Larry K.

Thanks for the info Roy. Looks like business will be a little slow for the folks up at the CK Saloon! Larry K.

Also have one if all else fails. Larry K.

OB1, Thanks for a great report & hopefully a solution to the problem. I had a similar event on "Stump Jumper", my 01 TJ a few months ago, This gives me some hope for a solution. Thanks, Larry K.

Yet another, if you still have room. Larry K.

Ladybug, Cool report! So. Utah has to be one of the most beautiful parts of our world. Thanks for sharing. Larry K.

I plan on my last extended trip of the spring up to the AFNM April 25-27. I will be camping So. of the Brooklyn Ruins on FS Rd. 599/610, and exploring the area So. to Point Extreme, along with a few short side hikes to the mesa edge overlooking Squaw Creek. I welcome any of you who would like to go along. Join me for a day, two, or three. I will be arriving at Bloody Springs Rd., just east of I-17 exit 259 at 8:00AM on Friday 4-25, and departing east at 8:30 AM. I will be taking Bloody Springs Rd. east approx. 10 miles, then So. at the kiosk on 9014 for 5 miles to the Brooklyn Ruins, then So. through the metal gate on FS 599 and FS 610 approx. 1 mile to my intended camp. Points of interest in the area are the Brooklyn Mine in Brooklyn Basin with the big chimney, The Brooklyn Ruins site with the glyph of the "Red Deer, Squaw Creek Ruins, and Point Extreme which has a ruins that I can only compare to a miniature "Machu Picchu". This ruins extends out over Squaw Creek at the So. most point of the AFNM giving one an eagles' eye-view of Black Canyon City & the Cross Y Ranch on the Agua Fria River below. Time permitting, there are two other ruin sites in the area which require short hikes, and are worth seeing. Most of the travel is on moderate roads, with 4wd only required if you want to explore Brooklyn Basin, and perhaps at a spot or two So. of Squaw Cr. Ruins. However, there is a stretch of approx. three miles from Squaw Cr. south which is just "nasty, rocky, uncomfortable. Not technical, or difficult - just a rotten no good kidney bouncer! If you are interested let me know - teaser pic's attached. We will be camping on FS lands - so, no fires. The campsites are shrinking in size due to the growth of grass & weeds which will soon preclude camping in most sites, as the grass will be waist high to a tall giraffe. Larry K. Larry K.

Teddy, Randle, Wash. huh! Beautiful country up there. Spent a week there at a USFS seminar back in the early 90's. Loved the area. The Cerbat Mt. Loop east of Chloride offers the Packsaddle Campground, which is at a decent elevation to avoid the heat this time of year, which is easily accessed by taking the northern loop route. The southern loop route is fairly rough (rock strewn) immediately past the Purcell Murals site for a couple of miles which might be tough with a stock liberty. There is also a R.V. park in Chloride. While I was at the mural site, a Jeep group out of San Diego was finishing the loop north to south, and reported no difficulty, as they had run the difficult section downhill. Interesting area. Enjoy. Larry K.

Left Friday on solo trip heading for Dripping Springs. Followed Welles directions in his new book, and was quickly lost. As I was wandering around in the wilderness like "Lady Bug", I stumbled into 4 guardian angels at the Apache chief B & B. They welcomed me along as they were headed in my direction. The Apache Chief cabin is decorated with colorful women's flimsies and empty whiskey bottles. and adopted by Quartzite off- roaders for their raucous gatherings. The latest of which was the wedding of two "Dummies" (mannequins), and their dog. None of which survived the festivities & are buried out from the porch of the cabin. Then ran down to Castle Dome Mts., and searched out the cave & tanks mentioned by Welles. Lotsa caves, and a beautiful tank that must have been 10 -12 feet deep, nestled in a rock surrounding. Saturday off to the Desert Bar east of Parker - closed - not open til noon. On to Oatman, and then Chloride to check out Roy Purcells' murals & glyphs in the area. If you can understand Purcells' art let me know! Got to the trail to the Gold King Mansion late in the day & was met by two ATV r's who advised against going on in, as the latest rains had badly damaged the trail. I heeded their advice, and aborted this side trip in favor of a camp at Burro Cr. Sunday off to Bagdad, Hillside, and Jerome - just because they're there. Spent the afternoon at Palatki & Honanki ruins east of Sedona. Have pictoral proof that the Sinaqua were Seahawks fans. Monday out to the AFNM, and discovered a new (to me) ruins on the southern portion of the Monument. Some stunning glyphs are there, as well as outstanding views overlooking Black Canyon City (much better views than what Welles has in his new book of Black Canyon City). With the "cabin fever" cured I headed back to the little "wifey", and some good food. Larry K.

1st pic is of Karen & Jim at the Vulture City Cemetery, located approx. 1/2 mile south of the Vulture mine on the west side of the road. Jim is taking a pic of the only marked grave at this site - that of a 6 year old girl. There are probably 40 - 50 grave sites here, which is being maintained by the Verde Valley Cemetery Assoc., and is in much better condition than when I first observed it several years ago. 2nd pic is at dawn of our 2nd nights camp in an un-named wash a few miles west of Hummingbird Springs. About 3:00 AM I peeked out the window of my TJ to see what looked like Karen flying a kite, I thought that a bit strange, but rolled over and went back to sleep. The wash had now been named Windy Wash. Last pic is of an improvised bed in my TJ. Back seat removed some time ago & replaced with a storage compartment. Just recently removed the front passenger seat & built a storage /support area which allows for a 6'X 34" sleeping area. This trip was my first opportunity to give this Rube Goldberg creation a test. Worked great! Sure beats rasslin' with a tent. A special thanks to Karen for all her hard work organizing the trip, and to others who made it very enjoyable. Larry K.

I got the celery & onion. Larry K.

Potluck beef stew sounds great - let me know what to bring. Larry K.

Ladybug, If you still have room please put me down. I'm right in the middle of several mods to "Stump Jumper" and am eager to give them a trial run. I have made the Belmont run & Cherry Stem run (although we didn't call it that) in the past. Didn't hike out to Hummingbird Springs. So should be fun. Larry K.

1. The Fusion SE was purchased 4 mo's ago from our local Ford dealer in Sun City, the car had 4900 miles on it. She had driven it with the salesman and had no problems with the car during the demo. She made the deal, I drove it off the lot and as I left the lot I noticed a terrible grinding in the left front undercarriage when making a left turn onto the street. She took it back to the dealer the next day. The service man's explanation was a bolt in the undercarriage had worked it's way loose & rubbed against the left front wheel & tire. 2. Two days later we took a spin up to Wickenburg for lunch. On the way back I was the passenger & as she got the car up to about 55 MPH I looked through the rear view mirror and saw that the back right body panel behind the right rear was flapping in the wind like a bird wing. Back into the shop. Explanation was that the clips holding the back body panels on both sides were missing - must have not been installed at the factory. 3. Next left front tire blew out. Fortunately at low speed. A result of problem # 1. They did not have the tire in stock, so ordered one, it came - oops they ordered the wrong size. Three days later we got the correct replacement tire. 4. Onboard navigation/communication system refused to work properly, as well as other electronic devices in the dashboard display. They were able to fix some of the problem, but not all of it. 5. Lastly, flaws in the paint began showing up - she took it in & they ran it through the body shop & fixed some but not all of her concerns. By now I had given up on the car & the service dept. Her last trip in to service was less than a week ago. She told me the service dept. manager had been fired & she had to work with a new guy & she was pissed! All of above was under warranty & repaired at no cost to us. During this time period she had put less than 1500 miles on the Fusion. I didn't think any dealership could be worse than the local Jeep dealer, but I have been proved wrong! (again) I told her to do whatever, and sat down to a bottle of Jim Beam Black, and the "new" Wells book. Last night she brought home a new 2014 Ford Escape, & gave me a black F-150 ball cap the salesman had given her! Hell of a deal. Fshcop

Got out to Perry Mesa on the AFNM this morning at 7:00 AM. Heading west toward Batt Tank I spied what at first I thought was a weather grounded balloon off in the distance. Hiked over to it & low & behold 4 balloons claiming "Its A Boy". Now how in the heck did that get here - over ten miles from anywhere! That had to be a good omen for a great day. Got to Batt Tank , and two of it's most impressive glyphs. The greatly elongated deer, and a glyph of what is purported to be a picture of the Supernova of 1054. (google it up - kind of interesting) Things were going great, and I went east to FS Rd. 44 & went in from the top end (east end) to check out a cave "Sly Dawg" had shown me a year or so earlier. Things went downhill from there. The cave was pretty much a bust. It was a clay aggregate soil composition & the rear top most portion of the structure was collapsed in the back, sort of making an arch - nothing of interest there. Continued on FS Rd. 44 as it makes a loop into Bishop Creek, west & south back to Bloody Basin Rd. Hoping to find some fall color in the Bishop Creek area. Not bad color, but most of it is over with at this time. The road itself is rather unremarkable, and not something I would endorse or do again. Although I did jump a mule deer doe at the windmill & tank in the bottom of Bishop Creek. Leaving the area & south on I-17 I get a call from my better half. She's at the new car tent sale at the ASU Coliseum. What in the hell!!!! I just bought her a new 2013 Ford Fusion 5 mo's ago. I realize it is a POS, but what's she thinking!!! Just got off the phone with her a few minutes ago & she said she's bringing something new home. AAARGH! There goes my chance at acquiring a late model Jeep Unlimited Rubicon. The lesson gentleman is - DON'T LEAVE YOUR WIFE UNSUPERVISED WHEN YOU LEAVE HOME!!!!! Who was it who said, "If it wasn't for their certain body part, we'd hunt them down"? Larry K. & "Stump Jumper"

I checked out the ORP trip schedule and found that November is pretty well full of trip activities, December - not so much. How does Dec. 7th (Pearl Harbor day) work out for you folks for a Columbia to Tiptop & out to Table Mesa run? I will need to make a scouting trip up there to check out the west end of the route to see what effect the summer monsoons had on the trail, and if things look OK, we could be good to go. Anyone interested? Would like at least 3-4 rigs, not more than 10. Larry K.