Recently in Me Category

On Friday, October 21st (2011), we departed Salt Lake City for Fillmore. Our goal was to get in one more camping and ATV'ing adventure before the weather turned cold and snowy.

On the first Fillmore exit, we stopped to hit Carls Jr. for a quick lunch. Just as we parked, we noticed a guy on a golf cart inspecting every trailer that pulled into the lot. At first, we didn't think much of it.

A few minutes later, this guy was looking at my 5th wheel tires with much interest. He came over and told me that my tire tread was separating and that if I pulled my rig to the service station a few hundred feet away, his guys would gladly mount my spare. I pulled to the service station and was immediately told that all six of my 5th wheel tires were coming apart.

Initially, it looked very likely that I was in a very dangerous situation with my trailer. I was quoted $2100 for 6x Cooper "Provider" tires in 235/80 R16. I declined and we made the 2-3 mile tow to the Fillmore KOA.

Google was fired up and I researched Cooper tires. To my dismay, I learned that Cooper doesn't carry a brand called "Provider", nor did they carry my tire size. Clearly, these guys were pedaling Chinese knock-off tires at twice the price I could source replacements from Discount Tire/Sears/Walmart.

To compound matters, upon arriving at the KOA, we determined that the front electric motor for the levlling legs was not working. We had to manually crank to lower (and then raise) the legs. Additionally, the rear garage door was not sealing completely, allowing both sunlight and bugs to come through.

We settled in that Friday night and for dinner, drove the ~50 miles to Hoovers for another awesome meal.

The following morning (Saturday), we decided to sleep in a bit. Overnight temps were near freezing, so nobody was really inclined to get out into the cold morning air.

My 11am, we had the ATV's loaded and were ready to roll. Destination: Marysvale (just shy of 60 miles one-way across two mountain ranges (Pahvant & Tushar).

Our route would start at the far North/East corner of Fillmore via the Paiute 03 trail through Chalk Creek.

Somewhere near the middle of the Max Reid trail (Paiute 01), the Honda Rancher lost all brakes at one of the steepest sections of trail. My tactic: Get my ATV and my sons in front of the wife and have her just coast down using the two front ATV's at brakes. Success!

Hunters were everywhere in the woods. How they managed to spot a deer is amazing considering how close they all were to each other. Deer to hunter ratio had to be 100:1 (100 hunters for every deer).

We returned to camp after sun-down with temps in the 40-50F range.

That evening, we discussed the situation with the 5th wheel tires. I went out and inspected and determined the tires would be able to handle the 140 mile return trip home.

We departed early Sunday morning and didn't exceed 55mph the entire trip home. We arrived without incident. Seems to me that tire center in Fillmore has a pretty interesting (and unethical) racket: Scope out every trailer, spread FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt), then when they hook somebody, they increase their tire prices by $600-800 over normal retail.

The quest for replacement tires is underway and the 5th wheel goes back to Motorsportsland for service on Friday. What an eventful weekend. It would be nice to have one outing with the 5th wheel not end with maintenance/repair issues!

On June 16-18th, my 13 year old son and I departed South Jordan en route to Marysvale. In tow, we had our massive 42' 5th wheel, two quads and my mountain bike. We were intent on participating in the Take Back Utah event at Lizzie and Charlies RV park.

We arrived Wed. early afternoon (after a nice lunch at Hoovers), staged the RV (can't camp without Satellite TV, XBOX360, Air conditionining, 50amp power and ice cubes!) and called it a day.


On Thursday, we met with the TBU group and initially participated in the ride up to Bullion Falls and Monroe Mountain. After eating dirt & dust for a few miles, we (my son, myself and Gary Eli) decided to leave the group and seek out our own adventure. Our destination: Koosharem via the 53 and 33 Paiute trails (some of the most Black Diamond rated trails in the area).


Considering we've ridden this area in years past without issue, we went with our normal half-day gear (wet weather, lunch, drinks). Normally, Marysvale to Koosharem is a 4 hour round trip. This day, it turned out to be a 9am-midnight adventure.

Why was it adventure? Let me tell you our story:

The ride up the Paiute 01 and 02 can be done in a truck; That was our initial trail up the mountain. Upon reaching 7000' elevation, we started to encounter many trails blocked by either downed trees or a combination of massive snow drifts and downed trees. Our only available trails to Koosharem were the 53 and 33. Did I mention Black Diamond rated? (BD=Extremely difficult).

Gary was in a Razr SxS while my 13 year old was in a 2wd Honda Rancher.

Both trails were not easily accessed due to the amount of trees that had fallen over the trail. We spent a considerable amount of time cutting the trees back. I initially used my trusty handsaw (never leave without it) until Gary came clean that he brought a battery powered Sawz-All. What a relief!

Took the quad out again Saturday to do some more riding in the Mercur/Ophir/Stockton area. My goal was to explore every side trail I could find.  
 
Even though I've been to this location at least a dozen times, I was surprised today when I found some trails that lead to new and interesting places.
 
The first new side trail was Above and just North of Jacob City. The trail climbed and climbed until it reached the peak of the mountain over Jacob City (north of). From there, a trail pressed North and would have dumped me into Soldier Canyon. Unfortunately, I had to turn around as a huge herd of bulls (horns and all) were blocking the trail, and I was in no mood to be gored by angry bulls (they were at 9800' elevation and seemed wild).
 

 
The next was N/E of Jacob City and in the neighborhood of N 40 24.034 W 112 14.720 . From this location, it would appear that I could drop all the way down to the far end of Ophir Canyon. Again, I had to turn around as a large herd of cows was blocking the trail and they refused to move.
 
While almost to Soldier Canyon, I ran into several members of the Northern Utah ATV Club (Gary & Co.). Thanks for stopping by, guys!
 

 
A few photos from my high elevation riding today:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are several ways to get up there. One is along Ophir Canyon (paved road) at about: N 40 23 102 W 112 14.070. Another, which makes for a great loop is around: N 40° 20.355 W 112° 17.335 and then you could also come in from Stockton around: N 40 25.300 W 112 19.255.
 
All staging locations are very easy. It's not until you deviate from the marked trails that some of the riding gets a bit more aggressive.  
 
In fact, from the Stockton location, you could drive a regular truck most of the way up before the trail narrows to just ATV width. 
 
 

http://www.atvutah.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1240693879/26#26

We went out again yesterday (Nick, Alex, Megan and I) to explore this hastily abandoned camp. Seems far more vandalism has taken place since last year.

Still a fun area to explore:

For the past 3 or 4 years now, I've volunteered to be Santa Claus for a friend. Our friend (Jody) runs an exceptional day care and each day sponsors and open house to visit with Santa, take photos, etc.

This year, we added a Sub-for-Santa event to collect shoes/boots for a specific elementary school. The event was a success and we collected 28 pairs of shoes.

Two very memorable photos from that day:

Before (with dog and unhappy child):

Lest we forget the events of 9/11/01 and the fact that our soldiers continue to die in service to our country - Fly your flag proudly today. If you can't lower it to half-mast, fly a black streamer (same length as the flag) above the flag.

The Cycle of Democracy has been accurately summarized as:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty (rule of law);
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage (rule of men).


You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they will not do for themselves.

Note: Hmm.. to share this with the wife and kids? Nope!
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(Parenting.com) -- One Mother's Day, I bought my wife what she had wanted for years -- a weeping cherry tree -- and I threw in a bird bath, so that when the tree matures, our feathered friends can happily splash and drink under its loving protection.

For Father's Day, my wife gave me some boxer shorts and a tiny reading light, so I can flip through a book in bed without disturbing her.

My wife is the first to admit it: For her, and for many people, Father's Day is an afterthought, a holiday just a few steps above the one that celebrates the groundhog and that other one that promotes trees.

If Mom's Day and Dad's Day were in a prize fight, we all know which holiday would wind up lying in the corner of the ring, knocked-out teeth on the mat, dazed head stuck in a bucket.

I've been thinking about how our society recognizes parents because Father's Day is upon us again, but also because, a while ago, my worst nightmare happened: My wife had to have surgery.

I was an emotional wreck. For a while, it was truly touch and go. Life hung in the balance, and everything near and dear to me seemed in doubt. Why? Because while Susan recovered from her toe surgery, I had to take care of the kids.

Sure, for a couple workdays I was able to call in reinforcements (my mom and mother-in-law), but an entire weekend lay ahead in which I was to be the prime caregiver to Lorelei, who was just hitting 6 months, and Isabelle, our 3-year-old. Meanwhile, my wife was upstairs in our bed, on painkillers and armed with her cell phone so that I was always just a speed dial away from doing her bidding.

This would be a weekend in which I couldn't do only the fun stuff -- like playing blocks and watching cartoons -- with the girls. I was obviously going to have to feed both of them (three times a day!), and I would have to tackle Herculean tasks like giving baths, changing all of the diapers, putting them both to bed, and even giving medicine to Lorelei, who had an ear infection.

Over the decades, standards for fathers have risen. If this were 1897 or even 1974, I could have coasted through the weekend, serving potato chips and cold cereal to Isabelle, and I would have brought the girls to my wife's bed for her to do the changing of the diapers. I could have skipped the baths. I could have ignored the dishes in the sink and the cat litter without a barrage of criticism.

As long as I managed to avoid the house catching on fire, and the girls didn't come down with malaria, at the end of the weekend, my family and friends would have laughed heartily at my mishaps, like they used to do in the last couple seconds of those 1970s and 1980s one-hour dramas (you know, after somebody made a joke and the shot went into freeze frame). Then my family and friends would have declared that I had done my best, and nobody would have cared that the bar had been set so low that a chipmunk could have done as well. 

But today's dads are different. We not only love our children, we're acutely aware that we have a responsibility to be the best parents we can be. When it counts, I think most fathers really give it their all -- which explains why the Saturday night of my Mr. Mom weekend, instead of ordering pizza, I served Isabelle a chicken casserole with pineapple as a side dish. Don't applaud -- the fruit came from a can, and the rest from a box with four steps.

Still, I have to admit, I felt proud as the weekend wore on. I grew more confident in my parenting skills and even gave both girls a bath -- at the same time -- not once, but two nights in a row!

Just as I was ready to nominate myself for a Nobel Peace Prize, an Oscar, a Grammy -- surely I deserved some award -- I had an epiphany that brought me back down a few pegs. 

I was fixing a French dish I like to call poisson et pommes frites (um, fish sticks and fries), when I caught Anderson Cooper on CNN. He was in Baghdad, surrounded by American soldiers, saying he was exhausted and scared. Yet he warned the audience not to be too impressed with him. In a few days, he would fly home. The soldiers would remain at their posts.

Now, I'm not comparing our girls to Iraqi insurgents, but I do appreciate more than ever that mothers are usually the soldiers in the parenting battlefield. Even full-time working moms do more child-rearing than us dads, studies have repeatedly found. Fathers tend to play the part of the dashing news reporter, swooping into parenting duties just long enough to get our hands dirty. My wife deserves her weeping cherry tree. And like most moms, she is worthy of much more.

Yet I think we dads merit at least a little more than boxer shorts, soap-on-a-rope, and neckties. We don't get the good stuff because we're paying for the sins of our fathers, and our fathers' fathers. But these days, dads are changing diapers, warming bottles, and taking our kids to the park. We may not be where you want us yet, but we've evolved, and we're involved.

Just as much as the moms, we appreciate the cards, the praise, and being treated special on our day. So if any of you mothers now feel guilty enough to spring for a slightly nicer Father's Day gift -- say, a plasma TV with a 50-inch screen -- make sure it also has built-in speakers with surround-sound.

So, I've been on vacation for over a week now. The first half was spent driving the family (in our 31' motorhome) to Seattle.

While there, we got to enjoy seeing my sister and brother. My sister had her first baby and was now 3 weeks into being a parent.

I also got to enjoy a bit of ocean and Puget Sound fishing.

Today, I drive out to Fillmore with my ATV and ATV Tent/Trailer to do a bit of riding and camping from Fillmore to Marysvale.

Photos and additional updates after my return or during if I can get an Internet signal.

So, sitting in my driveway right now is a 2008 Ram 2500 6.7L Turbo Diesel. I'm test driving it for the next day to determine if I like these rigs.

Overall, I like it so far.

The one I'm testing has the Bighorn package (don't know what that means exactly, because its pretty stock inside & out), is a really dark Charcoal color (almost black), has the fog light package, bed liner and a power sliding rear window.

Looks like if I buy it, it would be about $5000 less than what Kelly Blue Book has it valued at. (Blue Book = $29k, while I'd be able to get this one for about $24k.

Thoughts, comments?

Crap! How I hate automotive service centers.

About a month ago, I took my 99 Dodge Durango (nearing 150,000 miles, bought brand new) to a local service center.

My initial request was to have them flush & fill the cooling system and inspect & adjust the rear drum brakes (the front disc brakes were doing all the work).

About $400 later, I got the machine back, parked it in the garage and noticed a pin-hole leak in the radiator reservoir tank. Additionally, the rear brakes were not feeling real good either.

I phoned the service center, frustrated that I just paid $200 for a full cooling system flush, only to find a hole in the radiator (knowing that I'd have to again pay for the coolant service). The response I got from the tech. was something along the lines of: "hey, I was working under your car for half-a-day, I didn't notice the leak or else we would have notified you."

Frustrated, I decided to buy a new 2 core radiator off eBay and do the work myself. Having inspected the Durango, it looked like a standard radiator (for a 5.9L V8) without aux trans cooler.

I started the work yesterday and got the radiator mostly dismantled until I noticed the transmission lines running into and around the old radiator. I stopped my work and inspected both new and old radiator to asses if they were the same; they appeared to be identical.

I got everything detached and disconnected from the old radiator except a single transmission line (connected to the bottom of the AUX cooler).  This line had no discernible way of being disconnected and seemed to have been pressed in place. Since the new radiator came with replacement trans lines (aluminum), I decided to just cut the old line off at the radiator; out came the radiator.

Upon inspecting the new and old, I quickly determined that the new replacement transmission lines would not work on the old AUX trans cooler. There and then, I started to get stressed. I would not have a functional vehicle for the coming work week, and that it was probably now time to take the Durango to the service center (again!)

While at the parts store (AutoZone), I picked up a replacement PCV Valve since mine seemed to be making quite a bit of noise. Upon trying to remove the old one, and to my dismay, it broke off in the valve cover! I noticed small peices of plastic perilously close to falling into the valve itself!  I grabbed the shop-vac and sucked at the hole and was able to get the bits of plastic before they fell in.

I then got pliers and attempted to pull the remaining PCV valve out, but it broke again, this time dropping most of the remaining components into the valves! The horror! Now, I had a new radiator to install and I had to get the valve cover removed to extract the bits of plastic!

The cost was quickly adding up!

So, the wife and I (since we were planning on a new truck for me next year), decided to accelerate a new truck purchase (Dodge Ram 2500, Cummins Turbo Diesel most likely), we head out to see what was available in 2-3 year old trucks. We found a few we liked, but none had prices on them. I'll be phoning those dealers on Monday to start haggling.

Now, I have to determine if I just buy a new truck and let the Durango sit for a bit (I was saving it for my oldest son as his first vehicle next year), or just spend the anticipated $1000 to repair the truck and slow my new truck purchase.

..TO BE CONTINUED!