It dont hurt, it itches!

I know I know, you are tired of my grossed out fotos but tough, you get to enjoy them like I am! Wait, am I enjoying this? I don't think so. Fact is, it kind of sucks! It's Saturday and the color keeps getting worse and it really itches like hell. So, since I am such a nice guy, I am sharing with you! There really isn't much pain but the itch is driving me crazy. Other than that, the recovery has been going well and I really can't complain. Other than being bored to death this isn't too bad. So, yah, not a lot to write today. Enjoy the foto and realize I'm looking forward to next year and more adventure! Jeep on my friends!

My newest scar!

Good afternoon! I just got out of surgery about 3 hours ago and I figured I would write why it's all still fresh in my stoned mind. I got to the hospital at 7:30 this morning and all was going well till they took my blood oxygen level. It seems that my pneumonia is still hanging around. The 1st reading was 90 which is not very good. They decided to consult with my surgeon and see what he thought before they continued. He came in and I explained to him that it jumps all over. So he listened to my lungs and did the test again and I passed. Woooo Hooo! The nurse came back in and continued to get me ready. I got my IV in and was ready to go. They wheeled me in to the room and the adventure began. I did notice that the room was freezing.... and no music was playing. Most of my surgeries have had some great tunes on to help the patient, me, relax. Not so today. They transferred me to the operating table and strapped me down....... my legs and both arms. Some time during this, the Dr snuck in the shot. I commented on it and he said good night. That was all I remembered till I heard the nurse saying you're back. I don't remember the trip back to the room very well but I made it and slowly started to wake up. They gave me Graham crackers and Dr Pepper and then 2 percocet. They told me I could go when I got dressed so I began that adventure. Yah, getting dressed stoned, in pain, is an adventure in itself. But, I finally made it and I got to go home. I am very sore and I am betting its only going to get worse. I am swollen and it hurts. Can't wait till I get more pills.! Anyway, the foto isn't from today, but it does show a tiny bit of the mesh that they put in me. This foto came from when he took out my appendix. Well, I am tired and I think I will go watch boring daytime TV. Jeep on my friends!

Snow Dogs

Hi there! I know, you have all been wondering where the hell I have been, but I'm back now for a brief post on the last little while. Due to some financial setbacks I have put off any fun trips till the current crisis decides to end. Plus, I have had pneumonia for the last 3 weeks and haven't worked. Sux to be me. But, that's not the best of it. I was coughing so damn hard that I gave myself what is called an incision hernia. Where the Dr. cut me open to remove my appendix, the area around it isn't as strong anymore so when I coughed it ripped and now I have a nice bulge that needs to be fixed. Oh well. The weather has been crazy this year. We had some very cold temperatures this past week. It was below 0 a number of times. I actually had to use my wood burning stove to help my furnace out. But, we are saved from the cold now........ it snowed! We have gotten over 12" the last 24 hours. This was the first real snow the kids have actually seen and they love it.
They had a blast out front running and jumping through it. But like typical sisters, it turned into a fight. If you look close above, you can see Twinkie with her teeth bared. It was fun to listen to their jaws snapping closed as they basically tried to kill each other. I guess the cold doesn't bother them too much because during the time outs they just laid down in it and relaxed. As you can see, they are getting big. I don't know how much they weigh but they have to be pushing 60lbs. They are not as tall as Dazee was yet, but I think it will come. They just hit 10 months old and they are still crazy puppy dogs. Well, enough for now. I imagine my next post will be fotos from my surgery so stay tuned! Jeep on my friends!

6 Counties, 1 day part ll

Hi there, again! It seems that fall, winter and summer can't decide who's turn it is to be here. So I decided that since summer won the bid for this weekend, I should take full advantage of the victory. This I did. Saturday's trip was planned to see the old mining town of Eureka Utah and the ghost towns that are all around it. We got to Eureka at about noon and headed up the mountain on the east side of the town. Located on the foothills is the Chief no.1 mine shaft and business offices among other buildings. The above foto shows the mine head which still has the cable and machinery still intact.
This next foto shows the actual spool of cable that was used to transport the miners and ore from inside the mine. The interesting fact about this mine is that it is a "hot" mine. Where Park City mines are all cold, this one is actually hot. I know this for 2 reasons. Number one is that my grandfather worked this mine as a teenager and two, you can see the steam rising out of the shaft. In the winter, there is actual moss that will grow around the mouth of the shaft. I don't know how deep it is but by judging on the cable size, I would say its a long way down. The actual measuring gauge is still attached to the assembly but the markings have long since faded away. Behind the building are various other buildings that were easy to identify. There was a workshop, complete with a blacksmiths shop, a changing room with a shower area, a heating plant where hot water was heated for various uses and a main business office. I never knew they were back there until a few years back when I was able to actually get up to the site itself. It had always been behind a locked gate. After spending time looking around, we headed back down to town to browse the only open antique store. Needless to say it didn't have shit so it was a quick visit. Next we headed off to the southern end of the town and headed up into the hills to explore the true ghost town areas. This area is loaded with old mines everywhere. Most are either locked behind gates or inaccessible to the normal human who doesn't want to hike up a mountain. I took us to my favorite garbage dump to see what had surfaced this year. Don't laugh! I have pulled some killer old bottles out of this dump in times past so its always worth a trip to see. I wasn't lucky today. I did find 3 bottles that were 3/4 there but they don't interest me. I like the complete ones, purple and blue being my favorites. I did find a ton of broken ones and pieces but nothing worth keeping.
After the dump, we started to explore a few new trails I haven't ever been on before. The new trail led us to the southern side of the only current mine in the area. They are mining clay! They use it for make up and computer circuit boards among other things. While on this trail, the Jeep was finding every mud puddle and having a blast. We ran into a hunter on a 4 wheeler who cautioned us that the trail we were on was very difficult. Of course I said thank you then backed up the trail in reverse to make it a challenge. A bit further on we came to the mother of all desert mud puddles. I had no idea how deep it was but we soon found out. I had opened the sun-rider top up to the sun roof stage and that was a mistake....... NOT! We hit the puddle and before we knew it we were covered head to toe in mud. The inside looks just like the outside. WOOOO HOOO! Gotta love it baby! I probably wont be as happy when I have to clean it but what the hell.... it was AWESOME! Does it get any better????
Back down on the valley floor we came to the old cemetery. I had to feel bad for 1 family. Of 4 known children they had over a 5 year period, all were either still born or died withing a few months of birth. The west was tough on the people who tried to tame it. The above stone , though broken , was kind of cool looking. The detail carved into the stone was incredible and it would rival those made today. After the the graveyard, we explored a few more trails and then headed home. Some day I plan on publishing a coffee table book of all the ghost towns I have been to in the west. Will it ever happen? Who knows, but that's the plan! This cool stuff is disappearing so very fast. I would love to have a book that shows what once was. Am I crazy? What do you think? JEEP on my friends!

6 Counties, 1 day !

Hi there and welcome to yet another addition of my adventures in life. The title pretty much says it all. I did in fact visit 6 of Utah's counties yesterday. It began with my leaving home and heading to salt lake..... I pass thru 4 counties just to do that. I picked up L and her mother and we headed south again to yet another county. There we saw her grand daughter baptized and went to a bar-b-cue after. Once that was over we decided to take the long way home. This time we headed west and into county # 6. Damn, I drive way too much. We followed the road to Ophir and headed up the canyon.
I think I have told you Ophir is an old mining town that's still got a few full time residents. Along with 100 year old mining cabins, it has a few modern mansions there. We passed thru quickly and headed up the canyon. I took them to the end of the main road then we back tracked to the trail I couldn't finish last spring because of the snow and mud. We headed up the dry trail and began to explore the unknown. I'd say we went 4 miles up and came to a nice meadow and stopped for a break. The view was incredible. The reds and oranges and yellows were all over the mountain. The fotos just don't do it justice. It is just something you have to see live! By this time it was getting late and the sun was headed down so we did the same..... headed back to the canyon floor. We didn't see much wildlife except a few chipmunks and a few stray moo cows. I think the deer were hiding due to the fact it is hunting season here. But, the adventure wasn't over yet.
For as many years as I have been coming to Ophir I have never stopped at the cemetery. L wanted to so today we did. I had figured it was an old mining graveyard but I was wrong. It is actually a modern one and quite small and unique. As you can see, the tomb stones are beautiful and the site itself is interesting. Most of the burial sites have solar powered lights of some sort around or near each grave. There are also tons of nick knacks placed near them too. I found it very interesting to walk thru. Anyway, after the graveyard , we headed down to the main road and found all the deer. There is a farm at the mouth of the canyon and 9 times out of every 10 visits there are deer and wild turkeys in his field. Tonight was no exception. There was a nice herd of mule deer feeding on his crops. I didn't get a foto because my camera was put away by then but oh well, I saw them! Rumour has it that the mountains are getting snow Tuesday night. I sure hope not. I am not done Jeeping this year. So, as usual, stay tuned for more adventures. I still want to get to Boston Terrace this year. Jeep on my friends!

Dust and a new friend

Welcome to another adventure ! Saturday was almost a perfect day to Jeep. What would have made it perfect you ask? Well, it could have been longer. It seems that there is never enough time to go out and Jeep till you feel completely satisfied. But that's all part of life I suppose. The day started late due to obligations here at the house: laundry, cleaning, you know, stuff you hate to do but have to do any way. I headed up Logan canyon and took right hand fork and then the trail to Mt Logan. I had hoped the rain would have kept the trail a little moist it didn't. It was dusty as hell! Before I knew it, everything, including me was covered in dust. Nasty , yucky stuff..... but a part of the Jeeping lifestyle. The above foto is an unidentified bird that was huge. My guess is Turkey Vulture, but what do I know? Anyone have a clue?

The view from the 1st mountain you have to go over to get to to the real Mt Logan is as far as I made it. You still have a great view of the world and its so nice up there. This is a foto of the mountains looking to the southeast. The clouds were boiling up getting ready for an evening of rain. I just wish it would have rained why I was up there. It would have cut down on the dust. But, even with the dust, the trip was a blast. Gotta love any time you can get out of the city and play in the Woods!

While parked on the peak, I wandered thru the trees and met my new friend. This is Bill, but I call him William. He was going to every pine cone on the this branch and getting the pine nuts out and eating them. If I recall, they can store a whole bunch in their mouth and take them back to where they live. He was having fun and even posed for a few fotos. What a nice guy. On another note, Fall is coming. The trees have begun to change colors up there. Looks like we will soon be facing colder weather and the dreaded snow. I know I am not ready for it. Well, that's it. Enjoy your day and don't forget to Jeep on!

A Sunday drive in the park........

I know it's no where near Sunday but what the hell, it's the thought that counts right? Anyway, we headed up Blacksmith Fork canyon Sunday afternoon with the intent to see if all the people who said you can't go past the spring falls to the main road were right. The road in to the falls was quite lonely and we really only saw like 4 atvs heading into the mountains. Most of the traffic was headed out. We came to the turnoff and headed into the canyon of the falls. I will say it again that I am really pissed off that the Forrest Service changed the trail and took out the water crossings. We arrived at the falls and didn't even stop. The atv riders looked at us like we were crazy and we probably are...... The trail wasn't very bad at all and we followed it for quite a few miles. We came to a very beautiful spot and I decided to stop and take some fotos........ and sure as shit, the battery was dead on my camera. I have the worst luck. From now on I vow to check out the battery before I go anywhere. Sam had her film camera so we snapped a few fotos and moved on. The trail was still fairly good and I began to doubt the naysayers. The further along we got the narrower the trail got but you know me, it didn't faze me 1 bit. There was even a point where a high flowing spring was flowing off the mountain and onto the trail..... finally some mud! The river had also got closer as the canyon narrowed and we began to see all sorts of beaver dams and fish all over. It's like no one must ever fish there. Well, the trail got really narrow and we rounded the bend and there it was..... the rock slide. We had to stop and get out to see how tough it would be....... and being a solo vehicle, I made the decision to turn back. I will return one day and try my luck at it.... that I promise. Just as we turned around, a full size truck came around the bend and got the surprise too. He barely squeezed by us and how he got turned around I'll never know cuz we split! I thought I had scratched the Jeep but his truck looked like shit. I think he was trying to impress his date. Anyway, we headed back, stopped at the falls and played in the water and headed for home. It was a great day and as I said, I will return. Jeep on my friends!

Puppy Dog upSize

Hi again! Just thought I would up size or update you guys and gals on the snack cake kids. I now use Sam's old day bed for a couch because its bigger, and the kids have already taken it over. This foto makes me laugh because the air conditioner is aimed right at the couch and they lie there and sleep. Twinkie loves to lay there on her back like the dog in the Sprite commercial. I just have to laugh. Zinger is taking after Dazee. Even tho she is too small to do it, she loves to try to look out the front door window. I give her another 6 weeks and she will be able to do it. They both still have the teenager listening problem. Sometimes they come when called, other times they ignore me. But, they are getting better. They are also following in Dazee's steps by teasing the neighbors yappy little mutts. They love to run over to her fence and run up and down it showing them that they are free to play and her dogs are not. Ya gotta love it. Any way, not a lot going on. Due to some financial setbacks the Jeeping has tapered off to nothing, but it's OK. Its been too hot to go out and enjoy it anyway. Oh well, enough said. Enjoy life my friends and don't forget to take time to smell the roses....... JEEP ON!

A Sunday drive with the family, on Sunday!

Hello again! I should have wrote this yesterday, but, we got home too late and I decided sleep was more important than telling you what we did. We left the home front at 6pm and headed out to show Josh the Spiral Jetty. I had an idea the water would be very close to the jetty and I was right. We watched a storm come in and didn't get any rain out of it but we got a very beautiful rainbow. Kinda cool huh? Even though it was 90, the wind made it quite nice. There was even a lightning fire sparked on the end of the Promontory range. I find it weird that there was lightning and we didn't even have any rain or hear any thunder.
We all sat at the edge of the jetty and talked and laughed. Josh thought the jetty was cool and it was really nice to see water near it. When we first got there, there was a man from New York with a very nice camera taking fotos of the jetty. We sat and talked about the history of the area and he was impressed with what we told him. As soon as he left , we had the whole place to ourselves. And there were no bugs either..... it was perfect. Perfect weather and perfect company, it don't get no better!
The clouds were covering most of the sky and I really liked some of the formations I saw. I liked this one and one other but I chose to show you this one. All we need now is for the water to cover it again so it will return to the salty white color that looks so great against the blue water. It was an awesome day, but then again, all days when we are all together like this are great! Next adventure? who knows! I am hoping for the Boston Terrace trip but like I said, who knows? Jeep on my friends!

Birthday week!

Hi and welcome to another adventure......well, 2 actually. I took Wednesday and Thursday and Friday off to celebrate my two favorite ladies birthdays. Laura's was Tuesday and and Sam's was Friday. I had some unfinished business to work on Wednesday and Thursday but Friday the fun began. Sam wanted to go Jeeping so off we went to the mountains. We headed out to the mountains east of Logan and began our adventure. We headed up right hand fork and began to explore. Our first stop was Old Ephraim's grave site. Before we got there the Jeep found a mud hole and had to go through it. It had no problem doing it and covered everyone, well, everyone in the back seat! HA HA HA HA HA.......

We took a group foto and there it is. That is Josh, Sam, and Laura. Why am I missing...... cuz I am the fotographer! Woo Hoo!
After the foto, we continued on and ended up at Bear Lake to consume fresh raspberry shakes. They are sooooooo good! The place was packed so we exited out and headed to Beaver Canyon. We went up the canyon, saw the plane wreck site and headed out on a new road to see where it went. Did I mention we found snow? Yup, still some spots with snow. Go figure. The road we followed actually led us to Franklin Basin so we made a circle! We headed down Logan Canyon and bought an ice cream cake for dinner. We broiled some buffalo burgers on our new grill and then had the cake! It was great. I love a great burger!
Saturday morning dawned and it was time for a new birthday adventure. I have a friend who owns a few horses, so I begged her for a small favor. 10, the good friend she is agreed and woo hoo we had a good old horseback ride for the birthday girls. Myself and Josh sat on the porch in retirement rockers and enjoyed the moment. Her porch is sooooo awesome. I could have sat there for hours. Oh wait, I did! Anyway, the girls had fun and enjoyed themselves so it all turned out great! Thanks 10! The rest of the day was spent relaxing until dark then we headed out to Brigham City to watch the fireworks. All in all it was great weekend. Hopefully I have another great weekend planned next week. I hope it all works out....... it has to do with Boston Terrace....... until then, jeep on!

Another sad day

As most of you know, I have been following the brain cancer battle of Sadie Huish. Today the battle is over. She returned home to heaven after a long and courageous battle with a brain stem tumor. I would like to ask you all to remember her and her family in your prayers. She was a brave and valiant soul who's earthly journey was cut short. Reading the family blog over the last year has brought me to realize the importance of family and friends. Please feel free to tell your friends and love ones how important they are to you before it's too late. May God bless her and her family.

Traditions can be broken

Twinkie

Zinger

OK, I am here to tell you that I have broken tradition and gone with different names for my kids. All of the Spanish names I could come up with didn't quite fit them so I went with two of my favorite things. Golden cream filled sponge cake and raspberry zingers..... ummm ummm good! Since I can't eat them any more I will have a daily reminder of them. As for up dates on them, both are doing great. The trial to get them into the house is over and they walk right in anytime the door is open. They seem to be somewhat house trained too. I am thinking that they believe this is a big dog house and since they went outside at their old home to go they do it here. I have not had to clean up the mud room at all..... except for the ants. Seems they are messy eaters and the ants have found out. I think I have that problem solved now so all is well. Not a lot else going on around here. The weather has been absolutely rotten. All it does is rain. I am so tired of it. I have my trail cover on the Jeep each night so I can drive to work dry. It sucks! I would really love some 80 degree weather and a week to blow in Ouray. Now that would be nice. On a sad note, if all 8 of you now could muster together and pray for Sadie Huish. The cancerous tumour is doing all sorts of bad things to her and it doesn't look good. Though I don't know her, I feel a bond because of what Samantha went through. So if you could offer up some type of prayer or offering I am sure it would be appreciated. You can visit the blog at http://sadiehuish.blogspot.com/ Any way, I will close for the day. I know I am breaking tradition but what the hell. Maybe it's time for one of my own!

I am crazy

Hi there! This blog is a happy one. I know I haven't waited very long but I am crazy. I was searching the ksl want ads today and found free lab mix puppies in Logan. So, I went for it. Jake and I headed over at 1pm and went to check them out. I had originally told the owner I wanted the black female. I had a change of heart there when I saw how close the puppies were soooooooooooooo
I got 2 of them. They are both females and have distinct personalities. I swear on a bible the yellow one is exactly like Marley on the movie. She is the bigger of the 2 and the brave one. She has already learned how to use the doggy dog and totally trashed Daniels potted flowers. Crazy dog. The black one is mellow and kinda shy. She wont be as big as the yellow one but she is quite loving. She already loves to lay there and have her belly rubbed.
Now comes the fun part..... naming them. As with family tradition, all labs have Spanish names. I began with Amigo and then Rio. Now I have to come up with 2 names. Lucky me. I am open to any suggestions so feel free to let me know what you think! I miss Dazee like crazy but I really didn't want to be alone. So I got them. Call me stupid, call me unfeeling. I am neither. I just found two awesome dogs who needed a good home. Plus, I am going to teach them to Jeep. This is gonna be another great adventure!

Alone

This is a blog I truly never ever wanted to write. Tonight for reasons only known to God, Dazee May Dalmatian left this earth. I am sitting here numb. My best friend in the whole wide world is gone and it hurts. I don't know what I can write to describe how alone I feel. I am going to miss her. A huge part of my life is now missing.... and I wont be able to replace it. The only good thing about it is she didn't suffer.

Dazee May Dalmatian
Feb 1999 May 2009

Ouch Damnit

Hmmmmmm where to begin? Due to some recent pain I have had in my mouth, I decided to visit my former neighbor, MR Dentist. Former meaning we both grew up in the same neighborhood. Fact is, according to my father, when he was our paper boy, it seems my dads dog Spot bit him! So, I guess now he gets to exact revenge on me with his powerful drill! I got there and was whisked right into the chamber of tortures and x-rayed. He has these new digital x-rays that are cool as hell. The assistant took the shots and immediately they showed up on the computer screen. Cool as hell! He wandered in after that and began to examine my teeth. Of course I don't remember which teeth hurt so he stuck the little pick into every nook and cranny in every tooth. He was getting rather bored with it and told me he had bad news: I had no cavities. Well, that was said just as he started the last tooth. Oops. Seems that the last one he looked at had a tiny one right on the gum line. None of the ones that had been bothering me had any problems. So, since it was an appointment to fix a cavity he took out the big old needle and stuck it in my jaw. Ouch! I swear he put enough sleeping juice in there to numb up my whole face.
After the mandatory 20 minute wait, he returned to the scene of the crime and began. I really don't mind it except I hate the smell of a drilled tooth and the one drill had to be about 1/8th of an inch in diameter and it made my head rattle. Drives me nuts. So, he drilled it out and filled it with whatever it is they use now a days and that was that. My damn face was asleep and stayed asleep till about 8pm. At this point in time, my tooth now aches and its time for a percocet. OK, I made this sound bad but it really wasn't. I told him that I would write about it on this blog and he should read it. So if your reading it DR R, thanks! You are the best dentist I know! For those of you who need a dentist in the Ogden area, might I suggest DR Val Radmall. The guy is good! Jeep on my friends.

Play day # 2

Hi there and welcome to day two of the holiday weekend. I decided to take Sunday off due to the immense amount of rain we received and it was kinda cold too. Yah I know, I'm a wimp. Today I decided to head to the mountains east of Logan and run some of my old favorite trails. Well, to my surprise, all of them were still closed. I went further east and finally found 2 trails that were open and headed out. The temperature was about 45 degrees so I did have the heater on. The first trail I ran was the Beaver Creek trail. This is the trail to the old airplane wreck as well as the one I always see moose on. No moose today. I ran it into Idaho before I encountered a snow drift I wasn't ready to try alone. So, I flipped a u-turn and headed back down. The creek was more like a river and was over flowing in a lot of places. One thing I found very interesting were the beaver dams. 95% of them were holding just fine against the current. Kind of amazing. The foto below shows the creek going over the top but it holding. Dam fine engineers!
The next trail was the Franklin Basin trail. It was in better shape and I also followed it in to Idaho. The 2nd foto shows a cabin that is up the canyon almost to Idaho. It sits in a quiet valley and would be an awesome thing to own. My only problem with it is the location of the out house. It has to be 100 yards from the house. Now that's OK on a warm summer night, but, on a cold fall or winter night.... its gonna suck big time. I think I would invest in indoor plumbing and a septic tank. Just my opinion though. I continued following the trail till once again I came to a snow drift I wasn't ready to try alone. Someday I would like to find some friends who own 4x4's and love to use them. Oh well, maybe some day. I did talk to a Forrest service rep who told me the good trails wont open till they dry out. Its gonna be a long time happening with the weather we have been having. I guess I will have to learn patience....... yah like that's gonna happen! Jeep on!

TOPLESS

Hi there and welcome back. Today marked the beginning of a true 3 day weekend for me and the Jeep, so, I took full advantage of it and headed west to finish the trip Sam and I took a few weekends ago. We began back at the sun tunnels and took some time exploring them and the small ghost town of Lucin. Luck was with me today because I did not get a flat tire! Woo Hoo! I got to take some time and really explore both areas and see what is really out there. The sun tunnels made me wonder about the sanity of some people. It appears that an idiot or two has taken their ATVs and rode the tunnels like a circus act. The tire tracks do a complete 360 in all 4 tunnels. You would have to be crazy to do that. That's my personal opinion and I am sticking to it. Being a holiday weekend, I figured the place would be packed but it was rather quiet out there. We spent some time out there and really took a good look around. I got the living shit scared out of me while walking around the spring oasis today too. The trees there are freakin huge and while walking around one, I took a step and just happened to look down as I did. The ground was moving. After the split second for my brain to add 2 and 2 I realized I was about to put my foot down on a snake. I let loose with a yelp and jumped away as fast as I could. The thought of rattle snake was going through my mind and I figured I was gonna get bit. Lucky for me it wasn't a rattle snake but your just your common snake. It slithered off and I watched it climb into the bark of a tree and hide from me.
After that we headed back towards the main road when I noticed what looked to be the remains of an old stamp mill on the side of the mountain. Of course I had to explore this so I drove up to the top of the mountain and got a birds eye view of the remains. I am not sure what mineral they used it for or if it was just a mill to make base rock for the railroad. I am currently researching to see just what is actually was. After this, we headed across the valley over to the devils playground to see what was happening there. We went to the hidden cabin only to find it some what occupied. I made a quick entry in the journal that I was there and left. I wonder if the occupants will freak when they see an entry in it while they were staying there. HA HA! Next stop was the mine and I had came prepared. I loaded the flashlights with new batteries and headed in to explore I have often wondered what was on the wall in side this mine. It looks like melted candle wax of some sort but upon close inspection I have decided that it is dried bat shit. You can see it in the foto and make your guess too. After that we headed for home. The clouds had been turning black during the day so I wanted to make it home before I got wet. We stopped for dinner in Snowville and during dinner, all hell broke lose. The rain began to pour and I knew it was going to be a cold ride home. It wasn't too bad of ride but I did have a few problems with rain on the inside of the windshield. I had to use napkins to keep it as dry as I could so I could actually see out. We made it back to town, emptied the supplies out and put the trail cover on. So tomorrows project will be to clean up the mud and crap that is on the inside of the Jeep. Fun fun! All in all it was a great day. I am fried with a gnarly sun burn but who cares? Like I have said before. I would really love to have a job where I got paid to Jeep.Hopefully i can take another adventure to a special spot real soon... Until my next adventure, Jeep On my friends.

The answer

Well the the news came back sooner then expected. Fact is, it took less then 24 hours. And the answer is....... No Hole. Good news huh? Now as to what this foto has to do with it..... not a damn thing. So why did I put it on here? Just for shits and and giggles. Truth be told, this rock is one I call balancing rock. It just sits there. Half a rock and the other half is no where to be found. This is another one of the oddities of the Devils Playground. I ain't made it out there yet this year but i hope to make it soon. The last two weeks have been busy doing things other than wheeling but what the hell. Well, that's about it. Maybe next weekend. Jeep on!

UGH!

Today was my echocardiogram on my heart. I arrived at the hospital mid afternoon and checked in. I was shown into the room by a nurse who preceded to start an IV in my wrist. I have never had an IV in my wrist and it was kinda interesting. I have had them in my hand and arm but never my wrist. Anyway, I sat there and watched as the tech spent the next 40 minutes looking and recording my heart. It's kind of like when they do it on a pregnant woman to look at the baby, just this time they were not looking for boy or girl parts. It was interesting to watch my heart beat. After taking all sorts of measurements they sent a syringe full of bubbly saline into my vein and within 2 seconds it was at my heart. It was very interesting to watch. Now comes the part that drives me nuts. I am sure she knew what she saw but she refused to tell me anything. Thus the foto today. I couldn't find one that said no waiting so I chose the no loitering. I now get to wait and hear it from my DR sometime in the future. I hate to wait. It just freaking sux. Anyway, enough bitching. I sit and wait. And it sux!

once is NEVER enough!

Hi and welcome to a rerun of sorts. Yesterday was so fun I decided to do it all over again. OK, let me clarify the reason. The new tires preformed very well yesterday but my foot print was too small. Root cause, over inflation. The cure, air them down. So, I bagged the good camera and took the new phone.... long story there, and headed south again. At the base of the mountain, I aired the tires down 10 lbs and headed back up to Jacob City taking the main road. I took the main road so I could scout the Dry canyon trail from above. The trail was moist and that made for some dust free wheeling. There were a few tiny spots of snow but nothing like the march trip. I didn't even hesitate when I reached the trail into town. I plowed into the mud and went directly to the town. Once down there I played in the mud and snow to see how the air down worked. It was better, but still not what I want. While there I met Moose the Marmot.

That's a foto of him above. He was quite kurius about what I was doing so we sat and chatted for a few minutes. After about 5 minutes, he went back into his hole not to be seen again. The south side of the town still has a lot of snow but from what I could see, the Dry canyon trail looked ready to be run. So, that's going to be another adventure coming soon. Anyway, I left the tires at the lower pressure for the trip home and the ride improved drastically. Ya gotta love the time you spend out Jeeping. Not a whole lot in this world is better! I wish I could do it for a job.... now that would be KICK ASS! Jeep on my friends

Mud + rain + snow = FUN!

Today was my day to escape. It's been a long 3 weeks since I got to go out in the Jeep and play so, I did it today. Of course the weather folks said it would be a shitty day, and it was. I headed out to Ophir Utah in a rain storm from hell. It was pouring down like crazy. The highway was a wee bit nerve-wracking with all the water on it but I made it OK! The first thing I did was head up Ophir canyon to see how the new campsites turned out and of course, play in the mud. I wasn't disappointed. The road was greasy as hell and a blast to plow thru. While up there, I followed a trail I had never followed before. I left Jeep in 2 wheel drive just to see how it did. It was quite the ride to where I finally decided to turn around.
I came to a turn in the road that was high banked and quite muddy so I stopped to see if I should go on. Well, the moment I stopped the Jeep sunk into the ground about 4". You ought to know that that is not the best feeling to have. I'm up a narrow canyon on an ATV trail in my Jeep. OOPS! I threw the Jeep in 4 high and slammed it into reverse and headed up the side of the canyon wall so I could hopefully turn around. I am so dumb. Why did I ever doubt the Jeep. It pulled itself right out and didn't even flinch. The bottom foto is that stop on the side of the canyon. Notice the snow in the back ground? It was really a heavy rain snow mix at that time so I decided to head down the canyon and go over and see what was up in Dry canyon. The minute I hit the bottom of Ophir , the sun came out and it was rather nice. I headed up the trail to the mouth of the canyon when I noticed the purple flowers. I thought they looked great so I snapped a foto.
I sat out in front of my favorite mine to play in, which is gated shut..... you bastards......and watched the clouds come across the valley. It was so quiet and peaceful, I didn't want to move on but I did. Dry canyon is at best a dry creek bed and then an ATV trail. But yah, we all know I have Jeeped it before so blah blah blah. I went up about 2/3 of a mile , climbed a smaller ATV trail and parked in front of another mine. This one is even higher then the other so I just sat there and listened to some tunes and thought about life. It was nice to sit there, alone, and think about anything and everything. After a few minutes I noticed the storm was coming back in so I headed down and called it a day. I am happy now and think I may have enough in me to make it another week before I go again. Anyone wanna go? Ciao and Jeep on!

Good afternoon to my 4 loyal followers and those of you who somehow get guided to my page. Today is hump day and the supposed last good weather day we are having this week. So, being the energetic dude that I am, I headed outside to prepare the Jeep for a weekend of off road playing. Even though they say its gonna snow in the mountains this weekend, I am going. Piss on the weather and the snow. I need some "excape-age" I invented that word by the way. My last trip was not quite as good as it could have been so I need to make up for it and then some. I am thinking about hitting the Oquirrh mtns and running the power line road. I did this years ago in the old mean green ford and it was a blast. Since then, it has gotten worse. I know I wont be able to do all of it but I am gonna try. All I have to lose is my life.... ha ha. Just kidding. It's a good trail to play on and after I run it I think I will head up to dry canyon and take a shot at it. I am betting I wont get to far due to the fact it is on a north facing canyon so I am sure there is a ton of snow left. April has been a wet and snowy month. Even though a lot of ski resorts are closed, they still have snow totals that you would make you think its December. That's all that I have say for today. Just a friendly reminder to those who change their own oil......... don't do it when the wind is blowing..... it can get ugly. Yes, I know this for a fact!
ciao!

A trip to the middle of no where!

Hi and welcome to another adventure of mine. Today, Sam and myself took the yellow Jeep out to the sun tunnels. Now the sun tunnels are another Utah odd art work and is directly related to the Spiral Jetty. The wife of the man who created the jetty built the sun tunnels a few years later. They are set up to have the sun come up in one tunnel and go down in another on the bi-annual solstices: summer and winter. She built them out in the middle of freaking no where, as you can see by the fotos. The nearest thing of any significance is the ghost town of Lucin. Lucin was a stop on the original rail bed of the Central Pacific. It was important due to the fact there was water available for the locomotives. I really wanted to spend more time exploring Lucin but as we arrived at the tunnels, Sam happened to notice a tire was leaking air. Nice............ I tell yah, the tires the Jeep came with suck! So, we took some quick fotos and headed back to the parking area at Lucin. Sam showed me how much she has learned in her auto class by pretty much changing it herself. She rocks! So, if you know me, you know I hate not having a spare tire. We took some time to check out a little of the area, snap some more fotos and then we headed home. On the way home I decided I was done with the passenger car tires the factory put on the Jeep so we headed to Big O! Having worked at Napa, I know most everyone in the tire business here in town. I did some negotiating and got me some bigger, more aggressive, light truck tires that lifted the Jeep 2 more inches up. WOOOO HOOOOOO! I am so in the mood to go test them out but it will have to wait a week or so. It sure looks better. One oddity we found out there was another one of those odd concrete phone booths from the 40's. This one was actually in great condition and you could go in and check it out. So, that was today. Someday I am going to have to figure out a way to carry 2 spares like I did in the Ford. OK, that covers it. We had fun and we will return some day. Have a happy Easter all!