Members in attendance: John Tash, Don LeClair, Bill Scheller, Jim Smith, Rick Micola, Ted, Loran, and Jake Gersztyn, Jack and Sandee McCullen and Devon, Glenn McConnell, Ron and Brenda and Jordan Couch, Gordon and Matt Grotts, Don and James Munzer, Bill Blanford, Marty Boetel, Ed Melendy, Charlie and Becky Babcock, Scott and Lynn and Sydney Nixon, Ed Lyons.

There was a sudden change in meeting spots due to Peter Piper Pizza not having us on the calendar for our monthly meeting. Little League pictures took our place. We quickly decided to relocate to Barro’s Pizza at the corner of Alma School and Guadalupe. (Much better pizza anyway.) A sign was placed on the door telling anyone who wanted to really attend the meeting to meet at Barro’s. Thank you to all of you who ventured to the second meeting spot of the night.

Welcome to everyone by President Boetel. Followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Old Business-

• Christmas Party is scheduled for Saturday, December 16, 2000 in Bulldog wash near Bartlett Lake. A show of hands decided to make the party on Saturday instead of Sunday.
• Trail Reports- Jamboree was wet to say the least.
• November runs- Hammers Trail in Johnson Valley, Thanksgiving weekend with Mr. Ed.
• If anyone is interested in wheeling during the four day Thanksgiving weekend give Marty a call.
• Two trips were scheduled for Friday, November 24, 2000. A 2.5 trip and a 4.0 trip. Both runs will meet at Texaco in Florence Junction at 8:30 a.m. and will be run in the Martinez Canyon area. Ron Couch will lead the 2.5 trip and Marty Boetel will lead the 4.0 trip. They are planning to meet back up at some point during the day.
• We currently have $2815.25 in our bank account.
• Sandee was asked about the Jamboree, DONE! Was all Sandee had to say!
• Great Job on Tech Inspection! Way to go Brenda!

• The Ranch in Florence Junction has been sold. It is rumored to have been sold for $2700.00, which was the back taxes.
• On Tuesday, October 31, 2000 there will be a meeting in Florence Junction concerning the Middle Gila Conservation Management. President Boetel will be there if anyone would like to join him.
• Charles Wells is working on a AZ trails guide and would like for volunteers to show him around our trails. If interested contact Marty Boetel.
• It was voted to bring a canned food item to the Christmas Party.
• We will have our regular club meeting for November on Wednesday, November 29, 2000 at Peter Piper Pizza. We will not have a club meeting in December. If you are planning any trips for December make sure to come with dates and meeting times to November’s meeting.
• One new member voted in, Dave Pike.
• Motion made to adjourn the meeting.

October 20, by Rick Micola

Okay, I showed up at the Jamboree campsite at about 7:25 am on Friday October 20. The trip I was leading (Lower Ajax) was scheduled to pull out of staging area 4 at 8:25 am. Everything was going well, I had picked my guest list, my fancy purple "Staff" t-shirt, and my Jeep was running well. My daughter J’cie and I jumped in and headed to the staging area at about 8:15. I know this was later than I was supposed to get there but I figured, 5 minutes to check the attendees, 5-minute drivers meeting and we would be off to the trailhead.

Unfortunately my newly purchased CJ6, which had been sitting in the garage until Wednesday, had other intentions. Apparently, one of the alternator wires decided to work its way out of the crimped connector, which temporarily disabled my Jeep. After a quick repair and some well-deserved (and expected) ribbing, we headed to the trail.

Once at the trailhead we, aired down, visited nature, and then headed over the first obstacle. This obstacle is a 3-4 foot waterfall that has 2-3 ways to be traversed. The recent rains washed quite a bit of dirt out of the bottom of the waterfall, which made it a little deeper/taller than usual. After a little release of aromatic old clutch aroma, my CJ6 made it without any trouble. The driver behind me was not so fortunate. His front drive shaft dropped out before he even made it to the obstacle. Apparently his drive shaft was too short, and would not stay in the slip yoke, and after a half an hour of dismantling the yoke and putting the drive line shank back in place, it fell out again as he headed toward the waterfall. After a little soul searching, he decided to head back to camp, and we continued on. All was pretty uneventful until Bill had a tire go flat on "Mad Max", his new Dodge Ram pickup, he mounted his spare and we were off again.

We got to a spot that is always very interesting. Two years ago, at this spot, I walked Gordon Grotts through the toughest line and almost had him fall over on 4 of us that were "helping" him along. This year, I got to make 2 vehicles almost fall over on us. One was a TJ with an open front end, and the other was a YJ that was locked front and rear with a 4-1 kit in his transfer case. The YJ said he had to do it because the open TJ did.

Almost everyone did something that they didn’t think they were able to do at some point, which made everyone happier and the trip itself much more enjoyable.

Oh yeah, back to my CJ6. My CJ6 made it through the whole trail without any trouble (well almost) being completely open front and rear, with manual steering and brakes, not to mention the 2.03 – 1 gears in my differentials. I think the 36x14.5 tires made a little difference. They also helped me to pretzel my drag link in the last 100 yards of the trail. After winching, and straightening the drag link back out, I carefully made my way to the end of the trail. Bill followed me back to camp, just in case my drag link snapped, and I loaded up and headed home. Bill went back to town to get his flat tire replaced and headed back to camp for a very soggy weekend. It was a great trip, with lots of pictures and a pumped up sense of wheeling finesse, which made it just as good if not better, than the last 2 years I have led Lower Ajax.

See you all out there next year.

First off is President. The president's duties mostly involve running the monthly meetings. Outside of the meeting itself, all you have to do is type up an agenda, field an occasional phone call, and perhaps hold an executive meeting if you feel it's warranted. Whenever a new President is elected, you automatically become Vice President. All the V.P ever has to do is fill in for the President if he can't make a meeting.

Next up is Secretary. The Secretary is responsible for taking notes at the meeting. If his or her handwriting is legible that's all there is to it, although the Editor really appreciates if you can type them up, preferably in electronic form.

The Treasurer is responsible for the club's finances. Ed Lyons has held this post since the club was founded, and does such a great job I get the impression it’s a lot harder than he let's on. Keeping the club check book balanced, selling raffle tickets at the meetings, paying our bills, keeping the club roster up to date, and making sure everyone pays their dues are just a few of the duties the Treasurer is responsible for.

Last, and hopefully not least, is Editor. The club bylaws are pretty open-ended when it comes to the newsletter. Basically you need to get something out every month that contains the meeting minutes and a schedule of up coming events. Whatever you want to do after that is up to you. The downside is the club has gotten pretty big, so each issue involves a lot of folding, taping, and stamping. Having a home computer is almost a requirement for this one.

In closing, I'll just remind everybody of the unofficial Lo-Rangers motto: complaining about how someone in the club is doing their job is equivalent to volunteering to do it next year. ;)

Scott Nixon,

Editor

November 7: VOTE!!!!

November 24: Two trips are scheduled, a 2.5 trip and a 4.0 trip. Both runs will meet at the Texaco in Florence Junction at 8:30 a.m. and will be run in the Martinez Canyon area. Ron Couch will lead the 2.5 trip and Marty Boetel will lead the 4.0 trip. They are planning to meet back up at some point during the day.

November 29: Monthly club meeting, 7pm at Peter Piper Pizza, North-East corner of Alma School and Elliot.

December 16: Club Christmas Party See following section for details and directions. Meet at 10:30 at the entrance to Bull Dog Wash.

December 27: STAY HOME! There is no meeting!

Yes, it's that time again. For the last couple of years we have held our club Christmas party in BullDog wash. For those of you unfamiliar with this trail, it's located south of Sagauro Lake off of the Bush Highway just past the Blue Point Bridge (see map near the Salt River label). This trail is gated, so we meet just off the highway outside of the gate (say, around 10:30 AM) and go in as a group. Any vehicle can make it to the party spot. There is a nice big rock in the middle of the wash to play on, and last near we found a nice rock launching pad to climb as well.

The club provides burgers, hot dogs, buns, and soda. Everyone is asked to bring a side dish. After lunch we usually play a few 4x4 games. Once everyone has had their fill of burgers and games we head home, usually around mid-afternoon. Those looking for more 'wheeling can head further down the trail to Usery Pass Road (trail is 3.0, mostly rutted sandy wash) or the long way out towards Mesa (also 3.0, lots of rocky hills and known for slicing tires). Those looking for a quick way home head out the way we came in.

Sound like fun? Then give Marty a call at (480) 926-3977 to RSVP so we know how many burgers to buy and what side dishes to expect.

1 255/85R16 Bias-ply thornbird. Less than a 100 miles on the tire, it was my spare. Make offer! Scott Nixon, 602-482-8973.

A very small, sickly-looking man was hired as a bartender. The saloon owner gave him a word of warning: "Drop everything and run for your life if ever you hear that Big John is on his way to town." The man worked several months without any problems. Then one day a cowhand rushed in shouting, "Big John is a'comin'," and knocked the small bartender on the floor in his hurry to get out.

Before the bartender had a chance to recover, a giant of a man with a black bushy beard rode into the saloon through the swinging doors on the back of a buffalo, and using a rattlesnake for a whip. The man tore the doors off their hinges, knocked over tables, and flung the snake onto the corner. He then took his massive fist and split the bar in half as he asked for a drink. The bartender nervously pushed a bottle at the man. He bit off the top of the bottle with his teeth and downed the contents in one gulp, and turned to leave.

Seeing that he wasn't hurting anyone, the bartender asked the man if he would like another drink. "I ain't got no time," the man roared. "Big John is a'comin' to town."