Tuesday, April 8:

Got on the road about noon. It was cloudy until Des Moines. Traffic was light, even through Des Moines at rush hour. About 7 PM was going to breeze thru Omaha but got shanghaied by Clint to do diff work. He called right as I was at the intersection of I80 and I680 and asked if I could stop by and help him.   He and his dad, Dallas, had been fighting with the diff most of the afternoon. They offered beer and a place to park it for the night. How could I refuse! Turns out they weren't even working on the Rubicon they were taking to Moab in a few days, they were working on Clint's Cherokee instead. They needed to get that done and off the lift so they could put up Dallas' Rubicon and put a lift on it before they headed out. (I know of no one who has ever waited until he last few days to do major work on their vehicles … ..) We got the diff done about 11:30 PM and wound up at Hooters (surprise) – hot wings, Cajun gumbo and beer at 12:30 AM – not conducive to a good night's sleep. Clint, a regular, called in one of his markers and the " brunch " was on Hooters! What made the whole side trip worth while was the look on their faces when I used a BFH to pound a bearing race on the carrier rather than driving to Dallas' place to use his press. Priceless! Camped behind their electrical shop that night.

Wednesday, April 9:

After a restless night (wonder why), made it to Grand Junction. The antidote was to drive fast (75-80) and play 6 CDs worth of country music. Even " the great nothing " (I76) wasn't half bad this time. Got some OnStar help through the Eisenhower Tunnel (yes, the PCS phone worked through the tunnel) trying to find a place to eat in Dillon. My OnStar service representative, Julia, was able to locate a delightful place in Dillon and gave me directions that even prevented me from going the wrong was on a one-way street. So I stopped on Dam Street with the Dam Jeep at the Dam Brewery and had a Dam sandwich with some Dam beer and was Damn pleased. The drive to the Junction was uneventful and I pulled in to the rest area for the night (it was posted " no overnight camping! " ) Oh well, I'm a tourist. Another very restless night.

Thursday, April 10:

UTAH! Left the Junction at 7AM (no parking ticket) and came through Cisco taking the river road to Hittle Bottom campground. What a great place. Parked by the river with thousand foot bluffs all around and spectacular red rock. Packed the Dam Jeep and took off for Rose Garden Hill to pre-run it. Headed up Onion Creek, past Stinking Spring and got to the hill. Waited for some quads to head down and a broken Jeep to get winched the last several hundred feet and made it up with only a 7 pucker factor. Chatted with the quad folks and a group of Jeeps up top and then took off for the Delores River overlook. Helluva scraping sound, clunking and very bad noises. Stopped, pulled off the left rear tire and rotor and found a loose nut in the emergency brake drum that had been doing bad things. Removed the nut and all was fine. (And I thought I was the only loose nut in the Dam Jeep.) Got back, had several beers and cooked a burger on the grill. No electricity here, but used the inverter, put up the dish and watched Tora, Tora, Tora. Got to bed at 10 PM.

Friday, April 11:

Got up at 7AM. Slept like a baby! Must be the Utah air! Fixed breakfast and noticed there was someone sleeping on the ground at the next camp site over (about 500 feet away!) Now during the day it gets up to 75 here (next week will be rain and cold, yuck!) But at night, with the low humidity, it gets down to the high 20s. So, does it bother me to be in here, typing away on the 'puter, watching the Weather Channel, warm and cozy, and taking a nice shower while this poor bastard freezes his ass off? Not one Dam bit!

This is so pretty. The sun is coming up and I can see Castle Rock, Fisher Towers and even Porcupine Rim as the rim cast its first rays (and cool shadows) on this magnificent land. Have to go. My Jeep has a slight knocking (actually rattle) and I need to look at that and then mosey to Moab.

It turns out it was a bad front U-joint. Replaced that at Hittle and shot into Moab, set up the motorhome at Canyonlands Campground, did some parts shopping and got ready to wheel. Been coming here for a few years and they know me now – nice feeling to pull and have people say " Hi Dave! " and chat with you like long lost friends.

Hooked up with Bob (aka Gray Fox) and ran Hell's Revenge. Saw a big plume of smoke miles away. Once we returned found no power in Moab. Turns out a big dust devil blew some 34KV power lines together (spanning the Colorado River.) They arced and started one helluva brush fire in the tamarisk along the river. This is a big area, maybe several square miles or more and the smoke and flames were intense. Towards dusk a lot of us went up by the old Atlas Mill site to watch the fire and flames would sometimes shoot 300 feet into the air. Came back, had a beer, chatted with John and Aggie (owners of the campground) and about 11 PM the juice finally came back on. I've been in Moab when the town was dying (early 80s), been here in 115 degree heat, in snow, in rain, watched a comet streak over the valley, but this was a first – really weird seeing the town so dark.

And NO, I did not run over the snake - just stopped and watched as it slithered across the trail and into the roots of some rabbit bush.

The trail was good. Didn't break anything but discovered why the front u-joint went bad. The front driveshaft splines are loose, very loose, so stopped by Moab Off Road and they will build me a new custom shaft in the next few days. Had a roll over on the Rim. Some guy went into a small hole and did a slo-mo tip. All he did was tear the rag-top a little. His wife (perhaps soon to be his ex!) was not happy. She called him all sorts of sons of bitches. Well hey, tipping and body damage go with the territory. It was VERY entertaining!

Later we were invited into a new off-road park at the top of the Rim. That was frickin' gnarly! I bounced and almost did an endo. Another guy toasted his rear end and had to be strapped out of some damn tough terrain. All in all, on a scale of 10, this was a 9.9 (would have been a 10 except for my sunburn … ..)

Thursday, April 17:

Took Clint & Co. on the Spike. Nice day again, no problems.

On the way back, by Gooney Bird Rock, a couple of mountain bikers were having mechanical problems,.   Clint and I loaded up their bikes and saved them about a 6 mile walk back to their cars.   Another " rescue?? "   An omen of things to come!

Got back and my neighbor's TJ put my driveshaft problems in perspective.   The Double Whammy did a number on his new TJ.   Oh my!

Still no driveshaft.   Went down to Spanish Trail, found Tom Woods, told him the tale of woe.   He immediately drove up to Moab Off-Road and personally rebuilt the driveshaft for me.   This was way above and beyond what he needed to do, however, he is/was in the process of trying franchises and he needed to understand what some of the issues were.   I think he understands a lot more now than perhaps he wants to.   At any rate, Tom, " Thank you! "

Friday, April 18:

Led Poison Spider.     Great time - great group of people.   No incidents.   And yes, you see almost anything out here!   What a kick!

Saturday, April 19:

Guided on Strike Ravine.   Another great day.   Glad I did this, since as of the writing, almost a year later, it looks like they are selling off the school trust lands and then the new owners are closing the trails.   The Helldorados and Strike Ravine are in danger of extinction.   I guess if they cannot close our trails one way, they'll do it another.   Bastards!

Easter Sunday, April 20:

Clint & Co. went home.   A group from back home came out and we decided to take a nice Easter morning trail.   Little did I know it would make national news!  
And now, for the rest of the story, go here, for the rescue.

Wednesday, April 23: Golden Spike

Nice day.   No problems other than being entertained by a group of Hummers who took Eagles Dare and got ahead of us.   They let us shoot around them at the Crack.   It was highly entertaining to watch them attempt to conquer the Double Whammy. One finally did, as I recall.

Thursday, April 24:

Moved to Goose Island. Headed up to Polar Mesa and enjoyed the sights.   Many old mines and " supporting structures. "   What a nice day.

Got invited to the GCSAR meeting that night.   Took in the video of the rescue so they could debrief themselves.   It was really interesting to see a whole other side to Moab - the side that has to dig tourists (and maybe a few locals) out of bad situations.

The video was a hit and they learned a few things to do different. Time well spent.

Friday, April 25:

Went up into the southwest corner of Arches NP.   This is a little known area open to 4WD vehicle within the park.   It's a large area, the view is spectacular and the wheeling was surprisingly difficult - I needed both lockers on one " hill. "   (Turning left instead of right would have helped also.   Technically, I wasn't lost - I knew where I was, just not exactly where I was.)   It was one of the best days of the whole Dam trip.

Stuck around for the annual Moab car show - should have been heading home by now.   Always wanted to see this and it was worth the time.   Sat in front of Moabila with Bob and enjoyed the show.   Especially the bikers who'd rev up their engines to deliberately set off all the yuppie car alarms. Sirens and horns all over the place.   You couldn't get better entertainment than this - well, almost!

Hundred of old cars, rods, bikes, you name it - cruising up and down the main drag until way past dark.   The coolest, IMHO, was the Merc that would shoot flames from the tailpipes. Could write a lot more but this whole thing is too damn long already.

Saturday, April 26:

Headed home.   Nothing exciting.   26 hours of driving and wishing I was back in Moab.  

If you made it this far through my drivel, you have an exceptional amount of patience!   Thanks! See you next year.