The Christmas Season is always busy but it was much busier this year.
Pre-Christmas in Arizona at Mom's.
It has become a tradition that we meet the weekend before Christmas at Mom's. It is much easier so Cody and Kayla can experience Christmas morning at home. Everyone had a good time.
Office Christmas Party.
The office party is always held at a nice location. LaCosta Resort and Spa was the spot of choice for 2007. I stayed two nights to enjoy the accommodations more thoroughly. I held a post party (as if we needed more to drink) in my room. About 25 people joined in the fun. Stephanie ordered room service since a few guests were in the mood for a snack. A few minutes later 20 large pizza were delivered. Needless to say, there was a little pizza left over = 17 pizzas? Room service, 20 large pizzas, ouch on the tab.
Christmas
Chris was home for Christmas this year. I don't suspect I'll be lucky enough to get many more of those. He does have his own life now ... Christmas Eve and Christmas morning were pretty typical. The day however was, different. I took Chris off-roading to a fun spot in Anza Borrego. We made a run up Lower Coyote Canyon. It's fun because you get a good taste of everything. We ran though desert, a reed-lined channel, and up a fun rocky wash. As Chris put it, "It's stupid, but some stupid things are still fun!" We had a good time.
Post-Christmas in Louisiana at Dad's.
Susan, Cody, and Kayla made the trip to Dad's this year. It made the event even more special. As usual each person made sure everyone had a good Christmas. Eventually it's got too slow down. We have everything we could want.
The highlight of the trip was Cody and Kayla learning to play in a slightly more rural environment. The open ditch evolved from a river to a lake after Chris and I constructed a cool little dam.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Halloween in Hawaii
It may sound like a strange reason to finally find myself in Hawaii, but Halloween in Lahaina is a blast! Jimbo, Cat, Kelly, and myself joined about 5,000 others for a little Halloween fun.
We rented a two bedroom condo about 500' from the beach. It was perfect. Jim and Cat make this trip often and have a few friends in town.
Apart from Halloween, we did find several opportunities to do some snorkeling and site seeing.
I'll be back!
We rented a two bedroom condo about 500' from the beach. It was perfect. Jim and Cat make this trip often and have a few friends in town.
Apart from Halloween, we did find several opportunities to do some snorkeling and site seeing.
I'll be back!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Mojave Road
Gene and I got to Avi Casino around 4:00 in the afternoon on Friday. By 5:30 we had lost enough money to end our gambling for the day. I made up for a little of the losses at the buffet dinner. It was great, crab legs, shrimp, etc.
We met the other 25 vehicles at the casino at 8:00 on Saturday morning. We were on the trail by 8:40, only 10 minutes behind schedule. That is a real feat with 26 rigs.
Saturday was a little slow but the scenery was great. I got a little fed up with antenna problems on one or two of the rigs, but I always seem to let one thing bother me a little more than it should. Today it was the antennas.
Camping was great on Saturday night. We had a perfect spot at an elevation of 3750 feet. That means it was cool at night. I was sure it was going to be miserable. It is nice to be wrong sometimes.
Sunday was a fun day of driving. We saw a couple of sites, crossed a dry lake bed at 50 mph, raced through a few dunes, and explored some very interesting areas.
The picture may lead you to believe the trip was much different than it actually was ... that was the only water.
See Adventure 4x4 for more news on this trip!
We met the other 25 vehicles at the casino at 8:00 on Saturday morning. We were on the trail by 8:40, only 10 minutes behind schedule. That is a real feat with 26 rigs.
Saturday was a little slow but the scenery was great. I got a little fed up with antenna problems on one or two of the rigs, but I always seem to let one thing bother me a little more than it should. Today it was the antennas.
Camping was great on Saturday night. We had a perfect spot at an elevation of 3750 feet. That means it was cool at night. I was sure it was going to be miserable. It is nice to be wrong sometimes.
Sunday was a fun day of driving. We saw a couple of sites, crossed a dry lake bed at 50 mph, raced through a few dunes, and explored some very interesting areas.
The picture may lead you to believe the trip was much different than it actually was ... that was the only water.
See Adventure 4x4 for more news on this trip!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Cracked Windshield, I'm Screwed :(
To borrow a line from an Edmunds review of the FJ Cruiser ... "Cracked Windshield, You're Screwed"
My windshield is cracked in two places. Small rocks hit the windshield on two seperate occassions. It didn't seem like either should have caused any problem. They did. Now cracks are racing to the other side of the truck.
There are articles and posts all over the internet about the windshield problem. Most talk of the flat, almost vertical placement being the problem. I think it is just crappy glass. Jeeps and other cars have had flatter winshields for years without similar problems.
Now for the real killer ... the windshield costs almost $1500 to replace, OUCH! My insurance will pay all but my $500 deductible. I don't like spending thier money either :(
My windshield is cracked in two places. Small rocks hit the windshield on two seperate occassions. It didn't seem like either should have caused any problem. They did. Now cracks are racing to the other side of the truck.
There are articles and posts all over the internet about the windshield problem. Most talk of the flat, almost vertical placement being the problem. I think it is just crappy glass. Jeeps and other cars have had flatter winshields for years without similar problems.
Now for the real killer ... the windshield costs almost $1500 to replace, OUCH! My insurance will pay all but my $500 deductible. I don't like spending thier money either :(
Friday, August 03, 2007
Big Bear
I met a group on Saturday morning at the Discovery Center in Big Bear for two days of fun. The trip was organized by members of LostKJs. This is their big trip for the year. A few of them made a run on Friday. I wish I could have made it up for that too.
The vehicles were all Jeep Wranglers and Liberties, and my lone FJ. Most of the vehicles were slightly modified. Most had lifts and skid plates but that was about it.
Everyone divided up into two groups. The first group headed for the more difficult runs. The second, mine, was heading for a less stressful day. My inexperience helped me choose to go with the second group.
We spent most of the morning driving down some very easy trails. They could not have been called anything more than roads that needed a little grading. Finally we headed down Rattlesnake Canyon. It was an easy trail but at least it was a trail. We got to run through a little water and mud (see the blog banner) and run over some rocky slopes. That was more like it.
Afterwards we headed to PioneerTown. I'm driving on asphalt, this cannot be right. It turns out that PioneerTown is a set that Hollywood used to make many old western movies. It is worth seeing but I am here to get dirty. After a while in PioneerTown 3 of us seperated from the group for some real trails. Real trails is what we got. We ran up and around Heart Break Ridge. I'm sure glad the rock rails were on, they were needed. I had a blast on this difficult run. I'm still waiting for pictures from Darin.
Saturday ended with a BBQ at AllJeep in Big Bear.
Sunday was to be more of the same. I was at the Discovery Center at 8:30. All the vehicles that showed were much more trail capable than my stock FJ. Finally StevesKJ showed up. We decided to go on our own run. Steve is going to show me around. We ended up having a great day and traveled some very difficult runs. We began by heading up Gold Mountain. We ended by going down Holcomb Creek Trail. We had an audience as we tackled the rock garden at the end. A few campers had gathered to watch as trucks passed through. I think they enjoy watching my nearly stock truck more ... more chance for carnage and much more scraping of the rails.
I had no idea that my truck could go the places that we went. I had a blast. Unfortunately neither Steve nor I took any pictures.
These two runs have shown that more modifications are needed for the FJ. Minimally I am going to be forced to get larger tires and a lift. I really need to get better skid plates as well. The thin factory plates took a beating this weekend.
The vehicles were all Jeep Wranglers and Liberties, and my lone FJ. Most of the vehicles were slightly modified. Most had lifts and skid plates but that was about it.
Everyone divided up into two groups. The first group headed for the more difficult runs. The second, mine, was heading for a less stressful day. My inexperience helped me choose to go with the second group.
We spent most of the morning driving down some very easy trails. They could not have been called anything more than roads that needed a little grading. Finally we headed down Rattlesnake Canyon. It was an easy trail but at least it was a trail. We got to run through a little water and mud (see the blog banner) and run over some rocky slopes. That was more like it.
Afterwards we headed to PioneerTown. I'm driving on asphalt, this cannot be right. It turns out that PioneerTown is a set that Hollywood used to make many old western movies. It is worth seeing but I am here to get dirty. After a while in PioneerTown 3 of us seperated from the group for some real trails. Real trails is what we got. We ran up and around Heart Break Ridge. I'm sure glad the rock rails were on, they were needed. I had a blast on this difficult run. I'm still waiting for pictures from Darin.
Saturday ended with a BBQ at AllJeep in Big Bear.
Sunday was to be more of the same. I was at the Discovery Center at 8:30. All the vehicles that showed were much more trail capable than my stock FJ. Finally StevesKJ showed up. We decided to go on our own run. Steve is going to show me around. We ended up having a great day and traveled some very difficult runs. We began by heading up Gold Mountain. We ended by going down Holcomb Creek Trail. We had an audience as we tackled the rock garden at the end. A few campers had gathered to watch as trucks passed through. I think they enjoy watching my nearly stock truck more ... more chance for carnage and much more scraping of the rails.
I had no idea that my truck could go the places that we went. I had a blast. Unfortunately neither Steve nor I took any pictures.
These two runs have shown that more modifications are needed for the FJ. Minimally I am going to be forced to get larger tires and a lift. I really need to get better skid plates as well. The thin factory plates took a beating this weekend.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Last Chance Canyon!
My 1st offroad trip was to Last Chance Canyon just east of Califonia City, California. The trip was organized by a group of Hummer owners out of Orange County (I think).
The trip included a wide range of trucks. There was 1 H1, 4 or 5 H2s, 5 or so H3s, 4 or 5 FJ Criusers, a Jeep Cherokee Sport, a couple of Jeep Wranglers, and one Jeep Liberty. I wasn't impressed by the capabilities of the H3s. The Jeep Liberty was impressive.
The day started at the Jawbone Ranger Station. The highlight of the day had to be the V-Notch. It was really something to see the H1 tackle the narrow pass. A lot of luck, a few scratches, and one bad ass truck made for a fun show. Most of the trails were pretty easy but there were a few semi-difficult spots along the way. I did get to use my winch on the first outing, and it was to pull an H3 ... the FJ didn't get stuck!
We did visit a couple of interesting places along the way. The first was an old borax mine. It is open in the middle of nowhere. Huge tunnels shoot off in every direction. I would guess that some are almost 700 or 800 feet deep.
The trip included a wide range of trucks. There was 1 H1, 4 or 5 H2s, 5 or so H3s, 4 or 5 FJ Criusers, a Jeep Cherokee Sport, a couple of Jeep Wranglers, and one Jeep Liberty. I wasn't impressed by the capabilities of the H3s. The Jeep Liberty was impressive.
The day started at the Jawbone Ranger Station. The highlight of the day had to be the V-Notch. It was really something to see the H1 tackle the narrow pass. A lot of luck, a few scratches, and one bad ass truck made for a fun show. Most of the trails were pretty easy but there were a few semi-difficult spots along the way. I did get to use my winch on the first outing, and it was to pull an H3 ... the FJ didn't get stuck!
We did visit a couple of interesting places along the way. The first was an old borax mine. It is open in the middle of nowhere. Huge tunnels shoot off in every direction. I would guess that some are almost 700 or 800 feet deep.
The next stop was at Burro Schmidt Tunnel. In 1918, Burro Schmidt started digging a tunnel into the mountain behind his house. It was to be a shortcut. A shortcut to nowhere? He spent 38 years, primarily digging with a hammer a chisel. The tunnel is almost 1/2 mile long and comes out the other side of the granite mountain. His shortcut to nowhere completed. Burro was one crazy old coot.
After a long day of fun a few of us headed to Toots and Bondage's (Adventuere 4x4 handles) house for a BBQ. They were extremely nice. A red piece of meat, some good conversation, and a 3 hour drive and I was home.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
FJ Cruiser Statistics
Black 2007 FJ Cruiser
3" Body Lift, 33"Tires
Moto Metal Chrome Wheels
AllPro Skid Plates
Lucrum Front Bumper, 8500 lb winch
Locking Rear Differential
Traction Assist
3" Body Lift, 33"Tires
Moto Metal Chrome Wheels
AllPro Skid Plates
Lucrum Front Bumper, 8500 lb winch
Locking Rear Differential
Traction Assist
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