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We hear the Trolls will be doing their annual Fall color tour again this year on Saturday October 8th.  GLFWDA quarterly to follow on Sunday morning.  We'll post up here as more details become available.

OK, since the other post got a bit side-tracked on the UFWDA training, lets start over.  Who is in for Silver lake the weekend of October 1-2?  Right now we have three groups planning on driving out friday night (Sept 30) to start wheeling at the dunes bright and early on Saturday.

This spring I signed up for a HAM Radio class through Davison Community Enrichment & Recreation which wound up being cancelled because they did not have the minimum (6) people sign up.  It is being offered again this fall, so I am going to register again and give it a try.  If anyone else is interested, the classes are mondays from 6:30-8:30 Starting Ocotber 3rd and running through November 14 (No class on October 31) and the cost is only $30.  The class includes the licensing exam at the end.

Hope we get the six people we need this time!

OK, I'm a little late getting these up, but May was a brutal month with travel schedule at work and such...

If they gave a "So Stuck" award (like at SnoFari) I think I would have claimed it on this one... Going over a couple of cars my left front tire kicked out a support timber that they had stuck through the windshield and consequently my tire droppen intot he hole and got wedged in.  They had to have the backhoe come lift the front end of the jeep to slide the timber back in.  I'm sure there are hundreds of pics of this floating around as everyone was snapping away, but here is how it looked from the inside before we actuallygot picked up...


On to the next obstacle, a set of concrete steps,  slid the back end off and got stuck up against a tractor tire that was there to keep you from falling off. Call in the back hoe once again to pull the tire out of the way for me!


Here one where I am actually not stuck.  


A cool feature of the course was this tunnel:


Here's how it looked going through...


Here's a buggy that went throug chadville with almost no trouble...


All in all, the drivers course was much more extensive and more advanced than it was a couple of years ago when we went.  Some VERY off-camber sections with major pucker-factor.  Very challenging. Thanks to PHittie for taking the passenger seat to be official staff photographer and moral support!

Here are some pics form Spring 2011 Trail Miantenance. 

Literally 5 minutes down the first trail off of Jackson Lake Campground we found our first, and biggest, tree down.  Tony probably spent a good 20 minuts chopping this thing into pieces to clear the trail...


Here another down tree and you can see the path everyone had made going off the trail to get around it...


We blocked the re-route to avoid further damage...


Heres another large tree before:


and After:


The trailer, while still on the small tires, did much better with the lift provided by the axle flip:


The brown spot in the middle of this is, I swear, a bull Elk with antler in velvet:

My Nephew (and I am guessing some of his college buddies) are planning a day tripper up to the St helens Motorsports area on Saturday June 4th.  I am going to go up with him.  Anybody else interested?  I don't know all the details yet, but It shouldn't be a big deal - drive up in the AM, pack a lunch for the trail, drive home Saturday night...I know everyone hasn't been up to the rocks yet... here's your chance!

Who's In?

Are we still a "go" for the equipment maintenance this Sunday at Paul's before the meeting?  Can we get the trailer there along with the equipment?  Does 3:00 still work for everyone?  Who's in?  I suspect there may be some beer available complimnets of the new Club President...

Anyone going?  I am driving up Saturday night and staying in Gaylord so I can be there bright and early to help GLFWDA set up for their booth for the event.

This looks pretty neat...

At the Chrysler Headquarters in auburn hills, the have a year-long exhibit going on celebrating the 70th anniversary of Jeep.  Here is their little blurb about it - I guess they have a museum at the haedquarters...

An original 1941 Willys MA is the focal point of 70 Years of Jeep, an anniversary exhibition celebrating one of the automotive industry's most iconic vehicles.

Featuring a changing array of eight production and concept vehicles, 70 Years of Jeep traces the vehicle's evolutionary rise from military reconnaissance use to the transportation of choice in navigating all manner of terrain for millions of adventure-seekers. The special exhibit also features historical images, memorabilia and extensive narrative that chronicles Jeep's embodiment of freedom and pride for seven decades.

The Museum is showcasing Willys MA78621, one of approximately 45 known 1941 models in the world, an estimated 20 of which are restored. Of the 20 restored vehicles, eight are in the U.S. Willys MA78621 is on loan from the private collection of George and Bernadette Hollins of Palos Park, Ill. who have traced the vehicle's origins back to July 5, 1941, the day it was delivered to the U.S. Army from the Willys-Overland plant in Toledo, OH. It is believed to be one of four MA shipped to the 15th Infantry for testing in Fort Lewis, WA.

MA78621 was discovered rusting away in a farmer's field near Fort Lewis in 2001 and was restored the next year.

They are having a cruise on the anniversary, a wednesday night.  Might be worth taking a half day off and going down as a group to check out the museum and then stay for the car cruise.  Here is a link to the brochure.  

http://wpchryslermuseum.org/assets/atta ... r10511.pdf

Anybody else think this would be a cool idea?

GLFWDA has been invited to set up a booth at this event being held at the Hanson Hills Recreation Area on May 14 & 15.  We need volunteers to man teh booth from 9am-8pm on Saturday and 11-4 on Sunday.  Obviously, this is the same weekend as our trail maintenance trip, so many of us are committed to that.  I thought that anybody that couldn't commit to the weekend inAtlanta might be able to volunteer for a slot of time at this event for GLFWDA.  Responsibilities are essentially to be at the table in a "meet & greet" capacity - hand out brochures, talk about what the association does for the full size user community, etc.

It sounds like a pretty neat event that might be worth taking a walk around and seeing whats there:

"The Au Sable Recreation Expo raises awareness of and markets the rich heritage and recreation of the Au Sable and Manistee Rivers and the Grayling/Crawford County Region.  Our aim is to educate both visitors and citizens about recreation and tourism on the rivers and throughout the area."

Full details at:http://www.ausablerecreationexpo.com/

Got to the forums at GLFWDA.org if you are interested in taking a shift. It would be a tremendous help!

Muddy Buddys Wrangler club in Ohio is I holding what looks like a pretty neat scenic tour in May to benefit the American Cancer Society.  I saw this posted up on GLFWDA.org.  Unfortunately, it is the same weekend as our trail maintenance.  However, while browsing their webiste, I found this event which they are running June 4-5 which also looks pretty cool.  This includes a mile long obstacle course you get to run as many times as you want (though in the pictures it looks like a long line so it is likely not just zip through and go again) plus they are coordinating trail rides throughout the day.  I belive Paul wheeled with some of the Muddy Buddys previously in at an event in Indiana and thought they were a decent group.  I am thinking Julie and I might drive down Saturday the 4th to stay overnight (Microbrew hop somehwere?) and attend on the 5th.  This event is down past Dayton, so it is likely just over a four hour drive for most of us.  I belive we scheduled our summer club trip later in June for Drummond Island this year, but anyone who can't make that might want to think about this as apossible day/overnight trip it might be fun. here is a link:

http://jeepjam.muddybuddys.net/

Anybody going?  I am driving out saturday morning...

While searching through some old boondocker files that I inherited when I took over as editor, I found an old Issue that the file was titled "PR Issue". it was a small 12 pager that I am guessing they made to hand out at events and such.  Anyway, thought you would all love this little article from back sometime near the founding of the club...
[attachment=0:868c8]WLB Pages.pdf[/attachment:868c8]

For those that were not aware, I recently agreed to be the new editor of the Boondocker for GLFWDA.  The first issue I produced (A 2010 "year-in-Review" since no Boondocker was published in 2010) is getting printed this week and will be mailed out, hopefully, soon thereafter.  Meanwhile, if you want a low-res peak at it, it has already been posted at GLFWDA.org.

And BTW Matt M. Will really like the back cover!

I think we saw more Fall Color on the drive out to the west side than on our actual trail rides, but we had a nice day.  Spent the early afternoon on some of the forrest roads, where a lot of the trees were already naked, and then hit the sand dunes for a few hours.  Did not make it up test hill this time in three tries, though the Hitties made it on their second go at it.  

I have to say, the island is just amazing.  Georgous scenery, great trails, we had an awesome weekend.  Pictures never do it justice, but you know that never stops me from trying...

On the Trail


First Recovery of the Day:


Tight & Twisty:


Winching up the Hill:


Lots of water on the Trails:


Conner's Hole:


Getting around the Hole:


The WLB Crew at Shale Beach:


Down the Steps:




Back Up:

My Dad sent me this clip from you tube - some army team takes a Jeep apart and reassemble sit in under 4 minutes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD78rTF0Rjo

Happy birthday to both Jonathon Hittie and My Darling wife!  Hope everyone had a great day!

I dropped of our Mug at ABC 12 yesterday.  On the form it asks you to list the date you need it shown by, but does not really indicate you can pick a date.  I wrote that we would like it aired on the 13th if possible.  I included a copy of the attached press release.  I know Cody has sent info to the flint journal in the past, so maybe you can send this along to them...[attachment=0:39f5e]WLB 4x4 Release 2010.doc[/attachment:39f5e]

My dad is coming into town next week and I would like to take him up to the mounds for a little while just to show him the kind of stuff we do in the Jeep.  Is there anybody that would be avaliable monday June 7th to go up with us for an hour or two?  Obviously, that is not somewhere I want to go play without some one to pull me out should things go awry....

Let me know!