July 2013

Over Memorial Day weekend, the FJ Bruisers, a non-profit off-roading club in the mid-Atlantic, held their seventh annual spring event, MudFling, at Rausch Creek Off-road Park in Tremont, PA.  Despite the chilly weather and occasional blustery winds, everyone had a wonderful time, enjoyed some great trails and food, and some even went home with a few great raffle prizes. 

Both spring and fall vacations in recent years have lead us to adventures in the southern part of Utah. For spring of 2012 we chose to venture out to Hole in the Rock Trail on a solo trip. Going solo adds another level of challenge to a trip like this. Break something and it gets a lot more complicated and Hole in the Rock is known for causing problems.

Hole in the Rock Trail is part of a Mormon immigrant trail that runs from Escalante, Utah to Bluff, Utah. The entire route runs for 180 miles, however what we today call The Hole in the Rock Trail is just a small segment. The trail is named for the place where the San Juan Mission of Mormon Pioneers constructed a descent to the Colorado River to the east side of what is now Lake Powel. This trail is evidence of the hard work and determination of the Mormons to establish additional settlements in their chosen home of Utah.

You may have seen some of our livestream of the build we accomplished last weeked. I’ve been told that the audio was sub-par so please accept my apologies for that. This build went pretty much as expected and I can’t wait to try out the heater later this summer and into the fall, I really think it will make a huge difference (especially for the little explorers) in the CVT RTT on our Manley Trailer.

At $1231 directly from Adventure Trailers, this kit saves you $550 over the fully assembled Hot Box portable heater. If you have a little skill with hand tools, are comfortable with a little electrical and propane gas work, and have about 4:15(ish) to complete the build, this may be the perfect kit for you. Plus by saving that kind of dough you’ll be able to buy printed copies of FJC Magazine for the next 13.75 years ;)

I was very stoked last May for my first trip to Moab & the 2013 Cruise Moab event! The drive to get there was an eventful journey all on it’s own.  I-70 was closed due to a blizzard and accidents so we decided to go through Buena Vista, Montrose, and get back on the freeway at Grand Junction.  Finally, we got off of the Interstate and made our way down highway 191 and into Moab.  The scenery along the way was unbelievable to say the least.  Driving past the entrance to Arches National Park set the scene for what was sure to be an epic adventure. 

We actually drove right through town, turned right at McDonald’s and out Kane Creek Road for about 15 minutes.  With this being my first trip to Moab, I wanted to camp somewhere with a truly Moab feel.  We set up camp in a BLM area that was surrounded by shear walls and views that were simply amazing.  Not a bad place to camp for my first trip to Moab for sure!