mode works fine. I was somewhat concerned about the state of our oem tires with 50k on them.At an overlook near the dugway there was a sign warning not to attempt the 3+ mile dirt road in wet weather. It had rained the previous day but was already hard pack clay. The overlook itself was slick rock and very rough, up and down in places. We had enough clearance but we parked and walked (Monument Valley in the background and view from the edge). An Audi Quattro followed a Jeep over a rough section (we drove around it), bottomed out and lost all its oil in the space of 30 yards. Hundreds of miles from a place to tow it... At least with NVs, we have a chance that a local garage/repair shop can cobble together a fix. Still a long tow. Edited October 14, 2015 by radin2son Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted February 24, 2016 Red Rocks, Pink Jeeps, rental ATVs built for families and one NV... Forest Service roads near Sedona are dusty and corrugated when dry, impassable when wet. NVs can handle dry conditions easily with lots of use of 1st and 2nd gear. Verde Valley off I-17 south of Sedona is a destination you have to want to visit. If Faced with a choice of the Grand Canyon and here, pick the Grand Canyon. We had 6 archaeological sites we wanted to visit and added 2 more. Temps in Verde Valley were in the mid-70s, 15* warmer than Flagstaff, and there was no snow. In the summer, stay in Flagstaff. On I-8, near Gila Bend, it was in the mid-80s. Much nicer than 120* in the summer. We always just drive through to San Diego, but decided to check out an site and BLM campground. 60 sites, better described as 60 concrete picnic tables with no water and 2 2seater pit toilets. Sunset and sunrise among the petroglyphs made it worthwhile. In the last photo, you can see our van in the background 3 ASD Dad, wollip and Chris Dempsey reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted March 15, 2016 Death Valley Super Bloom. It wasn't a carpet of flowers over the entire valley; we had to search for the best bloom. (The last super bloom was 11 years ago.) NPS did a great job of letting people know where to look. The primary flower was Desert Gold. When we got out to walk, we found Notch-leaf Phacelia, Golden Evening Primrose, Gravel Ghost and the one we most wanted to see, Desert five-spot. There were other flowers that we have no idea what they are. Most are specific to Death Valley, but we have similar flowers in Arizona. 1 wollip reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
