Well, Violet and I made it to Moab (and back)!
But not in TC. I wasn't able to get the exhaust leak totally eliminated and 6 hours of that noise plus the lack of power would've ruined it for me. Instead we took the Element.
I had lots to do at work and prepping for the trip and ended up postponing a day. So we left Friday around 1, got to the campsite at 7, set up the tent in the rain that followed us along most of I70, and zonkered out.
The next day, breakfast at Moab Diner. Then we rented this for a day from Twisted Jeep Rental:
Yup, Rubicon with lift big rubber, winch, all that. And we ran Sevenmile Rim which I had never done. The Rubicon made this "difficult" trail pretty moderate and fun.
The scenery was incredible. It's a 4-5 hour run that covers a slew of terrain: slickrock climbs, descents, off camber; fun Sandy washes, twisty roads, flat roads through buttes, and so on.
We got to Uranium Arch early on. It's an amazing structure and Violet and other kids had a lot of fun climbing.
A fair portion of the trail afforded some spectacular views from the rim.
We keep seeing Monitor and Merimac buttes off in the distance.
Little did we know that we'd be driving right between them!
Determination Towers was the last formation before some particularly fun washes.
We ran across some Xterras with a WJ at the Arch and later on. A few hundred yards ahead of us, the grand cherk slammed the rear down off a drop off and stopped.
Vaugely aware of gas fumes, I eased down the obstacles and the realization of what he'd done dawned on me when we found them, stopped by trailside, crawling under the back of the Jeep trying to catch dripping liquid.
Yes, the gas tank on a Grand Cherokee is in back and it hangs down. And his had a hole now.
I would've stopped to help if I had TC and the vast collection of tools and odds & ends I have carefully curated all these years. JB weld, self tapping screw, drill, washer... I know I could've fixed it.ome way or the other. But instead I had to shrug and wish them luck.
After we got back it was pool time then giant yard chess....
We were too tired to do anything Sunday but head back. Traffic was typically glacial. Some poor folks in a Wrangler rolled in the median before Glenwood Canyon, their camping gear strewn around for a hundred yards. I hope they survived and are ok. The Jeep was pretty wrecked but the roll bar appeared to have held mostly.
That scene shook me up for the rest of the day. I've been taught the lesson-- over and over again the last 7 years-- life is all too fleeting and everything can go pear-shaped in an instant. What you have can be gone by the time you blink.
So spending time with my little girl having adventures and making memories in magical Moab, or anywhere else, is what I try to focus on. We had another fantastic time and I can't wait to go back.
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