Hi Desert Roundup ...?

[jeeper joel]

hey everybody!, met a few of you last year at HDR, might remember me, was in a red flattie, had broken front leaf spring, going solo this year, lookin for ppl to camp and wheel with

[Russ Chung]

Joel,

I don't know where the MJR camp will be. I usually camp with Jason and sometimes with George (TDS SD). Last time we camped about 1/4 mile east of the registration area. We don't have an MJR banner to mark the site because the banner blew away two years ago (if anyone is in NV or AZ keep your eye out for the MJR banner because that was the direction it was last headed). I'll send you my cell phone number and we can look for each other out there.

Russ

[Jason]

Hey Joel,

Glad to see you're coming out to HDR again. Like Russ said, 1/4 east and on the left side of the main road people take to get the the lakebed. It seems like a good starting place. I'll be in my silver F-150 flat towing a Green/black YJ. You can also look for the truck with the tent in the back of the bed. My Jeep has the MJR banner on the windshield as well. I'll be out there early Friday afternoon.

[WOKNROX]

Hey Joel..

We'll be camping around the same spot as the other guys here...
I have a champagne GMC Dmax with simi wheels and a Lance camper on it...it will be towing on a trailer my Olive drab Yj ..hope to see you out there ....

[jeeper joel]

right on, thanks guys! probably be dark by the time i get there, but i'll find ya!.... must remember to pack extra leaf spring....

[WOKNROX]

I had a great time at HDR this weekend ....if any of you were on my run to Matino wash I want to say thanx ...I hope you had a good time and enjoyed the run..
A special thanx to Jason for MC'n the raffle ....good job!
Hey and a big hi 5 to you guys here that participated in the best equipped competition great job...and maybe next year will be your year...
I'm also looking forward to next year and hopefully it'll be held back at Stoddard Wells ....sounds like I'm not alone on that ...

Thanx guys!
Steve..

[Ol Man]

The On the Rocks group had a good time also. We had a total of about 25 rigs on Hammer Down, with only one vehicle we had to extricate. That was a Scout that broke a rear axle at the Gate Keeper. We had about six club members on the run, so we had a good time. We made about $120 for Cal 4 Wheel on the Teeter Totter. There were only three clubs participating in the games on Sunday. As is the usual, I won nothing at the raffle. The weather was really good this year. Friday and Saturday the wind was mild and the temps were pretty cool. The wind blew the last two nights, but the days were good. The wind at the raffle were not bad last night. I was amazed at how many people left on Saturday after the runs. We were pretty busy on the Teeter Totter, but not as busy as previous years.

[Ol Man]

Oh, and I got to use my Premier Welder for the first time on my buggy.....fixing someone else, of course.

[Russ Chung]

I arrived Friday night just after dark. Jason and George (TDS SD) were already there and I set up camp under the light of a full moon. Joel (Jeeper Joel) and Heather arrived about an hour later in his 1948 Willys CJ3a. His Willys would not develop full power due to a clogged fuel filter. After they set up camp, Joel cleaned out the fuel lines and it ran better. The weather in Johnson Valley was nice. The daytime temps were in the 80s, the nighttime temps were around 60 and the wind was light.

There were five runs on Saturday. Two difficult runs went to the Hammers and to Mottino Wash, two moderate runs went to the Fry Mountains and an SUV run went to the northern part of Johnson Valley. George (TDS SD) and I went on one of the moderate runs, Jason was the tail gunner for the SUV run and Joel went to Cougar Buttes.

This is a view of the HDR base camp at Anderson Dry Lake from the Fry Mountains:



George's Blue YJ in the Fry Mountains, followed by one of the trail crew members from the Hemet Jeep Club:



Our run returned to camp about 1 pm, and Jason returned about 2 pm. Jason and George had never been to Cougar Buttes, so we went over there and ran part of Bullfrog. George's Blue YJ followed by Jason's Green YJ:



Jason spotting George on the Bullfrog Trail:





I didn't get a picture of Jason heading down the obstacle, but here a picture of him heading back up:



We only stayed at Cougar Buttes for a couple of hours before returning to the HDR base camp. After dinner, we decided to represent MJR in the "best equipped" competition. Each team consisted of two vehicles and five team members. Joel's 1948 CJ3a and my 2005 TJ were the two vehicles for the MJR team. George and Jason put some of their tools and spare parts in our two Jeeps. George didn't want to compete, so Jason, Joel, Heather and I made up our team. Jason volunteered to be the runner for our team. We came in a respectable second place behind the VV4W club men's team.

On Sunday there were no runs scheduled. George left for home. Jason, Joel and I decided to run up to Calico to see if we could find Lorie (I H8RDS) and the gang. The trip report for the Calico run is posted in the Calico discussion thread. When we returned to base camp, the wind had picked up and my tent had partially collapsed. I made repairs to the tent and headed to the raffle. I didn't win anything.

On Monday, Jason and Joel headed home while I went to Barstow to help Kirk work on the XJ. See the separate technical discussion thread about the XJ.

The weather during HDR was the best in years. Although the attendance was smaller than in past years, I had a great time seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

[Jason]

I had a great time as well. The trip didn't start out so fun. After I had broke my first passenger side u-joint since owning my Jeep up in Big Bear, I upgraded the axles. At the same time I put in the Aussie locker. Kurt told me it should tow fine. NOPE. Not my YJ. Something about no true neutral. Chuck said to disconect the hubs. I'm striking out here. So not wanting to miss HDR, I rented a U-haul and was on my merry way. I kind of like the trailer thing. I just don't want to store one.

I've attended this event since '02 and have assisted once before helping to clean up the Ruff Rock Cafe. I washed dishes and help take down the tent. Well, I decided to really get involved this year. At registration I eagerly stated my desire to help. Great!

Them - Will you tail gun the SUV run and do you have an extra seat?
Me - Sure.
Them - We need a MC for the raffle.
Me - I used to DJ at a roller rink way back and loved it.
Them - Well you have a great radio voice
Me - Well sure why not. Did I just say that outloud?

That was on Friday. I was back on Saturday and someone reminded me about the MC thing. "You were serious about that?"

I also noticed that the "best equipped" competition would happen if they had at least 2 entrants. Well, Victor Valley split into two group and I offered to see if my camp mates would be interested. They were. I just thought the event would look better with more participants. We would have won if I hadn't set the paper plate with our team number on it down on the jeep for the last requested item. Started running to the finish line and I realized that I forgot the plate. I ran back and someone, Heather?, handed me the plate and I made first across the finish line. Didn't count cause the sign was handed to me on the wrong side of the starting line. I had a great time regardless.