Author Archives: josephtruss

The week before our annual Moab, Utah gathering of Vanagons from across North America, Pigpen was in a million pieces, the rebuild projects following the February trip dragging on through the early spring. But I got it all back together, had one boneheaded breakdown on the side of I-70, then made it to Moab forContinue reading “Moab/Syncro Solstice 2022”

Originally posted on PigpenSyncro.com:
A reunion of old college friends was planned for October in New Orleans. I usually drive Pigpen west, north, or south from Denver, but I’d never gone east/southeast. It would have been simpler to fly, but not nearly as interesting. So, I took a week and made a trip out…

I was fortunate to get a long weekend due to MLK Day on Monday and decided to take the prior Friday off as well. I needed take a shakedown drive in Pigpen to work out a few issues and decided on the very remote Picketwire Canyon in Southwest Colorado as my destination (ahead of aContinue reading “Picketwire Canyon, January ’22”

A reunion of old college friends was planned for October in New Orleans. I usually drive Pigpen west, north, or south from Denver, but I’d never gone east/southeast. It would have been simpler to fly, but not nearly as interesting. So, I took a week and made a trip out of it that would eventuallyContinue reading “To New Orleans and Back, October 2021”

Sometimes I forget, living in Denver, that the actual world-famous Rocky Mountains are just a few miles away. With no long distance trips planned for the summer, I decided to take advantage of a few days off work and, with no set destination, ended up traveling to several places in Colorado I’d never been: Crestone,Continue reading “Colorado Backyard Trip, Summer 2021”

I was able to get a couple of days off last week and decided to head into the mountains for two nights before coming back in for a concert at Red Rocks. I spent the first night in a perfectly deserted, beautiful spot in the Buffalo Creek Wilderness. The next morning, I headed south toContinue reading “Quick and Troublesome Mountain Escape, May 2021”

I suppose two years in a row makes it an annual tradition. Last year’s trip was hard to describe. I was tied in knots. This year was about liberation, celebration, and overcoming a couple of breakdowns, one of which could have ended the trip if not for the giant heart of a friend and anotherContinue reading “Southern Utah, Winter 2021”

A few weeks ago, I was able to get up to the hills and over to Moab one last time before the snow arrived. I spent the first day crossing Guanella Pass and Independence Pass, then headed up to a narrow, beautiful trail in Rifle Gap. The next day I met up with some fellowContinue reading “Rockies/Moab, October ’20”