Farewell to a loyal friend in the Jeep Renegade Trailhawk
It is the end of an era in vehicle ownership for me, as I have had the last adventure in my beloved Jeep Renegade Trailhawk. What started in March of 2019 and took me on 73,000 miles all over New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, comes to a conclusion in February 2022. In all those miles the Jeep never let me down once, not on road or offroad. It is very bittersweet selling it, just like it was selling the Mazda3 I had before the Jeep. I guess this is the way it goes. In the last two months though, the Jeep went out in style driving on the national seashore in Corpus Christi, up to the top of a mountain in Tucson, and on the snow in Valles Caldera National Preserve with four people and three dogs in it! Just like the Mazda3 got me and Kiki out of Florida, and the Jeep was at the heart of desert adventure in New Mexico, perhaps the next vehicle will take us to the completion of our journey all the way to where the Road meets the Sea.
What it takes to navigate 10 miles offroad where no roads go
This week I made my second trip this month to the El Morro area of Cibola County, New Mexico on a rural land real estate shoot for Hemingway Land. Regular followers of Jason Collin Photography will note that rural land photography is a frequent, and large part of my business. However, I never really detail all that it involves logistically, and then physically, to do a shoot like this that takes me 10+ miles down poorly maintained dirt roads in my Jeep Renegade Trailhawk.
Back in Deming, New Mexico exploring both east and west of the Florida Mountains out on a rural land real estate photography shoot for Hemingway Land Company, my Jeep Renegade Trailhawk took me miles off road dodging tumbleweeds and avoiding thorny bushes. In a total of 6 hours in the desert over two days, I saw no human, just a few jack rabbits and a coyote. It was great! It was definitely a New Mexico True experience.
My rural land real estate work took me out to Valencia County again, but instead of being south between Las Lunas and Belen somewhere, this time I was 45+ minutes west of Albuquerque down I-40. Apparently, Valencia is a very big county! Mother Nature cooperated very well this evening producing fantastic skies with plenty of clouds. It was very, very windy at this property, but it was still a very peaceful and scenic work place for me for the evening. As always, my trusty Jeep Renegade Trailhawk got me down the dirt roads to reach this remote location.
Out on assignment for Hemingway Land in Las Cruces, New Mexico, miles of dirt road took me to an isolated, but beautiful rural desert real estate property with great views of the Organ Mountains. In fact mountains highlighted the views to the west and the north as well. I was actually right in this same remote section of desert in May for another even harder to reach property. I was relieved to discover the washed out road with deep ruts was now mostly filled in with chalky dirt that covered myself and my Jeep nearly entirely. I had to be extra careful to keep my cameras and my drone clean!
On a recent rural land real estate photo trip to Las Cruces I returned to an area I was in just six weeks earlier. Reaching that rural land property was some of the hardest offroad driving I have had to do in New Mexico. Checking the maps I knew the recent property would require the exact same troublesome washed out, dirt road. However, the desert is an ever changing landscape and this time the road was totally different. Gone were the washed out foot wide gaps, filled in by a chalky sand. This became its own hazard as the chalky sand was inches deep and I had to switch to “sand” traction mode to get through the deeper sections!
I have now had my Jeep Renegade Trailhawk for one year. It has become as integral a part of my photography business as anything in my camera bag. I put almost exactly 20,000 miles on it in that year’s time! I regularly travel to all corners of New Mexico for photography work, often with the last few miles of each of those trips being off road. Switching from a compact sedan to a Jeep has allowed me to do more photo work without having to rush to get a rental vehicle back so when I am at these remote places, I can add on a visit to places like City of Rocks. In this past year the Jeep has also taken me through Monument Valley, Durango, Colorado, Phoenix, Arizona, and more! No matter where I have driven it, and what I have driven it over and through, the Renegade has not let me down!
