Road Trip: chapter 3, play'n in the woods

Our lodgings were kinda rustic; a tent, portable chairs & table. But it was quite serviceable. The truck carried everything we needed, a civilized bathroom was just a short stroll away. It was so comfy that Galen slept through overnight thunderstorms two nights in a row.

The campground was divided by a small stream. It had rocks, tadpoles, minnows, small fish, frogs, spiders, and all manners of things to excite a young boy. Galen explored this stream every day, looking, taking pictures, shooting video, getting cold & wet. It was his own private domain, one he protected. Another lad rebuilt an existing rock-dam and created a small swimming hole. Galen was strong in his defense of the fish that could not pass the barrier. I thought he was going the scream off the ear of that lad. It took awhile for Galen to cool off and decide the stream was sharable and no fish were harmed.

Many of the Land Cruiser's were highly modified FJ40s. Capable on traversing almost any terrain, just not the trails about the Black Hills, not so comfortable for the highway miles to get there. One intelligent driver used his trailer as a swimming pool base for his kids. Even with the stream, Galen became a devotee.

A 1988 Land Cruiser has no inclination to being sophisticated or complex with safety. It was content with a rugged build and a bare nod to the minimum regulatory compliance. No air bags, but the front does have shoulder restraints. The back seat is lap-belt only. I installed his car seat into the Cruiser's front seat with some heavy-duty straps. He liked sit'n in front.

We were only able to have two trail-days. Day-1 was a nice gentle stroll through the hills, I think the trail was name Calamity Jane. The trail didn't need 4x4, but 4-low was handy for steep ascents & descents. Day-2 was a bit more difficult, but only because it rained the night before. The trail had two bouldery ledges in quick succession. Everyone made it, some with more suspense than others. We had no suspense, our Land Cruiser went up and over. The trail would have been anti-climatic if not for a tight turns and few tippy places. Galen does not like tippy... It was good to have my truck back to where it belonged.