I finally remember NOT to schedule something cool for Valentines Day with my honey and ditch her for my friends and Moab. :D Rick, Brent and Caleb were to join us and I would be bringing my JK and my old "Jeep". Seems like our little group is growing and it really turned out to be fun. We had a bit of an eventful trip down...

...that happened just below the Rest Area section in Spanish Fork canyon. We had to unload the "Jeep" from the trailer as the spare had a different bolt pattern (duh) and drive the Jeep, crippled trailer and the JK to our rescue in Wellington. I drove the "Jeep" in the lead while Corbin followed in the Lincoln with the three legged trailer and Chris and Garrett followed in the JK. As we summited, I decided it would be wise to look at the gas guage in the "Jeep". Wise because there is a gas station at the summit and I had no idea how much gas it would take to run this thing to Wellington. It just so happened that as I flattened out after the climb my gas guage (O'Reilly auto parts special) went from quarter tank to "E" just as I pass the gas station that looks closed. For the next half mile I keep an eye on the guage and it's not moving at all... not good. I pull over and jump in the JK to cruise back to the gas station and find out I can get gas with a card swipe. Ran the "Jeep" back up there, filled it up and drove to Wellington while our friends had waited a LONG time for us.

Sorry for the blurry pic but it's what we got. Brent loaded the "Jeep" on with his Willys and Caleb drove Brent's YJ from Wellington to Moab. We were all pretty happy to hit the Ramada Inn. I woke up about 7:30am and ran down to Chips Grand Tire for a new trailer tire (I really should just buy my tires from him....I spend quite a bit of time there) before everybody else got up and going. We had a great breakfast at Moab Diner and got our rigs ready for the trail. Last year, Brent and Rick had a great time on Kane Creek so we hit that trail. It's only my second time on that trail, but I do like it.

A little final trail prep. Checking oil and such after our little 40 mile jaunt down the highway.

Hey, I'm following my "Jeep".... Not sure how I feel about this but it's fun to watch it work and Corbin and his friends were having a great time. I'm being uber careful with my JK. It did prove rather trailworthy but needs bigger tires with the LONG wheelbase. Along with bigger tires, come a bigger lift....and I'm not sure how far I want to take this...

Hey, a water crossing. The first of many.

Cool spot. I have no idea if it has a name or anything. My mom bought me that shirt last year at EJS 2013.

Da Ramma. This big pig has been all kinds of places and Brent and I have put it in places it probably shouldn't fit. So far it's escaped serious sheetmetal damage over the past 12 years or so.

Look at all these cute little Jeeps. Caleb Orton is leading the way in the Willys, while I'm off to the side in my JK. Corbin's in my cool "Jeep" with Garrett and Chris, Brent following in his most recent build of a YJ and Rick following him (hidden) immediately behind Brent.

Ah, isn't he cute. Look how excited he is

Well, here goes nothing. This is by far the most serious obstacle my street queen has seen in the year I've owned it. I was being a bit on the overly careful side. Ok, call me a pansy. I'm ok with that.

...and I took a line I thought I could break over...and I can't. Front tires in the air. Rear dug out enough I can't go back. Had to use my kewl winch to pull me towards Brent's YJ so I could move on. The thumbs up is from Rick harassing me about being stuck. :D First time for everything, I guess?

Eric snapped a cool shot of the canyon at one of our stops.

More water crossings (and some ice).

Looks like a Trooper had a bad day a while back. This was NOT here on EJS 2013. I ran into Jeff Stevens on Sunday and asked him about it. Sounds like it's been there at least 6-8 months. Cleaning something like this up is a real challenge. I'm in if they need my help

Good shot of the ledges as you come out of the bottom of the canyon.

Good stuff there....

One of the tougher spots on the Kane Creek trail is when you finally climb out of the bottom of the canyon where it narrows and run along a dugway in the canyon. The road has washed out a wee bit in a couple of spots and there are a couple of challenging ledges.

This being one...Brent makes it over without incident. Corbin's up next

....and we had an "incident". Corbin drove about 6-12 inches after me telling him to stop and my "Jeep" was saved by it's own rocker. Fun.... (I'm supposed to be driving if this happens)

Video of that

...more drama than I would like but everybody is fine and all is well.

Hey, let's take a SELFIE! (knuckleheads)

A little pull from Brent's winch and my "Jeep" is back on all four tires. I feel much better.

Caleb gets a little push

This is where I realize how LONG this thing really is. I tried a few unconventional lines but finally ended up just going around.

...and then Rick makes things REALLY interesting. His front diff is, well, diffed. It's not coming off if he goes back for at least another foot.

LINK TO VIDEO Caution---206 Mb...not for DSL guys ;)

Prepping to "save" the Rammer from an untimely window breakage.

PULL....the combo of kids pulling and Rick backing down worked pretty well. I think if he backed any further without some ballast, he was on his side.

Corbin is speechless as we get back to moving along the trail.

Wagons ho.....Let's hit the Moab Brewery

Hells Revenge for Sunday...Drama, or not?

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