Arizona

[Robert J. Yates]

Begining Sunday December 26th, Kendra and I will be headed to AZ. We will be spending a couple of days in the Phoenix area with Stu and then will be headed to Tucson on Wednesday where we have a friend that I need to pay a visit to.

I'll be towing the Jeep so we will be wheeling in the Phoenix area on Monday and Tuesday. Stu has the details on what trails so if you want to wheel with us, you will need to ask him. I'm letting myself be surprised

Then if anyone in Tucson wants to sneak off for the day on Thursday December 30th for some wheeling, I would be up for that as well. I've only wheeled the Gap Trail out by Oracle so if there is anything still open on the east side of Tucson at the Reddingtons, I'd be all over that but I'll take what is convienent for any of you Tucson folks to get you out on a trail.

I'll then be returning home to Chino from Tucson on Sunday the 2nd.

[DanB98TJ]

Not sure if I can sneak away any time during the week of New Year's Day/Eve - that is our busiest time dealing with the drunks. Sunday the 2nd should be okay but it sounds like you'll be on your way back then.

[Robert J. Yates]

Yea, gotta be at work Monday morning the 3rd. What about Fred? Tranny shops don't usually deal with drunks so he should be around, right?

[DanB98TJ]

Originally posted by Robert J. Yates
What about Fred? Tranny shops don't usually deal with drunks so he should be around, right?

I wouldn't say that - he just had a car in there with an ignition interlock device, and recently did some work for a guy I sent to prison.

You'd have to PM Fred and see if he could get away from the shop, but I'm sure it will be difficult for him during the week.

Saturday is usually wheeling day, but because of the holiday it has my schedule all screwed up. I know I have to work 3-11 New Year's Eve and go back in New Year's Day for a few hours in the morning. I won't know about earlier in the week until it gets closer to that time. If we keep locking up people at the current rate I may not have anyone left on the street by then....

Well, back to work - maybe I can thin the caseload down a little more.

[Robert J. Yates]

Well,
I'm going to get at least 2 days on the trails in with Stu before I head down to Tucson. If any of you think you might be able to slip away and get some dirt on your tires, PM me a phone number and I'll contact you. And yes, I do have board access while I travel

[Wind_Danzer]

Well I have off those days so if there ends up being an open passengers seat, I would like to tag along. Get some pics and what not.

I'm sure my Jeep isn't up to handling the trails Stu is probably picking out.

[Robert J. Yates]

Well,
I am bringing my passenger/daughter with me from CA so maybe some of your fellow AZ residents can cough up a seat for you.

[Robert J. Yates]

Looks like my plans are inked.

Stu, plan on Kendra and myself arriving on Sunday the 26th as we discussed, later in the afternoon. Looking forward to the 2 days of wheeling and also to dinner for Donna's birthday on Tuesday.

On Weds afternoon, I will be headed for Tucson where I will be staying at the Omni Tucson from the 29th to Saturday the 1st.

http://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/default.asp?h_id=1

I've had the pleasure of trading some PM's with Dan B from Tucson and also spent a few minutes with him on the phone last night. Looks like we will be wheeling on Thursday the 30th in either the Patagonia area or maybe if time is tight for him, the Gap trail.

Eitherway if there are some folks here who would like to join in on any of the wheeling, just ping me and we can talk. Finally! Some vacation

[StealthTJ]

It would be unlikely that I could get away from the shop on Thursday, however I'll keep it in mind.
Regarding the Gap, Dan, several people have posted up on the Arizona board that the FS just recently (about 3 ~ 4 weeks ago) bladed the whole damn thing all the way to the Step !!! Sounds like, now, that it's nothing more than an 18 mile 2wd trail, with maybe some of the washed out spots at the south end still.
Mansfield is nice, but it's not too tough, and it's short (about 1+ miles in length), though it's a pretty trail, up in the scrub oak and junipers.
Were it me going, I'll vote for something like the Florence area, Lower Woodpecker, Upper Ajax, etc., maybe even H2H.... Dan, it's time
Maybe even one of my favorites, Miners.
I think that Roberts Jeep is setup for any of those.
Robert, if I can't play hooky for a day, maybe we can get together afterwards for dinner somewhere.



Fred

[DanB98TJ]

Crap, I hadn't heard about the Gap. That sucks - it was just starting to wash out in a couple spots, and with a few more heavy rains it would have started getting fun again. I bet the FS bladed it so they can "build" the bypass at the Step (and maybe permanently block the illegal bypass at the same time).

We initially were talking about trails in the Tucson area, and with Italian Trap now closed the only two things I could think of were the Gap and Mansfield. Lower Mansfield itself is short, but with the full "loop" it's a good run and very scenic.

I'm always up for Florence (still think I want corner protection before H2H, though), but I'd rather have at least one more Jeep along for Miner's Revenge.

[Robert J. Yates]

Hmmmm,
I don't know what to say other than at least I am staying on the north side of town so Florence won't be such a hike

Fred, dinner would be cool - we'll figure it out.

[DanB98TJ]

It's your vacation so it's up to you....




















...which is my way of saying I'm not making a decision.

[Robert J. Yates]

I think we can do Florence. Maybe Stu can meet us over there as well. :*hint hint*:

[DanB98TJ]

Works for me. I haven't seen Stu in quite a while - it'd be nice to wheel with him.

[Robert J. Yates]

Dan,
I spoke with Stu last night and Florence looks to be a go for him if we decide to wheel there. Glad I am staying on the north side of town

[DanB98TJ]

Sounds good - maybe Lower Woodpecker/Upper Ajax? Or, if Fred can make it, Highway to Hell (and why is my arm starting to look like a pretzel)?

[Robert J. Yates]

Any one of those will be fine Dan - I'm in the mood for some rocks but whatever you guys want to wheel is fine with me

[DanB98TJ]

Rocks it will be, then. I guess we'll have to play it by ear as to which trail once we find out how many can make it. I've never been through H2H - all I know is where the trail starts, and would rather have Fred along if we run that one since he's done it before. Besides Woodpecker and Ajax there is Martinez Canyon, and then a ton of other trails I haven't done yet.

It's a little longer drive, but Miner's Revenge is a really fun trail. Jp magazine will be featuring another friend's well-built CJ, and we ran it yesterday for the photo shoot. Here are some photos from Miner's from a few runs ago:

Miner's 11/04

Miner's 1/04

Decisions, decisions.....

[Robert J. Yates]

Foiled again by the firewall filter dammit

I believe I've run Miners and Martinez over there once before - I can't remember the trail names. Maybe Stu will chime in about what we did my last time there. Cool - its a bit of a putt but its a great place to wheel.