WAYALIFE EPIC TREX : Destination MOAB 2015

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wayoflife

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For more years that I can remember, Cindy and I have always headed out to Moab to attend the annual Easter Jeep Safari and spend a week there wheeling whatever trails we could. For 2015, we decided to change things up a bit and do something that we've been wanting to do for a long time, and that was to make the long journey out to Moab into an EPIC TREK. Essentially, our plan was to take a series of "long cuts" if you will and explore some of the cool places that most people don't even know they're missing along the way. For our purpose, our adventures would begin in the town of Laughlin, NV, take us east across the historic Route 66, drop us down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, take us back up to the top of the South Rim, bring us north up through Monument Valley, traverse the historic Hole in the Rock trail and only then deliver us into Moab to wrap up the week and have some fun on the slick rock out there.

Below are just some of the photos we took of the 14 Jeeps and 27 people that joined us for this epic trip. I hope you enjoy :cool:

Here's a shot of Moby all packed up and ready to head south to our starting point in Laughlin, NV.
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Of course, it's near impossible for Cindy and I to not get distracted and do a little exploring along the way.
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And, how could we resist testing out Moby's new Toyo Open Country MT's in a nice little sand box we found along the way.
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Working our way though Las Vegas the next day was a bit tough.
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Finally made it to Laughlin.
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Most of our caravan showing up as well.
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Our first of many dinners to come together.
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And finally, it wouldn't be a WAYALIFE adventure without a toast to all the fun to come - CHEERS!!
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Day 1 - Journey to the Bottom of the Grand Canyon

Day 1 - Journey to the Bottom of the Grand Canyon
Our first day of the 2015 WAYALIFE EPIC TREK to Moab started right out of Bullhead City and took us right out onto dirt as we made our way up the Silvercreek Trail.
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Ken, Moochie and Steve using a quick stop we made along the way to pal around.
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Just up and over Sitgreaves Pass along the historic Route 66, we pulled off the road and got ready to go for a short hike.
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Heading back up the highway on foot to check out a Route 66 gem.
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Blink and you'll miss these steps that take you up to Shaffer Spring.
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Years ago, someone built a vessel to collect and hold the water coming out of Shaffer Spring and soon after, travelers stocked the new pond with goldfish which in turn, gave this destination the new name of "Shaffer Fish Bowl". Unfortunately, there weren't any fish to be found on our visit or at least, any that could be seen.
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Correction, there was this dead little fella of which Moochie considered making it his lunch.
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Time to head back to our Jeeps and get on the move again.
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Heading east on the wide open and beautiful Route 66.
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A trip along Route 66 wouldn't be complete without making a stop at least one stop at one of its many iconic towns such as Seligman where we pulled in to have lunch at the famous Snow Cap burger joint.
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Time to order up some grub!
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After our tasty lunch stop at the Snow Cap, we continued along Route 66 until we arrived at the town of Peach Springs to pick up permits to head into the Hualapai Indian Reservation and drive down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
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At the crazy price of $30 a person (as in - EACH person) and a painfully slow 15 MPH speed limit and yes, there are Tribal Police watching, the drive down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon along Diamond Creek is almost not worth it but - just almost. The 20 mile one way trip is beautiful.
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Of course, what really makes this side trip worth the extreme price and the painfully slow drive is this - arriving at the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. This is the ONLY place along the 277 miles of the Grand Canyon that you can actually DRIVE a vehicle down to the bottom and relax along the shores of the Colorado River.
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Back on top and on the road, we made our way to our destination for the night just outside of the Grand Canyon South Rim.
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To an outstanding day - CHEERS!!
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Oh wait - can't forget our nightcap - CHEERS AGAIN!!
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Day 2 - Rim of the Grand Canyon & Monument Valley

Day 2 - Rim of the Grand Canyon & Monument Valley
Day 2 of the 2015 WAYALIFE EPIC TREK to Moab expedition, we make our way to the top of what we were at the bottom of just the day before - the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
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When in Rome, right? If you're gonna be a tourist, ya gotta do the tourist thing and pay a visit to the Visitor Center.
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And here we are - the top of the Grand Canyon.
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Here's Ken and Steve taking it all in.
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Photos just can't do the Grand Canyon justice.
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Jason, Amy, Tony and Stephanie smiling for the camera.
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Group shot of Stephanie, Moochie, me, Steve, Scott, Jason (crippledpetey), Jason (JAGS), Amy and Ray.
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On our way to the Desert View Watchtower, a local came by to say hello.
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The 70 foot tall stone structure located at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is known as the Desert View Watchtower or Indian Watchtower at Desert View. Designed by American architect Mary Colter and completed in 1932, the four-story structure, completed in 1932, was designed by American architect Mary Colter and was made to serve as one of many visitor concession structures within the park.
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Ken, Susan and Tom reading up on the Desert View Watchtower.
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Moochie telling Steve that he'll catch him if he jumps.
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A few shots from the inside.
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After leaving the Grand Canyon, we made a stop over at the historic Cameron Trading Post for some Navajo Tacos.
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Back on the road again, we chased our shadow as we made our way across Monument Valley.
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Stopping for a poser shot before we lost all our sun.
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To another epic day - CHEERS!!
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Day 3 - Camping at Lake Powell

Day 3 - Man Down & A Change of Plans
Rise and shine, it's time to get Day 3 of the WAYALIFE EPIC TREK to Moab on the road.
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But first, Et needed to pull his front drive shaft so that he could lube up the double cardan and get rid of an annoying squeak he'd been hearing for quite some time now.
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Enjoying the view along the San Juan River. Looks like it's gonna be a beautiful day.
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On the road, we started to head out toward Halls Crossing. Here's a shot of us working our way up the Moki Dugway.
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Unfortunately, by the time we made it up to the top of the mesa, crippledpetey Jason developed significant engine problems and we decided to change course and make our way out to Blanding. Hoping that it was just something as simple as a bad spark plug, Jason and his dad went to work on pulling things apart.
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The night before, Moochie was told us some interesting stories involving sheep and rubber boots and while Jason was out picking up some new plugs, he picked up a special give for Moochie as well.
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After determining that the problem Jason was having was more severe than we had thought, we decided to call a tow truck and have his Jeep taken up to the closest dealership which was in Grand Junction. Unfortunately, that meant there was nothing for us to do but wait... and wait... and wait even more.
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Three hours later, the tow truck arrived at last.
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Our original plan was to head out toward Lake Powell, run the Hole in the Wall trail and setup camp close to the end of it. However, the problems Jason was having with his motor and our extended side trip to Blanding put us way behind schedule and so we decided to just work out way out Halls Crossing and setup camp for the night there.
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After setting up camp, a few of us decided to hike down to the shores of Lake Powell.
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The water level was pretty low.
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Watching the sun go down.
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Our home for the night - not too shabby.
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It's hard to imagine that in spite of all that happened (or didn't) today and not getting to run our trail, we still managed to have a good time. Of course, that's pretty easy to do when you're out with great friends - CHEERS!!
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Day 4 - Hole-in-the Rock Trail

Day 4 - Hole-in-the Rock Trail & A Near Disaster Averted
Rise and shine!! It's Day 4 of the WAYALIFE EPIC TREK to MOAB!!
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Because of the tweak in our schedule the day before, I didn't think we could effectively run the entire 60+ mile round trip length of the Hole in the Rock trail and enjoy it but I still wanted to try and do as much as we could and so, after packing up camp, that's where we headed.
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Our first stop along the way was over at an old WWII Army half track that was abandoned along the trail and left to rust away.
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Ray ready to take it out for a spin.
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The owner of the half-track wasn't too happy about us being here.
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Check out these crazy looking coil springs.
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Final shot before leaving.
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On the move again.
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While the trail isn't very technical, it still is a lot of fun and the scenery is just amazing.
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The first obstacle on the trail (if you can call it that) is called the Twister.
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Here's a shot of Et making his way down.
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Jason JAGS making his way down.
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Ken coming down in his bone stock 4-door JK Rubicon.
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And Moochie following close by.
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You can see forever from up here.
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On the move.
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By order of the Mormon Church which was hoping to expand their settlements to the east side of the Colorado river, Silas S. Smith left Paragonah in 1879 and lead an expedition of 250 men, women, and children, 83 wagons and over 1000 head of livestock to find a shortcut to mouth of Montezuma Creek on the San Juan River. Their epic trek was supposed to take only 6 weeks but ultimately ended up taking 6 months and they almost gave up. About half way into the trail, we finally came upon the actual Hole-in-the-Rock trail and as hard as it may be to believe, it's a trail you can still drive on.
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Cindy and I absolutely LOVE historic trails like this as it allows you to imagine what it would have been like to traverse as early pioneers traveling by covered wagons.
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Along this stretch of trail, my maps shows that the valley we were in was given the name "Death Valley". In spite of all their hardships, the original expedition of Silas Smith had no deaths and if anything, they actually had 2 babies born during that time.
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Making a stop at one of several camp sites along the way to have some lunch.
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Circled the wagons for protection.
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Up against the clock and a need to be off the trail and on our way to our next home for the night by 6:00 PM, we pushed on a bit more to see how far we could go.
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Just past Grey Mesa, there was a pretty good size drop we had to descend.
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Unfortunately, just as we got to a steep climb that had been blasted out by the Mormon expedition, we had run out of time and were forced to turn around. It was very frustrating to do and we'll definitely have to come back out and run the whole trail in the near future.
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Now it was time to climb back up everything we just went down.
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While strong winds had been whipping us all day, the clouds were just now starting to roll in and the mercury was starting to drop as well. It's a good thing we weren't camping out here tonight.
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Almost back on pavement.
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After getting a call on the CB from Dean letting me know we had white smoke coming out from under our Jeep, we decided to pull over to give things a look. After discovering it was just a leaky transmission cooler line, we started to move things around to find out where it was coming from and that's when I heard Cindy yell, "WE HAVE AN ENGINE FIRE"!!
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Oh what a mess!! While I was on the fire within seconds, it became clear that my efforts to put it out was futile and when my extinguisher was out, there was a moment of realization that this could be bad. Fortunately, Ken is a fireman and after his initial efforts proved to be futile as well, he quickly yelled that it was an electrical fire and almost instantaneously, that got me pulling the battery cables and all was saved.
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It was a close call but fortunately, we got the fire out before it could do any real damage. As we would later find out, the lead going from the alternator to the battery was routed through a clip on the block and over time, that clip wore through the insulator of the wire. As we were pushing and pulling things around to find the ATF leak, we caused the wire to arc and that started the fire. After sending everyone on to our hotel in Monticello, Tony, Ken, Moochie and I got to work on getting Moby fixed.
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Before doing anything, we decided to do what we could to repair the damaged wire and route it out of harms way. Only then did we get to repairing the damaged transmission cooler line.
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I apologize for the lack of photos here but it was a hell of a night. Needless to say, we didn't pull into town until way late.
 
Day 5 - MOAB Fins-n-Things

Day 5 - MOAB Fins-n-Things
Funny how so much can change so quickly! Before all the craziness we were forced to deal with the night before, the plan for Day 5 of the WAYALIFE EPIC TREK to MOAB adventure was to head back south and do a run up Hotel Rock. Really, that was supposed to be the plan for Day 4 but who's counting? Needless to say, our priorities had changed a bit by morning and after spending some time at the car wash trying to get rid of all the fire retardant off of Moby's engine, we decided to just make our way up to Moab and if at all possible, check into our condos early.
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As luck would have it, an early check in was not possible and rather than just sit around doing nothing, we decided to do a quick run up Fins-n-Things. Being that we had a lot of first timers to Moab, Cindy and I thought this would be a great way to get their feet wet and give them a small taste of what Moab is all about.
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Taking on a small ledge near the beginning of the trail to give the newbies a feel for what it's like to bump your way up.
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Working our way across the slick rock.
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Coming down.
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It's hard not to have a smile when you're wheeling in Moab. Shot of Ray and Rachel having a good time.
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Tom and Susan can't hide how they feel.
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Jason and Amy glad to be here.
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Jason and Misty feeling the good times too.
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Michelle and Et aren't new to Moab but it doesn't change the fact that they still love being here.
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Time to go back up some fun stuff.
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Before the climb, Steve discovered that he was having a problem with his lockers and his compressor wouldn't turn off for anything.
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After having Steve take the bypass, we had everyone else come on up.
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Moving on.
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Descending a big fin along the trail.
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Going back up.
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Like being on a roller coaster.
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I always love the view from up here especially when the La Sal mountains are snow covered.
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Of course, every view from up here is nice.
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More roller coaster fun.
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Big climb up.
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Celebrating yet another EPIC day and our first day out in Moab - CHEERS!!
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Day 6 - Poison Spider Mesa & Steel Bender

Day 6 - Poison Spider Mesa & Steel Bender
Back on our regularly scheduled program, we got up bright and early on Day 6 of the WAYALIFE EPIC TREK to MOAB run and headed over the Poison Spider trailhead. The plan for the day was to run Triple Threat which, for those of you who don't know is a run across Poison Spider Mesa, Golden Spike and Gold Bar Rim. Here we are at the trailhead.
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Before heading out, we decided to make a quick hike up to the dinosaur tracks that can be found here.
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Here are the tracks - can you see them?
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Just a bit bigger than my hand - LOL!
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Moochie decided to climb up higher to read the petroglyphs that tell stories about sheep and cliffs.
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Looking back at the staging area - sure are a lot of bikes out today.
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Working our way up the first ledge on the Poison Spider Mesa trail.
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Having some fun climbing this optional dome.
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Dean giving it some skinny pedal and getting some air time.
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Jason lifting a tire as well.
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Coming up the tight off camber turn.
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Going up higher.
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Getting a little flex in the V-notch.
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Almost to the top of the mesa.
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Just as we crested the mesa top, word came across the CB that Tom had a control arm hanging and so we pulled over to the side of the trail to fix him up.
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I know it's a little hard to see but what we would come to find out is that his EVO lower long arm Johnny Joint somehow sheered it's bolt and the mis-alignment end of the sphere was broken. Fortunately, he had 4 spares attached to his EVO tire carrier and so we got to work and got him fixed up.
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Just as we were wrapping things up, Et had mentioned that we should check the other side just in case and it was a good thing that we did as we would soon find out that the joint was broken on that side too. Being that the bolt was seized up in the nut, just spinning around and that we were unable to remove it without a sawzall, I made the call to turn around and get him down to the Outpost.
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After escorting Tom to the Moab 4x4 Outpost and making sure he was good to go, we decided that we still had plenty of daylight and headed out to Steel Bender to try and get one more run in before the snow started to really pick up.
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With the weather getting worse, we decided to cut out the scenic part of the trail and take the express route to the Drop and go from there.
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As if the Drop isn't unnerving enough, the snow really started to come down just as we got there.
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Cindy's up first to make the plunge.
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Tony going over.
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Jason catching his breath after landing.
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Ray making a touch down!
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Jason getting ready to drop.
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Et making a controlled crash landing.
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Dean coming down with a bounce.
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Moochie making a clean landing.
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Taking some time to stretch after that drop.
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Sun going down fast.
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After a final water crossing, we're done and just as nightfall descended upon us.
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To yet another EPIC day - CHEERS!!
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Day 7 Gold Bar Rim & Gemini Bridges

Day 7 Gold Bar Rim & Gemini Bridges
It's hard to believe just a week before the weather out in Moab was up in the 80's and guys were running around doorless and topless. For us, it had been raining all night before and snow had been falling up on the mesa. Needless to say, day 7 of the WAYALIFE EPIC TREK to MOAB was a cold one and with all the trails slick and muddy. Being that this was our last day and with a pot luck planned for later on in the day, we decided to take it easy and just do an easy run up Gold Bar Rim and finish up the day with a trip out to Gemini Bridges.
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I have to say that the shelf road drive up to the top of the mesa was an E-ticket ride all in itself being that it was so slick with mud.
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It's funny how I normally complain about the fine red dust that's so hard to get rid of after making a trip to Moab only about now, I think I would take the dust over this slick and nasty stuff.
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Taking on the first ledge.
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The big climb right after was super slick thanks to the snow and mud.
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Taking a moment to reflect on all the fun we've been having.
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With the cold rain still coming down we decided stop near the top and turn around. It had been a long week, this was the last day and I think the last thing any of us wanted to do was work on a rig in the freezing mud... well, at least not me anyway :crazyeyes:
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Making a quick stop over at Gemini Bridges before heading back to town.
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After doing some shopping, we made it back to the condos and started cooking our feast!
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Let the HONEY flow!
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To the end of an EPIC TREK with great friends - CHEERS!!
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Day 8 - The Journey Home

Day 8 - The Journey Home
Because an EPIC TREK like this is never really over till it's over, here are a few shots of long journey home from Moab. Rather than split off and head north away from all our friends, Cindy and I decided to head south with them and stay the night in Las Vegas before making an quick trip to SoCal.

Figures that the weather would clear up and be as beautiful as it was just as we were leaving Moab! Making our way across I-70.
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Cutting through the Virgin River Gorge.
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Making an unplanned stop to look for one of the many Transcontinental Airway Beacon concrete arrows that we love finding across the desert.
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After making the false assumption that the concrete arrow had to be on top of the near by hill with all the communications towers, we started to make our way back down to our Jeeps.
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Of course, it was only then that Stephanie noticed something near by that kind of looked like what we were looking for.
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Yippy!! We found it!
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Time for a poser shot with all our Jeeps in it.
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Heading into Vegas as the sun went down.
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Time to unwind with a little bit of whiskey.
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A parting shot before we left most of our friends.
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But for us, our day had just started as our final destination was to be down in Carlsbad to attend an impromptu San Diego Suds-n-Grub!
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Our main purpose for making a stop in SoCal was to stop by Dynatrac where we were hoping to buy a big tool for a big nut.
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But, so long as we were here, we decided to pull our rear drive shaft and have it balanced at Powertrain Industries.
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Fortunately, these guys rock and were able to get our shaft back to us before the end of the day.
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Time to enjoy some fine wine and dine at one of our favorite seaside restaurants, Walt's Warf.
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Enjoying the ocean one last time before heading back for home.
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We pushed through to get home but here are a couple of shots that we took along the way.
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And when all was said and done, we ended up racking over 3,000 miles on this EPIC TREK!!
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You can see a TON more photos that everyone else had posted up on our Mega Thread and you can see them now by clicking on the link below:

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?26212-2015-WAYALIFE-Pilgrimage-to-the-Promised-Land-MEGA-THREAD

I hope you all enjoyed following our adventures on the 2015 WAYALIFE EPIC TREK to Moab. It really was one hell of a trip and while we did have some issues and did have to change our plans a few times, none of it seemed to matter being that we were with such great friends. To everyone who was able to join us, Cindy and I would like to thank you for the awesome time we had with you. A SUPER BIG THANKS needs to go out to Stephanie for organizing all our lodging and lining up all the restaurants we dined at along the way. Also, I need to give a BIG THANKS to Tony for volunteering his time and helping us to take so many of the photos you've just seen.

Until next time, keep the shiny side up, all four on the floor and with any luck, we'll see you on the trail. :thumb:
 
Incredible!

I don't think anyone else does as good of job as you guys do putting a trip together and photo documenting it! Great Job!!
 
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