Some Indiana Offroading from yesterday (Badlands)

[seapahn]

Just a few pics from yesterday playing around in the Badlands (Attica IN). Needless to say it was a blast! with no major mishaps. Those of you that remember my rubicon ding on the front passenger flare and fender will get a kick out of knowing that it got significantly larger when I slid sidways into a rock in the muck. Nothing serious and mostly flare damage but I'm glad I hadn't fixed it yet.









And the "cherry on top" for the day ... 4 more hours of driving and I can sleep! The good thing is, you tend not to fall asleep in an open jeep going 80 MPH when it's 40 degrees out! Tomrrow night is going to be 25 around here in Madison. So I'll take that 40 degrees ANY day over 25F!

[JeepGal]

Looks like fun!

Dang...thats way too cold

Ill take my sunny socal wheeling anyday

Tam

[H8PVMT]

Awesome pics, looks like some fun wheelin there.!

[paulhead]

And the "cherry on top" for the day ... 4 more hours of driving and I can sleep! The good thing is, you tend not to fall asleep in an open jeep going 80 MPH when it's 40 degrees out! Tomrrow night is going to be 25 around here in Madison. So I'll take that 40 degrees ANY day over 25F!

I love the elements, hardcore dude! :bolt:

[sarah]

Rock on, how did it compare to Cali wheelin'?
(If there IS such a thing)
Cool pics!

[seapahn]

Thanks for the comments! Comparing to cali wheeling .. well it's definitely different. The awesome thing about Bandlands is that it's a huge offroad park (700 acres?) and it's totally legal to wheel which is a huge bonus. The entire park is basically ok as long as you don't destroy trees and the property.

It was pretty dry yesterday but usually there is a TON of mud and slick goo to be found. The trees definitely add an exciting element. The short wheelbase is definitely an advantage when you're trying to maneuver between the trees and trying not to slide into them.

There are some great rock gardens to play around on and some very cool climbs (rock, sand, mud, all kinds). There is a bit of everything all the way from stocker friendly to the don't even think about it without 44's (tires) and winch and disregard for body panels.

The temps during the day were great. In the 60's for the most part, clear and sunny. But still nothing compares to the west in terms of wheeling and weather. Scenery wise though, I have to say I really got a kick out of driving through the creek in the water.

[tjrubicon]

If I didn't have to work all these dumb hours (3p to 3a) I could have finally met at least one of you MJR folks. On really hot days (80-90, hot for IN) the creek is a really good place to take a break out of the sun and cool down a bit. Only two more weeks of this 12 hour crap and then a third week before I finally get a day off, then if I haven't spent all my money on mods, I'm going wheeling!!!

Wish I could have gone this time though. Looks like you had fun.

[seapahn]

Here's where I got high centered in the creek!



... another look:

[tjrubicon]

The last time I was there, a guy did the same thing on that rock. Only he snapped his U-joints on his front drive shaft at the pinion. Looks like you didn't have that problem though. I haven't tried to go over that rock yet, I keep going around it. It's very tempting for me to try, but I haven't got a very good collection of spare parts in case I break something.

[seapahn]

Well, I don't have any spare parts either so I was very easy on it. I wanted to go around but my spotter/passenger said let's give it a try and I figured why not. I kinda had a feeling it would high center ... and sure enough, got up no problem, went over, and I didn't bump it enough and tried to crawl and before I knew it all 4 were slowly spinning.

If you are with someone that can give you a tug, I'd say don't worry and try it. If you're not heavy on the gas and you don't launch it and land on something vital, it's a fairly harmless spot and you'll just sit there on your belly.

[sarah]

Whoah! You're pretty stuck! That great you had a good time, it sounds like fun actually, except for the mud. Although with your drive home, maybe all of it fell off by then!?

[seapahn]

Yah well I tried to stay clear of that stuff ... I don't particularly like going to look for places to get stuck and then having to get out of the vehicle and sink down to my knees

I had a pretty noticable shake on the drive home but it fixed itself in 30 minutes when I assume all the chunks went flying. On the bright side, the slow leak that I had from my rear diff (couple of drops a night) seems to have fixed itself with all the mud that's caked around the pumpkin

[drivenhardse]

would have been great to been there, i was planning on being there but some miss understandings with the girlfriend tended to lead to a long night of talking and understanding, so around 630 sunday morning i finally got to sleep and to get up at 7 to make it well just didnt happen. that rock is a temptation but for me with open front and rears i think i going to keep to the easy stuff till next year. hope you can make it back sometime.