Rock Crawling and Realty

I am about to perform a feat of magic... I am going to combine two such different things, that you won't believe I was able to actually pull it off...

In the first corner, we have a real estate transaction. Just about every time a home changes hands, there are obstacles and challenges. Sometimes the challenges are small, perhaps even inconsequential. Other times, they may seem insurmountable. Sometimes, they really are. But, often, those seemingly insurmountable obstacles are just that... seemingly.

In the second corner we have Rock Crawling. In this sport, a team made up of a driver and spotter navigate their vehicle through the course with finesse, muscle, power and experience.

The driver has obvious responsibilities. It is the spotter that is more mysterious. The spotter guides, cajoles, motivates and offers advice. It is the spotter holding the rope that allows the driver to control the vehicle beyond where it would roll of lose traction otherwise.

C'mon Lane... wrap this up...

In a real estate transaction, we have buyers, sellers, real estate agents, lawyers, titles, inspectors, mortgage brokers and the house. Any of them may present the obstacles, and all must be navigated to complete the deal and close the sale.

And, like the driver and spotter in a competition rock crawling event, trust and communication work hand in hand with experience and ability.

I'd love your comments.

And yes, I am trying to lay out a case to get my business manager (also known as My Lovely Bride) to let me get a competition rock crawler for the business to sponsor... and for me to drive.

So, you have a little time and want to think about garages and garage stuff

Let's start the tour with The Garage Journal. It's a pretty cool site. Aside from a forum with discussion from members about all things related to garages, they also have feature stories about groovy tool guy stuff like small parts storage and mobile tool storage. There are also some links to other nifty sites. But, the main feature here is the forum.

Non-garage people might not be thrilled about in-depth discussion of garage HVAC, flooring or lighting, but if one is designing a new garage or remodeling an older one, the money that can be saved by taking advantage of the free expertise is amazing.

Another site worth a visit is the Ultimate Garage. This is a commercial site for Steve D'Gerolamo, a garage designer and consultant. Not only does he advertise the tools and equipment he likes, but he also showcases some of his projects... and his own VERY COOL garage. And, he either borrowed some seriously nifty hardware, or he is doing quite well in the garage designing biz.

If you are a little more hardcore. you might tackle the Tool, Shop, Equipment and Fabrication Forum. This is a bit more geared towards actually using that garage... to the hilt. Woodworking, metalworking, tools and miscellaneous garage talk are all on tap in the TSE&FF. The garage talk isn't nearly as in depth as The Garage Journal about garages, but TGJ can't hold a candle to the tool talk.

For something a little more specific, you might wander over the MillerWelds. They have a couple of forums dedicated to various interests, from motorsports to fabrication to welding projects. Of course the moderators favor the "blue brand", the reader-base are great at answering ALL sorts of questions about tweaking different welding and plasma cutting machines. I know I was able to get some great info about my plasma cutter... it is a blue one.

The final site on the post will be the most radical. It is a very specialized forum, geared specifically toward rock crawling. They talk about trail riding, as well as dunes... and even mud... but it is all about the rocks. Before I say what the site is (like the dramatic build-up? Don't read ahead!) there are two other things I want to mention. The first is that the language is rough. People are cussed out for asking stupid questions, and flamed. The other is that the biggest and best names in the off-road world zip on their nomex because they can learn from the members of this place. I have jokingly called it a post-doctoral degree in 4wheeling. But, it really is. There are folks on this board that know more about metallurgy and structural engineering than people teaching in darn good schools. So, when you are feeling cheeky, visit the Pirates of the Rubicon on the Pirate4x4 Forum.

When you are ready to buy the property with that ultimate garage, or where you can build what others have never even thought about (or maybe they have)... give me a call, or visit GarageHomesUSA.

What has been in the Lane stable... Cars I've owned

Ok, most of these were prior to me having a digital camera... or prior to digital cameras at all. But, I having been wanting to sit down and write a list of all of the junk I've owned through the years. I'm looking at getting a film scanner, which will allow me to scan the thousands of rolls of film (I'm not kidding) and use more of my own pictures.

So, in no particular order:

1973 Ford Mustang Coupe, Grande (w/ Mach I hood)
1970 Plymouth Satellite Station Wagon... with a big block... and 2 4vs
1965 Shelby Mustang Fastback
1966 Ford Mustang Fastback (my street racer)
1967 Mercury Cougar (with a stick)
1974 Triumph Spitfire
1979 Triumph Spitfire
1985 Dodge Shelby Charger Turbo (my Autocross car)
1985 Toyota MR2
1955 Willys Jeep M38A1
1971 Kaiser Jeepster Commando
1992 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
1949 Mercury 2 door (chopped of course)
1974 Ford Mustang II
1977 Ford F250 HiBoy (4x4)
2000 Ford F350 (DRW, CC, 4x4)
1977 Dodge Ramcharger 4x4
1985 Subaru Wagon (Turbo)
1984 Subaru Wagon (not Turbo, but drivable)
1995 Saturn SC2
1984 Nissan Kingcab Truck 4x4
1985 Ford Mustang GT
(Does these count? They are/were my wife's)
2001 Dodge Durango SLT 4x4
2005 Chrysler Town & Country Limited
She had a 2000 Jeep Wrangler when we met

So, if you have cars like these moving in and out of your life, and like to have a bunch of toys around, I AM THE real estate agent that knows exactly what you are doealing with. I'd be happy to help you find the right place for your stable. Hit the new site (still constructing...) and give me a shout.

Free, Free, FREE... Nifty open source photo editor

So, without getting real wordy about how I came across this (it all has to do with the new website), let me tell you about a cool open source photo-editor I just came across.

It is called the GIMP. That stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. GNU is one of the open source licensing protocols. I guess it would be best summed up as the open source equivalent of PhotoShop.

If you aren't familiar with open source, it is a movement (sorry, but it really is) of mostly software geeks and engineers that create programs and then allow anyone to have them, and anyone that would like to modify the program to pop the hood and dive into the source code. The community makes revisions, as well as hacks and add-ons. (Hacks are modifications). It is really a cool idea, even though the capitalist in me wants to scream "You could be making money".

This isn't my first foray into open source. I use SMF (Simple Machines Forum) to run my real estate forum and the forum for my 4wd club. I also have recently started to use Joomla to build my new website. So far, I have been pretty impressed with each of these products. I will say that many of the open source products don't have the same prettiness as their high dollar counterparts, but they still seem to have the performance.

Floating around this post, you will see the results of a couple of minutes of editing. It didn't take me as long to edit this image as it did to write this post.

Not too bad for something that is free to use, free to upgrade, and I haven't even looked at a manual yet.

Calling one developer... you don't know who you are yet.

I must admit that I was a bit amazed at the reaction to my last post. On Active Rain, it received a Feature within an hour of being posted. It was also one of my most viewed and commented blog entires. I was shocked that the comments weren't closer to the "Are you nuts?" type.

So, just to get one step closer to reality, here is a compromise first step. Let's team up to build houses for a variety of car people. We're out there. There are at least as many of us as there are horse people, maybe even golf people. Ok, maybe there are more people that hit the links on a Saturday than there are building street rods, but you get my point. There are a LOT of folks out here in the world that love cars. Not only do they love cars, but they have more than two or three. Not only do they have more than two or three, but they like to work on them. For many car people, working on the car might involve a lot more than changing the oil in the driveway.

"What can we do with that little nugget, Lane?"

Let me derail you for a moment. Take a look at a couple of posts I tossed out previously.

• First, there is a post about specializing.
  
• Next up, I posted about unique selling propositions.
  
• Lastly, let me once again point out the NAR Buyer's Study saying that over-sized garages place behind only central air-conditioning on buyer's wish lists (sorry, I don't have an NAR link, but here is the post I made about it).

So, buyers want bigger garages, specialists thrive when generalists fail, and in order to sell in a weak climate a unique selling proposition is one of the key weapons. Builders are choking on inventory in many areas, but other spots are selling like hotcakes. Even in a relatively local area, one development can't keep up, and the next can't keep its head above water.

Of course, pricing is one of the things that can make a difference... but so is value. Building what others don't is one way of creating value. If it is building something desirable, it will separate the leader from the pack.

Instead of building houses and needing to give away TVs and 5%+ commissions, why not build something that will draw buyers. There are some unique (and relatively inexpensive) marketing opportunities. Also, the word of mouth could be amazing. Many people in the car culture community are involved in clubs, and word of a development that was geared towards them would spread like wildfire.

You just need the right type of agent to handle the process and get the ball rolling. Let's team up. Contact me for more info.

Let's build a subdivision that will have the buyers lining up... in their coolest cars.

If you lived here, you'd be rock crawling/drag racing/road racing now...

I just answered a question on another board about marketing a drag racing track that is for sale. I just couldn't help but hit a flight of fancy over it. I started to think of some of the unique, but also fairly popular concepts that I have run across over the years.

There are several road racing communities around the country. The basic concept is to take a private track, with nice views, and instead of trying to make money holding races all of the time, turn it into a private club with residences sprinkled throughout. Throw in a paddock, a nice clubhouse and a few other amenities, and it's a country club for race folks. There are plenty of amatuer racers that have a lot of money to play with... it isn't a cheap hobby. For those that are really into their own racers, factoring in track rentals and transportation costs just for test and tune days, and having access to a track in the neighborhood starts to look great.

Now, people that like to turn the wheel aren't the only ones that would enjoy having a local facility to play. There are at least as many folks that enjoy powering something down the track against the clock. One would need to look into the requirements for private events, but there might be some restrictions that would limit the track to 1/8 mile sprints rather than the traditional 1/4 mile bursts. However, a 1/4 mile track could be set up with lights and timing equipment to run both distances. Just think, Saturday morning and one could pull the dragster out of the garage at home, not even load it up on a trailer, but drive it over to the line... and make a few runs.

The final option would be the most original one. A residential rock crawling club... Rock crawling is one of the fastest growing motor sports in the country. Private off-road parks are popping up all over the country. Unlike drag racing and road course racing, rock crawling happens at VERY slow speeds. While one could argue that there is plenty of carnage in rock crawling, or even its faster cousin rock racing, injuries are pretty rare and pretty mild. So, it might be the safest of the three to host in a private facility without safety crews and emergency transportation. Also, because of the nature of the desirable terrain, it could be hosted in a smaller space, or scaled to larger spaces. It could be done with rolling topography or a fairly flat area with arranged obstacles.

Depending on the desires of each of the communities, events or public days could be hosted to offset some of the costs of the facilities. While the amenities would likely be more expensive than all but the most luxurious traditional clubs (golf, tennis and swimming), the extra income flow, as well as the rarity of the facilities/communities would create good value for the home owner's association.

It sure does make for an interesting group of concepts... and looking at the possible demographics, I think that the right developer could create some VERY popular and unique communities. Free press and publicity would be a breeze, too...

Drop in to my new (as in still under development) website. Take a look. Give me a call.

Ahh, relaxed... ok, sorta relaxed

Some people like to watch baseball. Others think that basketball is what makes life worth living. I like things that involve a little more octane. From Thursday (Oct. 4th) through Sunday (Oct. 7th) my 4 wheel drive club ran registration for the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association.

Sunburned, fried, frozen, tired and glad would all be accurate descriptions of the last few days. Temperatures during the day were in the 80s with wonderful (and burning sunshine) and in the 50s at night. We ran registration from 7:00am (I am NOT a morning person) until as late as 11:00pm. It was a great time.

The big ugly tan and black Blazer belongs to a guy named Gabe (a future client). This was during the rock crawl competition. Justin (one of my clients) was his spotter. They did a great job bringing it in 3rd place in the big tire class.

As predicted, I never made it onto the trails... of course, I don't actually have a trail rig right now, while I'm building my Jeepster. However, I did manage to snap a few shots of some interesting hardware. Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The "truck" looking thing to the left is an Army M-715. This one is SERIOUSLY beefy, and did quite well in the rock competition.

But, despite the fact that I was busy for the majority of the time, I feel somewhat recharged (I will accept that it isn't the same as a cruise). We talked trucks, travel, and joked with each other. We talked about Tellico (the scene of the trail rides), Moab (the center of the 4wheeling universe) and the Rubicon Trail (the home of the fist Jeepers Jamboree). We talked about friends that couldn't make it up for the weekend, had moved on to other hobbies, or just moved on.

Batteries recharged. Attitude reset. Priorities back to normal. Isn't that what vacations are all about?

Looking forward to a little camping!

You heard it. At the end of the week, I'll be off to the wilds to do a little camping. While it isn't as much of an outdoor experience as some, it is a nice place to get away. That also means that I won't have new posts up Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Southern Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA) has their 21st Annual Dixie Run outside of Murphy, NC in the Tellico OHV area. I don't think I will even get to fourwheel this year (not really that unusual), since I will be spending most of my time in the registration area. However, my phone won't have service, and I won't be reachable from Atlanta for a couple of days.

BTW, that Yellow Jeepster isn't mine. It is cool though. He has a TJ Wrangler suspension under it, and it is quite clean. Quite a few people didn't notice how modified it really was.

So, it will be three days in a tent for me... and several hundred of my "closest personal friends."

However, if someone has a camper they want to loan me from Thursday through Monday, I might be willing to take you up on it. I guess I really am getting old.

More Groovy Cool Garage Stuff...

Last week I posted up a couple of entires about cool garage stuff. One of the items was a fridge make-over kit that seems to have disappeared. While trying to find it again, I wandered over to Northern Tool's website. I was pretty sure I had found the fridge kit there previously, but it wasn't there... but there was some more cool stuff I couldn't just pass by.

Need a cool drink? Of course, don't forget a cool opener for your beverages. And, if you need to mix your drinks, don't rely on spotty, weak electrical power... power your blender with GAS.

Of course, no self-respecting garage geek would be proud of an undecorated garage. We decorate the every other room in the house... why not get a little decor for the garage, too. Drag racing Christmas tree lights, or cool neon would be a great addition. Maybe a racing hood would be cool. BTW, Northern Tool has a great series of ads that are all guy-centric. These hoods have the tag lines from some of their ads.

Of course, don't forget that you also need to store things on shelves, as well as have a little hanging room for welding helmets and jackets, as well as some of those other clothes that really don't need to come into the rest of the house.

Enjoy.

A little more Moab, with a few friends...

Meet Pat Johnson of the blue CJ. This poor guy is often my road trip companion. This particular picture was on one of our Moab trips. If you look at the Moab, My Happy Place post, you'll see the tow rig dragging our toys out there. Here is Pat playing in the "Wedgie" on the Poison Spider Mesa trail. It started as a great day, and ended as a great story.

Poison Spider Mesa leads to a trail called the Golden Spike. That connects to a trail called Gold Bar Rim. That combo is generally an all day affair. It took us a little longer.

As I mentioned, everything started out great, but then we started having a few problems. We had five Jeeps in the morning. The first Jeep exploded a lock-out. He had a spare and was soon on his way again. The second Jeep had a serious case of angle issues with the carb. It kept getting worse, and he decided to turn back. The driver of the Jeep with the previously blown hub agreed to accompany him out. I wish I had a transcript of the CB conversation between those two on the way out. We could hear them all of the way into town.

Next up is Patrick Bennett of the olive CJ. He has built a VERY cool Jeep, but this day was not to be great for the Jeep. A short while after this picture, the power steering pump gave up its long fight. And then, an over-extended driveshaft caused further delay. In both cases, we were able to get everything back together and moving along.

Because of the delays, we hit on if the more famous obstacles on the Golden Spike at the most beautiful time of day, that golden light just before sunset. The problem is that it takes about five hours to drive back out to paved roads. That means that four hours is done after dark... and it was REALLY dark. Even with extra lighting, finding the trail markers became a challenge on the slickrock. In fact, it was enough of a challenge that our only passenger, Pat Johnson's wife Helen, had to walk in front of out little three Jeep caravan with a flashlight, searching for the trail markers. These faded markers were painted every few hundred feet, but were difficult to see with headlights. A wrong turn could lead to a disaster. At one point, we were on the end of a point. One way lead down a series of steps along the trail. The other lead over a 300 foot cliff. They looked the same from the driver's seat by headlight. Add an extra hour to only drive at walking speed.

We seriously considered camping for the night. Despite the daytime temperatures in the 90s and higher, nighttime temperatures were in the 50s. We took an inventory of our stores... several bottles of water, tarps, and a single "Lunchable" left over from lunch. We also had a few small bags of chips, and a couple of granola bars.

We decided to keep going.

After a little hiking at an intersection, we were soon on our way down the Gold Bar Rim trail. We were almost home free. The one problem we still faced was that Gold Bar Rim empties out into a valley that is criss-crossed with sand wash roads. It is also still 15 miles or so from pavement. It was dark. there were no signs, and none of us had run this particular trail before.

Referencing a map and a GPS, we determined the general direction to the exit of the canyon. I had run another trail in the area three years before on a previous trip.

We managed to find our way back to the pavement, and eventually to the condo. We had started on the trail around 10am, and finished the day at 2am. It was rough. But, all in all, it has been a great story to re-live every so often around a campfire. I've been back since then, and plan on going again before too long.

Atlanta Area Motosports Calendar

We have recently set up a Motorsports Calendar for Atlanta area events. Not only do we have big events like the NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor speedway and the NHRA Nationals at Commerce, but we also have local SCCA events, as well as Legends races and other amateur events at various venues around town.

Here is a direct link to the calendar.

If you or your club host an event that you would like included, such as a competition event, show and shine or even a club meeting, please feel free to let us know. We'll happily post your event on our Atlanta area Motorsports Calendar.

Mud Bogs, Drags, Solos, etc. are all welcome to be posted.

We do ask that you send a short blurb about the event, which we will post, along with any relevant contact info, in a link from the calendar entry.

How many blog posts do I need for a book?

I was just noticing that several of the people that have commented on my blog have written, or are writing books.

I have 56 posts here, and a few that didn't make it here that I have on other venues. I also have a few published articles on Ezine... and I have a few more in the pipe. As you can tell from looking at my previous posts (OK, not the one about the kid and the dog) I can be pretty verbose.

So, should I write a book? In my previous life I was a published photographer, and published magazine author... but that was all travel and 4wd related stuff.

It would be fun to be able to have my books listed on Amazon, and available for sale through my website.

;^ )

DisneyWorld Bargain Strategy

OK, I've already told everyone that Moab, UT is my happy place. But, there is another place that I really enjoy with my family. DisneyWorld.

I will be the first person to admit that Walt Disney World (WDW) is not a cheap place to take the family for vacation, but that doesn't mean that one can't maximize their value from the experience. Although I'm certainly FAR from being a local, and there are plenty of people that have been there more than we have, I thouth I would pass along a few tips that we've picked up from our WDW travels. Although I don't want to turn this post into a link extravaganza, there will be a few more links coming.

Some of you might be familiar with the DVC or Disney Vacation Club. It is Disney's version of a timeshare. Even though we have thought about buying into it, we haven't, but that doesn't mean that we can't take advantage of it to get a better deal. The way we take advantage of it is to rent points from a DVC member. There is a resource called DISboards that is a great place to find point rental opportunities. DVC members buy points that they can use each year for Disney trips. If they have more points than they can use in a particular time frame, they can rent out those point to third parties. While the points can be used at almost every Disney resort, there are specific properties that are DVC Properties. A DVC member, or point renter will get a lot more bang for the buck at these resorts. Generally, the DVC resorts are on par with Disney's Luxury Resorts. In fact, several are on the same properties. Those are: Animal Kingdom Villas, Beach Club Villas, Boardwalk Villas, Wilderness Lodge Villas. There are also Old Key West and Saratoga Springs, which are primarily DVC properties. You might also notice that these are listed by Disney Travel as "Home away from Home" resorts. All of the DVC properties have a kitchen or kitchenette. Some of the larger ones also have their own laundry facilities, too. There are Studio, One Bedroom, Two Bedroom and Three Bedroom villas available.

But, where is the deal?

On our last trip, we stayed at the Boardwalk Villas. We were in a studio. We went during the Adventure Season, so the room was 9 points per night Sun-Thurs, and 20 points for Fri-Sat. We arrived on Sunday, and left on Saturday, so we used 65 points. We were able to find points for $8 each, so the room for the week was $520 for 6 nights. That averages out to under $87/night. At that time, they were offering Value Resorts (the All-Star Resorts) for $89/night, and the Moderate Resorts were $119/night. Luxury Resorts were starting at $179/night. Had we booked our room through Disney, it would have been $349/night. I think we did OK. Here is a point chart. Last night I ran across points for August for $6ea. That means that one could stay in the same room for $66/night Sun-Thurs, and $156/night Fri or Sat. The only difference that you will notice is that the rooms do not get daily maid service. If you are there less than 4 days, you won't have any maid service. If you are there longer, you will get a maid visit after each four days.

The next strategy is with tickets. If you plan on going again, you might look at No Expiration Tickets. They are a little more, but they are good forever. Additional days don't cost that much, so the more you buy, the cheaper it is per day. I also recommend the Park Hopper Tickets. we like to visit different parks at different times of the day... like the Japanese Pavilion in Epcot for a Sushi Dinner.

Speaking of food... there is a fairly new dining plan available. It only became available for DVC stays since our last visit. Basically, it allows each person to get One Sit Down Meal, One Counter Meal and One Snack per night of stay. They don't have to be used each day. It costs under $40/night/person to add on. While it seems kind of pricey, it isn't that bad compared to paying Disney prices for food, and the Sit Down meal can often be a Character Dining experience. Make reservations and maximize your dining dollars. And remember, the Disney Calories are FREE. I keep telling myself that... and I tend to walk about 15 miles per day while we are there.

Another GREAT source for info is AllEars. Wander around the web, and see what sort of deals you can find. The AllEars Newsletter often has ticket discounts that aren't otherwise available.

Enjoy.

I'm telling you... The GARAGE is the "new Media Room"

Take a look...

The Chicago Tribune posted a story today about garages. Here are a couple of excerpts:

Home builders, remodelers and specialized garage-organization companies see that problem as an opportunity to sell you a solution. They have plenty, including more square footage and garage-themed cabinetry. You can even find a fridge specially built for the garage, so you can always have a cold drink at hand when you're working on your wheels.

Around some homes these days, the amount of space devoted to the garage is big, indeed. Three-car garages were included in 20 percent of new homes built in 2005, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Another 64 percent of new homes had two-car garages.

and

The garage on display in a Stanley Martin model home at Coles Run Manor in Manassas, Va., is packed with nearly as many fancy upgrades as the kitchen. Their "tricked out garage" option includes raised-diamond pattern rubber-like floor protectors; a work bench; storage cabinets; tool racks; slatted wall coverings that accommodate a variety of hooks and baskets for storage; ceiling-mounted bicycle hoists; and even a 20-inch, wall-mounted flat-screen TV. Buyers can choose elements a la carte or sign up for the full slate of options for $19,500.

finally

And who knew there even was such a thing as a refrigerator specially designed for the garage? Gladiator makes the Chillerator Garage Refrigerator, which is Energy Star rated for efficiency and is designed to handle the wide variations in temperature and humidity usually found in a garage.

The Freezerator, specially designed for garage use, allows you to turn the temperature in the freezer compartment down to ordinary refrigerator temperatures, to better accommodate your stockpile of beverages. Both come in an oh-so-manly diamond-plate metal finish.

See. I'm not crazy. I'm just ahead of the curve. There are a lot of us out there that appreciate a nice garage. What goes into a great space in the garage is often something that escapes the average real estate agent. Power consumption baffles them (what are those funny looking plugs for?). While a work triangle in the kitchen is pretty normal knowledge, the same type of work patterns in the garage only appear to people that, ta da... work in the garage.

Just like equestrian properties, or golf properties, or waterfront properties are most often best represented by those that understand them, so are garage properties.

Enjoy, and get out there and spin a wrench. It's GREAT therapy to work for a couple of hours and see something accomplished when it's over.

Does this mean I'm actually Green?!?

I have been reading a bit about green construction, and green living, and green (yada, yada, yada fading away...)

Let's see. I changed my lifestyle in part so that I wouldn't have to drive an hour to work every day. In doing so, I cut the number of miles I drive by quite a bit. I also cut dramatically the amount of time I spend sitting around with the engine running.

I've always felt that 78* in the summer for the A/C, and 68* for the heat in the winter was appropriate. But, is because I'm cheap, and it just seems that when I am out in the 100*/100% humidity Atlanta summers, coming in to 78* feels just as good... and it doesn't slap quite as hard when I have to go back out.

I turn off lights when they aren't being used.

I keep my tires properly inflated.

I insulate. I caulk. I don't water... ok, I rarely water the lawn. My truck is usually not THAT clean. I don't over-mow my grass.

Of course, on the flip side... I Jeep.

But, then one could argue that it is the ultimate recycling project.

But, back to the good side, I've always recycled. In fact, I practice what s called pre-cycling. When buying things, we look for items that will be easily recyclable, or can have a second life in some other way. As my son would say (quoting Builder Bob), "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."

Moab, UT. My Happy Place

I want to write about my happy place. Moab, Utah.

I first went out to Moab with a friend back in 1997. We delivered a Jeep to Salt Lake City, and stopped in Moab for a couple days of 4wheeling before giving it over to the owner. We had permission... really.

Aside from having a great time driving across the country, we both decided that we loved 4wheeling in Moab. The scenery is awesome. The obstacles are incredible, and the traction is amazing. And there is good food, too. Don't forget that Moab is on the edge of Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park.

I've made the trek again... and again... and again. I went back in 1997 again with my own Jeep. I drove it on the 4000 mile round trip, and 4 wheeled for a week while out there. In 2000 and 2003, I towed my Jeep out there along with another Jeep. Each ride has attracted a little bigger group than the last. I think we had around 14 trail rigs on the 2003 trip.

Aside from the 4wheeling, we have rafted part of the Colorado River, took purely scenic drives, visited other areas nearby, and enjoyed some great food.

BTW, I recommend the Moab Brewery for casual dining, and the Sunset Grill for a little more formal atmosphere.