A few thank you notes are in order

[TObject]

Mid-May, 2007, I joined Joe Dillard from our board on a 10-day wheeling trip to Colorado and Utah. This was an excellent trip. And while I am sitting on a notebook filled with scribbled notes that I desire to transcript into coherent writing one day, I want to go ahead and say thank you to all the people who made this expedition an unforgettable and joyful adventure.

First and foremost, thank you to my traveling companion Joe. I will go wheeling with you anytime, man.

Thank you to Jerry, who gave us shelter in her house when our tow rig broke while driving through Las Vegas.

Thank you to Steve for brining a replacement tow rig from San Diego.

Enormous thank you to Wally and Carry who hosted our stay in Grand Junction. Your hospitality knows no boundaries. Thank you for giving us accommodations, feeding us, entertaining us, and showing us excellent wheeling areas.

Thank you to David and Lyn for showing up on time ready to rock, for unbendable good attitude, for being excellent friends. And a special thank you to David for taking on the camera duties for the muddy part of the 21-road trail.

Thank you to the friendly Colorado folks who made us feel like home: to John Springer and Karen, Bob, Jeremy, Roy, Chad, Rob, and other folks.

Thank you to Hazel Miller for jazz signing.

Thank you to Herb for an offer to ride his quad on Moab trails. Thank you to Scott for the jackstand.

Thank you to our fearless Moab trail leader Wendy for the fearless trail leading. When we were coming back from the Prichett Canyon pounded by rain, and even hail in some places, with lightning strikes going all around us, Wendy made a selfless decision to keep on driving in the open jeep, rather than stop to put a top on and hold up the group.

Thank you to our master mechanic and healthy food guru Larry.

Thank you to Guy for his trail expertise, and demonstrating the right lines on tough obstacles.

Thank you to Joel, James, Jesse, Michelle, and Sean for great times on and off the trails.

Thank you to Dallas for letting us occupy part of the Rocker Knocker obstacle and driving around.

Thank you to Bob, the friend of Jerry and Lorry. Bob and his group took Joe and I on a very scenic tour of Klondike Bluffs and surrounding areas.

Thank you to Bobs and Jeff from Jersey for being fun on the trail, and for water and Gatorades you left us.

Thank you to all the truck drivers who warned us about bears and about "gators in the hammer lane."

So many people to thank: and I am sure I forgot many.

Thank you to you all again -- I had an excellent vacation.

[Joe Dillard]

Sergey, you are MOST welcome my friend. I'm truely honored to have you come along and enjoyed our time together as if we were brothers. You my friend, are a true friend, and I have been blessed with your entertaining attitude and fantastic demeanor.

I don't know how you could have made things any more pleasent when things started to look grim when I was having troubles with my truck. Yet somehow - you reached into your box of tricks and quickly got us back on track. Steve and yourself couldn't have made things any more easier for me by your reactions to my problems. I'm extreamly impressed by your quick thinking and use of your truck so we could continue our ventures.

You my friend, are an example of what friends are made of and I can't express my thanks enough.

Now....where are those Colorado pics?

[Larry Nickell]

It was great to see you again Sergey, as well as Joe and the others. Because of our "hobby" we meet great people, and I appreciate that.

If you ever have the desire to visit the Pacific Northwest, give me a little notice and I'll take you high in the Cascade mountains and show you views that you will find spectacular.

[Kiwi]

Likewise Sergey, was good to see you and Joe again. It was a last minute crazy-ass idea to to drive 16 hours each way to run a couple of trails, but it really was worth it. The frustrating part was being so close to Moab and not being able to take the time to spend the week there.

If you decide to come to Iowa sometime, I can show you some wonderful views of cornfields and ethanol plants.