Sequoias To The Grand Canyon
In late August of 2025 the "Tree Fam" decided it was time for a another trip. By "Tree Fam", I mean a small group of Toyota lovers who wheel the undefeated and lesser known, Toyota Sequoia. These are a rare breed in the greater Toyota Community with the bulk of folks running Tacomas, 4Runners, FJ's, Etc... These rigs are sleepers for sure. Having now been adopted into this elite and prestigious community, let me tell you, these trucks are beasts. This soccer dad school bus shits and gets, powered by the indestructible Toyota V8 motor and has plenty of room all of your favorite activities. Diamonds in the rough!
Pictured Above... Berg's Tacoma, Brandon's First Gen Sequoia and Alex in his First Gen Seqoia.
The Way Up
We decide to opt for a back road from Flagstaff to Williams. A road I had never driven before and I'm always game for a new route. Backways are always the better option. It was a beautiful overcast and cool day and the roadside shenanigans quickly ensued!
Grand Canyon Airlines
Our destination for the weekend was the Grand Canyon Airlines Historical Airport. The orginal and first airport built next to the Grand Canyon. Founded and developed with the Wright Brothers this airport has cemented it's foundation in human aviation and American History. Legendary pilots and explorers such as Charles Lindeberg and Amelia Earhart both used this runway. Amelia stayed for few days and her plane was worked on in this very hangar.
The Airport
While everyone was setting up thier camp and getting unpacked I decided to pre-run the route solo and check out the site, get some pictures and video for content and connect with the site on my own. Holy smokes! I absolutely blown away by this place. You have to find your way onto the location by way of several dirt roads and a hidden gated entrance. The hangar strcuture is in great condition considering its age and The Forrest Service has done an amazing job keeping up the property. I circled the structure and walked out into the old runway, took some phots and clips and just soaked in the history... imagining the sights and sounds, the excitement and hustle of the ground crew and staff as Amelia Earhart was on approach. Amelia stayed here for several days and her plane was worked on in this very hangar. Reverberations that still echo...
Heading back to camp I couldn't wait to gather the rest of the gang and get right back. By the time I got back more friends had arrived and they were ready to see the aiport. We mounted up and hit the trail again. On this run, Alex was telling us the history he had learned about the airport over the radios. You could hear the excitement, awe and respect he felt as he told us about the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindberg, Amelia Earhart. I mentioned that sound never disappears, the sound waves just continue bouncing back and forth, less and less, forever. This is true. Every word, every sound, every note, reverberating forever. The sound becomes imperceptible to the human ear but it remains. The sounds of Amelia Earhart's voice, her plane, the mechnics wrenching, the media frenzy, the shear energy of the event. They are embebded in this location, woven into the very fabric of this location. The Spirit of Grand Canyon Airlines and the echoes of it's grand history.
"That airport holds a huge place in history for aviaiton. I'm gonna tell you right now dude, when you pull up to that airport, it's f**king spirirtual. You feel it!"
- @lrg_tree_01
The Horses...
As we were driving around to the secret gate entrance we happened by a groups of cows. Mixed into this group were a couple of horses. Two of which caught the eyes of everyone in the group. The radio chatter went up, "Holy shit did you guys see those horses?" ... "I've never seen a horse so beautuful!"... "Did you see the blue one?" ... We were stunned by their bueaty and wondered where they came from? Why were they here?
It was late afternoon when we arrived at the airport. The sun was settling down behind the hangar and we all parked our trucks in front of the hangar doors. We roamed around for a bit taking it all in. I wanted to get a long shot of the hagar with all the trucks in front of it so I had to walk damn far out into the old runway. The group all decided to walk out with me. The runway itself had taken on it's own character. It was overgrown with shrubbs, ant hills the size of a toddler and sink holes that couls swallow half your leg.
Took a couple of shots of the trucks and decided to get the people together for a shot. They all grouped up together and as I was shooting they were getting excited about something behind me, pointing and shouting in surprise. I turned around to see the very horses we had driven by earlier, charging down the runway towards us. It was quite a sight to see and I started to shoot the horses. First, two brown and black colored horses came in togehter. Then the blonde horse, a glowing yellow blonde that struck the eye. He joined the others and then together they turned to watch the last horse... as did we.
They grey horse. She was the belle of the ball. Absolutely gorgeous horse. I had never seen a horse this color in real life, let alone this beautiful. From what I understand a grey colored horse is actually considered "blue"... so, in strode this spectacular group of horses. I mean they came close. Close enough to startle me into thinking I should move back myself. But, I knew I should stay and grab a couple more shots. As I turnd back around and gathered my focus it was as if all four horses knew they were being photographed and posed perfectly for my shot.
And then, just like that they, all took off down the runway and back into the edges of this vast properrty...
