Where have I been?!

I'm sure the few of you that subscribe to this blog, my Facebook or even Instagram have noticed a major drop in my recent activity. One of the reasons, more specifically my lack of reels, is due to Facebook no longer monetizing reels for those with less than 1K follower, which I am far from. Secondly, I had shifted my priority to mapping trails for OnX and spent less time fumbling with cameras, filming the trails and shooting reels or photos. However, everything slowed due to coming to a realization that my 4Runner was lacking in some areas and has been sitting and waiting for some much needed upgrades.

Although, that didn't completely stop me from breaking into a new area within the state of New Mexico. Being that I felt I had "finished" the Lincoln National Forest area, I decided to move my trail mapping west into the Cibola National Forest area. This was my last area of mapping before taking the 4Runner off the road for a short while. Stopping in VLA, NM for some quick shots and to admire the Array, I visited some of the hills to the west of Datil, NM that offered some nice, easy going trails before heading back east towards the town of Magdalena, NM.

Unfortunately much of the Cibola National Forests do not allow dispersed camping, so my time in the area was limited and due to some unsettling noises from the 4Runner while in 4WD, the original 22 trails I had planned for the are was cut in half. The 11th and last trail I mapped in this area lead to the Unity Mine just south of the town of Kelly, NM. I risked damaging the 4Runner to make this run and I am very glad I did. With the 4Runner still making an awkward noise while in 4WD, I locked the rear differential and trekked as far as possible in 2WD before being forced to engage the transfer case to make the last bit of the trail.

Feeling content with the 11 trails I was able to complete and having visited VLA and some really interesting and historical mining areas, I decided to head back to Roswell. Once I was home I was glad to discover that there were no serious issues with the 4Runner's transfer case, but felt I had seriously lacked on my gathering of content. While I am not doing this for attention in any form or fashion, I know there are some of you out there that not only appreciate the views of the areas explored, but there are some of you like me, that can appreciate the time someone takes to make a nice video, reel or some nice photos..and lets face it, seeing those notifications that 100+ people liked something you shared is a pretty decent feeling. However, having close to 4k followers on Instagram, I feel that is actually a pretty depressing number, but oh well, that's not why I am here.

So lets circle back to the beginning. Where have I been recently?! Between contemplating on swapping my suspension, planning a new gear set, skid plates, new roof top tent and welding a bumper, I've just been busy. At the same time, my wife and I have been working on a plan to build her 4Runner due to the fact that if I ever get into an issue anywhere, her 4Runner will be the primary recovery vehicle. We have also been reviewing various satellite messenger platforms as I will soon be in areas far from any civilization and far from cell range. Hopefully everything will work out quickly and get me back on trails soon and add a bit more ability to the 4Runner. Until then, I'll be cutting some more vinyl, getting ready to burn some more steel and planning my next trail runs. Stick around as there is more to come soon!