STEVE'S DREAM

Ever since I've known Steve, he has been talking about the Mercedes-Benz Unimog and the Pinzgauer... they are high-mobility all-terrain military utility vehicles. A couple of times over the years, we have spotted these rare finds and Steve has drooled and tried to school me on their history, and has gone over all the reasons he loves them. So, when he discovered that an import dealer for these type of vehicles was near us, we had to go. I went to Vallejo to humor and support him... and I must say, it was a really cool experience.

The pictures below show what was on the lot at Expedition Imports. The massive Hellgeth Custom camper is listed for $225k. Holy moly! You could literally go anywhere with this!

 And I thought the Pinzgauers were big... 

they look small next to it!

And check out this beast! 

Alex totally wanted us to buy it & said we could drive him to school. I could put my Excursion in the back of it! H U G E! Can you imagine this driving down the river road?

 After climbing in and out of the vehicles, we spotted something else in their garage. And we learned that this importer has a contract to buy the current Swiss Military GE230 G-Wagons that are being exchanged for new ones in Switzerland. 

Steve and I both knew what would happen next. Enter checkbook for deposit, and now we just have to wait for the shipping container to arrive in the States! And then make sure all checks out upon arrival. If things are a go, it is ours. Steve is super excited, we all are really, and we can tow this behind us on future expeditions or take it on its own adventure.

The picture below shows the body-style of what we will receive. Just have to put in a forward facing seat and belts for the kids for safety.

 There is a canvas top for it as well, and room for the dogs

And below, is a picture of the rig that we have a hold on... 

it is now in the shipping container on its way to California.

 

 After fulfilling one of Steve's dreams, we hit the road for a quick lunch stop and bought some new Lego video games for home and at Uncle Jon's house. The kids don't play the Wii at home much, but now that Sierra is older- she and Alex can have fun Lego adventures together when it's cold and nasty outside at home. 

And speaking of colder weather, we have hit Northern California now. We saw our first sign telling us how far we are from Portland, Oregon & I found myself saying, "Nooooooooo!" I could seriously turn around and would be totally content to travel for months... perhaps even a year or two. 

After refueling and dumping just south of Redding, Steve started his campground search for the night... and he found this great spot on Lake Shasta. The water level is higher than I've ever seen it! We pulled in to this forest campground and found a large private site... and a bonus is electricity and water. Our water tanks were empty by afternoon, so that was super exciting for us to be able to refill. For some reason, it was hard to find a place to refill as we drove north today. 

Here at the lake, you can rent houseboats for 2k-8k a week. Dang! That seems pricey! I think I'll camp and bring my blow up raft.

 After a family walk, all is good and the kids are finally in snoozeland. They were up WAY too late tonight. They went from being tired, to being hyper, to being exhausted, to tears over where Willow was sleeping, to trying to come sleep in our bed, to then back to their beds and to Zzzzz. Phew. Here is to a day of sleeping in! Tomorrow, we may head NE to Lava Beds National Monument or who knows where. All we do know is that we are not ready to trek home yet. I want to squeeze out every last second we can ♡