Destinations - 4XPEDITION Team 4X Community Forum

The Rancho Redux Ranch!

Shovel — Mon, 08 May 2023 17:11:52 +0000

Last month I had a surprise business trip sprung on me to the Midwest and my return flight was Louisville>Dallas>Phoenix>Spokane .   The flight path into Phoenix usually passes over Mt. Lemmon so as I flew over the ranch I took a photo from my little window seat, thinking I'd send it to Scott and Heather when I landed as a near-visit.

Well I did send it but I also missed my connecting flight to Washington and decided instead of being in a hurry to get home, maybe I could use a free day in Arizona where I already have friends and access to transportation.     That turned out to be a fantastic unexpected vacation!

The hard part of spending one day in a place where I have a number of friends & some family is unfortunately I can't go see everyone there just isn't time but it was going to be possible to combine a few visits, one of them was to an old friend who lives halfway between Phoenix and Catalina.    And that meant it wasn't much further to go visit Rancho los Cerros!

I'm very appreciative to Scott and Heather for taking the time to give us a big tour of the ranch, and hang out & finally get to meet in person.   It's going to be exciting watching the ranch develop under their care and vision along with of course the owners whose investment is riding on that development.

Perhaps one day in the not too distant future there will be a few restored guest rooms and make Rancho los Cerros a destination for more than just afternoon visits, provided one has the time to drive there.   It's really very secluded and doesn't feel like it's so close to Tucson & its suburbs.

Valle Vidal

Scott Leuthold — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 17:39:05 +0000

Heather and I recently ventured out to drive a soft-road loop route along Ted Turner's Vermejo Park Ranch and then into Valle Vidal, which is a 100,000+ acre preserve located along New Mexico's border with Colorado. This is where I proposed to Heather last year. We will have an episode going live of this stunning trip in the coming weeks. Until then, here are a few photos of the area. I may schedule a group overland meetup in this area next summer for TEAM 4X.

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Mantle Rock Mountain Camp

Scott Leuthold — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 15:10:24 +0000

Hello my fellow team members!

Heather and I are happy to announce that we have launched Mantle Rock Mountain Camp with rentable campsites. We are now offering three well-appointed campsites on our property starting at $45 per night. However, TEAM 4X Members will always get their first night of stay free (in one of our designated camp sites). If we are booked when you would like to stay, we will extend free camping in our Overland group area for vehicles that are self-contained for up to 2 nights. After two nights, the free overland area (which is normally $20 per vehicle per night) will be $10 per night. As mentioned, we offer an Overland Group site that can accommodate up to 15 vehicles. Please contact us directly to reserve this space for your Overland group. All overland vehicles should be self-contained as we do not offer any services other than a public toilet facility. Our property sits at 8,600 feet in elevation in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (the Southern Rockies).

Each site includes a picnic table, propane firepit (as we do not allow wood fires on our property), solar powered bistro lighting and torches, and in some cases for an extra fee 110 electricity. We also offer an on-site professionally maintained portable toilet facility and we can provide a 5 gallon fresh water supply to your site for an extra fee.

As we progress, we will be adding wooden decks and weather protection roofing for each site.

Other services:

Guided Adventures:
Prices are per person and start at $75. We offer a wide range of guided adventures from our basecamp here in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. Outdoor recreation opportunities include: Hiking, Mountain Biking, Wildlife Photography and Viewing, Fly Fishing, Whitewater Rafting, and more. When booking your stay, inquire about our guided adventure menu.

Group Workshops:
Our workshops vary in price from $150 to $1500 depending on length of experience. We offer a variety of workshops including but not limited to: Modern Self-Reliance, Nature Immersion, Camping 101, Creative Writing, Making it as a Content Creator, Cabin Construction Basics. Sign up for our e-newsletter at 4XPEDITION.com to be notified when workshops are scheduled.

Outdoor Recreation Conscierge:
We offer expert knowledge around all types of outdoor recreation activities. We are well acquainted with adventure services providers. As your host, we are happy to manage your travel experience reservations when visiting our property and the local area.

Learn more about Mantle Rock Mountain Camp:

Visit our HipCamp site for bookings: https://bit.ly/3cAO1rH

Visit our Facebook Page to follow along: https://www.facebook.com/MantleRockMC/

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Arizona Getaway Winter 2022!

Scott Leuthold — Sun, 06 Feb 2022 12:49:14 +0000

Came down to the desert Southwest to get warmed up. Angel Fire is running about 20 below! So far have enjoyed a side-by-side trip to Alamo Lake that ran about 145 miles round trip in washes and on dirt trails.

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Also did some bouldering on rock piles, you might have seen the video released on that.

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Planning to get out on Mountain Bikes today (Sunday) and who knows what else before we return home (in a Uhaul because we sold our RV).

We did bring the KTM motorcycle too, but I took it into the shop when we got here for a little check up and chain service and they found a few things wrong with it and are doing warranty work. Turns out that they have had the bike the entire time we've been here so we've not been able to ride it yet. (which sucks).

We also got to see several 4X peeps at SanTan brewery. That was fun!

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All for now.

Arizona Meet and Greet

Scott Leuthold — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 16:36:19 +0000

Hello friends!
Heather and I are loading up Ghost Cat, our mountain bikes, and our KTM moto and headed to Arizona for a few weeks. We leave tomorrow. I would love to schedule a meet and greet for those who live in the state. Please let me know if you are interested in meeting up. I was thinking maybe in Chandler, AZ as it is more central to Tucson people as well as those in northern AZ and Phx.

Unique hotel rooms

Shovel — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 23:59:58 +0000

Ever watch an old Kevin Costner film from the 1990s and think the set would be a good place to spend the night?

OK fine me either. But I've booked this coming Saturday night in this building here, so we'll see how that turns out.

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Know of any great paid stays? Let's talk about them!

Dispersed camping outside of Rocky Mountain National Park

Victor Fraire — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 14:42:17 +0000

Spent a beautiful Labor Day weekend in the national forest outside of stunning Estes Park, CO. For those outside of Colorado, Estes Park is the gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park as well as being the "Elk capitol" of the state. The weather was absolutely gorgeous without a cloud in the sky. Daytime temps were in the mid 70's with overnight lows dropping into the low 40's. Fire restrictions were lifted just in time Lol! The forest road from the freeway is fairly smooth with a few rutted spots here and there. About 4 miles in, you encounter Parachute Hill (a technical 4X4 route that leads up to some epic campsites). High clearance & 4wd is pretty much a necessity. However, our friend made it up with their stock Baby Bronco - with only a little motivation. A few campsites give you uninterrupted views of Longs Peak & RMNP. Longs Peak has the distinction of being the only 14er in the National Park. Our campsite had plenty of shade on this sunny weekend. The sound of the wind between the pines was a bit of the Devine Music that Scott knows so well. Aspens mixed with the pines created some picturesque scenery. I will definitely be going back in about a month the get the full experience of the autumn colors.

GPS : 40.236641, -105.483617

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Where is your go-to place in AZ? Where is your happy place?

Collin Leuthold — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 02:48:23 +0000

Hey fellow Team4X members,

After the fires calmed down in Northern Arizona, you can finally camp up there! I love going to Mogollon Rim whenever I camp, or just the whole Happy Jack area! I love to drive up to above 7000 feet and just relax next to cliff and paint. I would say it is my happy place!

I am interested to hear your Arizona go-to camp area! Let me know below!

Also, let me know where your happy place is below!

Looking forward to your responses.

Humboldt Redwoods

Debra Duane — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 18:59:25 +0000

Just got back from an amazing trip to celebrate my daughter's 35th birthday, where we visited and camped among the old-growth Redwoods of Humboldt County in Northern California.

Being a California native and having spent 20 years living within minutes of the Redwoods in Northern California, I am always amazed and awestruck whenever I am around these ancient trees. The drive to see them from my home in Arizona is a bit brutal, as you have to go through "LA" and other congested areas of California to get to the further reaches where the old trees are, but I'll gladly suffer that pain just to see them again.

If you've never seen an ancient, ginormous coastal Redwood, you owe it to yourself to make it a "bucket list" priority.

If you're interested, I captured a few photos that I've made available in a shared album on Google: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GN6VYDmyWSGjd3Jj7

Dispersed camping outside of Winter Park, CO

Victor Fraire — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 22:24:06 +0000

For 4th of July weekend, was looking for dispersed camping in between Grand Lake & Winter Park, CO. Found this gem on iOverlander. Seeing in person far outshines the description on the app. Amazing forest setting away from the burn of last years forest fires in Grand Lake area. Quiet & secluded. Did not see a single person the 3 days/nights we were there. Logging dirt road is a steady climb with a few steep areas & multiple switchbacks. Elevation eventually climbs to approx 9700 ft. Views of Fraser/Winter Park are amazing. Meadow Creek Reservoir is about 10 minutes away should you desire. Camp spot is at dead end of logging road with stream running right next to "tent" camping spot on the other side. The dead end of the forest road will suffice for car-camping or in a roof-top tent..., but you'd really be with-holding a Devine experience if you do not cross the wood planks across the stream and camp in a tent! Falling asleep with the steady flow of the stream in the background has me longing to go back again!

GPS 40.02734, -105.77647

Directions: From Winter Park, head N on US40 approximately 10 miles to CO Hwy 83 on right (just before Tabernash). Go 1/2 mile and take left on County Rd 84/USFS129. Take about 5 miles to County Rd 848/USFS129-2A on right - however you can continue straight another 2 miles and forest road eventually leads to Meadow Creek Reservoir parking in about 7 miles. After right hand turn on county road 848, switchbacks begin as you climb steeply up the mountain. Old logging road will deadend at roundabout - Use GPS coordinates as dirt road has a couple side trails which can turn you off course

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