Ultimate Adventure is our weeklong off-road trip where we travel to some untapped part of the country, explore the four-wheeling terrain, and cruise the many miles of asphalt between said trails in our trail rigs. It's a chance for the magazine staff, a handful of event sponsors, and some special invited readers to get away from our grindstone daily lives and go do what we all love best by putting dirt, rock, sand, and mud under our tires. Plus we sleep under the stars in the woods, live off of convenience store food, wrench on our broken trucks till dawn, and wreak havoc on every gas station restroom we encounter. Yes, it really is a lot of fun.
This year we spent our week in the rock- and potato-filled hills of southern Idaho and the top of the most barren state in the nation, northern Nevada. Last month we showed you the rocks we encountered. Big and gnarly lava rock trails near Boise and Elko that sent most of us on our way with plenty of undercarriage scratches that will never buff out, not to mention the busted driveshafts, body panels, and steering components. This month we bring you the last two trail days our team of Krawler-shod four-wheelers attempted. One is the largest sand dunes in North America and the other is a private cow pasture with mud holes so deep our Warn winches were working triple time to get the whole group through. Does all this mess seem like fun to you? Well, get out your pens and pencils, follow the directions on page 60 and send us some photos of what your 4x4 is made of because we're going to need three to five new readers to join us next summer and you might as well be one of 'em.
Day 5, Wednesday: Road Day to Idaho Falls
When we last left off (Nov. '06), our group of 20 modified 4x4s and 40 drivers and passengers were heading back to our camp outside of Spring Creek, Nevada, near the Lamoille Canyon Road National Scenic Byway. We awoke the next day with our tents at the foothills of the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest below the Ruby Mountains. It was halfway through our 2006 Ultimate Adventure and we once again were heading down the asphalt to find another campsite and more unique trails.
 This is one of the fine hotels...  This is one of the fine hotels we like to stay in during Ultimate Adventure. Play in the dirt, sleep in the dirt. Life is good. |  Ever Since Ultimate Adventure...  Ever Since Ultimate Adventure 2004 when we celebrated Editor Rick Pw's birthday on the trip we've had an unofficial Hawaiian shirt day to recognize all the hard work Mr. Pw does to organize this trip. It's either that or some other dumb reason to dress like we enjoy Jimmy Buffet music. |  As usual, the Ninja Turtle...  As usual, the Ninja Turtle (our nickname for the stout little green Ultimate FJ Cruiser) led the pack on a long northeastern trek to Idaho Falls. |
 It's amazing the crazy 4x4s...  It's amazing the crazy 4x4s you see when on a road trip. When you have 40 pairs of eyes attached to 4x4 enthusiasts, nothing gets overlooked, such as this cool 2 1/2-ton military truck. |  And a family heirloom Flatfender...  And a family heirloom Flatfender Jeep |  Or this four-wheel-drive El...  Or this four-wheel-drive El Camino. Hmm, that just might be a great Ultimate Adventure 2007 project.... |
 One other thing about Road...  One other thing about Road Days on Ultimate Adventure. When you get to eat you'll either be grabbing armloads of gut-garbage at a gas station... |  ...or you'll be sitting down...  ...or you'll be sitting down to a small-town cafe with excellent grub you can't get in the big city. | |