AZ ND Trip

[dxpsman]

Windy as hell in the plains of NW Wyoming. BIG country up here you can see for miles.

Hey! Completely off-topic here, but I'm about 2 weeks away from picking up a '24 ZR2. I love everything about these trucks but the stance for stock wheels. I really like the way yours sits.

Would you mind telling me what your wheel/tire configuration looks is and if you've added any suspension modifications? Thanks!

 

[AXE]

Hey! Completely off-topic here, but I'm about 2 weeks away from picking up a '24 ZR2. I love everything about these trucks but the stance for stock wheels. I really like the way yours sits.

Would you mind telling me what your wheel/tire configuration looks is and if you've added any suspension modifications? Thanks!

I've got a detailed post about everything just do a search for Toyo RT Trails under my name.

 

[AXE]

Just crossed into God's country! Living right now...... fields, pastures, cattle, grain bins. Kya is enjoying all the new smells.

 

[AXE]

1650 miles to the farm. Barely got there and jumped a covey of partridge spanked four right quick. Dogs are a little rusty but did OK. There were so many pheasants coming out of the old gravel pit the dogs didn't know what we were hunting. Pheasant season isn't open until next weekend, so we couldn't shoot them.

This is one of my boys posing with the dogs and ZR2.

 

[AXE]

Took these pictures at our neighbors. I've always loved this bridge and stone house. Hunted a lot in this honey hole over the decades.

 

[ZR2NYC]

Took these pictures at our neighbors. I've always loved this bridge and stone house. Hunted a lot in this honey hole over the decades.

stone houses??? where are you? Scotland?? really nice pics bro.

 

[AXE]

There's several stone houses in this region. Not a lot of wood supply in this area. When it was initially settled by Native Americans it was buffalo hides and sticks. When whitey took over we improved the standard with sod and stone houses. Eventually when the the railroad came to town you could get wood and build a house.

I think there's still a sod house a few miles away that was rebuilt about 20 years ago. A guy lived in it for several years.

Yes my ancestors were from Scotland and Norway.

 

[ZR2NYC]

There's several stone houses in this region. Not a lot of wood supply in this area. When it was initially settled by Native Americans it was buffalo hides and sticks. When whitey took over we improved the standard with sod and stone houses. Eventually when the the railroad came to town you could get wood and build a house.

I think there's still a sod house a few miles away that was rebuilt about 20 years ago. A guy lived in it for several years.

Yes my ancestors were from Scotland and Norway.

 

[ZR2BIZON]

Took these pictures at our neighbors. I've always loved this bridge and stone house. Hunted a lot in this honey hole over the decades.

 

[AXE]

Had to get some work done today. Moved some equipment to the site. Drilled some holes for some 6x6x12 posts to mount up some electronics to power a couple new water wells. Fabbed up some 30 inch diameter rings to finish off the wellheads. Gonna pour concrete tomorrow.

 

[AXE]

Windy and cold today! Still wet ground, so very unproductive few days. Not even good to hunt.

I did see about 200 Canada geese on it neighbors land feeding and another 50 or so on the slough.

I was zoomed in and lots of motion in landscape so pictures ain't that great.

 

[AXE]

Worked the dog a little in these tree groves. This is a better place for deer than birds. I shot my first 4x4 buck here when I was 15.

Seem this young antelope buck leaving the farm.

 

[ZR2NYC]

Worked the dog a little in these tree groves. This is a better place for deer than birds. I shot my first 4x4 buck here when I was 15.

Seem this young antelope buck leaving the farm.

you should do a GM commercial with pics like this.

 

[AXE]

you should do a GM commercial with pics like this.

I'll tell you one thing, now that I've been using this truck a little harder, I'm even more impressed by handling and suspension off road. Many of the prairie roads, pastures, and fields are rough and choppy. Stuff that would normally shake your dash apart. The ZR2 eats them right up. I was coming off a flat township gravel road and dropping onto a praire road labout 7 feet below grade. Its a nice transistion, like the backside of a MX jump. I punched it and got a little air and it felt great when I came down. Didn't seem to bottom and tracked perfectly into an uneven surface. This is the best truck I've ever ridden in by far and I've had a couple others that I thought were pretty good.

 

[AXE]

Here's the mileage from about 1650 miles from AZ to ND. Mostly freeway and highway at 70 to 80 mph. with some side excursions to run my dog.

At one point, I was pulling 16.5 mpg, but hit some wind the last 400 miles and it came down. Also pulled about 24 mpg on a 50 mile slight downhill grade. I though it was pretty good!

Also brought my average up to 12.5 mph from 11.5 mostly around town.

 

[AXE]

You know your in ND farm and oil country when you pull into the parking lot and it's all trucks. The lot next to this one was also about 75% trucks.

Had to come in and pay my fees for some new transformers for wells. I've funded at least a couple offices in that new building.

 

[scubatech]

You know your in ND farm and oil country when you pull into the parking lot and it's all trucks. The lot next to this one was also about 75% trucks.

Had to come in and pay my fees for some new transformers for wells. I've funded at least a couple offices in that new building.

Axe, did you grow up in North Dakota? I've heard it really gets cold up there in the winter.

 

[R I G]

Standing on a corner east of Winslow, Arizona. Desolate landscape. 3 hours in and dog needed a break! Dogs traveling better than I thought!

AXE I see what you did there... Take it easy... man.

 

[AXE]

Axe, did you grow up in North Dakota? I've heard it really gets cold up there in the winter.

Yes, my family farms and ranches here. Great grandparents homesteaded in early 1900s.

Moved to Arizona 30 years ago for work when I finished college when there wasn't much to be found in ND. Now It's easy to find work here as both agriculture and oil/ gas have been doing well for last 10-12 years.

I started a business with my Dad in 2011 providing fresh water for fracking oil wells. I've been spending a lot more time here and hope to split time with Arizona.

My wife will have 30 years teaching completed after this year. She's from here too. So we'll spend more time here then, but my wife likes Arizona weather better.

I can hardly take summers in AZ and winters in ND.....LOL......its got down to about 30 last few days and wind and rain. I damn near froze....... yet I've ice fished in -74 windchill in my early 20s.

 

[AXE]

Been a busy couple days trying to knock out some new water wells and get the wells tested. Ended up with one really good wells that should produce 1300 gpm and another that'll do 450 gpm. Should be pretty well built out after this and we can produce about 4500 gpm from five wells, but our permit only allows 3000 gpm. So we finally have some back up supply. I'll sleep better running jobs now.