What Did You Do With Your Kizashi Today?

[Ronzuki]

Nice pics. Great looking camp sites...for being civilized and all. How far apart are they from one another....ya have some privacy and relative peace and quiet?

[KuroNekko]

Nice pics. Great looking camp sites...for being civilized and all. How far apart are they from one another....ya have some privacy and relative peace and quiet?

Joshua Tree National Park has several campgrounds but some are closed for the summer season as it's actually not the most popular season; it's too hot for most. I was originally planning to stay at a small one called Belle but found out it was closed. I then checked out White Tank but that looked full so I went to the largest one called Jumbo Rocks. It has around 150 campsites. Fortunately, there were over 60 open sites. In terms of proximity to one another, it depends on both the campgrounds and which campsites you pick. The one we got was nice because it was rather large and had a flat area to fit multiple tents. We really liked it and the only real issue was that there was no shade. However, it was quite windy so it wasn't miserable at all. These campsites are rather small for RVs so most people are in tents but I think there are other campgrounds for RVs in the park. The site I chose was the closest to a trail to Skull Rock so there were people in the area, but it wasn't like they were hiking through our campsite.
As for the campsites, they are nice but basic. No water, no electricity. Pit toilets, picnic tables, a fire pit, and a grill is all there is available. The park also has some back country camping areas where one can park their car and hike out to a remote area to camp. However, fires aren't allowed. There are also some federal lands just outside the park where one can go literally into the desert and camp out for no cost at all. However, there is absolutely nothing in terms of amenities so one would have to be fully self-sufficient and fires aren't allowed without a permit. CA is very strict about fires due to the high risk of wild fires.

The best part about the campsites within the Joshua Tree National Park is the rocks one can hike around and explore.

1.jpg (131.27 KiB) Viewed 14812 times

2.jpg (214.44 KiB) Viewed 14812 times

3.jpg (194.03 KiB) Viewed 14812 times

4.jpg (150.84 KiB) Viewed 14812 times

5.jpg (178.78 KiB) Viewed 14812 times

[Ronzuki]

4.jpg

I see a picture like that and the first thing that comes to mind is "that's some mighty fine wheelin' terrain!".

[KuroNekko]

I see a picture like that and the first thing that comes to mind is "that's some mighty fine wheelin' terrain!".

I wouldn't be so sure. The area is called "Jumbo Rocks" for good reason. Many of these rocks are larger than cars. The last picture gives you a better scale of things given there are people on the rocks.

[Ronzuki]

Somewhere I have a picture somebody mailed to me of my Samurai sitting on top of a 'jumbo rock' at Paragon. Most of my club on the ride that day, mostly stockers to lightly mod'd, thought I was nuts. It was far taller than the zuk which just cleared getting into a standard garage opening . I'll admit, I was actually quite afraid of coming down off it. Slow and steady creep, and as soon as traction started to break, gas! Hadn't done anything stupid like that since. That's the allure of the sport though, building the machine to do seemingly insane stuff. There's plenty of buggies around that would tear that place up. Literally unfortunately.

I look at pictures like that and that's the first thing that comes to mind...I can't help it. Having a place called Jumbo Rocks would be like ringing the dinner bell to a bum.

[KuroNekko]

No, we're talking West Coast "jumbo" here. For example, that rock the people are standing on in that last photo is the size of a small apartment building and I'm standing on a taller portion of the same rock, at least 80 ft up from the ground. There was only one way up and required crawling on all fours. For a 4x4 to climb many of these rocks, it would need the agility of a cat as in vertical leaping many times its height. The photos don't really do it justice in showing how massive these rocks are because a considerable distance is captured in the photos from an elevated height, making massive rocks look somewhat small on the horizon. The "small" rocks are really the size of cars as I'm standing on a rock well over 80 ft tall in the last two photos to capture the surroundings. The place is popular among rock climbers as the rocks are way taller and steeper than what a vehicle could climb. These rocks would easily destroy 4x4s than the other way around but this is a national park so fortunately, both 4x4s and rocks are spared from each other.
This is the sort of place you can't fully appreciate the massive scale until you experience it in person.

[SamirD]

Maybe I should dig them out of the trash just in case!

While it's difficult for me to tell, the ride appears more smooth and quiet, I don't notice any change in the handling. But then I don't push it like some people in this forum.

If you did dig them out (which I hope you did!), I'll cover shipping to take them off your hands. I'd install them to see if ours are shot or not.

[SamirD]

Noted that the mesh heat shield on the exhaust pipe right under the engine was damaged and had slid back on the pipe. Must have hit something but I don't recall anything and the wife rarely drives it. I was able to slide it back into place but I'm not sure it will stay.

Mine was like that after I ran over a parking block covered by snow. I pulled the mesh up at an oil change, but later saw that it was pulled down like you describe. I then got a large stainless steel hose clamp and secured the mesh to cover the flex pipe. It hasn't moved since and it's been years.

Thanks for the tip. If it moves, I'll put a clamp on it.

I've just discovered the same problem that probably originated from striking an iceberg in the middle of the road a few years back in Milwaukee.

I just slid mine back on, but it seems to work like those Chinese finger trap toys where it will only really stay in place when stretched under proper tension.

Would you mind sharing your clamp solution with some pictures KuroNekko? I was thinking the exact same thing for a solution but didn't really see a way to clamp it anywhere.

[SamirD]

Lovely camping pics! Great to see all the places our Kizashis go.

[Speed_Racer]

Parking between two pillars is the best way to prevent door dings