(Near Bee Rock, Ozark National Forest) 170,000 miles give or take. Capable of carrying two canoes, 6 bikes and a weeks worth of camping equipment. And yes, the family still fits in it. This is my truck. She’s a bit beat up. Makes a little pinging noise when she’s not warmed up. Will go up any mountain (but not fast). A 1995 Isuzu Trooper. The only luxury SUV with a manual transmission. Yeah, she’s bad!
The kids used to call her Sherpa since she carried everything and always got us there. Wrecked twice, once by me, once by the previous owner on a trip to California. I have taken her from Arkansas on trips to Washington, DC and Canyonlands, Utah (where she was subjected to driving up a creek bed with water coming over the hood).
The urge to write about my truck came with the introduction of a new vehicle to the family. A brand new Santa Fe. We got the new car for future family trips out of state and it will be great for that. We didn’t replace Sherpa.
The truck will continue to carry stuff for adventures and take us places that no new car and only a few rentals would dare. She has a lot of memories in her and room for more. The new car is nice to drive, has a lot of features and will get it’s own list of memories. For now, I still like driving that old truck!
