Ember's Travels

Hello all, I figured I'd put all my adventure photos here in one thread, as seen through the eyes of my constant companion, Ember. To introduce her, she's a 7-year-old Belgian Malinois whom I've had the pleasure of owning for the last two and a half years. She was born in the Netherlands and has a passport from her home country.

(Ember in the wine country of California, where I got her from)


She's already well travelled (far more than me, considering I've never been outside North America), and since I've had her, she's been from California to Washington, to Maine. In 10-days we begin our move to Mexico, to start the next chapter of our lives, and one day we hope to drive the entire Pan-American Highway (and beyond).

This is a 4Runner forum, so hopefully it goes without saying that there will be a great many photos of our 4Runner, not just Ember. We'll begin the story pre-4Runner, when our first couple trips were in a 2017 Tacoma, but soon after the 4Runner photos will start coming in. Who knows what the future will hold, but we may be in store for some Hilux pictures as well.

I should also add that I'm starting a website documenting road trips (by truck and motorcycle), backpacking trips, cruises, and gear reviews. It's still under construction, but check it every now and again to see if I've gotten off my lazy butt to update it. The website is "Degrees of Declination" (degressofdeclination.com).



PNW October 2021

The first road trip we took was from central California up to the Pacific Northwest, in October, 2021. Heading up the coast, we camped at the Jedediah Smith Redwood SP, just a stone's throw from Oregon. This was the general area where Return of the Jedi was filmed (not in the state park boundaries themselves, but on adjoining forest land). You can almost hear the speeder bikes whizzing through the trees...


The Smith River


We blasted our way through Oregon and stayed in downtown Seattle. A mandatory stop was the Pike Place Market, where we got pepper and garlic smoked salmon, and ate a hot cup of Beecher's mac'n'cheese across the street. After a couple days of exploring Seattle, we headed over to Bremerton by ferry, and then out onto the Olympic Peninsula.

Ferry cross from Seattle to Bremerton:


Ember at Lake Cushman, on the Olympic Peninsula


We pulled over in Bremerton to snap a shot of the USS Kitty Hawk (CV63) being scrapped. I once toured the Kitty Hawk while she was in active service, in San Diego.


To be continued...

 

PNW October 2021 Continued

On the way back home, we pulled off on a road just a mile or so from the California state line, at the Meridian Overlook. The road became snow-covered as we climbed a bit in elevation...





Ember posing stoically


Looking northwest, into Oregon:

 

Panama Canal October 2021

OK, this one doesn't involve Ember or Toyota products, so I'll just make it a short post, but I figured folks might enjoy a few of the photos. Immediately following our PNW road trip, I went on a 15-day cruise on the Emerald Princess. We left from Los Angeles, taking the coast down past Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and then through the Panama Canal. After that we stopped briefly at Curacao and Aruba, before slipping between Haiti and Cuba and finally arriving at Ft. Lauterdale, Florida.

My favorite place on the trip was Willemstad, Curacao.


A couple shots of the Panama Canal:


Passing through the Continental Divide...


The Bridge of the Americas. I hope to be driving over this with Ember one of these days...


Early morning in Panama City


OK, I lied...here's a Toyota product. A silver 4Runner in Willemstad. At this point I was still driving my grey Tacoma, so maybe this silver 4Runner was a premonition?


And lastly, leaving Aruba

 

Moving east, February 2022

In February of 2022, Ember and I moved from the Monterey Bay to Colorado Springs. I didn't take many photos on the way out, so this will be a short post.

Ember sightseeing in Bryce Canyon, Utah:


On the road out of Zion National Park...


And lastly, on a pass along Highway 24, in Colorado.


Next up...the 4Runner photos begin!

 

Sylvanas 4Runner

In June of 2022, I decided to trade the 2017 Taco in for a 4Runner. When we bought the Tacoma new, in 2017, we had a family of four (my wife and I and two daughters), and two dogs. By the time 2022 rolled around, my family had shrunk to just me and Ember (a divorce and my daughters growing up and moving out). I figured that a 4Runner would be much more practical and comfortable for Ember and I to travel and car camp in, and I no longer needed all the bed space from family travel. I'd owned a 2002 4Runner, so I knew what to expect.

I searched high and low for a TRD Off Road, and out of six dealerships in the greater Colorado Springs/ Denver area, there was only one 4Runner in stock, and it was an SR5. At the last dealership I called, they said they had a TRD ORP that had just landed at the Port of Long Beach, and I said, "I'll take it!" Beggars can't be choosers, so I had no idea what color it was in, or what options it had. Out of the myriad of colors 4Runners were available in 2022, the only color I absolutely didn't want was silver. I asked the salesman what color it was in almost as an afterthought, and he promptly replied, "silver".

Picking up "Sylvanas 4Runner" at the dealership, June 2022:


Fast forward and here's what she looks like in March of 2023. The mods were a 2" Old Man Emu lift kit with heavy springs, Method 701 wheels in Bronze, Toyo Open Country MT's in 255/80R17, Sherpa Equipment Crestone roof rack, Two different Pelican "Cargo" line cases, a row of 10L gas and water jerrycans with Landrover mounting brackets, removed the 60% rear seat and seat base (for my bed), window wind deflectors, removed the OEM running boards, replaced the front grille with the TRD Pro style grille, removed the TRD Off Road decals on the sides, and next week I'll be having a Hefty Fab low profile front bumper and Warn winch installed.


Ember and I have gotten out to do as much exploring as possible, since moving to Colorado (already have 15k miles on the truck), and one of our favorite places to go is Pike's Peak, at 14,100'.


The view from 14,100'

 

Million Dollar Highway May 2022

Whoops, I have to backtrack briefly for a quick road trip that we took in May of 2022. I'd been through central Colorado a couple times over the years on motorcycle rides with my buddies, but this was my first trip with Ember. I'll throw in a couple shots from the brief excursion.

Breakfast in downtown Ourey


Looking down on the miniature train set known as Ourey, Colorado...


And a bit further up the highway (heading south), Silverton, Colorado:


I've been over Molas Pass quite a few times now, and I never get tired of the view. Absolutely stunning scenery.


A dear friend of mine is named Shannon, so I had to stop and snap this photo to send her: