It sure was. I love that part of Colorado, I'd move in a heart beat....if I could.
Haaa there I got the quote to go in! I was particularly wondering about you and Colorado winter as we are both from Illinois. Although where in Illinois makes a considerable difference in what winter we have here. I am about 60-80 miles east of St. Louis, MO depending on where in St. Louis you measure to/from.
Haaa there I got the quote to go in! I was particularly wondering about you and Colorado winter as we are both from Illinois. Although where in Illinois makes a considerable difference in what winter we have here. I am about 60-80 miles east of St. Louis, MO depending on where in St. Louis you measure to/from.
I'm about 90 miles south west (more west) of Chicago. Winters can be brutal....and sometimes they are so frigging cold you can't stand it AND there isn't even any snow. If you're going to have cold, you should have snow. lol.
Went to Tepui Fest at Hollister Hills SRVA. Tepui Fest is a party for customers of Tepui Tents. This is the second event they've held-it's pretty sweet. You get a couple of dinners and a couple of breakfasts plus beer and coffee. Several presentations and evening entertainment. It's pretty awesome-you can wheel or not too. I took the three day chillax course and played with the dog(s).
The Northern CA Land Rover Club gave some talks...and brought a few cool 'Rovers.
They gave a lesson on winch technique which turned into a 'what not to do with the cable' lesson.
Overall, the club provided a lot of great information for the new off-roaders.
The park has a motorcycle part and a truck/side-by-side part. The rangers are great people and often swing by for a chat. This guy is an amazing photographer. Had a great chat before the radio called him to duty.
I've been to the park so much lately and it's still pretty dusty that I setup and just hung around camp.
Riley had a really great time too. Playing with the handful of other dogs as well as one of the kids who was throwing the ball for him.
Tepui Tents has put this event on a couple times now for their customers. This year, they've got some rental trailers and where showing them off.
Of course, there were other trailer designs folks had designed and built. This guy had an oven and made cookies for everyone
On Friday night, they had a great band, Thrive!. Reggae/Rock hybrid is how they advertise themselves. Very good show-for all 50 of us You can find their music on iTunes if that's any indication as to how good they were
Saturday night's band wasn't nearly as good.
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
The tent trailers are cool, but I'm sure the price makes them less cool. lol.
Yeah. I payed about $800 for my tent and I have to say, I do think it was worth it. It's got a nice fat mattress and plenty of room. Takes about 15 min to setup. Some of the disadvantages are that once setup, you can't really go anywhere. It does make it difficult on tight trails and low parking garages or drive-thru places
A trailer would be anywhere from about $5k on up. I think those rental ones go for around $8k with tent and goodies. No doubt it's a little on the expensive side but still less than a similarly equipped pop-up and it will follow you on the 4x4 trails.
I think the well equipped trailer has an oven, stove, shower, and fridge/freezer. 110/12v and of course storage. Adventure trailers don't really allow for extended periods of inclimate weather like a travel trailer would but they're definitely nice if you like to camp and explore.
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
On Saturday November first Kevin and I went to The Cliffs Insane Terrain Off Road Park in Marseilles IL. This was Kevin's first visit, despite the fact that he lives 20-minutes away.
Kevin and I both hate mud, but there hadn't been any rain at the park in a couple of weeks, so it was probably a good bet that it was somewhat dry. The Cliffs is never completely dry, and if it has rained recently it's a mess. The park gets a bit of a bum rap, as you always hear, you WILL get damage. I've been there several times and can tell you that's a false statement.
There weren't many Jeepers or ATVers at the park at 9am, so that was a good thing. I also took a peek at the trails from the office as I paid (still sucks to have to pay to wheel) and saw that things looked dry.
Kevin's buddy Brian road with Kevin, and even got to drive Jeffery 2.0 before the day was done.
A couple of guys in a JKU Sahara were getting ready to go out and asked to tag along, which was fine with us.
As soon as we left the lot and crossed the creek, Kevin found a hill to climb.
Then another.
While Kevin climbed the second hill, I climbed the first. When I came back down the Sahara was taking off on Trail 1, and Kevin was off in the woods somewhere, so I followed the Sahara. I soon pulled off to the side of the trail to listen for Kevin, the Sahara kept going. Then I heard Kevin coming, he was in "go fast" mode, but stopped when he saw me. We turned around and went after the Sahara, but couldn't find it.
I soon took the high road, and Kevin took the low road.
Thank goodness it was dry.
Things were not going very well for Jeffery.
Eventually Kevin decided getting a tug was better than filling Jeffery with tons of mud, so I pulled him to freedom.
Since photos of me are usually few and far between, I snapped a shot, just in case it was the only one.
No flex, no slinging mud.....just parked.
We made our way through the trees and across the creek, when Kevin spotted a hill.
Hit the skinny!
More skinny!
In the end, it wasn't meant to be.
Soon we were off of Trail 1, which pretty much circle the park, and into the heart of the woods. We found a ravine and went for it. I tended to look ahead, while Kevin just went for it. The difference between little tires and big tires, parts that can break and parts that can't.
Soon we were zig zagging our way down the ravine.....
There's an area with rocks, tires and and RTI ramp, so Kevin played.
This was an interesting pivot turn, on a tree....not sure where we were.
Jimmy's crack was a bit of mess......
Another tug was needed here.
We ventured down trail 13, where Kevin found this...
He tried to get me to go first....right. He said "You got this". Uh, huh.
It took a lot of skinny, and some wheelies...but he got it.
There was another step up hill, with a right hand turn, that was fun. Had I not done the locker mod, I wouldn't have made it. 4hi locked was the key....more skinny!
Getting out of 13 required an uphill climb. Kevin's buddy Brian was driving by then. I told him to go first, as I had failed on that hill before. Once Brian was up I gave it a shot....negative. I kept sliding into the ruts....deep ruts. I high centered on my diffs.....the turtle strikes again. Kevin has some pics, he loves to take pics when I'm stuck....not while I'm actually doing an obstacle.
We did another ravine trail, Pink I think it was. Along the way Kevin said "Lets go this way"....Trail 8. We didn't get far, and this happened.
Tippy, tippy, tippy.
He was so close to going over, it wasn't funny.
I was sitting on the trail, behind him, wondering, where the hell do I go, and how do I get out of here.
Kevin kept working it, and was making progress.
A little winch help was needed, but he got out of it, right side up.
I got turned around too. It was a 15 point u-turn, that nobody watched or cared about, but it was cool.
We played our way back to the parking lot, as Brain had to leave, then we found the Sahara guys and headed back out. The plan was to stay on Trail 1 to finish up the day. I believe I said something like "No more ravine's"...I think.
The newly lifted Sahara was making a splash.
Eventually I turned into a ravine.....what did I say about ravine's?
Lets just say looks can be deceiving....damn leaves can really hide a nasty situation.
I got stuck worse than I have ever been stuck, and it took a bit of creative winching to get me out, but Kevin and Jeffery were up to the task.
This was after the first pull.
Once I got out of this mess we finished up the day on Trail 1. We had a good time. The weather was nice, clear and sunny, and not too cold...which is a good thing considering Kevin was driving with no top, no windshield and wearing goggles on the hwy.
As far as I no nobody broke anything. Kevin may have scraped some paint or dented a corner, but that's what happens when you bang against trees.
Ok I just finished all 34 pages and wow that all looks like a lot of fun. I would love to get into this but I fear if it picked up another hobby my wife would kill me.
Comments
A lot depends on where you live. I have been to Denver/Boulder in the winter.
Haaa there I got the quote to go in! I was particularly wondering about you and Colorado winter as we are both from Illinois. Although where in Illinois makes a considerable difference in what winter we have here. I am about 60-80 miles east of St. Louis, MO depending on where in St. Louis you measure to/from.
I'm about 90 miles south west (more west) of Chicago. Winters can be brutal....and sometimes they are so frigging cold you can't stand it AND there isn't even any snow. If you're going to have cold, you should have snow. lol.
I'd settle for living there during the summer.
I'm getting bored with the scenery that surrounds me, and the desire to photograph it is starting to dwindle.
The Northern CA Land Rover Club gave some talks...and brought a few cool 'Rovers.
They gave a lesson on winch technique which turned into a 'what not to do with the cable' lesson.
Overall, the club provided a lot of great information for the new off-roaders.
The park has a motorcycle part and a truck/side-by-side part. The rangers are great people and often swing by for a chat. This guy is an amazing photographer. Had a great chat before the radio called him to duty.
I've been to the park so much lately and it's still pretty dusty that I setup and just hung around camp.
Riley had a really great time too. Playing with the handful of other dogs as well as one of the kids who was throwing the ball for him.
Tepui Tents has put this event on a couple times now for their customers. This year, they've got some rental trailers and where showing them off.
Of course, there were other trailer designs folks had designed and built. This guy had an oven and made cookies for everyone
On Friday night, they had a great band, Thrive!. Reggae/Rock hybrid is how they advertise themselves. Very good show-for all 50 of us
Saturday night's band wasn't nearly as good.
Yeah. I payed about $800 for my tent and I have to say, I do think it was worth it. It's got a nice fat mattress and plenty of room. Takes about 15 min to setup. Some of the disadvantages are that once setup, you can't really go anywhere. It does make it difficult on tight trails and low parking garages or drive-thru places
A trailer would be anywhere from about $5k on up. I think those rental ones go for around $8k with tent and goodies. No doubt it's a little on the expensive side but still less than a similarly equipped pop-up and it will follow you on the 4x4 trails.
I think the well equipped trailer has an oven, stove, shower, and fridge/freezer. 110/12v and of course storage. Adventure trailers don't really allow for extended periods of inclimate weather like a travel trailer would but they're definitely nice if you like to camp and explore.
Kevin and I both hate mud, but there hadn't been any rain at the park in a couple of weeks, so it was probably a good bet that it was somewhat dry. The Cliffs is never completely dry, and if it has rained recently it's a mess. The park gets a bit of a bum rap, as you always hear, you WILL get damage. I've been there several times and can tell you that's a false statement.
There weren't many Jeepers or ATVers at the park at 9am, so that was a good thing. I also took a peek at the trails from the office as I paid (still sucks to have to pay to wheel) and saw that things looked dry.
Kevin's buddy Brian road with Kevin, and even got to drive Jeffery 2.0 before the day was done.
A couple of guys in a JKU Sahara were getting ready to go out and asked to tag along, which was fine with us.
As soon as we left the lot and crossed the creek, Kevin found a hill to climb.
Then another.
While Kevin climbed the second hill, I climbed the first. When I came back down the Sahara was taking off on Trail 1, and Kevin was off in the woods somewhere, so I followed the Sahara. I soon pulled off to the side of the trail to listen for Kevin, the Sahara kept going. Then I heard Kevin coming, he was in "go fast" mode, but stopped when he saw me. We turned around and went after the Sahara, but couldn't find it.
I soon took the high road, and Kevin took the low road.
Thank goodness it was dry.
Things were not going very well for Jeffery.
Eventually Kevin decided getting a tug was better than filling Jeffery with tons of mud, so I pulled him to freedom.
Since photos of me are usually few and far between, I snapped a shot, just in case it was the only one.
No flex, no slinging mud.....just parked.
We made our way through the trees and across the creek, when Kevin spotted a hill.
Hit the skinny!
More skinny!
In the end, it wasn't meant to be.
Soon we were off of Trail 1, which pretty much circle the park, and into the heart of the woods. We found a ravine and went for it.
I tended to look ahead, while Kevin just went for it. The difference between little tires and big tires, parts that can break and parts that can't.
Soon we were zig zagging our way down the ravine.....
I thing that was a record for shots of me.
I found a different way out.
Kevin's way out was a bit much for my turtle.
This was an interesting pivot turn, on a tree....not sure where we were.
Jimmy's crack was a bit of mess......
Another tug was needed here.
We ventured down trail 13, where Kevin found this...
He tried to get me to go first....right. He said "You got this". Uh, huh.
It took a lot of skinny, and some wheelies...but he got it.
There was another step up hill, with a right hand turn, that was fun. Had I not done the locker mod, I wouldn't have made it. 4hi locked was the key....more skinny!
Getting out of 13 required an uphill climb. Kevin's buddy Brian was driving by then. I told him to go first, as I had failed on that hill before. Once Brian was up I gave it a shot....negative. I kept sliding into the ruts....deep ruts. I high centered on my diffs.....the turtle strikes again. Kevin has some pics, he loves to take pics when I'm stuck....not while I'm actually doing an obstacle.
We did another ravine trail, Pink I think it was. Along the way Kevin said "Lets go this way"....Trail 8. We didn't get far, and this happened.
Tippy, tippy, tippy.
He was so close to going over, it wasn't funny.
I was sitting on the trail, behind him, wondering, where the hell do I go, and how do I get out of here.
Kevin kept working it, and was making progress.
A little winch help was needed, but he got out of it, right side up.
I got turned around too. It was a 15 point u-turn, that nobody watched or cared about, but it was cool.
We played our way back to the parking lot, as Brain had to leave, then we found the Sahara guys and headed back out. The plan was to stay on Trail 1 to finish up the day. I believe I said something like "No more ravine's"...I think.
The newly lifted Sahara was making a splash.
Eventually I turned into a ravine.....what did I say about ravine's?
Lets just say looks can be deceiving....damn leaves can really hide a nasty situation.
I got stuck worse than I have ever been stuck, and it took a bit of creative winching to get me out, but Kevin and Jeffery were up to the task.
This was after the first pull.
Once I got out of this mess we finished up the day on Trail 1. We had a good time. The weather was nice, clear and sunny, and not too cold...which is a good thing considering Kevin was driving with no top, no windshield and wearing goggles on the hwy.
As far as I no nobody broke anything. Kevin may have scraped some paint or dented a corner, but that's what happens when you bang against trees.
All of my pics can be found here.
This is me sitting on my diffs, trying the last climb on Trail 13. I'm showing my appreciation to Kevin, thanking him for taking a photo.
Random trail shot....at least I'm not stuck.
Giving it a little more skinny, to get up over a ledge.
This is my bad stuck.
This is Kevin getting ready for the second winch pull....yes I have to go back up all that, in reverse.
Same spot as above, just from behind.
I'm not sure if he's got anymore pics, but I know he has a video of my on my diffs....surprise, huh?
I'm not sure it's possible to have a "good" day in the mud....it beat not wheeling, but the clean up sucks.
Aaron Newman
Website:www.CapturingLightandEmotion.com
Facebook: Capturing Light and Emotion
Sometimes tame is good.
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