Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Area BFE

Keith, Punkin, Charlie and I rode the RZRs over Strike Ravine to Area BFE, an area known for its extreme rock crawling trails. Fortunately, my RZR 900 XC made it look easy... <grin>



There were a few obstacles I decided to save for next year...




They even post a politically incorrect sign to let you know when you have left the property...

Friday, May 26, 2017

Day Canyon

One of my favorite signs in Moab is "Rockcrawling: an all day five mile trip". I think they must have had Day Canyon in mind when they wrote it. Although it is only five miles down to the overlook of the Colorado River, it takes the better part of the day to do it round trip.



Tuesday, May 23, 2017

San Rafael Swell

Sunny, Stormy and I drove our jeeps over to the San Rafael Swell to do some exploring and hike Little Wild Horse Canyon, a narrow slot canyon. Knowing that once we left Green River finding a gas station would be harder than finding an honest politician, we filled-up our vehicles which gave me the opportunity to photograph this sign...

Sure "sign" you are in the western states

We had to fire our guide as he kept getting lost. If Sunny did not have expert map reading skills, we would probably still be there. We did, however, stumble into some interesting sights/sites...

Ancient pictographs 

Old uranium mine

On the way to the slot canyon, we passed some awesome rock formations north of Goblin Valley...


Unfortunately, we were prevented from hiking Little Wild Horse Canyon by deep water...

Next time I will bring my bathing suit & water wings

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Fruit Bowl Part Deux

The last time we visited the Fruit Bowl, no one was there. Today, the slackliners were out in force and doing amazing, if not frightening, things...





Here's Stormy's video of the young lady above jumping off the cliff...


Saturday, May 20, 2017

Drone Crash

Last week I crashed my drone at the bottom of Gemini Bridges. It was in a location that I thought only someone who could rappel from the top could get to so I chalked it up as being lost and left it. Now the story of its recovery is a case of truth being stranger than fiction...

Stormy went online to a drone forum and left a post regarding my crash. This week another individual, who had lost his drone in the same area, saw Stormy's post and contacted him to say that they had found my drone while looking for his. He also mentioned that he had hired someone to rappel down and pickup up his drone.

Yesterday, Sunny & Stormy rode out to the Bridges to watch the recovery effort. As fate would have it, the man that was hired to pickup the drone was late and another separate group rappelled down and found the drone. After confirming with the rightful owner that he had not hired those individuals, Stormy raced to the bottom of the canyon and retrieved the drone from the group.

He then met with the drone owner and they exchanged machines, a win/win for everyone. Unfortunately, my drone was damaged beyond repair. Here's the video of its last flight and crash...



Many thanks to Bart Davis and Stormy for their efforts in recovering my drone.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Rainbow Terrace

Leyman led a group of three jeeps over Rainbow Terrace, a scenic trail north of Moab...


Most of the ride was quite easy, however, there was one section that made use of the jeep's four wheel drive low and lockers. Here's a Stormy Weathers School of Rock Crawling video that makes it look easy...



Here's my dash cam video of the climb...


Monday, May 15, 2017

Poison Spider / Eagles Dare

I led a group of side-by-sides up Poison Spider and then over to Where Eagles Dare. These two trails together have a rating of 7 which makes it an "entertaining" ride...

Poison Spider Arch

Overlook where we had lunch 

The "Unusual Suspects" at Where Eagles Dare

The descent from Where Eagles Dare

Sunday, May 14, 2017

Back Way To Sego Canyon

We drove the jeeps over to Sego Canyon via several remote BLM roads north of Crescent Junction. The ride had a little bit of everything...

Unique rock formations

Panoramic vistas

Old buildings

Ancient pictographs

Classic cars
(Stormy says he can have this vehicle up & running in no time - covering up the bullet holes may take longer)

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Strike Ravine

Stormy and I took his jeep down Strike Ravine this afternoon. Although it has a trail rating of 6, we made it with no problems in a stock vehicle; careful tire placement and a slow, steady pace was all that was required.


Monday, May 08, 2017

Fins N Things

Sunny has put together an excellent video of our Fins N Things ride...

Be sure to visit her blog at www.dawsongang.com

Wednesday, May 03, 2017

Educational Video

One way to learn how to navigate difficult obstacles in a Jeep is to watch videos of highly skilled, professional drivers...


Footage courtesy of the Stormy Weathers School of Rock Crawlers

Tuesday, May 02, 2017

Tower Arch

While Sunny and Stormy were giving family from NC a guided tour of Arches National Park, I went exploring in my Jeep. I took Willow Springs Road (BLM 378) to the Tower Arch and then Salt Valley Road (BLM 145) back to Highway 191. There was just enough rock crawling and deep sand to make it interesting.

Tower Arch