Saturday, August 30, 2014

A Quarter of a Million Kilometers

The blue truck has recently done a quarter of a million kilometers. Just a little short of 150'000 of those have been done on the American continents. But since pictures say more than many words check them out:


On the road in Louisiana, USA


Dalton Highway, Alaska USA


In the background Deadhorse, the most northern Town of the Continent. 


Dalton Highway, Alaska, USA


Arizona, USA


Arizona, USA


Geronimo! 


Desert Cruising, Arizona, USA


Forgotten bodies in the desert of Arizona, USA


Primitive Road, that's when the fun starts, Arizona, USA


You feel pretty alone out here. Arizona, USA


Arizona is dry and hot, but there is some of that too.


That's the way they recycle cars in Arizona, USA


Dry and dusty, Arizona, USA


Ghost mine in Arizona, USA


Kaibab National Forest, Arizona, USA


It wasn't my lunch, Arizona, USA


Crossing the Golden Gate in SF, California, USA


Sharing the road, San Francisco, California, USA


Sharing the Highway, California, USA


Heading to...


...the Keys, Florida, USA


So many lanes, heading into Atlanta, Georgia, USA


Hiding behind the desert Flora, New Mexico, USA


In the footsteps of "The Gadet" the first ever Atomic Bomb Test, White Sands, Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA


New Mexican Ghost Towns seem to come unfiltered directly out of a Spaghetti Western. Only they are real, no Hollywood moke-ups. 


Even if I am trying to go fast. Those US-Truckers beet me every time. 


While I had the pleasure to life and work in Dallas ,Texas some years ago, I once flew from a business meeting in the North East back home to Dallas. While chatting with the lady in the airline seat next to me she said: "Oh? Texas - they really like their concrete down there". I guess she was not all that wrong. Texas, USA


One of my favorite US National Parks, far away from all the West Coast National Park Crowds. Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA


Yes, they do have mountains in Texas.


And beaches too. South Padre Island National Park, South Texas, USA.


Texas, USA


A quarter of a million k's but my seat don't look like that yet. Arizona, USA


Monument Valley, Utah, USA.


Harrison Hot Springs Road, British Columbia, Canada.


Dempster Highway, Canada.


The blue truck meets some dead guys, Alaska, USA


Alaska is breathtaking - Really!


Diesel and dust, Baja California, Mexico.


Muddy fun, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.


Muddy adventures in the search of forgotten Maya ruins. Felix should eat some more, he's just not making enough weight on the front axle. 


La Guajira Peninsula, Colombia. The most northern point of South America. 


How deep can you go? La Guajira, Colombia.


Riding a Ferry in Colombia.


Landslide or the end of the Road, Peru. 


Desert Driving in Peru.


How did those shells all end up in the Desert, Peru.


The air is getting thin up here, climbing to nearly 5'000 meters over sea level, Andes, Peru.


Andes, Peru.


North Chile.


On Lago Titicaca, the world's highest, largest fresh water reserve, Peru.


Death road, Bolivia.


Surizplaza, North Chile.


North Chile coming down from the Andes thru the desert towards the Pacific Coast.


One of the most impressive places I've ever been...


...Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.


Among good company, Pantanal, Brazil.


Moving my over 3 tons of blue truck over some... mmmmhh? ...questionable bridges in Brazil.


In Argentinas Andes.


Andean Roads.


Taking the long way around. On a mountain pass in Argentina's Andes.


From here it will go down hill with me only. Argentina.


Argentina.


Carretera Austral, Chile.


Taking the Ferry to Tierra del Fuego, on the way to the world's most southern City. Chile.


Patagonia...


...and Patagonia...


...and Patagonia, just can't get enough of it. Crossing borders back and forth between Cile and Argentina, the Andes and the wilderness of Patagonia are breathtakingingly beautiful, adventures and wild. 


Some of the 250'000 kilometers were pretty dirty ones.


Routa 6, Paraguay.


Backraod driving...


...and river crossing in Brazil.


Through the sugar cane fields, Brazil.


How ever this rock came down and on what ever, the sign to the right says "Cementery", Andes of Peru.


Moving Mountains. Mining in Peru.


Peru.


For my US readers, 5'059 meters are 16.579 feet, Peru.


Roadblocks of political Demonstrations, Peru.


The blue truck at the Panama Canal


Cruising around Panama has it's very own sets of risks, like poles in the middle of a brand new road.


At the Border Costa Rica - Panama



Threewheeled-Manpowered Taxis in the Streets of Central America.


Baja California, Mexico.


Cooper Canyon, Mexico.


Nicaragua.


Mud and more mud in Guatemala.


On the road in Guatemala and...


...at the end of the road in Ecuador, building a ramp to keep going.


Public transport in Colombia.


Can't get enough of Costa Rica!


My little dead-angle mirror 


Guest Passenger on the Guajira Peninsula, Colombia.


The little Granny is a blue truck fan - Colombia


Carrera Austral, Chile


One of many border crossings between Chile and Argentina.


"This was Spain" says a wierd little concret monument on a little Peninsula near Punta Arenas, Chile.


Tierra del Fuego, Chile


At some hot springs in the deserted north of Chile.


Dempster Highway Canada.


Fullspeed ahead on the Airstrip, Dempster Highway North West Canada.


Crossing the Arctic Circle, Dempster Highway, Canada.


Making the night to day without partying, 23:02 in Inuvik, Canada


Sharing the road in Canada.


Flower-Power, Alberta, Canada.


Red, green, blue. Brasil.


On the Trans-...


...pantaneira Highway, Pantanal, Brasil.


Everyone said you can't cross the Pantanal, the worlds lagerst swamp by car from East to West, the blue truck did it anyways. 


Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.


To be and drive...


...on the Salar de Uyuni was one of the most sureal experiences of my life. You feel like on an other planet. There is absolutly no life, visibility is so clear you can see for miles, navigating with the GPS on the Salare reminded me of cruising in a ship or flying in the air with a moving map GPS.


Cattle drive, Pantanal, Brazil.


Crossing from Chile to Argentina at Passo Roballo, Patagonia.


The mandatory picture when leaving Ushuaia, the world's most southern City, Argentina.


Can't get enough of Patagonia, Argentina.


Beautiful drives in Patagonia, Argentina. Even better hiking by the way.


No it's not snow, millions of butterflies, as many actually that they clogged up the radiator of the Toyota and let him run hot the first and only time of its 250'000 k's.


Sometimes you gotta build your road. In the Andes, Argentina.


Not what your tires preferred terrain. Andes, Argentina.


Down we go, Argentina.


It looks all near but will take so long to get all the way down into the valley. Andes, Argentina.


Beautiful and thanks to the limited oxygen very slow travelling high up in the Andes.


Suriplaza, North Chile.


Some of the blue truck's first miles with mud and gravel on the tires. Off-Road training among some other 4x4's in Ins, Switzerland.


First trip, to the Alps with the roof tent on.


Coming back from the Alps getting ready for the City again, Zurich, Switzerland.


Touring the Alps of Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Slovenia with my friend Mops.


Yes, we do have roads like that in Europe. In the Alps, Italy.


On the Erzherzog Eugen Strasse, Italy, 2009. 


Down we go, gravel road in the Alps, South Tirol, Italy.


When shipping the blue truck from Basel to New Jersey, USA. The last picture of the Toyota in Switzerland, 2010.


A travelling virgin: Winter 2009 in Zurich, before the mods were done and the pop-up roof was installed. 

Right now the Toyota has some 253'000 kilometers on the clock and is touring Brazil, bound to ship home and set wheels on European grounds after more than 4 years for the first time by the end of the year.

Thank you for following the trip of the blue truck on this blog and being part of this epic journey.

Should you still not have seen enough pictures of the way to a quarter million on the clock of the Toyota, check out my post on my german blog HERE