This post turned into a bust!
The difficulty with using web based items on our blog is we have no control over the other websites. And what started out as a fun on-line puzzle has become an eye sore. The other site that provided the puzzles replaced all of the overland pictures with kitten pics. Ugh!!
So know we were trying to help you kill time and do something overlandy during those endless zoom meetings… But the internet has no love.
Seems like this year which is probably its last, Toyota’s FJ Cruiser has received more press than ever before. Take for example “FJ Cruiser does its off-road namesake proud, Toyota’s rock-crawling mud eater is the real deal in an era of phonies” on the Edmonton Journal site.
Like most of the reviews, it talks about the more than capable off-road qualities of the Toyota FJ Cruiser, ranks it at the top above Jeep, Hummer or Land Rover (some combination of price, quality, and capability), and informs you that the seats are little uncomfortable (I don’t get that one), the nobs are big (I like Fisher Price sized toys) and of course the now legendary blind spots. But they also let you know that all great rigs of the past have had their quarks.
With the phasing out of the FJ Cruiser at the end of 2014 there remains hundreds of thousands out there and like their older brothers, these will be handed down, sold, traded and reincarnated by thousands more new off-road enthusiast for decades to come.
My prediction from back in the day seems to have been pretty close…
Look for a big hand off with many of the 4×4 technologies and styling ques showing up on the Toyota 4Runner. I believe the FJ Cruiser allowed Toyota to test a number of engineering and styling ideas as well as 4×4 goodies in a smaller package that are now ready to land on the Toyota 4Runner, their more mainstream vehicle. But that is just my prediction…
To bad I couldn’t have found a line on it in Vegas?
A friend asked if she could add the Last Great Road Trip banner to her forum signature. I didn’t know anyone would want to, but how could you deny a request like that. So on the off… way off… chance anyone would like to jazz up their email or forum signature here you go.
Every email client and forum software is a little different but they will generally let you upload a file and place a link on it. Copy any of the images below to your desktop by left clicking the mouse and saving the image to your desktop and than load it into your signature following the forum or email instructions. To add a link back to the Last Great Road Trip blog add the following URL link: http://www.lastgreatroadtrip.com
Desert Sunset Last Great Road Trip Banner
Back Roads Last Great Road Trip Banner
Original Last Great Road Trip Banner
Thank you in advance to anyone who adds one of these images to their signature. Really Thanks! We appreciate the support.
Like a kid waiting for Christmas day I’ve been looking forward to the Northwest FJ Cruisers Club’s off-road adventure at the Oregon Dunes just out side of Florence. To ready the rig, I greased it up, checked all the fluids, torqued the wheels, examined belts and hoses as well as going over all my recovery gear and tools in prep for the run. I packed the rig up for the two day run including camera and video gear.
I checked and double check… And after making it as far as Portland… My wife tells friends, I always forget something and I feel it is important to prover her right. In the morning I will be buying another CB antenna. Apparently you can’t have enough antennas since this will be my third in the collection I’m building… But an antenna seems like a small price to pay for what will surely be fun in the sand.
It’s funny how friendships develop. You never really know until it is too late and you’ve gone and made a new friend. One such friendship was struck up purely by accident. A couple of years ago when we started to build up the rig for off-road adventures, I went looking for a shop that focused on Toyota trucks with a reputation for quality work and great service. I found Metal Tech 4×4.
From the start there was something about Mark’s quiet confidence, patience and deep knowledge of all things Toyota Land Cruiser that struck me. Mark chatted with me for hours about our plans for the rig, explained where he thought we should focus our mods and how to best prepare for the perils of off-road travel. Mark took the time to explained the pros and cons of different suspensions, how to approach obstacles with an IFS vs. a solid axle, and even where to look for other resources.
At the 2008 FJ Summit Boy and I had a chance to wheel with Mark and LT. To this day Boy still comments how much fun he had on Day 6 Blue Bunny, thanks to Mark and LT’s ability to make a 14 year old boy feel like one of the guys. Since then I’ve had a few chances to swing by the shop and it never fails that we spend a significant amount of time catching up. Sure we talk about Land Cruisers, wheeling and upcoming activities. But we also talk about our lives, kids and the zen art of small business management.
Only another entrepreneur can understand what its like to bet on your own business skills and stare down the responsibility of being the accountant, sales guy, bill collector, product developer and head bottle washer. When I talk business with Mark his passion for creating quality products that allow others to enjoy off-roading as much as he does, really comes out. But you still have to pay the bills and not too long ago Mark told me his story: “Loose The Shirt – Win The Battle”.
Intuit, the guys who brought you Quicken software, are running a competition for users of their business software. The competition involves writing a story about your business and exposing yourself to the public vote for best story. The top 50 stories will move on to the next phase of the competition with the winners eventually receiving cash grants to build their business.
It is not often that I ask you to take action. Sure I ask you to click through a Google ad or two, but that is nothing compared to this request. This is important. Please take a moment:
You will need to register with Intuit in order to vote. It only takes a minute and you’re not having to give up any family secretes. No emails, no waiting just sign up, vote and done… It’s that easy and a minor price to pay for the opportunity to make a big deposit in your good wheeling Karma account. Remember… Vote Early… and Vote Often!
Thank you for helping a friend out and the next time you find yourself in Newberg, OR. say hi to my friends at Metal Tech. You just may strike up a friendship of your own.
Browsing the web you find all sorts of good stuff that is fun to share. I’m not talking about the winner of the Darwin Award or the staged picture of little kids whacking dad with a bat in the…, well you know. I’m talking about cool interesting stuff you can store away in you mental rolodex and pull out to impress friends at your next off road outing.
To that end, Toyota put together a nostalgic look at the heritage of the Land Cruiser (at least until they took it down). You would have seen how the Land Cruiser is referred to as Shamowang “King of the Desert” or how Hollywood failed to blowup a 40 series despite several tries.
Their Land Cruiser time line ended with 2005, showing a glimpse of the FJ Cruiser in concept with the statement “Will the FJ Cruiser become reality”. We’re glad it did. The FJ Cruiser is helping to make our adventures a little bigger and the world a little smaller.
If you’re an FJ Cruiser enthusiast, it is hard to participate in an on-line forum or read the FJ Cruiser off-road news flying about and not have heard about the FJ Summit. This is a gathering of FJ Cruiser (now open to all Toyota off-road rigs) owners and supporting vendors in the little town of Ouray, CO. The trails are filled with amazing scenery. The vendors have great give-a-ways and Metal Tech has their annual party. The event is famous for its friendships that are formed between folks from around the country. The Summit is held in mid-July every year.
In 2008 Boy and I turned this 4 day event into a week long adventure (2008 Ouray Colorado), exploring Idaho and other parts of the west along the way. Boy and I both got out of it way more than we put in, exploring mountain trails and the skate parks along the way.
You can read descriptions of the trails, find lodging and register on the FJ Summit web site. The numbers are limited and it is a great way to meet others who are just nuts about Toyota’s, driving 4×4 trails and having fun with family and friends.
Growth is rarely easy and personal growth is often painful to achieve. It takes courage in order to break down the walls of prejudices or speak up when you catch yourself, a friend or co-worker saying something like “that’s so gay”. You know it is wrong but it makes you uncomfortable and feels awkward saying something to a neighbor or even your boss.
So how do you feed your soul a diet of positive ideas that gives you the strength to knock down the barriers holding everyone back? How do you learn to speak up for those who can’t or are afraid too? You start by reading “Speak UP!“. Speak Up! uses real world examples to help you respond to biased comments when you’re among family, friends and neighbors, at work or in public.
Learning to speak up is like watering your seeds of growth. To put your personal growth into overdrive fertilize it by teaching tolerance to others. The Teaching Tolerance magazine, published twice a year, showcases innovative tolerance initiatives from across the country. Teaching others breaks the cycle of intolerance that keeps us all from reaching our potential. After you finish the current issue, browse the magazine archives which go back to Spring 1996 for truck loads of ideas. These guys have been doing good work for a long time.
People of conscience are a vital part of society and we need to celebrate our person growth everyday. Although personal growth may take hard work, remember what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
One of my friends put it best when he said “who knew your (my) midlife crises could be so entertaining”. And as everyone knows you can’t have a midlife crises without fast cars, younger women and cool tattoos. So I’ve decided to come clean with everyone following along on this adventure…
It all began in November of 2008 when I walked into Madame Lazonga’s not really knowing what to do or what to expect. All I knew was I wanted to capture forever the feelings I experienced on the Arctic Ocean adventure with my dad.
I had walked by Madame Lazonga’s for years and would see Vyvyn’s name when ever magazine or news paper articles counted down the top tattoo artists in the country. The national awards that fill the wall speak volumes of the talented women who work the artist’s chairs of Madame Lozonga’s. The choice seemed simple enough.
If you want to watch artists vibrate like a tuning fork and run for cover… walk into a tattoo shop, let them know you want your first tattoo but you don’t know what exactly it should be. Tell them not to worry though, you wrote a blog that has descriptions of everything and they just need to turn it all into a visual metaphor of the greatest adventure ever. Not exactly how the process works… Who knew.
Turns out Jacqueline, Vyvyn’s protege, holds a masters degree in literature from Northern Michigan University. And it was Jacqueline who stepped up for the throw down. Funny how things come together. Looking back there is no one I would have rather taken this journey with than Jacqueline. And while the original adventure lasted 19 days, this one took nearly a year.
I certainly didn’t know when I started this project that I would be calling Jacqueline and the other women at Madame Lazonga’s my friends. You learn a lot about people when you spend several hours with them every other week. And they learn a lot about you. First and foremost I learned these women are smart, funny and incredibly talented. I’m glad I was lucky enough to be invited into their lives.
I also discovered these women have a unique relationship with their clients; part nurse, part personal coach and part confessor. It is amazing what people will say to the person they have entrusted with creation of their body art. A little safety tip here: when you’re a guy in a room full of women waving needles in the air… keep your mouth shut, listen and when asked, agree… agree a lot.
Over time Jacqueline and I shared ideas and opinions on art, music, business and just about anything else that would keep my mind distracted. Hearing her stories of growing up in Michigan reminded me of the time I spent in Lansing. Discovering her tech background allowed me to share work stories knowing she could relate. I learned I’m not bothered by the pain as much when I watch and see it coming… Which made the knee pit a killer since unlike the exorcist, my head could not spin all the way around. Although occasionally I thought it would. Jacqueline was there to talk me off the ledge when she took the needle and ink to my knee pit, shin or ankle (worst). I talked her down after she drew Hula Betty for the third time and it still didn’t feel quit right. Did I mention I’m not visual and really bad at explaining what is in my head. We collaborated, hung in there together and eventually ended up with a sleeve we are both proud of.
Then there is Ruby. Ruby gives as good as she gets and has a sarcastic biting sense of humor, much like my favorite sister in-law. Ruby never missed a chance to express her love for me by knocking me down a few rungs on the ego ladder. Did I mention that relationships are born from pain. Ruby taught me how the machines work, shared what she found rewarding in her art and definitely celebrated the diversity of others.
Susie, another artist, always checked on my progress as she came riding in on one of the cleanest Triumphs I’ve seen in a long time. Following a day of dealing with tech guys and accountants, Susie’s take on life was refreshing. And apparently, if you’re an artist at Madam Lozonga’s there’s a 50/50 chance you’ll marry a drummer.
The newest addition to the crew at Madame Lazonga’s is Caitlin. And if you think she is just another pretty face… how about this for a resume: personal assistant, model and she is now starting a line of hip tee-shirts. Must be something in the air under the Pikes Place Market that brings smart women altogether.
Many people say tattoos are addictive. For me the addiction is the chance to spend time with friends who opened up an entirely different world to me. One I will never forget… What started out as a tribute to an adventure with my dad has transformed into so much more. This sleeve will always remind me of my dad and the amazing women who helped me turn it into a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling.
And as for the tattoo. Boy always tells me “Go big dad or go home”. You can see Jacqueline pulled together several big ideas to make one great sleeve:
Because this piece took shape over 12 months, If you look closely at Hula Betty you’ll notice she is sporting a tattoo herself. Remember the story of “Day 6 Blue Bunny“? With that little blue bunny on her side, my son joined his grand father (my dad) in this generational adventure forever preserved in flesh and ink.
I don’t know about you but when I can’t get out on an off-road adventure or work on rig, I’m still looking for something power oriented to do. Around here, Saturday mornings are filled with Power Block TV. While I’m checking email, picking up the room or making breakfast, Power Block is on in the back ground.
Power Block is really four different shows packed into their own half hour segments. Those shows are:
Power Block is doing more than just competing with Saturday morning cartoons. Their web site PowerBlockTv.com now lets you watch full episodes anytime you want and they just launched Power Block Magazine. The magazine is 100% digital and 100% free. You can download it, search it, share it or print it. Best of all it’s FREE
So the next time you’re jonesing for a little power oriented fix and can’t get away, give Power Block a try… It just may get you through withdrawals.
Of course if you’re not in the mood for more power… There is always the queen of speed, Courtney Hansen Power Block’s host and author of “The Garage Girls Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Your Car“. While she may not be turning the wrenches, she is no stranger to the garage. Her father, Jerry Hansen won 27 national SCCA stints for Sports Club of America titles and she grew up around the family owned Brianerd International Raceway in Minnesota.