S&YE202 - SLT Trek Part 2

[00:00:10] Hi, my name is Sierra and I go by SLT Trek on Instagram and this is episode 202 of the Subie & You podcast. Hello everybody, welcome to another episode of the Subie & You podcast. As you just heard, I have Sierra on the episode and I have her on the podcast again for a round two of an episode that's dedicated just to her because she has been on some other like bonus episodes.

[00:00:39] But we were talking and I said it would be great to have you on again. Actually, I had mentioned that I would like to have some previous guests on this year and she reached out to me. That's what it was. She reached out to me and said, hey, I would it would be great to be on the podcast again.

[00:00:56] And so we made it happen. And as you listen to it, you'll hear that we recorded quite a while ago. We recorded April 1st because she was going back to school and she was going to be really busy. So she wanted to go ahead and record so that we could get it done and not have to really interfere with her school schedule. So we did it really early.

[00:01:21] So here's some things that have like already happened, especially like with my car and some stuff with her as well. So but sometimes that's just how it has to work out. And I'm just glad that we were able to reconnect and get her back on the podcast and do it before she got too busy. So thank you, Sierra, for taking the time to record and get on here for round two of your story.

[00:01:50] And we will get to the conversation with Sierra here in just a bit. But first, a word from one of our sponsors. The Subi and You podcast is brought to you by Eccentric Designs. For those of you who don't know, Eccentric Designs is a small community driven business that offers custom fit vinyl overlays for most Subaru models. This includes various designs for the rear reflectors, taillights and side taillights. I also offer fun decal designs like the popular fender stripes and stickers.

[00:02:19] To find designs for your Subi, head on over to eccentricdesigns.com. There's always more projects in the works, so be sure to follow at eccentric.designs on Instagram. Thank you so much, Eccentric Designs, for sponsoring the Subi and You podcast. And as a reminder, if you were a previous guest on the podcast and you want to have an episode specific Subi and You podcast decal,

[00:02:44] you can go to her website, just type in episode and it'll bring up the episode specific decals. And you can put your episode number in there and she can get a decal out to you for your episode. A few people have already done it, so that would be cool to see some more out there. But again, thank you so much. Also, go check out her Instagram story or not her stories.

[00:03:13] Maybe I don't remember if it was in her stories or she posted, but she's changing her shipping methods from USPS to UPS because she has had delays, like major, major delays with USPS. I ordered some decals from her and I think it took them a month to get to me, which is just crazy. And of course, it didn't bother me at all because I know that she's busy and I know it wasn't her fault.

[00:03:38] So, you know, just if you've ordered something from her and you haven't received it yet and you ordered it before she switched over to UPS, please, please, please be patient. It is not on her that they are not being delivered yet. It is USPS. I've experienced that with some other things, not just stuff that I ordered from her. So, it's just what's happening right now, I guess, with USPS.

[00:04:06] So, again, please be patient with her if you ordered something and you haven't received it. Thank you, thank you. So, in this episode, I mentioned that I was going to take my car to get the oil changed and have them listen for the sound and I did do that. I think I explained that in one of the SubiScoops, but it was just funny as I was editing the episode to hear that come up again because I'm like, man, I did that a long time ago. So, once I get my car finally fixed, I will have to put it in one of the SubiScoops

[00:04:34] to let everybody know that it is, in fact, fixed and I'm looking forward to it being completed and not making noise anymore. So, yeah, it's just funny to listen to some of these episodes that I recorded earlier on and hear the conversations about things that have already happened. But, again, that's just the way it goes. Okay, this is my second time doing this because the first time it sounded very salesy and adsy and I just didn't like it because it didn't sound genuine.

[00:05:04] But what I want to say is that the SubiNU podcast is brought to you by SubiMods, which is the most recent sponsor of the podcast, which I am very thankful for. Thank you so much, SubiMods. But what I also want to mention today is that if you've not had a chance to listen to their episode, episode 189, go give it a listen because I had a great conversation with Nick and learned a lot about where SubiMods started and the hard work, dedication, and commitment to get SubiMods to where it is today.

[00:05:33] And that's another, like, whenever I decided I wanted to start having brands on the podcast, I thought it would be so cool for all of these. There's so many brands of, you know, products that we buy all the time for our cars because everybody wants to mod them. And I just thought it would be so cool to hear the story behind the brand and the people behind the brand and get to know more about them. So that's why I had SubiMods on the podcast. And again, it was great to talk to Nick.

[00:06:02] But the team at SubiMods has really great enthusiasm for the work that they do, the effort that they put in on a day-to-day basis to bring products to the Subaru community. So it's also, I also want to mention that they are one of the sponsors of all the SubiFest events. So Wicked Big Meat, Boxer Fest, SubiFest California, SubiFest Midwest, SubiFest Texas, and SubiFest Florida. So you'll see their big, giant display there.

[00:06:32] I believe that's what they're going to have again this year. But they're always excited to see their customers again or meet their customers or meet potential customers for the first time. So be sure to stop by the SubiMods booth at your local Subi event this year and say hello. There, that was better. So thank you so much, SubiMods, for sponsoring the Subi and You podcast. And again, go check out their episode.

[00:06:59] It was really great to talk to Nick and learn more about SubiMods. Thank you. And before we get into this conversation, conversation? Conversation with Sierra. I also want to thank Subaru Gear for sponsoring the Subi and You podcast. It's been such a great partnership to have with them. And I'm so glad that they brought this great offer to the listeners. You can use the code SUBIANU25 at checkout to get 20% off your entire purchase.

[00:07:26] And if your total is over $50 after, after? Man, I can't talk today. If your total purchase is over $50 after the 20% discount, then you automatically get free shipping, which is super awesome. So go check out subarugear.com. Check out all of the great Subaru branded merchandise they have, as well as Subaru Motorsports USA, Bucky Lastic,

[00:07:56] and all the various collections that they have. They're also, they've been putting new items on there. There's new spring items at Subaru Gear. So go check it out and see what they have to offer. And thank you again so much, Subaru Gear, for sponsoring the Subi and You podcast. And now that I've taken up enough of your time, let's go ahead and jump into this conversation with Sierra.

[00:08:27] Hey, welcome back, Sierra. This is round two. Yes, it is. Of your own episode. You've been on with some other things. But yeah, as we were mentioning before we started recording, it's a little bit different this time because last time we were able to record in person in a fun environment out at Moon Rocks with people laughing in the background. My mom heckling from behind the scene, from behind my car. Yeah, that was fun though. It was really cool to be able to record out there. That was great fun.

[00:08:57] Yeah, it was our birthday celebration. Yeah. And also getting to record in person just added like a different, it made it feel a little bit more like intimate. Not like, it made it feel a little bit more special versus staring at you on a laptop. Yeah. No, I get it. I love it when I have an opportunity to record with people in person. And of course now it's different because when I record with people in person,

[00:09:25] I don't have the full setup that I had there. I don't have the headphones, the mic, the, you know, like, because I had so much gear. Yeah. And now I just have my two little Rode Wireless Pro mics and it makes it so much easier. I really wish I would have had that when I went out to Moon Rocks because it would have made it a lot more, you know, I don't know. It just would have made it a lot easier and I would have had a lot less stuff to carry with me. But it is kind of fun to have the mic and the headphones and just get that whole experience of like hearing yourself in the headphones, you know?

[00:09:56] Mm-hmm. Yeah. So I asked the same question to everybody that you started a long time ago, you know, whether you prefer waffles or pancakes. And I know your answer, but... As you should. Yes. And you kind of got mad at me. I don't remember what you said because Travis Pastrana said something that you didn't like. And wait, I think I hear him now. Hold on a second. But I have to say that I think I'm a pancake.

[00:10:24] I think I switched this morning because of that question coming out. Travis Pastrana is a pancake guy. Oh, my God. I was more angry in the moment when he first said it because it sounded a lot like he was going to say waffles. Yeah. Because, you know, he was building up and being like, oh, I just had chicken and waffles. And you never hear people ordering like waffles and pancake, like chicken and pancakes. And so I was like, oh, Travis Pastrana is a waffle guy. And then he said that and I was like, no.

[00:10:54] Yep. Sorry. But we got, you know, got another pancake guy. And it's Travis Pastrana. I guess that's... I guess that's okay. He loses some style points, but it's still Travis Pastrana. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So what... Okay. You know what would be good is if I pulled up my questions because I did have some questions for you. Yes, you did. Even though you've been on here before, but it would be good for me to look at those.

[00:11:25] Yeah. And... Find out. You've also changed the format a little bit since I was last on. Yeah, I think I did. Kind of a bit. By the way, it's been over two years since you were on. It has. Yeah, which seems crazy. Something's bound to change in two years, I would think. Of course. Yeah. Yeah. So the last time that you were on, of course, like I mentioned, we were celebrating our birthdays at Moon Rocks. And that was a lot of fun.

[00:11:51] And again, just that whole trip was really cool. Because I wanted to do something big for my 50th birthday. And then, you know, it was like it originally just started off. It was supposed to be like a guys trip with me and Anthony and Charlie. And then they were like, what if we just make it a bigger trip and invite a bunch of people? And they're like, oh, and it's Sierra's birthday. So let's, you know, do that too. And I'm like, that sounds awesome to me. Let's make it, you know, a whole big event. Yeah.

[00:12:20] It was pretty special for me too because Anthony invited my parents along and didn't tell me. Oh, I didn't know that part. Yeah. He didn't tell me. That is so cool. You remember where we had like that text there where I was talking about because my boss is at the bagel shop. Sponsored, not sponsored, not sponsored. If you're ever in the Tahoe Basin, go to Tahoe Bagel Company there. Yes. Really awesome dudes. Great local business run by two brothers.

[00:12:50] Like we had that text thread where because they had almost switched my like days off to like Thursday and Friday, which would not have worked with me being out there. And Anthony was like, you cannot miss this. You were ordered to come along. And I was like, well, why is he being so adamant that I come along to this? Not just because, I mean, it's my week. It was my birthday weekend. And I was like, but he's being really way more adamant about me coming. You gotta come. Then I would think.

[00:13:20] And I kind of maybe found out on my own before I even got up there because I have find my iPhone. And I saw, oh, my parents are in Reno right now. That's interesting. I was like, oh, my God.

[00:14:06] But it's a little bit difficult now that I live in Washington. Anthony lives in North Carolina now. Yeah. And Clayton still lives in California. So. Yeah, it's hard because you get connected with these people all over the place. And then like for me, you know, and anybody else really. But like you end up traveling out to somewhere and you meet all these cool people. And then it's like everybody's so far away and it's not easy to just get together.

[00:14:32] So I'm super thankful for that trip and that I was able to make it out there and meet you and meet other people and then see other people again that I had already met before. Yeah. Yeah. That trip was great. Except for when I got drunk, rolled my ankle and almost gave myself a concussion on satanic Subaru's hood. Yeah. Yeah. That was not a good part, but. Not the pleasant part, but. And it was really cold at night, too. It was very cold. But you win some, you lose some.

[00:15:02] Yeah. That's what we get for trying to camp in northern Nevada in February. Yes. Nevada. I've been all of my episodes now. Anytime I say. Anytime that comes up, I say Nevada. Just for you in case you're listening. I don't want you to yell at me again. I've stopped yelling at people for saying things wrong. Okay. I live in eastern Washington. Nobody knows how to say Nevada out here. Yeah.

[00:15:28] So at the time that we recorded, you were living in South Lake Tahoe, which is where SLT Trek came from for your account. But you've moved a couple of times now. So where are you living now? So I have moved twice since that episode. The first time I moved was in August of 2023. I moved from South Lake Tahoe, California to Seattle, Washington.

[00:15:59] Kind of. Kind of following Mountain Subi up there because she had moved up there in April. Yeah. And I, you know, I wanted to follow after her. And I was just, I had lived in Tahoe for 11 years and I, I moved, I had moved when I was like nine. So I guess I, I guess you could say I was kind of accustomed to moving like every eight to 10 years. So I was like, okay, it's, it's time.

[00:16:26] I'm, I love it here, but it's just, there's not much left for me here to gain. If I stay here any longer. And, you know, just kind of getting to the next, next part of my life. Now that I'm a young adult. So I moved up to Seattle for, I lived there for about a year. And then about six months into living in Seattle, I kind of said to myself, I don't like it in Seattle.

[00:16:54] So I was like, okay, I, once my lease is up, I don't want to live here anymore. So I kind of did my research and, uh, which was also great timing because coincidentally I was shopping around for colleges. So I found this, this college out in tri-cities, Washington with a degree program that I really liked and I, you know, applied, got accepted.

[00:17:24] And I was like, well, I guess I'm moving out of sea. And I moved out of Seattle in at like the end of August, 2024. And I have been out in tri-cities, Washington since. Okay. And how is it there? I love it a lot more. Well, that's good. I'm a lot happier. Yeah. It's, you want to be happy where you live for sure. Especially with the, like the winter weather in Seattle, it doesn't snow. It rains. Yeah. And rains and rains.

[00:17:54] Yeah. It rained while we were there. You don't see the sun for like five or six days at a time. It's kind of depressing. Yeah. I remember I went out there for work for a week and it rained every single day. And then like Wednesday afternoon, it started to clear up and we saw some sun. And then I think it rained like Thursday morning and Friday morning, but then in the afternoon, it was cleared up. But yeah. Yeah. I've heard that about Seattle.

[00:18:17] And I was like, and I was like, okay, this weather combined with like the course load of an engineering student, which I'm studying right now as a college student would probably not be a great, a great situation to be in. So it was, it was mostly, it was a matter of my mental health. Yeah. That made me, it was the big matter of my mental health that made me move. And that's very important.

[00:18:45] And being that you're young, you know, it's, it's not always fun moving, but you know, you have the ability to move and kind of go figure out where you want to be and what you want to do. So that's good. I have time. Like everybody keeps telling me, go back to Tahoe if you miss it so much. I'm like, I got time. Exactly. I got time. You can always go back there some other time. Just go have experiences and live somewhere. Like I would, I've been in Houston my, my whole life. I don't want to live here forever. I will.

[00:19:14] I'm going to move somewhere else at some point. So, but now that you don't live in South Lake Tahoe, have you ever considered changing your Instagram handle or do you just want to keep it that way? Because that's what people know you as. I did for a little bit. I think I was talking to someone and she was like, oh, are you going to, she's like, oh, P and, that's a little T-Trek more like P and W Trek. And I was like, no.

[00:19:40] Like it's just South Lake Tahoe is such like a big part of my, like my personality and who I am as a person. That it's like, I can't just easily, I just have a hard time shedding that part of my identity. So it's like, no. And that's where you get, that's where it started. Yeah. We're going to stay as SLT Trek. Yeah. Good point. Yeah. That's where your Subaru journey started. So it doesn't, I mean, that's, that's where it, where it came from. So it's good to keep it that way.

[00:20:10] Yeah. And it's recognizable too, you know. It's very recognizable. Oh yeah. So are you still calling your Cross Trek Blueberry Ice or has it morphed into a new name? Because I know when I was asking you about names, you had, there was, there was a few different things you had been calling it. But at the time you said, oh, right now it's going by Blueberry Ice. Yeah. I'm very happy to say that it has stuck. It has officially stuck. I refer to my car as Blueberry Ice all the time. My dad, my dad even refers to my car as Blue Ice.

[00:20:39] Oh, there you go. So I was like, yeah, we're going to keep the name. Yep. Dad approved. I love that. That name is kind of very, I really do like that name for my car. So we're keeping it. That's good. That's good. So with all your off-roading and moving to different spots, how many miles do you have on your Cross Trek now? Today I crossed 74,100 miles. In what year is it? It's a 2019.

[00:21:09] So I'm not doing half bad. Versus you with a 2021 with 130. 124. Don't put me up at 130 yet. I'm sorry. It's been a while since I've talked to you. Yeah. Damn, that's crazy, man. I, yeah, I mean, a lot of my miles, you know. One of my classmates has like a Ford, had like a 2014 Ford with like 39,000 on it.

[00:21:38] I was like, how? Yeah. I just drive a lot. I mean, I've been up to Madison, Wisconsin. That was the longest trip that I took. And then I drove to Colorado. I've been to Arkansas quite a few times because that's where my daughter was going to school. I think I went out to Arkansas four or five times. I've been to San Antonio, which is like over three hours away. I've been there a few times. I've been to Austin a few times.

[00:22:03] And then I was driving up and forth, back and forth to Dallas a lot over a period of years. But I just drive a lot around here too. I mean, and it's, I only have one car and everything in Houston is like, I live out in West Houston. So if I want to go to Houston, it's like a 30 minute drive. And so it's, you know, it takes a while to get into like downtown Houston.

[00:22:28] And, but me and my son love going into town often because there's more to do there. We love just, we love the city. We love seeing the buildings and everything. Like when we went to Seattle, we loved driving through downtown and seeing the buildings and everything. And that's like, that's kind of our thing. But so I just, you know, sometimes I'll take off on my lunch break and just go for a drive.

[00:22:52] But, and then now I'm driving about 70 miles round trip to work twice a week. And so they're adding up. Jeez. Yeah. Yeah. That's crazy. Exactly. I did replace my brakes at a hundred and, brakes and rotors at 122,000 miles. So that'll ask me. Didn't you just replace some CV axles as well? I did. And it wasn't even the CV axles that are making the noise. Oh no. Yeah. So I spent.

[00:23:22] Is it like a noise going over bumps and stuff? No, it's a noise that occurs only when I turn sharp left or right. And it's like a clicking noise, but apparently not a CV axle clicking noise. And it's something that I can feel too when I'm turning because it's kind of like a little jerky as I'm turning. That's kind of interesting. Yeah. So I'm taking it to the. Normally when you hear clicking through turns, it's a CV axle. Yeah. Unless you're someone like me with a locker in your rear diff. Yeah.

[00:23:52] I don't have a locker, but I'm taking it to the dealership tomorrow to get it looked at and get an oil change at the same time. Yeah. That's good. Yeah. I usually change my own oil, but they have like a special going on for like 5888. And that's about what it costs whenever I change my own oil. So I figured I'll just let them do it this time. Nice. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:24:17] So also, so when you were on last time you've, or since you were on last time, you've gotten some additional mods installed. One of them I noticed that's really cool is you have the F44 rear bumper with the tire carrier. That's basically what, like the same one that Milton has, but for the first or for the second gen. When did you get that? I got that in December of 2023.

[00:24:42] It was pretty much a late Christmas, early birthday present since my birthday is in January and Christmas is in December. So. Did you get it for yourself? I got it for myself. Yeah. Um, because I was starting, I was finally getting around to getting myself a full size spare after not running one for like three or four years. Yeah.

[00:25:05] So I, I needed a really good way to carry it and I didn't necessarily have the room on top of my roof rack to carry it. And it, it was oversized so I couldn't put it in my, my spare tire well. So I kind of needed a really good, I needed a way to carry it on my, my rear end. And while it is, it is heavier than like a dirt comm or a rigid armier or Wilco. I think that's one of the other like big ones. I think so.

[00:25:33] It is still like, it gives me such, it gives me really good rear clearance. And I just, I love the way that it kind of completes the look of the car, especially with like, if you're looking at like the side of the car, it really completes the look of it, especially with the front bumper cut. So I was like, this was worth it. Yeah. Cause when you were on too, you said that it was suggested to you to cut your rear bumper and you were like, nope, I'm not going to do that.

[00:26:02] And, uh, but you did. I actually did cut the rear bumper too, before we put the bump, before we let the steel one on. Oh, really? I did. I did the, the cut that like OC Turbo Joe had for a little while before he got his, um, before he got his snowworks bumper where he kind of, it was kind of like the, like, like a Viper cut for your rear bumper where it like, it pretty much just cut off my like rear reflectors. Yeah.

[00:26:26] And that was, that was pretty much it, but it wasn't, it wasn't like some of the ones where I've seen other people do where they literally just cut straight across. Yeah. That I kind of, I didn't really like that cut. It kind of looked really stupid to me. So, yeah. Was it scary cutting your bumper? No. Okay. Well, that's good. It was definitely not as scary as cutting the front one. Yeah. Well, that's good. But yeah.

[00:26:52] And, uh, I know that you had your rock sliders on, I guess like right before we got to Moon Rocks and you were testing them out, driving over some rocks, trying to hit them. Yeah. And you did, you were successful. So have they, uh, have they been working out and very helpful and have they gotten some abuse along the way? Yeah.

[00:27:09] They, they have definitely gotten some abuse since then, especially going to, when I lived in Western Washington and we'd go out to, to who you with these big, like, humps that I would constantly like, like, um, literally like beach myself on. Yeah. I use those, like, nail my rock sliders on, like, pretty, pretty, like, intensely.

[00:27:35] So, and just, they're also very helpful because for those who don't know, I'm really short. I'm 5'4". I can't really reach the top of my roof rack, but because of how the rock sliders are, they step, they, they are so, they stand out. They sit, how do I explain it?

[00:27:54] They poke out just enough from underneath the pinch welds of my car that I can stand on them pretty reliably so I can actually reach the top of my roof rack. So. That's a help. That's been very, that's been very nice. Yeah. That's good. And an added benefit to them. Very. It's almost like side rails, like for step rails. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

[00:28:18] And I, you also talked last time about installing an engine and transmission cooler. Did you do that as well? I did not. Okay. I bought a transmission cooler and then got halfway into installing it and chickened out. So. So. What happened with that? Um, just with like. Putting in the hosing. To the, to and from the transmission cooler.

[00:28:47] I, I've never done anything like it. And were you doing it by yourself? I have. My brother helped me for a little bit. Okay. And then he ditched me. And I was like, well, I have no idea how to do this and I'm losing light. So it's probably never going to get done. And it never did get done. It's mounted to my radiator, but it's not plumbed into the system. And I, I seriously doubt I ever will plummet into the system unless someone like pays me to do it. Yeah.

[00:29:17] Or bribes me to get it done. Gotcha. But I mean, I'm pretty, I try to be pretty good at not overheating my transmission anyway. And I have, I'm not overheating my transmission at all since. So. So do you have a gauge that you can monitor your temperature at least? Okay. Well, that's good. That's good. That's helpful.

[00:29:39] And then you also talked about swapping out your OEM control arms with RallyTech and then lower control arms in the front. Did you end up doing that? I did do that. Okay. I switched out my rear trailing arms and my rear LCAs for the RallyTech ones.

[00:29:59] And then with the front ones, I did the very popular Outback Wilderness control arm swap along with TSS fabrication, metal spherical bushings. Okay. Which should provide me with better articulation. I haven't really noticed because it's like, I don't really get out and do that kind of stuff as often as I used to. I've kind of shied away from doing it more and more. Yeah.

[00:30:30] But they still have proven to be a pretty good bushing. That's good. And it's not rubber, so I'll never blow them out. Yeah. So. So I think it's, isn't it suggested to do the Outback lower control arms if you have a lift? Like it's better if you have a lift? It's, it's suggested if you do it with like a pretty big lift. Like. Okay. Yeah. That's what I thought. Like two and a half to three plus. Okay. Which you can't really, you can't really do more than a three inch lift in the front on most cross-treks. But.

[00:30:59] Yeah. People are going to try anyway. Yeah. I still don't have a lift because I just, it's costly and I don't really need one here. So there's no reason to do it. Save those MPGs, buddy. Yeah. Save those MPGs. But I also want to, I do want to get, replace my lower control arms because I know that like the, the bushing is pretty, pretty old and looking pretty rough.

[00:31:26] And I know that, you know, I know it can take it off and if you, but you have to have like a press to get the bushing out and then a press to get it back in. Yeah. So I'm figuring I might as well just get the lower control arm and. I think that's what most people do. Yeah. Just completely swap it. Because then you got a new ball joint too. Yeah. And the bushing. So it works out better.

[00:31:46] And I'm learning stuff about my car because like all the, I would have never thought that I would have been able to change out my axles because seeing that kind of stuff, like, you know, people like, especially Milton and Carrie doing those kinds of things, like on the trail. I'm like, that just seems crazy. Oh yeah. And now that I've done it, it's like, okay, it's really not that bad. Like changing out the axles is actually pretty easy. And it didn't even really take that long either. And I got to do it with my son. So it was a lot of fun.

[00:32:16] Just don't turn into Milton. No. You literally go through like 34 in a year. No. Yeah. There's, there's enough, there's not enough stuff out here to do that anyway, but, but yeah, I mean, I, so I didn't really need to change out my axles, but now I have brand new axles. That's nice. Yep. And it was a good experience. So are there any other mods that you've installed in the last couple of years that maybe big mods or little mods that you didn't have before? There's not really many.

[00:32:46] I've kind of come to the end of what mods I can do to my car. I think the only, like the only other big thing that we didn't talk about, because of course we did the bumper and then the, the trailing, the suspension arm one. I think the only other one was my torque masters rear differential locker. Okay. Cause you didn't have it then, right? No. Okay. I put, I put, I put that in over during like summer 2024. Okay.

[00:33:13] So, and it, it has proven to be really, it's been really good. Yeah. I know that's helped a lot of people with, especially when you're trying to crawl along and go over obstacles. I know it's been very helpful because then it just gives you that much extra, uh, just traction in the back to push you along. Yeah. So that's good.

[00:33:37] I know one of the things that we talked about the last time was when you had gotten stuck that time for like four hours. Yeah. Have you gotten stuck since then? Not that I can recall. Okay. I've gotten, I mean, I've stayed really smart. I haven't really tried to get myself in any stupid situations, especially after that. Yeah. I've, I've been pretty good about not getting myself stuck. That's good. That's good.

[00:34:07] Uh, so I know just recently you took a trip out to Moab. So why don't you tell us about that? Cause I, you know, I've seen some of your pictures and stuff. So I, and I've heard so many people talk about Moab and, and say, you have to go out to Moab at some point. It's beautiful. I was even, there's a, an indoor climbing gym here that my son and I went to. And there are these people that had this little like coffee pop-up business.

[00:34:37] And I was talking to the dad and he was, we were talking about traveling and stuff. And he said, yeah, we went to Moab and it was beautiful. And like, you gotta go. So, uh, how was your trip out there? And how long, how long were you gone? And like, how, like, how long did it take you to get out there? Yeah. So Moab 100% lives up to the hype. It is insane out there. It is awesome.

[00:35:02] But, so, Moab just kind of started as a thought in my head two and a half weeks before spring break. Which was really fun. Um, I was talking to Enzo's whips over the, like, Enzo's whips over the phone. And he mentioned that next, this, this, like, and literally in like two or three weeks when we're filming this, because we're filming this April 1st. He mentioned that he was going to go to Moab with Carrie and Milton, uh, like in the middle of April.

[00:35:32] And I was like, oh, okay, that's, that's pretty cool. And so I just kind of sat back, you know, went back to whatever, went back to whatever I was doing. And I started thinking about it and I was like, well, hang on. I keep talking about how I want to go to Moab really badly. I've been talking about going, about wanting to go to Moab for like a year now. And I was like, I have spring, and then I was like, I have spring break coming up where I won't have to worry about school.

[00:36:00] So, you know, he's immediately went to the laptop, went to my laptop and started like writing out like a theoretical planner for this trip. Um, looked at how far of a drive it was. And I was like, oh, it's 14, it's 13 hours. I can do that in a day. Easy. Easy. And literally in 20 minutes, I had talked myself into going to Moab, Utah. Wow. That quick, huh?

[00:36:27] Literally, next day, went into work, put in my time off request, got it, like instantly got it. That's good. Yeah. So it was like, and then I sat back and realized, shit. Now I got to do it. I have two and a half weeks to plan a road trip to Utah. And finished term finals, which were literally the week before spring break. Yeah, that's a lot of pressure. Like literally had, like had my term finals. And then two days later, packed up my car and went to Moab.

[00:36:58] So, yeah. It was chaotic, but good chaos. Good chaotic in a way. So did it take you about 13 or 14 hours to get there? Did you do it all in one day? I did the drive in one, all in one day. It took me 14 and a half hours both ways. Well, 14 and a half hours to get down there and then 14 and a half to get back.

[00:37:24] Which the first day was kind of nuts because I was on like four or five hours of solid sleep because I had worked the day before. Ooh. And I got home from work at like 1 a.m. And I woke up at 6 the next day. I bet that was a fun drive. Surprisingly, I did not have to deal with road fatigue at all, which was quite the shocker because on all my previous road trips, I've dealt with road fatigue.

[00:37:51] So it's kind of funny to me that on the road trip where I'm on like no sleep, I don't deal with road fatigue. So, yeah, I left on a Saturday, got down there Saturday night. I stayed in Moab for Sunday and Monday and then headed home Tuesday because broke college student issues. I couldn't really afford to take more than two days off from work. Yeah.

[00:38:18] Without feeling like I was cutting my budget for the month a little bit too close. Now, did you sleep in your car or did you have a tent? I slept in my car all three nights. Okay. Which was fun. And did you go by yourself? The first day I was alone, Sunday I was alone, but then Monday I met up with my parents. Oh, nice. Which was awesome. Yeah.

[00:38:42] I got to see their new house, which for those who don't know, it's literally just a van because they're van lifers. So they bought a new adventure van that I had not seen. So they totally live in their van. They 100% live in their van. That is, that's really cool. That's awesome. And I got to see it and I got to see my cat. Oh, nice. Who used to live with me when I lived in Seattle, but I gave her up when I went back to college because I knew I'd never have the time for her to take care of her.

[00:39:10] So they, they took her off my hands and I got to see her again. Oh, that's good. So, yeah. But, uh, I did Canyonland. I went to Canyonlands and Arches National Park when I was there. And, yeah. Moab 100% lives up to the hype. It's definitely a place that I would recommend most people go. So, so are there like a bunch of like, I don't even, I don't know anything about it other than just like seeing pictures that people post.

[00:39:40] But is it like trails or there's just big open land? Like how do, where do you drive around there? Uh, so most of it, excuse me, most of it is pretty like open land to go. You just have to be a little bit careful that you're not going to end up on a four by four only trail because there's plenty of those down in Moab.

[00:40:02] Um, some of the trails will say like four by four recommend, four X four recommended high clearance recommended, which the, the two trails that I did when I was there, I did long Canyon road, which is where we had the. The very iconic shot of the tiny little Subaru underneath a big ass boulder, which is very, which is very iconic for a lot of, which is very iconic to a lot of off-roaders.

[00:40:28] Um, that trail was four by four recommended high clearance recommended. And then I did Schaefer Canyon, which was also four by four recommended high clearance recommended. Um, the very sad thing is I tried to camp. Um, I tried to get a back country permit, back country camping permit in Canyonlands National Park to see if I could at least try. And they told me no, because I was in a Subaru. That's not cool. Come on. Yeah.

[00:40:57] They have, they have kind of rolled back on there. Like where can Subarus go? More places than you think, buddy. Yeah. Well, you have to remember most Subaru owners are not capable, are not equipped slash don't have like my knowledge or Mountain City's knowledge to know where they can and can't go. Yeah. Like know what terrain they can and can't handle. Yeah. I mean, I guess that makes sense. So they don't want anybody to get stuck or hurt or damage.

[00:41:27] It was a little, it was a little unfortunate, but it's, it's understandable. Yeah. So I just, I just boondocked outside of Canyonlands National Park because it is allowed basically. And you can boondock literally anywhere in Moab as long as it's like a designated site, which is what I did the two nights that I was out there.

[00:41:49] And then Monday went to Arches National Park with my parents, dicked around there for like, dicked around there for a whole afternoon, which was even funnier because I ran into this, this very nice lady who told me about how her daughter had built out the back of her cross track.

[00:42:08] Like built her, like her own little sleeping platform and like a bookshelf and like a pullout, like camping, like camping, like a pullout, like camping table and cooks, cooking like kitchen. And I was like, well, that's pretty fricking cool. Yeah. So you thinking of setting yours up that way? A tiny bit. Yeah. I am looking at buying a fridge with my tax return this, this next, this month. Yeah. The fridges are definitely cool. Definitely better.

[00:42:38] The fridge would be so nice. Yeah. So like a fridge, like a fridge that plugs into like the, the cigarette lighter. Yeah. So what did you take out there with you? Like, how did you prep for it? What did you bring with you? How did you eat? All that kind of stuff. So I brought enough food for three nights. I have a little jet boil that I cook, that I cooked all my dinner on because I, my parents made fun of me for doing this.

[00:43:05] I ate canned soup because I just don't have, it's easy. And I just don't have the, the resources to be able to like, like I said, having a fridge. I wasn't able to carry like, sorry, sorry that you're vegan, but carry like raw meat with me and not worry about it spoiling in the back of my car and. Yeah. Stinking up the whole thing. Exactly. So I was, you know, I was limited to like canned soup for the trip.

[00:43:34] Hey, as long as you're eating. Yeah. I mean, I, I still ate pretty. Survived. You're still here. I still ate pretty freaking well on that trip. Yeah. But I took all my recovery. I took all my recovery gear just in case. Um, I took spare trailing. I took a spare trailing arm and a spare rear LCA that just live in the back of the cross jerk anyway. So it was, it was there. So no sense in getting rid of it. But I took, I think that's all I like, all I really took.

[00:44:04] I took what I normally take on a camping trip. Oh, cool. I took a bottle of coolant and a bottle of motor oil with me. That's good. That's good. The coolant is a funny story in itself. Um, when I, when Carrie and I, when Mountain Subie and I still lived in California, there was for some reason two camping trips back to back weekends where she had an issue with coolant. And then the next week I had an issue with coolant.

[00:44:32] So it's, it's kind of lived in the back of my mind rent free. Like, okay, every like long distance camping trip, take coolant with you, take motor oil with you. Cause you just never know. Be prepared. Be, always be prepared. Yeah. I did have, I did have a little bit of a paranoia issue with my rear differential exploding on me while I was out there.

[00:44:56] So I almost lugged along my spare rear differential and the axles that came with it. But for those, for those who don't know the, the type of locker that I have in my cross track is called a lunchbox locker, which makes noise. It's just the style of locker because it's an automatic locker. So it's just, it just makes noise. It sometimes locks up through turns and that's completely normal.

[00:45:22] And like a few weeks before I had gone on this trip, it was chirping a lot more constantly. So it was freaking me out. And then I kind of, but I eventually figured out, I was like, oh, I'm just, I'm just driving more aggressively lately. So I'd stopped driving as aggressively and the chirping and the clunking went away. Now it makes a noise when you turn. I know that, but does it also make a noise just when you're going straight or only when you're turning? Only when you're turning. Okay. That's what I thought.

[00:45:51] Like sometimes if you're, if you're turning a little bit like aggressively, it will kind of lock up sometimes. Like it'll lock the rear axle for like a second and then unlock just kind of like hard locking it. Yeah. And then sometimes it just clunks, which again, is just, it's just the style of locker. Gotcha. It's not. Okay. It's nothing bad. It's just making noises like most, like most offered modifications do. Yeah.

[00:46:20] I have noises that are going on that have been going on for a while that I still can't figure out, but. Yeah. And it's from off-roading. There's, you know, it's not from road driving. That's for sure. Mm-hmm. So what, what other trips have you taken since the last time you were on any other big trips or just even just small fun trips? Last year I went to, I went on an eight day road trip to Colorado for my 21st birthday, which was awesome.

[00:46:51] So. Yeah. You were going to Colorado. Yeah. I mean, yeah. I went to Colorado. I went snowboarding in Colorado. Like. That's awesome. Hell yeah. Yeah. But yeah, I am. I did a road trip out to Colorado for my 21st. That was like eight days long. Um, I went to Rocky Mountain National Park on that trip. I went to, I'm a huge Denver Broncos fan. So I got to go to Empower Field. I did the stadium tour there that I did. That's awesome.

[00:47:19] Um, that I did like six years ago with my mom, six or seven years ago with my mom when we went out there for an actual Broncos game. Oh yeah. That's cool. I went up Pikes Peak. Yes. Awesome. Good. I got to, I got, I only got to go like 13 miles up cause it was the top was snowed in. Cause it was January in Colorado. Okay. 13,000 feet. Of course there's going to be snowed top.

[00:47:42] Well, I was just, I was thinking because the last time we went, they stopped us because they had like this big parking area and then you would get on a bus and it would take you the rest of the like two miles or a mile and a half or whatever it was. Cause they were working on the building up at the top. Uh, but yeah, I haven't, I would love to go up there when it's snowing. It was, it was pretty cool.

[00:48:04] It was a little bit nerve wracking because you know, 13,000 feet, that poor little CVT and engine are not having a good time. Oh yeah. Mine didn't either. Put to the floor, put to the floor and it's screaming in pain. Like I can't, I can't. But, and then I went, I got to go offer, I got to go to what's called Rainbow Falls OHV park. A lot of the people out there call it mini Moab. And I went out there. Nice. Yeah.

[00:48:32] So it was kind of like a taste of Moab for me where I'd even like thought of going to Moab. And I went out there with Ruby, the off-road Subie, um, the adventure Roo and Enzo. Enzo's whips. Very nice. So I got to meet all of, that's when I'm, that's the trip that I met Enzo on. It's the trip that I met most of the Colorado crew, except for some little stinker named King of the Roo.

[00:48:59] Um, and then I went to Keystone, Colorado and I went snowboarding for a day because, you know, Colorado in January, I gotta go snowboarding. Of course. And I went with, uh, Paul, the mountain ranger, formerly the mountain Roo. Got rid of his crosshack unfortunately, but he did trade it, but he did get a Ford fucking ranger. So I'd say it was a pretty, it was an okay trade off. Yeah. Um, and then I, on my way home, I went to the Bonneville salt flats.

[00:49:28] I didn't, I didn't get to drive on them, but because it was, you know, middle of winter, it's not safe to have a car on. It's not safe to have a car on the Bonneville salt flats in winter. So I got to stand on the salt flats, a car did not, but. Hey, you got to go. All in all, it was a pretty solid trip. Yeah. Yeah. I love Colorado. I don't think I will ever get to top for a while.

[00:49:56] Not until, probably not until I'm making good money. Not right now, but. Yeah. I want to go back out to Colorado again. Also want to go to, I want to go back out to Flagstaff. I'm going to Flagstaff for Overland Expo, but. Yeah. I want to go out there and explore because we went out there years ago and a friend of mine had, he had a 96 Toyota Land Cruiser.

[00:50:20] And a lot of the places that he was going, I know that we could go in our cars, but it was, it's just so beautiful out there. Yeah. Oh yeah. I've heard of Flagstaff. Yeah. I've heard from friends that Flagstaff is very beautiful. Yeah. So with all your travels and adventures, your additional mods, and then of course moving a couple of times, what have you learned about yourself over the past couple of years?

[00:50:48] Honestly, I've kind of learned that I'm really a, like my parent, my mom put it pretty, like, put it really well when we met up in Utah. And it was that I'm, I take the initiative and that's kind of been the whole thing of my life. The last two years is if you're going to, if you say you're going to make it happen, you're going to, I'm going to make it happen.

[00:51:17] Like, take that initiative. You say you want to do something, fucking do it. And that's, and it's just, this car is also just shaped like what I want to do with my life moving forward as a person. So. Do you still not let anybody drive it? Nope. Nobody has driven my car. That's funny. Yeah. So.

[00:51:45] I don't think I asked this question that I could, because I was listening to it, your episode again, and I was, this is because I usually ask this towards the end and I don't remember asking it, but. Yeah. How has your Subaru changed your life? Or how has owning it changed your life? It has definitely changed my life. Like, I mean, I've met so many really cool people and I've had, I've made so many really good friendships with so many different people just because of my, my car.

[00:52:14] And that's, that's crazy to say that. Like most people, when they think of like internet friends, they're like, you need to get a life. It's just, you're just friends on the internet. They're not actual friends. You don't understand. And then you meet them in real life and it's like, I kind of know this person already. And you just like instantly click. Like. Yeah. And just going back, just going back to the like whole thing about how I take the initiative.

[00:52:39] It's like this car helped me figure out like what career I want to go into later in life. Wow. That's big. Just because, because I just, I love tinkering with things and working on my car was so much fun. And it's like, let's, let's go into a field where I can still tinker with things and like design stuff. So. That's, that's a pretty big thing. Yeah. To have that come from your car.

[00:53:03] And yeah, I mean, one of the best things about owning these cars and about the community is when you get to finally meet somebody in person. That's like probably the coolest thing ever is you've been talking to them, talking to them. Yeah. And then you're like, oh, by the way, I'm going to be coming out there or, you know, I just happened to go on some kind of a trip and then it's like, we got to meet up. Cause I mean, that's. Obviously.

[00:53:29] That's how I've met over 60 of my guests in person. Yeah. Is by, ooh, and I can add Travis to that list now too. Oh my God. You're never letting that go, are you? I mean, it's just, I don't know. So many people were trying to tell me like that I had to get him on. Honestly, that is a pretty big achievement. You should be very proud of that. Thank you. But. Not going to lie.

[00:53:56] I mean, I had so many people like saying, oh, you got to get Travis on like for a couple of years. And I'm like, I can't just call him up and say, hey, can you be on my podcast or message him? You know? Can you be on this podcast? Yeah. So there was people that helped in getting him on here. But. Yeah. It's. No, I was just, I was just thinking about the people that I've met in person that I've actually, you know, that I've had on the podcast. And just, that just hit me. I was like, oh, I can add him to that list. So that's kind of cool.

[00:54:26] But I know you said this before, but do you see yourself always owning a Subaru? Kind of. Like. Most of the time when I think about my. My Subaru. A lot of my long term goals are either. I'm going to either keep the Subaru as my off-road rig. And then maybe get a second Subaru. Like maybe like get like a.

[00:54:50] Like one of the newer WRXs or like find like an Impreza RS or an Impreza Sport as like my daily driver. Something that has a little more horsepower. Something that definitely has a little bit more horsepower. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, I think I'm. I can see myself owning another Subaru. Either a second one or God forbid something bad happens to my current one getting a second one. Just because I love that car.

[00:55:21] Yeah. Subarus have proven. Subarus have proven to me that they are very good cars. Yeah. Even mine with whatever's going on with it right now. Having 124,000 miles. Just. Driving it. It still. Drives so smooth. And it's still so quiet. Like the engine doesn't make a bunch of noise. Always. I mean. I just like. It still amazes me that it drives as well as it does. After.

[00:55:50] Everything that I've taken it through. Not that I've like. Taken it through like super hard stuff. But you know. It's not like it's always been on the pavement. And. It just. You know. Just. It's fun to drive to. Even if. Even if I am just driving it on the road. Yeah. Well this is a little segment to get to know you a little bit better. But. Who is Sierra? Like. As in. Describe yourself. You kind of talked a little bit about yourself. Yeah. Kind of the ways you think. But. Yep.

[00:56:21] So. I'm Sierra. I am. 22 years old. Um. I live in eastern Washington at the moment. I was born in San Diego. And I lived there for about a year after I was born. And then I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. Which is where my dad's family was born and raised. We lived there for a few years. And then moved to Tahoe. Lived there for 11 years.

[00:56:49] And then moved up to Washington State in 2023. So. Outside of. Off-roading and camping. I am. Broke as college student. And I like. Um. I like. Mountain biking. I sometimes hike. I do. Do some. I'm. I kind of still dabble in graphic design. And just kind of designing random stuff. When I'm. Not busy with.

[00:57:19] College. Yeah. That takes up a lot of time. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. What is a favorite memory from your childhood? Favorite memory from my childhood. Oh man. Probably something that I think about a little bit more is like. Man that is way harder than it should be. I'm only 22. I don't know. I just think of something that you know maybe.

[00:57:48] You did as a kid with your parents or something. Or with friends that you know just kind of stands out in your mind. Because it doesn't have to be like your absolute favorite. It just has to be like you know a favorite memory. Something that just pops in your head that was like oh that was really cool or really fun. Honestly going to Disney World with my mom was probably it. Those are probably some of my best moments was when I get to travel with my mom. Because we did a lot of traveling together.

[00:58:15] Like she and I have been to Disney World together. She and I have gone to Disneyland Paris and like Tokyo Disneyland together. Wow. We used to travel a lot together. Because my brother and my dad would do trips together. So my mom and I would just be like we don't want to be stuck in the house all day. Let's go somewhere. Oh that's good. So those are probably some of my favorite memories are going places with my mom. See that wasn't so hard. There we go.

[00:58:45] It took a second to get the cogs working. Yeah. So I know that you're going to school. You want to do engineering. Would you say that that is right now anyway maybe a dream job? Yeah. Definitely being an engineer is the dream job. Maybe though maybe maybe being mechanical engineer. Being a mechanical or a structural engineer is the dream job. Gotcha. Okay. What is something that makes you want to get out of bed every day?

[00:59:16] The thought that every day is going to be different. That just because you messed up the day before doesn't mean you will mess up this day. There's always a reason to keep on moving. Very good point. I like that. Yeah. What is something that makes you want to stay in bed? The terrible drivers in my state. Oh my God. I get cut off at least once a day. Yeah. So stupid. People just.

[00:59:46] Or maybe just rain. Yeah. I don't like getting out in the rain. I don't like rain. I'll take snow and I'll take snow like any day of the week but not rain. Yeah. Snow seems a bit easier. What would be your best bit of advice to give to someone about anything? Do not be afraid to fail. Very good. There is no reason to be like, yes, you will fail 100%.

[01:00:14] Not every, every, every time you try is not always going to be successful. So do not be scared. Do not be scared that you'll fail. It's all part of the learning process. Yeah. I mean, you're not ever going to progress if you don't fail. Because if you never fail, then there's just, there's really no, there's not like a learning lesson in that as much. Was there anything else you want to share before we get out of here? I don't know. There's not much. Okay.

[01:00:43] Well, it was nice catching up again. It was nice. It was very nice to get to catch up. Being able to see you at least. Kind of. Not really. Yeah. Hey, technology's cool. You know, you're states away and I can see you. You can see me. Maybe we'll get to see each other person at Overland Expo P&W. Yeah. That would be nice. In the official Subaru of America booth. That's right. Yeah. That's so exciting that they're, that they're doing it this year. Very exciting. Yeah. It's very good. Very excited for you, buddy.

[01:01:14] Thank you. Everybody, everybody at home, give this man a round of, give this man a round of, give this man some applause. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Come on. Yeah. That'll be fun. I'm looking forward to that experience because I've had so many people ask me if I'd ever been to Overland Expo and are you going to Overland Expo? And, you know, like the last few years, I'm like, I don't really have a reason to go. And Subaru is not there. And, you know, it's far for me. And so I'm excited though. But yeah, well, thanks for taking the time to record with me. I know you're getting school started.

[01:01:44] So it worked out well with timing. Yeah. Very much. I was nervous that we wouldn't be able to do it just because of how chaotic my, because I work full time as well. Yeah. Which sucks, but got to pay the bill somehow. Definitely. Especially with spring term. My classes are a lot more, my classes are a lot bigger this term.

[01:02:10] So I actually have a lab class that takes up like three hours of the day, two days a week. Yeah. That's a lot of time. But yeah, we'll always find a way. Yeah. And we did it. We did. All right. Well, thanks again. And it was great having you on again. Again. Yeah. Second time. So we'll hope you have a good evening. You too.

[01:02:37] And we'll see you around. Yeah, hopefully. All right. Well, have a good night. You too. All right. Bye. Bye. Thank you everybody for tuning in to another episode of the Sue B&U podcast. And thank you, Sierra, for taking the time to hop on the mic again. Unfortunately, you couldn't do it in person like we did the first time. But it was cool to have that experience. And I'm thankful to have you on the episode or have you on the podcast again.

[01:03:08] So thank you. If you're not doing so already, go give Sierra a follow. It's SLT underscore Trek. And for South Lake Tahoe, even though she's not there anymore, she's still representing because I know that feels like home to her. So anyway, thank you again so much for tuning in. We'll see you next Monday for part two of the series I'm doing for Sue B events. My guest is going to be Brick and he's going to talk about his role at Sue B events.

[01:03:37] So be sure to tune in next Monday for that. Thank you all so much. Much Sue B love. Raph. The Sue B and you podcast is hosted by Raphael in a closet in Houston, produced by Raphael in a room next to the closet in Houston and edited by Raphael on a computer in the room next to the closet in Houston with music by Luke Ruiz in another room in Houston. You can find the Sue B and you podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including Apple podcast, Spotify and many more.

[01:04:07] To support the podcast, please head over to patreon.com slash Sue B and you podcast. Once you join, you will have access to the discord channel and discord chats with other patrons. If you'd like to get in contact with the show, you can find them on Instagram at Sue B and you podcast online at Sue B and you podcast dot com or by email Sue B and you podcast at gmail.com. That's all for this week.