Sunday, October 19, 2008

10-18-2008

Bootleg Canyon Run, Boulder City, NV


October 18, 2008


(Our Jeep in the parking lot where we met up to go out on the run...)


(All the rigs lined up and ready to hit the trail...)


(Xavi letting some air out of the tires for a better ride on the trail...)

(The trail map of the run...)

We went out for our second run in two weeks and we went out again to Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City. We headed out on the trail a bit earlier this time and it was just before sundown when we hit the trail. We didn't get to Lookout Point before sunset but hopefully soon we will get the chance to see the full trail in the daylight to see the terrain and mountains.


(Our Jeep on the trail)


(Us just as the sun is about to go down on the trail...)


After the tall hill and one of the Jeeps having to get some help we ended up in the Rock Garden where a couple of the Jeeps tried their luck at the obstacles...

(Xavi waiting his turn near the Rock Garden...)

(Xavi going up one of the various ways in the Rock Garden area...)

After going back up to Lookout Point our group went up to another area that we hadn't been to yet...we had to climb up a pretty steep hill and unfortunately the 4-wheel drive slipped out a couple of times. Xavi was able to hold up the lever though to keep it engaged and we made it up the hill. It is a good thing he did that because the view at the top of the hill was very beautiful of all the city lights of Las Vegas. You can see the Stratsophere Tower and all the other casino lights and best of all you can still see the stars!



(The Jeep after making the trip up a hill to an overview area that outlooked the entire city of Las Vegas...)



(Xavi with his Jeep at the top of the hill overlooking the city...)



(The view of the city with the Stratosphere Tower in the distance...)



(Xavi and our trail buddy, Randy, aka Gus, taking in the view of the city...)


(Our Jeep enjoying the city view...in this photo it is a bit hard to tell but the city lights were very beautiful up there...)




(a short video showing the trail and a couple of the other rigs doing various obstacles on the trail...)


Overall it was a great second run and the 4-wheel drive seemed to stay in a bit better this time but we still need to have the linkage looked into soon.

Our new rig...

A 1999 Jeep Wrangler TJ

So after visiting almost all of the auto dealerships around Las Vegas and Henderson one Saturday afternoon we were on our way back home and decided to fill-up our car with gas and luckily we saw a parking lot of a local high school that allows people on the weekends to sell their vehicles. Parked in the lot was a beautiful and well equipped for starting out off roading black 1999 Jeep Wrangler TJ. It was exactly what we were looking for within our budget...

We met the seller and as he was showing what all he had done to the Jeep we knew it was the one we had to have! We went home and cleaned up the garage to make a space for the new baby. We went after work on Friday to pick-up the vehicle and Xavi had never been happier before! The smile on his face was larger than life!

(Here we are with Gerby and our new Jeep!)

We spent the first weekend just looking at it and enjoying knowing that it was ours...we went on a couple of errand runs with it and it was nice to feel the wind in our hair.

Here are a couple of photos that the seller gave to us of all the various things he had done to the Jeep.

(The seller of the Jeep had purchased the Jeep in Florida a few years ago...this is a photo of when he picked-up the Jeep...)

(He did many things inside the Jeep, like audio system upgrades, lights, new carpet and seat covers along with lining the entire interior floor with stuff...see photo below...to help keep things cooler and warmer depending on the season...)

(The Jeep with none of the seats or anything as it was being lined with protectant)

(With the old bumpers and side railings...)

(The old seats covers and carpeting...)

(The new seats covers and carpeting...)

10-11-2008

Our first run...Bootleg Canyon, Boulder City

Despite cold weather in Las Vegas, which is a rare occasion, we took out our new rig on Saturday, October 11. We had visited the 4-Wheel Parts store in Henderson to get an oil change and found out that a group of people were going to go out that evening for a run in Boulder City. We meet up with the group at 5:00 pm and hit the road. There was a total of 11 different rigs all ready to get dusty and hit the trail. It was exciting to go out and try something new as I have never been in a Jeep before offroading. Unfortanetly we didn't have our own camera for the outing as we were not planning on going out on a run that evening but luckily we did get a photo from someone else that was taking photos!

(This is a map of where we went on the trail for our first run...)

It was a great trail to go out on for the first run. We were able to test out the rig and found out that the 4-wheel drive has some problems with staying engaged. It worked out okay and we were able to make it through the trail with it staying engaged in 4-wheel high for most of the route. There was an area high atop a mountain called Lookout Point that was very beautiful, but very cold.

(The Jeep at the end of the Lookout Point...)

For our first run it was a fun and successful night. It was my 30th birthday and I was battling a bit of a cold but we had fun together and learned what our new rig can do!