March 20 - Wed/Thr: The trip out to Moab was uneventful: 40 mph cross winds in Nebraska, 10 degree temperature (and fog), a furnace motor that kicked off (only when the furnace was on) and a wide load carrying hay bales that side swiped the motorhome and broke the mirror in Colorado.

Fri: A continuation or normalcy. In Grand Junction, noticed the right side of the trailer was a little low. Damn! The rear main leaf spring broke. Fortunately, Alcan was within 10 miles so stopped there, pulled the spring pack, gave it to them and 4 hours later they had a new spring, including a spare! 40 bucks! Arrived in Moab just in time to miss beer drinking with Dieter and his crew from Liechtenstein. Double damn!

Sat: Much better. Blue skies and temps in the 70s, but with 30 mph winds. Ran Fins-N-Things with Dieter and his crew. This was the first trail run when we started coming here specifically for the Safari over 10 years ago. Had a great time. Easy trail, basically RNR. Dieter made a wrong turn halfway through that would have taken him back to the Sand Flats Road. I gleefully corrected his error only after extracting a " fee. " After the trail, went out for a few beers with Gray Fox and his friends. Afterwards headed to McStiff's to find Dieter to collect on the " fee " he owed me. Missed him again. Damn!

On the way back we headed to Top of the World. This is a typical Moab anticline - a " gentle " drive up and then about a 1200' sheer (and I mean sheer) drop off. When we got there, we saw a photo op. Driving to the edge, knowing what was out there, was one of the most unnerving experiences - ever! I could not drive closer than that to the edge. All I could think of is " what if my foot slips off the brake " or " what if the brakes decide to fail now... " Turns out I wasn't the only one. Steve tried it - got about a foot further but that was it. Makes one think we're all kind of crazy - that is until we found someone more crazy than us.

One of the group came back and asked what those ropes were doing in a crevice at the top a couple hundred feet from us. After we laid down and crawled to the edge on our bellies, we saw a guy rappelling down the 1200' cliff at about the 600' level. It was then we decided we were a helluva lot more " normal " than we thought. Quote: " We finally found someone dummer than a Jeeper!!!! "

Mon: After the guys from Omaha dropped off one of their Jeeps to get fixed (blown head gasket), we went out on Cliff Hanger. There were a couple spots that got everyone's attention (like the 1500' drop off only a few feet away from a major obstacle) but all in all a pretty tame day. Sadly this was the last day I could wheel with Clint & Co. I look forward to the next time - they're a fun bunch.

Tue: Met up with Jim Dordaller and Dieter to head up to the La Sals for a snow run. The goal, as in other years was to reach Geyser pass. Moab is essentially desert but 6,000 feet higher in the La Sals, you're in over 8 feet of snow. I aired down to 4 lbs on the BFG MTs and away we went. With the low air pressure we stayed on top (for the most part) of the 5 foot of snow pack on the " road. " Only a few times did we veer off course, wind up at a 45 degree sideways angle, and have to winch out. One time was pretty bad and even with double lining, the winch still couldn't do it. That required some digging.

About a mile after Geyser Pass we had to turn around. There was an 8 foot wide area in which to do a 5 point turn. Mike walked out in front of the Jeep to spot. One minute he was there, next minute he wasn't. He got off the base snow pack and dropped about 5 feet into the soft snow on the side. We missed that photo op. All in all, we winched more times in one day that I have in several year! What a great time.

At the turn around point, noticed an axle u-joint cap was missing. Unlocked the hub and returned in three wheel drive. Got back to camp and replaced the axle with my spare only to find that the Currie replacement was mis-machined. The outer splines were about .010 oversize and the hub would not fit. After going through my vocabulary and cursing Curries, someone came by and asked " Having a problem? " Well duh! He did however find someone who had a small grinder and after grinding down the axle and then re-grooving the splines (yes, I indeed did do that!) I finally got the damn thing together at 11PM. Air tools, grinders and all. Thanks Curries for another in the long line of screw-ups! After 3 ring gears, improper ARB installation on both axles, 2 front axles, a front axle that was not made to my specs and now this, I'm convinced that Curries are totally hosed! I'll never, ever purchase another Currie product again - ever! Argh!

Wed: Decided not to run Behind the Rocks with Dieter. Want to get some time on the axle and have to clean up from the god-awful mess last night. Instead, ran 3D backwards. It's a low rated trail and was never on it before. It was fun and very scenic. What a day: 75 degrees and no clouds. There was some haze in the air from, of all things, a dust storm in the Gobi Desert from 2 weeks ago.

Thu: Gunned on the Golden Spike. Watched some guy drive sideways down the Launching Pad. He got 90% to the top and killed the engine. He coasted down, backwards, but panicked and turned the wheel. 30 feet from the bottom he wound up going sideways. Had about 10 people not grabbed on the high side of the vehicle, he would have gone over. It was so impressive I didn't even get a photo. He later did remark about still tasting the seat cover. Later, another person, who only had one hand, broke a rear axle on his TJ. Someone on the trail had a replacement and they stayed behind to replace it. They later caught up at the Golden Crack. This is why I like this hobby and the people so much. Someone usually has parts and will always help out. Also found that the trail leaders were on Upper Helldorado a couple years ago with our crew that was destined for South Dakota but wound up in Moab. Click here for that story. After 12 hours on the trail, got back with no breakage. Had a cold beer!

Fri: Gunned on Poison Spider. Uneventful (honest!) On the way back we ran into a bunch of drunk kids trying to climb up the waterfalls as we were heading down. Somehow I was able to convince them to let us head down before they headed up. It turned out that not only was this Easter weekend, but it was spring break for schools in three states. Too many kids, too much drinking (yes - in Utah) and too many accidents. Three kids even went off the east side of Lion's Back - non seriously hurt. Stuff like this is what's going to get a lot of this closed up.

Sat: Ran Moab Rim. Other than the leader breaking and 3 rollovers, it was a very uneventful day. The first guy had a bad line, tipped, slid and dropped off a 5 foot cliff. That made a hell of a noise! The roll cage was squished. The radiator was pushed into the fan but not broken. The body was, well, it was " slightly " damaged. He was a good sport. Took a high lift and pushed between the front grill and firewall to get the radiator out of the fan and then he finished the whole trail. On the " Z " , a San Diego cop bounced the front wheels of his new TJ once and figured it was so much fun he'd do it again. Went up 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 feet. Then he hit the brakes and boom, back and over. Got the windshield, hood and fender. Again, no one hurt. Not to be out testosteronized, he also elected to finish the trail.

After lunch, fearless leader Brent told people to go to the left to avoid a pothole that causes people to roll over every time, Soon as he said that, the guy ahead of me drove right into the pothole. Huh!? He got about 6 feet of air on the left rear. We told him to stay put and we'd hang on it to bring him down but be decided to drive forward and gently laid it over on it side. He did minimum damage, only nailed a little of the hood and the fender. However, his wife was pissed! Really pissed! She made some comments about him never listening. You know, these other guys did way more damage, but I assure you, he will pay a much higher price!

I thought it was just me, but after seeing a number of rolls over the years, once the vehicle is back upright, the next words from the driver almost always are " Anybody get a video of that??? " That was the case with the three on this trail also.

After lunch, fearless leader Brent broke a radiator hose and I led the crew up the Dome. (Note that no one rolled on my watch.) We also had some fun with the Great Old Broads for the Wilderness who were carrying brooms. Go figure. All in all, a great day, had fun and no one was hurt - only egos. Then on the way back I noticed the steering assembly was loose. This meant a 3 hour job to disassemble the steering column and tighten the bolts. Yes - I know from experience in the Oregon Dunes where the same thing happened.

Sun: Ran with Butch and Eve on Strike Ravine. Again, a very fun run until I played a little too much and rearranged the sheet metal a little. It's not true that I had to be strapped out. That's an ugly rumor! Crap - I did more damage in that little 3-rated canyon than I did on Upper Helldorado, which was only 300 feet ahead. (Click here for the Helldorado experience.) Afterwards headed out to Potato Salad to see what was up. Not much going on, except for the guy in the $60,000 Range Rover who kept trying to roll it. He came close, but didn't meet his seemingly intended goal. He did wear about $50 worth of rubber off the tires which was most entertaining.

Mon: Ran Kane Creek in two hours. Headed up into the La Sals to the Yellow Circle mines and looped around Slaughter Flats. Came out near La Sal so stopped to visit Dave and Debi. Two blocks from their house the rear axle u-joint went crunch. I'm getting better. Changed the thing in 20 minutes. This makes the tally at 2 u-joints, 1 front axle, 3 leaky axle seals (yes, I DO have one that does not leak), a blown fuse, a plugged air filter, and a bad sunburn. Not bad for the first week!

Tue: Headed up to Dave and Debi's in La Sal to drive to an old copper mine in Colorado. Spent a most enjoyable time rummaging through the mine, complete with bats . This was a BIG mine and we could have spent the whole day. It was a unique experience to wander through a mine out here and not glow in the dark afterwards. However, to make up for that, we did stop at a uranium mine that was in operation until the 90s and had a great time looking at all the equipment, boring (not boring) tools and old data sheets that were just left when they abandoned the mine. A day without breaking something is like a day without sunshine. In this case it was minor, only a plugged fuel filter.