To All---Have a Good Thankgiving

[Hellbender]

Glad to have you all for friends.

Back up and think about what's REALLY important in life, and you'll have lots to be thankful for, no matter how bad the material things in life may seem.

2000 TJ 4.0L, A/T, all factory options.
Jeep Rater Score 360
http://www.hellbender.rockcrawler.com/
NRA Lifetime Member

[Jim M]

Have a safe holiday everyone.

__________________
97 TJ. Not stock.

There is no bolt on kit called driver skill. If you want it, you have to actually go out and drive...offroad.

[TObject]

May the Turkey be with you!

[mrblaine]

Thanks all for the Turkey Day well wishes. If I may, I would like to toss out my own to the great friends, nice acquaintances, yet to meet buddies, and to the odd nemesis that really makes me appreciate the rest of you, more and more each day.

If you are travelling, be safe. If you are staying home, enjoy. If you are on here, go be family. Eat well, be safe, most of all, don't forget your friends.

My most favorite thing ever said about me.- You are definitely an acquired taste.

[Stu Olson]

And a big Happy Thanksgiving from Arizona too!




You best not mess around with an Arizona Turykey!

If you're gonna play, you gotta pay
http://www.stu-offroad.com

[JeepKat]

May today be a good day for everyone. Try not to eat too much and spend some time relaxing.

Kat

[Tumbleweed]

Kat, is that an oxymoron? Don't eat too much on Thanksgiving?? Relax? There is a Jeep in the garage that needs something I am sure.

Best Wishes all!

[JeepKat]

Tumbleweed,

When I went shopping for our dinner, all I saw was a bunch of stressed out women in the store. You could tell that they wished for something other than to be cooking that huge dinner on Thanksgiving. The stress of who's coming, what to wear and is the house clean enough was plain on their faces.

The saying goes that you can choose your friends but not your family. I have spent many hours reflecting on what it would have been like to be raised in a halfway normal environment. But I have to take what I was given and do the best that I can with it(others have had it worse than I). Which means disassociating myself from my extremely toxic and dysfunctional parent and siblings (Toxic example: When my ex-husband was beating me, my mother would send him presents in the mail and call to tell him what a "nice guy" he is. When he was being kind and sweet, she would call to tell him what a jerk he is. I will never be able to understand her, she say's: "I'm so sorry for what I did to you". But on the other hand if given the opportunity she would do it again. I'm better off without her. Don't feel sorry for me, it's her loss because I am such a wonderful person). This causes me to be sad around the Holiday's. Don't get me wrong; I am very Thankful for what I have.

This year we stayed home because the Green Jeep is in the garage. We won't be doing that again. Last year we went to Johnson Valley, did some wheeling and ate Turkey sandwiches on the trail. It was our best Thanksgiving ever! We will arrange our lives to be there or somewhere like it every year.

So maybe I was thinking of myself when I said: "try not to eat too much and spend some time relaxing".

[Tumbleweed]

Kat, did not mean to open a can of sour grapes; so sorry. One of Rita and my best Thanksgiving days was spent at Dumont Dunes (near Baker). We cooked a turkey in the fifth wheel complete with lots of sand. Was a great time.

[JeepKat]

Tumbleweed,

When given sour grapes it's time to make wine! We had a happy brisket day! Yumm. We watched DVD's (Planet of the Apes, America's Sweethearts and a Knight's Tale).

We worked on the Jeep a little bit and ate Pumpkin pie.

How was your Thanksgiving?

[Tumbleweed]

My Tday was a pretty good one. I spent about 4 hours working on getting the jeep axles cleaned up, inspected, and back together; including servicing the hubs. ( I am measuring these axles to make a full set of spares; the hard part is not knowing what vehicle they came out of) I now have a full set of front axle shafts, both inner and outers with good u-joints. I will have to have the rear shafts machined from 6 hole to 5 hole, and new bearings and seals pressed on. I have to come up with about $300 to buy the rears, and pay for parts and machining. It will take a bit but be worth it. Both of my rear shafts have a very minor twist in the splines and are going to become my new "spares".
Had turkey dinner with sister, brother, mom and families. Came home, watched "Shrek", fell asleep.
Today I am going out to search for new trails to run. 5 of us are going exploring in the cold, dreary weather. It is 31* here now and only expected to get to 40* today. Rain and snow mixed in forecast. I am going to go play! Got to load the trailer in about an hour to make the meeting place. Sorry for the long winded version.

[Jeff Weston]

Mine should've been good ... about 30 family members over at my parents house with all the festivities. But, this damn cold and bronchial infection kept me home alone (no reason for the wife not to go enjoy herself). I've been more or less sick for a week now but the antibiotics seem to be finally kicking in. Oh well, I've got Christmas to look forward to.

Jeff

[Tumbleweed]

And this is what I got into!


It got really nasty, snowpack, ice, freezeing rain, and more. Really slick getting home. But always fun.

[JeepKat]

Jeff;

Glad to hear that you are feeling better. I'm sorry about your Thanksgiving. But you're right, you still have Christmas. Hopefully the wife brought you home something to eat from the dinner.

Don;

WOW! All we got was a bit of rain yesterday. Blaine is complaining that we need to get out and his Jeep has only been in the garage a week. I would have liked to join you. I happen to have a fondness for snow. There's just something about coming home to a comfy warm house after a long day in the cold that warms my soul. Glad to see you made it home safe.

[William]

Wednesday. Awake in good mood. Day of work. Jump in Jeep, drive north to Mr. Blaine's house. Excited, first time that I'm due to buy coffee (most people here will understand). Get to coffee shop, order killer dana with 3.5 sugars. Find out in abject horror that they don't take credit/debit cards. Show up with out coffee in hand. Recieve assurance that "it's ok". Feel like the guy in B movie who finds out girl just "wants to be friends". Get free ride in Red 4 door, long bed, Ford Full size that looks for all intents. Normal. Find out it accelerates fast enough to almost cause arrousal. Find out it stops well enough to almost empty your bladder. Drive home with D44 w/4.10's and ARB and Kevlar pads. Pull into gas station as someone asks what is that in the back of jeep... Happily explain, knowing full well that the guy doesn't know which is what. Get home and happily show wife new axle. Get "that look”..

Off to airport: William has a plan. Park at Navy Base down the street. Navy base will not let me long term park with out special pass. Special pass office is closed. Drive to airport pretty mad that parking fee’s will now be incured on vacation expense. Find out air port wants 24 dollars per day. Muffle Scream so that family doesn’t notice as you count on fingers cost of 5 day parking.. Make B line for exit. Find park and ride for cheaper rate. Scoff at tip for the van guy who set a new world record for number of times passengers are airborne in back of van and didn’t even try to help with luggage. Go through various screening points. At last point, buzzers go off. Security gaurd must do a metal wand. Zipper sets off wand. Gard takes hold of belt, pulls open pants and takes a peek down pants. Then, begins frisking me. The joy, as wife and daughter and crowd watch, gigling.

On Plane: No problems. Off to Grandma’s house we go.

Thursday. Mom is starting the smoker for turkey. Realize that smoker is a little to hot at this point for turkey, recommend to mom. <<Break in story>> It’s a family tradition that someone in the family looses an eyebrow/hairline to the BBQ <<Return story>>. Suggest waiting for about 1 hour for smoker to cool off, or light spray coals to cool off. Mom opens smoker. FWOOMP. Mom will not need eye plucking or front hair cut for a few weeks. Insert turkey.
Having slept in guest bed were cats normally sleep, realize that nose is now plugged with white cat hair, and the logic follows about why you’ve been sneezing all morning. Late afternoon, remove lid from smoker to reveal slightly black turkey. Drumstick bones disentegrate at cutting. Find that first inch of meat is turkey jerky. Enjoy the company and the turkey nonetheless.

R/
William
Insert witty statement here.
Ask me about my feelings about squirells.

[Stu Olson]

ROTFLMAO

William, my regards to your mother.

If you're gonna play, you gotta pay
http://www.stu-offroad.com

[William]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Stu Olson:
ROTFLMAO

William, my regards to your mother.

_If you're gonna play, you gotta pay_
<A HREF="http://www.stu-offroad.com[/quote]" TARGET=_blank>http://www.stu-offroad.com[/quote]</A>

You should have heard the last year version with my Brother, the gas grill, and the lighter fluid.

R/
William
Insert witty statement here.
Ask me about my feelings about squirells.

[Jeff McRae]

Thanksgiving was fun (I can say that now that it's over)

Left Yorba Linda at 0 dark thirty Thursday morning for Oregon (Patti has family in the Roseburg/Sutherlin area). Drove the Bronco as we had Christmas presents to take up, and were renting a small UHaul trailer to bring some furniture back. Trip up was uneventful, just long (14 hours instead of the usual 12). Lots of traffic, which was to be expected. Played with two new grandkids, ate about a hundred pounds of holidaybird, visited with family.

Coming back down, the sign at the base of the Siskyou Pass said "chains required - except 4x4's" - no problem, yes? Mister Trooper decides that with a trailer, we still need chains - which of course I don't have. Back to Medford.

Three stores later I find chains for 32x11.50's at Wal-Mart, back to the pass (no, son - I really don't have a "P anything" tire). Spend an hour in the rain messing with them, still aren't tight enough for my satisfaction - decide to go up the hill to where the local kids are putting them on for $10.

No kids - pass is now open. Do 10 MPH all the way to the Ag Inspection station on the California side.

Traffic coming back is much worse. I have now determined that: Blue Ion Poser headlights, Giant Coffee Can Mufflered Imports, and SUV's bigger than say, a Ford Explorer have something in common - complete lack of any driver skills!

Make note to self: Build Plasma cannon before next trip.

Finally get home, 0130 this morning, 19 hours after we left.

Jeff
94 YJ, one or three mods

http://jmcrae.rockcrawler.com

[Art Welch]

I feel your pain on the Siskiyou summit Jeff. I was making the trip yesterday from Portland to LA in a car that I can't put chains on. To avoid it I ended up going Grants Pass to Crescent City and then down the coast to San Francisco before going back over to the 5. Traffic was moving well the whole way, but it still took 18 hours. Not as bad as your 19 hours, but still painful!