IMPORTANT NOTICE!
Dues are over due. If you couldn't make it to the meeting, please mail a check for $40.00 payable to "Arizona Lo-Rangers" to Ed Lyons, 936 E Wesleyan Dr, Tempe AZ 85282. We had to pay our Arizona State Association dues at the February Quarterly. If your dues haven't been paid you will be dropped from the roster and will stop receiving newsletters. There is no penalty for rejoining, other than possibly missing an issue or two of the newsletter.
Meeting Minutes February, 2001
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by President, Glenn McConnell who extended a welcome to everyone. We once again had a conflict with our meeting place. Peter Piper Pizza didn’t seem to have us in their appointment book. It seems that baseball always takes precedent over 4 Wheelin’ (go figure). We tried conducting the meeting in the main area but it was to loud so we decided to postpone the meeting until the baseballers were done.
Members present were: Scott, Lynn and Sydney Nixon, John Tash, Charlie and Becky Babcock, Matt Parkes, Marty Boetel, Donald LeClair, Ron, Couch, Ed Lyons, Glenn McConnell, Ziggy and Steve Ingles, Linda Luik and Steve Graham, Sandee and Jack McCullen, Bob Trenton, Bruce Browell, Todd and Danielle Gleason, Tim Kennedy, Jay Kopycinski, Mike Tutor, Don Munzer, Scott and Barbi Blattenberger, Ken Bell, Chad and Robyn Marshall, Phil and Judy Boyd, Bill and Nickie Blanford.
Guests present were: Randy Morrow, Mark Hild, John Rabenius, Brian and Stephanie Soderblom, Rick King, and Robert Lomax.
Treasury report: Ed reported that we have $3385.00 in our account after paying the bills. He requested that everyone who has not paid his or her dues need too as soon as possible. If dues are not paid this month you will not receive this copy of the newsletter.
We took an early break. At 7:30 p.m. we resumed the meeting. We voted in 2 new members; Mark Hild and Randy Morrow. Welcome to the club.
Marty Boetel, vice president, has volunteered to be an Environmental Liaison for the club. He will put together a call list the alert members of environmental meetings that need to be attended. Glenn McConnell will be in charge of setting up an e-mail list to alert members of the same environmental meetings. These lists will also be used to notify members of last minute cancellations of club runs. If you would like to help Marty with the call list contact him at home at 480-926-3977.
There was a terrific turnout from OHV enthusiasts at the City of Scottsdale and State Land meeting. OHV people wore red shirts to show their unity. The goal is to retain the use of motorized vehicle in the area that is North of Dynamite Road and East of Pima Road.
Marty will work on having a form letter each month for members to fill out and we can mail it to the concerned party.
Mud Springs trip was fun. See elsewhere in newsletter for a full report.
Predator: Matt, Mr. Ed and Ranger Dave to name a few had a good time. Matt Parkes has entered his Toyota in the Top Truck Challenge, which is put on every year by 4Wheeler Magazine, make sure to vote for his truck to be one of the competitors. He is vehicle #55. Check out the April issue.
Sandee mentioned that the land agencies are looking at possibly having "Trail Stewards" to take pictures of some of the Adopt a Trail runs to show how the trails change from year to year. It will be a way for us to show the improvements that we make on the trails each year.
An on board air systems was mentioned by guest, John Rabenius, he has come up with a C02 type system that sets you back less than $100.00. See John after the meeting for more info.
John Tash will be doing a run in May near the Cherry Creek Wash which runs parallel to Young. He has contacted the National Forest Service and they say the area is open to OHV users.
March 18th- Dunes run with the McCullen family. See calendar for more info.
Marty’s run to Needlerock has been changed to meeting out in Florence Junction at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday evening. He will be exploring mines in the area.
June 9 - 15, 2001 a trip to Moab, Utah. Most of the families will be staying at the KOA in Moab. The number is 1-800-562-0372.
Cleanup on 201- they will be mainly selling use permits. The 7th of March will be the cleanup near Sycamore Creek at 8:00 a.m. They will be giving away door prizes.
March 31st Convention and Truck Show- If you want to show your rig contact Sandee. April 1st Show Me Run- Sandee also needs volunteers to drive land people around. Sandee sent out 160 invitations.
MDA Jamboree was canceled.
Linda Luik will be doing a run in honor of National Trails Day on June 2. She will be running an evening run on Tax Collector, which is located in the White Tanks, area. She asked the club to pay $40.00 to enter into the event. We get cool T-shirts and various stuff to give away. A motion was made to pay for the event, then a second, a third, and even a fourth.
A motion was then made to adjourn the meeting. An enthusiastic second was made by all members, bringing the meeting to a close.
Respectfully submitted,
Becky Babcock
Trail description: Hot Well Dunes
Directions: Hwy 60 east through Globe. Hwy 70 to Safford. Hwy 191 south to Heckle Rd. Dunes are 25 miles down Heckel. Road is gravel but well graded.
There are 2500 acres of dunes to play on with 4x4's, bikes, or quads. There are natural hot springs filling two pebble-tech tubs. There are restroom facilities but no hook ups for RV's. There are limited camping spots before the hot tubs and a large group camping area past the restrooms where we will be setting up.
This is the first "OHV fee area" in the state funded by the OHV gas tax monies. Cost is $3.00 per vehicle per day. Please RSVP to Sandy (480) 832-8132 or mccullen@writeme.com. Bring a dish to share for the Saturday night potluck dinner and plenty of firewood. We will be monitoring channel 14 on the CB.
Moab Information
If you're planning on coming to Moab with us you may want to think about making reservations soon. We will be staying at the
Moab KOA, 3225 South Highway 191 Moab, Utah, USA 84532. Information & Availability: Phone: 435-259-6682, Fax: 435-259-8703, e-mail: koa@lasal.net Reservations: Phone 800-KOA-0372
There are lots of other places to stay as well as plenty of camping spots. Feel free to give me a call if you need help finding a place.
Trip Report: Mud Springs
by Scott Nixon (Photos by Steve Graham)
Participants:
Scott Nixon, Dodge Ram
Gary Evans and his wife whose name I forgot and can't read on the sign in sheet, Toyota 4-Runner
Steve Graham, Dodge Cummins
Bill and Nickie Blanford, Suzuki
Don LeClair, Toyota Pickup
Bill Scheller, Dodge Ram
Chad Marshall, Jeep
Linda Luik, Jeep Grand Cherokee
Mike Tutor and Ron Couch and somebody whose name I forgot and who didn't sign the sign in sheet, Big Bronco
Once everyone was signed in, we headed up the Beeline to mile marker 212 and the start of the trail. A little ways in we stopped and aired down, and picked up a little trash. Just after this flat sandy area the trail starts climbing. We slowly bounced and crawled our way up into the mountains enjoying the beautiful weather and the fantastic scenery. Unlike last year there was very little trash on the trail, only one campsite that had been used by some trigger happy individuals needed attention. Once the numerous shotgun shells and shot up cans had been collected, we piled back in the rigs and headed up the trail.
Another couple of miles of climbing took its toll on Gary's Toyota. The electric fan wasn't doing its job and the engine began to over heat. Rather than risk getting stuck even further from the pavement, Gary and his wife turned around and headed for civilization.
A few more miles of trail, a nice narrow section of shelf road, and a quick descent brought us to the big nasty hill. The recent rains had filled in some of the bigger holes, making it a little less nasty than the last time we ran it. Five of the rigs decided to press on; Bill decided to take a nap, Steve jumped in with Linda and I hitched a ride with Don.
Everyone who tried made it up the hill no problem, and we dropped down the other side to begin the long, torturous boulder crawl. This part seemed easier as well, mother nature has apparently been washing more and more of the big rocks over the side, helped out a bit by a timid four wheeler every now and then.
Don and I, the Blanfords, and Chad soon found ourselves at the cabin. Unfortunately, the rest of the group was nowhere to be seen. After twenty minutes or so they showed up, and we all ate our lunches. As it was starting to get late, we loaded up right after lunch and headed back out.
Once again Don and I wound up way out in front. Bumping along the trail and talking we lost track of everybody else. We stopped after climbing up the boulder crawl and waited. And waited. Then waited some more. Eventually, the Blandfords crawled up the trail and indicated they hadn't seen the others either. We waited a bit longer, then Don and the Blanfords headed out.
I sat for a bit and ate corn chips, enjoying the incredible view and the relaxing sounds of the springs trickling down under a boulder filled wash. Just about the time I was starting to nod off, Chad's Jeep appeared over the hill, followed shortly by the others. When I asked what had happened, Chad indicated Mike had slid down into a wash and had to be extracted. Apparently, he had been distracted (I won't embarrass him by telling by what though, you'll have to ask him yourself). Despite the weight difference, the two Jeeps were able to wrestle the Big Bronco back up on the trail.
Getting the three vehicles up the boulder crawl took a bit of spotting. A short climb later we found ourselves at the top of the big hill. We did a bit of trail maintenance by removing the remains of an old fence stake that was just waiting to shred a tire. A bit of spotting, an anxious slide or two, and some pucker factor got the three vehicles down to the end of the rough stuff.
I jumped back in my truck and followed the group out. A long bumpy ride later lead us back to the flat sandy area. Linda was nice enough to let us borrow her new belt driven air compressor. We stood around talking and filling tires till the sun went down. This proved to be a slight mistake, as it lead to a wrong turn or two through the numerous campsites before we found our way back to the pavement.
Thanks again to everyone who came out to help us maintain the trail!
(winching the Big Bronco back on the trail)
(spotting Chad through a soft spot)
(Mike getting friendly with a boulder)
(Yours truly spotting Linda down the big hill)
Editors Corner
OK, go dig it out of the trash. Yeah, I know, you opened up your newsletter, took a quick look at the cover photo to see if you were in it, and then pitched it. Well, this time you need to take a closer look. No, not at the picture, the address label on the other side.
First of all, check the address to see if that's where you actually live. If not, when your mail forwarding order at the post office expires (yes, they do expire!) you'll stop getting the newsletter. I've got a whole pile of newsletters the Post Office couldn't deliver due to addressing problems. I've got a few they shredded too, but that's a topic for another time.
Now, once you've made sure your address is correct look to the right of your name. There should be a single letter enclosed in brackets after it. If it's an "M" you can stop reading now; you've paid your dues and will continue receiving this fine publication, assuming of course the Post Office doesn't shred it first. No I'm not bitter.
Anyway, if the letter after your name is a "G" you are receiving this as a guest. Everyone who shows up to a meeting or sends me an email gets at least one free newsletter. I sometimes forget exactly when each name got added to the list, so people usually get more than one.
If the letter after your name is an "O" you are an organization. Mostly these go to other Four-Wheel clubs. If you are one of these clubs and like getting copies of this newsletter, could you reciprocate and send me a copy of yours? If you just use it to train your new puppy, let me know and I'll save on the postage.
Finally, if you're still reading it means you have an "X" next to your name. Either that or you are really bored. Anyway, an "X" means you are presently an ex-member. This happens when you don't pay your dues. If you feel this in an error, make sure you let Ed Lyons know. If you would still like to be a member, send Ed Lyons a check.
If you've made a conscious decision not to reenlist, I hope it was an amicable parting. People move, priorities change, and interest in hobbies comes and goes. Maybe you found another club that suited your wheeling style or vehicle better. Whatever the reason, I hope it wasn't because the Lo-Rangers let you down.
Remember that if you pay your dues, the club belongs to you as much as it does to any other member. If we are not running the kinds of trails you want to run, or don't know what kinds of runs are suitable for your vehicle be sure and let somebody know. Otherwise you spent $40 for a lame newsletter and the right to sit at monthly meetings with even lamer pizza.
Scott Nixon,
Editor
Calendar of Events
March 16, 17, and 18: Copperstate 4-Wheelers 13th annual treasure hunt. Call Brad Jones at 480-897-2116 for details.
March 17 and 18: Hot Well Dunes recreation area near Safford. Trip leader is Sandy McCullen. See elsewhere in newsletter for directions and details.
March 28: Monthly club meeting, 7pm at Peter Piper Pizza, Northeast corner of Alma School and Elliot.
March 29, 30 and 31: 2nd annual Lake Havasu Desert Run.
March 30 and 31, April 1: ASA4WDC Convention. Volunteers for Show-Me Run needed!
April 25: Monthly club meeting, 7pm at Peter Piper Pizza, Northeast corner of Alma School and Elliot.
April 27, 28, and 29. MDA/ASA Jamboree. HAS BEEN CANCELED!!!
April 27, 28, and 29. Walapai 4 Wheelers Ghost Town Jamboree. Trails from 3.0 to 4.0+ For details contact Dale at (502) 757-4564 or Leah.
May 12: ASA4WDC Quarterly meeting. Earnhardt Ford 7300 W. Orchid Ln, Chandler.
May 19 and 20: Cherry Creek. Trip leader is John Tash. Trail details after pre-run.
June 9-16: MOAB! Start planning now, because you can't say we didn't warn you!
Newsletter Cover Photo
This month's cover photo is a nice group shot of the five rigs that made it all the way to the cabin at the end of the Mud Springs trail. Thanks again Steve Graham!
Top Truck Challenge
Most of you are probably familiar with Four Wheeler's Top Truck Challenge. For those of you who aren't, readers send in pictures and specifications for their rigs. The magazine editors select seventy or so and print them in the April issue. The readers then vote on the rigs they'd like to see in action, and the ten who get the highest number of votes are invited out to Hollister Hills in southern California for the competition. Events include show and shine, engineering, various statistics (RTI, turning radius, braking, acceleration) and timed runs on several 4x4 courses, including the infamous Tank Trap.
For those of you who have subscriptions make sure you vote for number 55, our own Matt Parkes and his FJ-40. If he's crazy enough to go for it, the least we can do is see that he gets his chance. Good luck Matt!
Joke of the month
Recently released picture of the Clintons moving out of the White House. At least they had the good sense to grab a pair of Unimogs to haul out their loot!
