2011/05/31 - Tuesday - Dinner out

We went out for dinner to celebrate Eric's birthday at an Italian place.

We did a little shopping and back to the house to relax

I worked on some laundry.

2011/05/30 - Monday - Drive Home

I got up and took the dogs out for the morning duty.

I proceeded to get everything ready on the outside to get ready to head home.  It took about two hours to get everything put away.

The whole group was ready about the same time, so we left as a group.  We stopped for lunch on the way home (before hitting the freeway).  Lunch was about two hours.

B.S. and I stopped at the truck wash to get everything cleaned up.  The RV really looks nice now.  They broke a valve stem on B.S. Bronco, so I got my tool out and it took awhile but we finally fixed that.

Before getting home I was going to stop to get gas at Costco but they were closed, so I had to go to another station - what a pain.

We got home and it was a little tight to get the RV past all the cars.  We unloaded everything, now we have a very big pile of laundry to do!!!

2011/05/29 - Sunday - Games and Raffle

I was able to sleep in a little bit.

The adult games were going one, but I did not want to abuse the Jeep, but I did do the hammer pound (no jeep involvement) and I went ahead and did the articulation ramp.  My number was ok.

I came back to camp and took a nap.

I got thing ready for the raffle.  I bought my normal $50 and the kids $20.   When it came time for the raffles, the Kids got three different packages, while I got ZERO.......

Back at the campfire we had fun.

O as a note: my bent drive line was no where to be found - not sure who would want it.  Now I have to go under the Jeep to get the measurement to get a new one.

2011/05/28 - Saturday - Run Time

I had to get up early to be at the Trail Leaders Meeting at 7:30 even though my run does not need to meet until 8:30.

I had my drivers meeting and this year we had a smaller group then I normally have.  Over half of my group was from my club.

We left at our designated time (9:00) and headed across the lake bed.  We even picked up another person that turned around from another group.

We made it up and down several hills, and now we were going across another valley when I got a call out that K.G. got a flat tire.  He was able to plug the hole and pump the tire back up to keep on going (without putting the spare on)

We stopped for lunch at the Copper Mine.

G.C. got off the trail a little to far on the downhill side and needed a little towrope to bring him back up on the trail.

We stopped at a guzzler and G.C. discovered that his track bar bolt nut had been lost so another person had another bolt and he was able to tighten things up.

We made it to Camp Rock Road and that is were a few people did not want to continue on the trail ride.

As we were heading up to the "lookout landing" I was informed that somebody got a flat tire and it was repairable by a few plugs.

We finally made it to the landing to enjoy the view.

We did the lower loop we got back to camp at a good time.

Later that night I went and watched the Best Equipment Game.

At the end of the game it was time for my night run.

As we started on the run, we headed across the lake bed, but I was really getting nervous about not finding the route.  But we finally found a land mark and we then found the correct path.

When we got to the waterfall, two people selected to tackle that route.  The first guy needed three winches and a high lift to extract him from the waterfall and about an hour.  The second guy was able to power through it with only a little rash on is finder flair.

The ride back to camp was uneventful.

I joined the group around the campfire and relaxed before heading to bed.

2011/05/27 - Friday - Another Pre-Run Day

We started on our pre-run, I wanted to tackle the waterfall that I noticed from yesterday.  So I tried several lines but I kept hitting something underneath the Jeep (thinking it was the cross member).  The line that allowed me to climb up was on the far right.

Amanda did most of the driving (other then the waterfall), when we got to the power line road the Jeep would begin to vibrate like a really bad wash board, so I told Amanda to keep it at 15 mph. 

As we were approaching the copper mine, I was told to stop, because a Jeep had a problem.  G.C. Jeep's power steering pump return line attachment broke from the reservoir,  so a fix was derived and now we are heading back to camp.

When I got up to 20 mph the Jeep felt like it was on a bad washboard road again and we weren't.  So I stopped and looked under the Jeep.  Well my drive line had some bad marks on it and it was bent, so the harmonics was causing the Jeep to vibrate.  So it was a very slow drive back to camp.

At camp, D.B. had to fix his shock - the top of the front passenger side shock came out of the attachment point - so he had to find a big washer to reattach it to the Jeep.

G.C. worked on his Jeep removing his power steering pump, while I worked on putting my spare drive line in.  Thanks to P.J. for helping fix my Jeep!!!!!!

Now it was time to head out and test my fix.  Off we went to the "lookout landing" on the East Ord Mountain.  The drive line felt good.

Once we  reached the "lookout landing" we did our normal view looking.  We also noticed that K.G. hub bolts where coming loose, so he tightened them up.

We went up to the next mine shaft and explored that one.

We drove around the other mines on the lower loop also.

We returned back to camp and enjoyed the evening around the camp fire.

2011/05/26 - Thursday - Pre-run

I waited in the morning for the group that was coming out to do main camp setup.  I did get a call to see if I would help determine the location for the port-ta potties - so I did that.

Finally somebody (C&A.S.) was at main camp, so I no longer had to worry about setting it up.

We had our lunch and I lead three of us out on the trail that I will be leading on Saturday.  In two places I am not sure about the track that I want to do, but tomorrow I want to go do that track again to make sure it works.

K&S. G. came into camp with a broken leaf spring on their travel trailer - so by the time we got things torn apart no store was open, so tomorrow they get to go try to find a new leaf spring.

And several more people arrived at camp - so by the time it was time for bed, we had 8 different groups of family around the camp circle.

O and the wind has been bad all day - no letup on that front!

2011/05/25 - Wednesday - Going Camping

I got up my normal time for work.  I work on finishing the laundry and finished packing the RV and Jeep "Blue".

We (Amanda and I) left a little after 9:30, but are first stop was at Fresh and Easy to get some meat.

Traffic was really good, We stopped at McDonald's for lunch on Bear Vally Road (near the Mojave River).

I stopped at Lucerne for gas for the RV, Jeep and the extra containers - that was over $150 worth of gas!!!

The dirt road was not smooth enough for the RV, so I was done to about 15 mph on the main dirt road and getting into the camp location was interesting, but at least I did not scrape the RV on any dips.

I got camp setup and the wind has been blowing none stop. 

I got a call that two people were lost and if I could give them direction so I did that, in fact one of them is going to camp with the Dirt Devils. 

It was nice sitting around the camp fire enjoying the evening. 

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Not sure about the following few days, I will try to post, but if not, I will try to catchup on the posting when we get home.

2011/05/24 - Tuesday - Getting Ready?

I got the Jeep and RV mostly ready for this weekend HDR event.  I am going to leave tomorrow and help in camp setup for the event. 

I still have a few things to put into the RV before I leave.

I have few phone calls that I need to make when I am on the road and when I get to camp.

2011/05/06 - Friday - Pictures

I have finally have got all the photos uploaded and copied over to the NAS so they are backed up.

I got  a phone call regarding HDR, I am planning to be out on Wednesday, but since I am going out a little early, I am going to help with camp setup - o well, what ever is needed to make sure the event goes ok.  I thing I did get from the phone call was the location of the main camp, so I know where we will be for camp.

2009/05/20 – Wednesday – Jelly Arms

Today is my third day of furlough. We all took our time to get up, eat breakfast. We did things on the computer and then it was time for lunch.

CJ and I took the trailer that had all the signs and went and placed all the road sign (4 small one and 1 big one.) I did get a minor blister in my palm trying to secure the small signs.

One of the vendors showed up, so I placed him in the main camp area on the Northeast corner (hopefully I put him in the correct place)

After dinner (Amanda made it – Thanks!); CJ and I put up the Ranch Sign and the East and most of the South stakes. We still need to do more stakes, but we totally ran out of light and were doing some of them in the dark. O man my arms are really sore – and we need to do more.

I got a phone call from Mom M and we talked for little while.

I some how did not take any pictures today – bummers.

2009/05/19 – Tuesday – Shopping and Relaxing

Another day off on Furlough – I still got up at normal time like I was going to work – I don’t know about that….

We all ate breakfast and we did a little research on some Geo Cache and around noon we finally got ready for leave.

First stop, Slash-X – It was Closed! hmmm don’t know why.

We stopped at the National Park Service for the Mojave Preserve and looked around – it is small but has a good map display.

Now in town we stopped at Home Depot to get a few things (stakes, ribbon, and batteries), next it was time for Lunch at IHOP.  We then stopped at Vons to get a few other items and replenish.

We stopped at Flying J’s to refuel, and did two Geo Cache that was really close to the road.

“Blue” needs some tlc, so I am going to take it easy this week.

Amanda did cook dinner tonight and I started the fire to relax at for the evening.

We did have two campers (one group) come in today, but they did camp a little bit away.

CJ wanted to do the telescope, so I got it out and set it up for him.

Now the fire has died down and I am leaving what little wood I have left for tomorrow.

2009/05/18 – Monday – Interesting Weather

We all slept in a little today.  We had clouds this morning so it slowly warmed up. 

We did not go anywhere today – it has turned out to be another do nothing day.

I did make and received a few phone calls.  Worked on the computer, ready bogs and just enjoying a relaxing furlough day.  I did get invited to go with a group to dinner on Thursday night – so of course I said yes.

Sometime in the afternoon, I  noticed in the distant that it looked like rain.  The rain and the wind made for some very interesting dust storm.  We only got a few drops hitting the side of the RV (wind driving the drops.)

We only had four different people pass by today – two different motorcycle couple, and two different vehicles – Nobody stopped.

The cats are doing ok – Amber still will hiss at Moonstone, but Moonstone and Pearl do play together a little bit.  Turquoise does play with Moonstone, in fact, Moonstone will lay down and curl up on Turquoise – I will try to get a picture next time he does that.

I did get the Jeep “Blue” cleaned up inside and got all my stuff organized in the back.  I may regret for not getting everything that I normally carry, but time will tell.  I did check my fluids and I had to put water and some oil in to top things off.

I think tomorrow we will run into town to get a few things.

I wrote this out by the fire – it is a little windy but still nice to sit out side.

We had a late night visitor – He dropped off a few things for the Cafe.

2009/05/17 – Sunday – And Now No One Is Here

I and the kids got up late.  I did turn the generator on, in the hopes to keeping the RV cool during the day.

All of us did play on the internet most of the day.  We watched several DVD’s all through out the day.

I even got a nap in a little bit in the afternoon, so that was really nice.

The other group packed up; so we are the only ones out here at the HDR camp.

I noticed from my emails and twitter that home had an earthquake – 4.7,  Cheryl felt it and a few things moved around but no damage – which is good

I am out by the fire doing more internet stuff this evening.

Maybe tomorrow, we will be more productive.

2009/05/16 – Saturday – HDR Pre-run

With the help of S.G. we got Baby Beast ready – CB added, Fire Extinguisher secured, Wind Generator setup and a few other minor items.

The Dirt Devils finally showed up little after 9:00, we got ready and left for the trail.

Once on the trail, the first obstacle was ruffed up more – Baby Beast made it but it was not very easy. I stalled it a few times and finally made it through it.

One our way to the next obstacle was having a little problems getting over some rocks, that’s when I am expecting I don’t have four wheel-drive. Sure enough after looking I don’t have four wheel-drive, I can get the Jeep into low, but the front wheels will not spin.

Not having four wheel-drive made it very interesting to climb some of the hills.

About 30 minutes later I noticed that I did not have normal breaks. After a few more minutes of driving, the front breaks were working (I could skid the fronts), but the back breaks were not working.

At the lunch stop, that is when we found out that I broken the back break line. So after lunch I headed back to camp. We unloaded the Jeep and I headed home with Baby Beast.

I surprised Eric when I showed up at home; I did the vehicle swap and started back to camp with “Blue”. The Jeep (XJ) has a vibration at 70 so I kept it round 60 to 65 the whole way back to camp.

On the drive back to camp, I talked with my Mom and Cheryl.

I also found out that our Friend L.S. lost her mom today – so our thoughts are with her

Once back at camp, I talked with the other camp for a while, and then went into the RV to watch some movies.

O and it was HOT today!
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Thanks Mom for the call.

2009/05/15 – Friday – Travel Day – Start of Furlough Week

I did the normal work day

I finally got home and we got the last of the items it the RV. For the last three days, we have been doing things to get ready. So tonight, I had a few items – clothing, computers, and the animals.

Amanda, CJ, and I left the house about 7:00 PM. Our first stop was at Fresh and Easy for the last minute items to get.

Next stop was at Flying J’s to get everything topped off and drained and more last minute items.

The road (Stoddard Wells Rd) into the HDR camp location is a little ruff so it was slow going. A small group was already park near the main camp at HDR and enjoying a fire. I finally found the location where I will camp for a week.

With the help from S.G. and the kids, we got most of the RV setup and the internet running.

Bedtime came a little after 1:00 AM.

2008/05/25 – Sunday – Day 3 – HDR

It was game day at HDR. I decided not to participate in the games. Before we knew it, it was time to start setting up for the kids’ games. Every thing was setup in time.

I was asked to help a run to be a tail gunner for it – so of course I did.

The trail that he led was the same as the Blue Moon run, but he explained a lot more things to the new people. When he approached the big hill climb, he decided that he did not want to take his pickup truck up it, so I offered to go to the top and guided them all up. They all did fine. Once on top, it was time to head back to camp.

Back at camp, it was dinnertime.

After finishing dinner, I got two bottles of wine, and chair and headed over to where the raffle will be held.

I went and got tickets, sat down and got ready for the evening.

Eric got Third place in Can and Stick, Amanda got Third place in the Egg Carry.

Well, I got second place in the Nail Pounding – hurry, I never thought I could pound nails that good.

For the raffle, Amanda won a remote controlled Humvee in the kids’ raffle and she also won stuff in the adults raffle, I won nothing…

2008/05/24 – Saturday – Day 2 – HDR

Got up and made sure the Jeep was at the starting location before 8:00 so people would know which way to be heading for the Blue Moon run.

I went back to the RV to get lunch items that Cheryl made for Amanda and I.

We did our normal drivers meeting at about 15 till. I had about 3 people that had done this trail before and about ¾ of the group had not been at HDR before.

We left about 5 minutes after 9:00.

When we got to the first major hill, I let Amanda drive the Jeep to the other end of the plateau, while I walk down to the point where I spot people though the tough spot. I only had one person that was very nervous when he could not first make the obstacle.

I had Amanda drive the Jeep again on another plateau area while I made sure everybody was ok coming up the hill.

I was able to follow the GPS on the new section that I found on Friday. We had lunch at 11:30

Everybody was doing so good on the next set of hill climbs, I added another section that I tried last year and everybody did good.

We finished the run at 1:00 and I said my usual good byes to everybody.

Once everybody had left, I went exploring and found another trail across the road of the main road. Come to find out I think the road is more a quad trail, I did hit one rock good, and Amanda did let out a little noise when I hit it and stopped.

We got back to camp about 2:00. I stayed around the main camp for a little while. Once I made it back to the RV, I went ahead and took a nap.

Knock on the door woke me up and it was good friend. So we talked for a while.

Getting the dinner tickets from the registration package, I headed on over to main camp to got dinner – also drove the Jeep over to get it ready for the night run.

I did try the Nail Pounding game. I was in first place with 13 nails in the board in 30 seconds. But about 30 minutes, a buddy of mine got 14 in, then another friend tied with me later.

The Best Equip game was fun to watch. It had ended about 10:00

About 15 minutes after the game was done it was time to head on out for the “Jesse Southern Lights” run.

I had about 20 vehicles. I was able to find the start of the trail easily with the GPS help. We had very minor slow downs and all was at the top by 11:00. I pointed out several areas to several different groups.

The down hill section was a little slow going, but everybody did fine.

Once to the main road, I let everybody go on by, so I know that everybody got off the trail. I got back to the RV by 10 minutes after midnight.

Another fun day at HDR.

2008/05/23 – Friday – Day 1 – HDR

Once I got up and ready, Dan, Jeff and I went for a pre-run of part of the Devil’s Loop and then scouted out a section for the Blue Moon run.

After a few wrong turns and loops, I got a good new section for the Blue Moon run.

Back at camp by noon, we had lunch.

I got the Jeep safety and then head on over to registration to get the registration package and t-shirts.

Around 8 I got in line and headed on out on the night run. The run did parts of the Devil’s loop backwards and it was a little difficult for the more stock guys. But everybody did have fun every with a few wrong turns.

Cheryl and Eric got into camp about 8:30.

Buy the time I got back, Cheryl had headed for bed early.

Amanda wanted to talk to somebody back at main camp, so I also went. I started to talk and finally found Amanda again; we finally got back to the RV around 1 in the morning.

2008/05/22 – Thursday – To HDR

I did go into work for half the day.

Once home, I worked on getting ready to head out to High Dessert Roundup (HDR). It took me a little longer then expected, but Amanda and I finally left some time about 1:30.

The traffic was bad. Anywhere there was rain, we were going very slowly.

Finally we made it into camp about 6:30.

I did set up the wind generator, the satellite, and of course the flag.

My phone does not get good reception here so I guess I will not talk to much on it this weekend.

I did set out around the fire until we ran out of wood and with the cold wind blowing non of us (D.D & J.J) wanted to stay out long.

Now I am tying to get the RV warm and catch up on some of the posts.

2007/05/28 – Monday – Drive Home

Well, it took a while for us to tear down camp. T helped me take down the wind generator, and we had everything else done about 10:00. T,D,&E left and we stayed to help tear down the Café.

We finally left about Noon, and I found out that G.H. was at flying J with a problem. I stopped emptied my tanks and went to help G.

G. has a radiator which is leaking. She bought some radiator stop leak, and I never did see hear so hopefully she made it home with out any further problems.

I noticed that a new truck was near Flying J so I went and got the RV washed. I not sure if I will go back it coast way more then Three Sisters did in the past.

The traffic was not good it was slow from the halfway point between Barstow and Victorville all the way down the pass.

I did pull off to take route 66 down the pass. I knew Cheryl needed to stop. I noticed the RV was smoking, O man, the RV was dripping tranny fluids.

We make it to the gas station at home and I was still dripping tranny fluid.

When I was backing up the RV into the driveway the tranny was slipping, so now I know I was very low on fluids.

We unloaded the RV and now the laundry room is pilled high with all the stuff from the RV.

So I started the laundry and went to bed.