Road trip idea: Bend, Oregon

On June 7, 2019June 4, 2019 By crosstrekingblogIn travelLeave a comment

Located a little over three hours south of Portland, Bend is a perfect city to visit for a night or a long weekend.

Nestled inside my Subaru Crosstrek, I rolled into Bend on a Monday afternoon in early June. My first stop was Pilot Butte. After taking the winding road to the top, you are treated with a 360-degree view of the city and beyond. It’s a perfect spot to view the Cascade Mountains.

From the top of Pilot Butte, you can even see Mt. Hood, which is over 190 miles away. But the view is perfect for Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Batchelor and the Three Sisters.

Once back down to the road, I drove over to the Old Mill District and stopped at Drake Park. With a four-hour parking limit next to the park, you can put the kayak in the water, hang out in a hammock or even walk a few blocks to the plentiful shopping and food options.

While I was only in Bend for a night, there are many things I didn’t get to do, and I barely scratched the surface. It’s a great spot for trying new brews or even take an hour trip to the southeast and visit the Mt. Batchelor area, including Elks Lake.

There’s also a way you can step back in time, as Bend is home to the last Blockbuster. For real, you can visit this Blockbuster, get a Blockbuster card and rent DVDs. I didn’t go that far since my MacBook doesn’t have a way to play the DVDs, but it was cool to see locals walk in and rent a few and then even see others bring them back. This Blockbuster (I said that like there are others, but this is it) has a guestbook and features a few props from Russell Crowe, including his robe worn in Ciderella Man and the chairs he and Denzel Washington used on set while filming American Gangster. It’s a cool stop. Check out the employee picks, this was a great reminder of what it was like to visit a video store, rather than flipping through Netflix.

Bend reminded me of Austin. It’s a perfect outdoor city with plenty of options. However, the region offers many more spectacular views of the mountains, if you’re into that kind of thing (I am…). Also, I’m sure that Bend is glowing in the winter.

One thing is for sure, I’ll be back.

The open road

On June 4, 2019 By crosstrekingblogIn camping, inspiration, travelLeave a comment

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Walt Whitman – Song of the Open Road

This was my spirit as I embarked on this journey that started five days ago outside of Austin, Texas. Now, I sit in Bend, Oregon, waiting for the next leg of the trip that will take me to Portland and then up north of Seattle. And, I’ve done it all in my Subaru Crosstrek.

The third leg of the trip proved to be the most challenging, but mainly mentally.

After camping for two nights in the Arapaho Forest, west of Denver, I took off for Utah. I was going to stop outside of Park City, but several scattered thunderstorms in the area forced me to change my plans. I decided to get as far as I could, which allowed me to push on into Idaho, where I finally stopped in Nampa.

This part of the trip was daunting, much more after I decided to travel into Idaho. Overall, I traveled 835 miles through three states and arrived in Nampa 15 hours later.

The early part of the trip was the real treat. I drove through the Rocky Mountains with snow-capped peaks on both sides of the road. During the trip, I saw a few big horn sheep on the side of the road but the real attraction was the landscape.

Unfortunately, I knew there were many miles to travel, so I didn’t take a lot of photos. However, I stopped in the middle of the highway in eastern Utah to take the following picture.

The earth expanding right hand and left hand,
The picture alive, every part in its best light,
The music falling in where it is wanted, and stopping where it is not wanted,
The cheerful voice of the public road, the gay fresh sentiment of the road.
O highway I travel, do you say to me Do not leave me?
Do you say Venture not—if you leave me you are lost?
Do you say I am already prepared, I am well-beaten and undenied, adhere to me?
O public road, I say back I am not afraid to leave you, yet I love you,
You express me better than I can express myself,
You shall be more to me than my poem.
I think heroic deeds were all conceiv’d in the open air, and all free poems also,
I think I could stop here myself and do miracles,
I think whatever I shall meet on the road I shall like, and whoever beholds me shall like me,
I think whoever I see must be happy.
Walt Whitman – Song of the Open Road

This trip has been exhilarating. It’s been exhausting. And, it’s been rewarding. I challenge everyone to travel across country at some point in their life. It’s worth every mile, every minute.

A visit to Pikes Peak

On June 1, 2019June 1, 2019 By crosstrekingblogIn travelLeave a comment

After driving nearly 13 hours to get out of Texas and into Colorado, I stopped for the night in Pueblo. The next morning, I drove an hour-and-a-half to Pikes Peak with my Subaru Crosstrek.

At the entrance for Pikes Peak, the entry booth is adorned with a dry-erase board which listed the temperature at the summit. On the day I was at the mountain base, it listed 22 degrees with a wind chill of 11. By the time I made it to the top, it was close to 32.

I stopped at nearly every pull-off opportunity and jumped out of the Crosstrek to take photos, mostly of the mountain peak. Since I pulled into the Pike National Forest before 10 a.m. on a Friday there weren’t many cars driving up the mountain.

The road was open all the way to the summit, but you had to pull off at either mile 13 or 16 and take a shuttle the rest of the way (up to mile 19). The shuttles provided great views on the way up, hugging the corners just inches away from the edge of the mountain. It was an interesting ride up with our shuttle driver.

Once at the top, you have unlimited time to explore the summit and the shops inside. It took me about 20 minutes to adjust to the high elevation. But, once adjusted, I stepped out of the shops and walked around to take in the views of the Colorado landscape from high atop America’s mountain.

My favorite part of the trip was the ride down, where I again stopped at many of the roadside pull-offs to grab as many photos as I could before heading out of the park, including a few of the Crosstrek in its first trip outside of Texas.

Pikes Peak is worth the $15 admission, and my recommendation is to go early. There was a point that I had the entire summit to myself for about 10 minutes.

Car camping in a Subaru Crosstrek

On May 29, 2019May 28, 2019 By crosstrekingblogIn camping, mods, travelLeave a comment

Over the next two weeks, I’ll be ~~traveling~~ crosstreking from Texas to as far as Washington in my Subaru Crosstrek. The plan is to stay in the back of my Crosstrek at several stops on the eight-state journey.

This is the first entry in a multi-part series about how to car camp in a Subaru Crosstrek.

THE SETUP

I outfitted the back of my Crosstrek for sleeping. I added two small pieces of plywood to support extended leg room. With the front seats pushed forward, I have 77 inches of length available to stretch out at night. The front piece rests on the middle console.

Next, I purchased a factory refurbished KLYMIT Double V two-person sleeping pad that fits very well in the back of the Crosstrek. Once inflated, this pad is perfect for sleeping in your car. It comes in a sack that you use to air up the sleeping pad.

In case I need the extra padding (not sure if I will), I found an Everlast folding exercise pad at a yard sale that will make the trip too.

I’m looking forward to the trip. I’ll keep you updated as I travel through the Rocky Mountains and into the pacific northwest.

Have you camped in the back of your Crosstrek? Tell us about your adventure in the comments.

Welcome to Crosstreking

On May 23, 2019June 1, 2019 By crosstrekingblogIn blogLeave a comment

Have you ever wanted to take your Subaru Crosstrek on a cross-country road trip? What about being able to pull off and camp in the back of your Crosstrek? Does this sound like you?

This is why I created this blog. I wanted to provide an outlet for people like me, who enjoy taking a road trip and maybe even spend a few nights hanging out in the back of your Crosstrek.

Also, I’ll be taking a trip from Texas to as far as Washington this summer and plan to camp a few times in the back of my Crosstrek. I’ll bring you along for the ride.

The plan is also to introduce you to others who enjoy the same mode of travel.

Meet my Crosstrek:
• 2018 Subaru Crosstrek 2.0i Premium

Do you have a story about traveling in your Crosstrek? Leave a comment below.