Winter is for Wandering
 
Zuzu
Isuzu Trooper c.1999
We decided to look for a Trooper. We had always liked them, though neither of us had any experience with 4WD vehicles, so we were going on gut feelings alone. We found a manual transmission unit in the foothills, drove it and had it examined by our trusted mechanic. It simply had too many things that needed repair, so we passed. On the hunt still, we scoured CraigsList several times each day. 
We were very fortunate to be the first to call when this 1999 automatic with TorqueOnDemand (what is that?) appeared on CraigsList. The owner hadn’t even finished washing it when we drove into Hayward from Sacramento to see it. After a short test drive, we felt certain this was the Trooper for us. We made arrangements over cups of delicious tea.
Zuzu has been great. He is very comfortable and reliable. We can go places we couldn’t go before! Yippee!
Happy trails,
Clark & 9ah
You may have met Zuzu, our Trooper, 4 years ago. Back then, we were land touring in our 1994 Honda Accord, setting up small nylon tents in campgrounds for shelter. In December of 2008, we were in Bryce Canyon hanging out at frigid Inspiration Point just waiting for the sun to rise and set the hoodoos afire. Cameras balanced on tripods, hands stuffed in our fleecy pockets to keep warm– we were stunned to see two sailing friends from the Pacific Northwest coming down the trail! Judson & Pat peaked our interest in the realm of off-road travel when they asked us to join a 4x4 adventure deep in Death Valley’s backcountry. Without much hesitation, we said, “Yes!” We finished our tour of Southern Utah, then cruised across Nevada to Mesquite Springs. Two more sailing friends, Ken & Karen, fit us into their club-cab pickup with our gear inside their homebuilt camper. We left our low-ground clearance Honda at camp. What fun we all had, our exhilaration sauced with flat tires, a stuck Montero, freezing nights, warm campfires, petroglyphs of condors, and soaks in the warm springs at Saline Valley. We were hooked. Upon our return, we located our own 4x4 AND a terrific off-road tent trailer! (More about Mr Higgins next... )
    http://svrikki.net/RedRock/Highlights.htmlhttp://svrikki.net/RedRock/Our_Albums/Pages/Death_Valley_4x4.htmlshapeimage_5_link_0shapeimage_5_link_1
A  Little   History
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