Sunset over Long ValleyWe absolutely love the Eastern Sierras and the incredibly scenic 395 corridor. On a trip a few months back, we had left our Lazy Daze behind and taken our Subaru Forester instead, so that we could explore some of the many miles of 4WD roads to some truly beautiful, and isolated, destinations.

Now that he had a taste for where a 4WD could take us, Herb was itching to take it a step further in a vehicle with higher clearance and ability to handle some rougher roads. After much research, he selected a Toyota 4Runner TRD Trail Premium, and spent the next few weeks converting it into a viable overnight camping van. The main addition was a platform in the back that we could throw Thermorest pads to sleep on, and a place to store a cooler underneath. I was starting to miss my spacious Lazy Daze already, but tried to keep a stiff upper lip.

The plan was to revisit some of our old favorites in the eastern Sierras and hopefully discover some new ones as well.