5th gen 4Runners in scenic locations

I went end of August / beginning of September and it was cheaper than I had budgeted, and I got better gas mileage than planned. I thought I’d get 16L/100kms but ended up avg 14.5L with 110kph hwy speeds, and down to 11.5L on 80kph in the slip streams of motorhomes/transport trucks. I only dipped into my rotopax twice. Once in the middle of the night when I couldn’t find an open gas station, and once on the Dempster Hwy just out of caution (plus wanted to refresh what was stored). But I stuck to the rule of filling up at half a tank every chance I got.

 

It's outstanding. Probably the most scenic road I've been on.

 

this guy wins

 

Hahhahaha

 

Agreed... gotta climb those mountains....

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vDE4m6NkVVw46Ggs5

 

Finally got the Runner out for some actual wheeling on this past holiday Monday. No decent action pics unfortunately. We did Broken Arrow up in the Sedona area and this was my first time to get the Runner on something more than a forest road. First impressions are that it performs very well. No real difficulties at all.

That said, the stock suspension is way too mushy for my taste and the skids scraped more than I thought they should so I expect I will have to make some "adjustments". I still plan to get a couple more trails under my belt with the stock setup before I make any decisions though.

On to the pics:

 

Nobody likes a showoff BLKNBLU. Here's my view from Southern Illinois. Not much to see here. Oh, and it's 18°, feels like 12°. My daughter is on her way to Tuscon today, meeting her professors for her PhD in the fall, wish I was going too.

 

Sorry. You can laugh at me this summer when we have our next 113 consecutive days over 100° including 31 consecutive days over 110°. It's a different kind of "no fun".
I'm originally from the Chicago area. Can't say I miss it.
Give me a shout if you ever get out here.

 

If my kid decides to get her PhD from The University of Arizona, I will be out there quite often. We were there last March, really liked Arizona. Not many things good here in The Peoples Republic of Illinois.

 

Another Arizona resident here. Phoenix will be sunny and in the upper 80s next week and Sedona will be sunny and in the upper 70s. As a general rule, Phoenix is about 10-15* warmer than Sedona and Sedona is about 10-15* warmer than Flagstaff. Its all about the altitude. This is a great state to call home and to have a T4R!

 

Arizona is a great state in terms of scenery. I’ve done much exploring in the 15 years I’ve lived here.
BUT summers are rough (mainly in phoenix and south of it) and I like a real snowy winter. Personally I miss rain and the snow storms we had 2 years ago.

 

What tire size do you have, and did you do the stairs?
I want to go back this spring but I’ve heard that the stairs are getting harder to do than a few years ago?

You should try soldiers pass next time you’re in Sedona.

 

I'm stock except for some armor and yes I did the staircase. It was more of a controlled fall to be honest. I haven't run it before so I don't have a first hand baseline to compare it to but it does seem worse than I recall of old pictures (if pictures are ever accurate). In my past hard-ish rock crawler days I thought it was "beneath" me. But I'll have to give it it's due, you could certainly lose parts out there if you're careless.

 

Yea I’d definitely let it slowly slide. I don’t care about hitting skids as long as it’s slow and controlled. I’ve got a friend visiting me in May so I planned on taking him there but I might run that trail beforehand if I go to Sedona on a weekday when it’s not too crowded

 

We went on President's Day and it wasn't bad. 2 or 3 other jeeps and a pretty steady stream of pink jeep tours (7 or 8 I think). Sedona itself was a madhouse though.

 

What time of year was the panoramic with the blooming wildflowers taken? I’ve only been in late July and it was blazing hot.