Where to begin?  Almost exactly one year ago, several of us from the SOCAL area had decided we were spending New Years at Ocotillo Wells.  We invited anyone who was interested to join us for four wheeling and festivities.  We met several Jeep-L people who have become good friends since.  Last year was too much fun to pass on doing damn near exactly the same thing this year.  So this report is about a second annual get together, a one year anniversary of several friends and coincidentally, MsVicky's and my 14th wedding anniversary.

All the activity really begins with Dave and Pam Wills trek from Kansas towing an M38A1 in their garage.  Along the way the they managed to stop and meet with (oh deer) some of the Jeepers that wouldn't be able to make the trip and still were the first ones to arrive behind the brick shithouse at Ocotillo Wells on Monday.  Bud and Aileen Boren towing Pokey and Steve and Renie Friend towing their CJ-7 arrived a day later on Tuesday.  Sometime on Tuesday, Steve Mckay got down into Ocotillo in his CJ-7 for a quickie and spent a little time with the group.  He left Tuesday evening and got back to join our ICQ campfire on the internet (some of us couldn't wait).

Wednesday morning, Bud, Steve F., Pam and Dave headed for Truck Haven.  Meanwhile, several of us were in route for the desert.  I left the house shortly before 8:00am in my YJ and met with Al Bsharah (aka Jeepaholic) in his YJ at the CircleK on 67.  We waited for a bit until MsVicky in her ZJ caught up.  Aileen greeted us when we arrived at camp around 10:30am.  It was difficult to decide where to put the camper since I knew we were going to have a very large group this year and wanted to have the circle pretty big.  I didn't setup far enough out it seems.  We eventually wound up with a very large circle and even another layer outside parts of that circle.

Shortly after myself, MsVicky and Al arrived, Steve M. showed up and immediately tore into his CJ-7 to replace a fuel pump.  Al had decided he really didn't have enough brake line installed but had some braided steel extensions handy and committed to putting them in.  Once those little jobs were completed Brad Kilby towing his TJ drove by on highway 78 a few times and waved.  I decided I'd head to the store and see if Brad K. was there.  Once I saw Brad heading back, I turned around and came across a ZJ I didn't recognize, but obviously the driver recognized me.  Turned out it was Matt Brookins.  He discovered the day before his ring & pinion were blown in his YJ.  I guess he couldn't stomach showing in anything less than a Jeep and bought another one.  Once Brad K. and Matt B. got to setting up their camps, Brad and Michelle Dokken showed in their TJ.  I decided I needed to get a shot at Blow Sand now, and headed over there by myself while the others setup their camps, Jeeps, etc.  Once up the easy side, once up the hard side and back to camp.

By this time people were filing off to Blow Sand to get fired up themselves.  I could see from camp that Steve M. and Al were sitting on top for awhile.  I figured celebrating something and having a beer.  I figured if I ran up there, they'd offer me one.  So I took off for the hill and sure enough, upon my arrival at the top, Steve handed me a Corona complete with a slice of lime.  Matt B. got over to the dune and showed his stocker ZJ was no slacker in the sand.  When he revved up that ZJ, it sounded like a jet engine.  Brad K. came up the hill about as slow as it can be done.  His wife Lori and two boys onboard.  This family always amazes me.  Quite frankly, in the passenger seat of a Jeep, I'm scared most of the time.  I've watched Lori just as calm and collective as anyone could be, while Brad gets into some of the scariest situations you can imagine.  I've heard his boys on several occasions after a scary spot say, "Let's do it again Dad!"  Real Jeepers I tell ya!

We decided it was time to get back to camp, round up whoever wanted to go and head out for some adventure.  The really nice thing about Ocotillo is that it's an ORV area.  Nowhere is off limits and it's up to the Jeeps to make trails for the lesser vehicles to follow.  Absolute freedom!  We made our way over to a hill halfway between camp and Shell Reef.  Everyone played where they felt like playing.  There was a small dune off to the side of the hill that several people got into.  Brad K. took a shot up a rocky, sandy, steep climb and got really close.  I took a shot at it next with a little more momentum and got nearly to the top before bogging down.  I kept slowing spinning my tires and for some reason the Jeep kept moving forward.  As it turns out, just below the sand was loose, moltan type rock that created enough friction in the sand to continue progress until I actually reached the top.  One at a time, everyone else took a shot at it until we all looked like a bunch of mountain goats spread out over the top of the rocky hill.  Including Matt B.'s stock ZJ.  While we sat up there, a quad type ATV took a shot at the hill.  He really didn't make it very far and took off in shame.  An unfamiliar TJ watched the ATV fail, then pulled up to the climb.  We all waved him up.  He backed up and proceeded to air down.  Once he climbed back into the cab he made an attempt without much speed.  No chance.  We yelled down to him that he'd have to get on it a little better than that.  So he backed down and tried again.  Once he got to the part where all of us had bogged down, we explained he'd have to keep digging and the Jeep would still continue to move forward.  I was really surprised he trusted us and he eventually was up on top with the rest of us.  His name was Bill.  He gave me his last name, but I figure I'm lucky to remember his first.  We all sniffed over his rig, struck up various Jeep type conversations and invited him back to our camp.  He said he'd come by and sure enough, later that evening, did.

After messing around on this hill, we decided to head back and see who else had arrived back at camp.  We got back to find Jake and Laura (friends of Bud from Arizona) had arrived towing a Jeep pickup.  In addition, Mark Alligood had arrived with his wife Misako and daughter Kimi in their YJ.  Steve F., Bud and Dave had gotten back from their excursion to Truck Haven.  Dave's Jeep flexed more than he had room for and the fan hit the radiator out at Truck Haven.  Dave had a spare in his garage at camp.  So he pulled it in, pulled the front clip and replaced the blade.  Later, my brother Dennis arrived towing his tent trailer with his Toyota 4Runner.  With him were, his fiance Kendra, my niece Taryn and a friend of hers named Kristina.

Later Bill Duty was picked up on the radio.  Accompanying him were his two daughters Sarah and Jessica.  He said he was stuck behind a motorhome that had lost control and was now blocking the road.  Bud took off with Matt B. to survey since his daughter Robin, her husband Jeremy and Bud's grandson "The Bink", were extremely late and Bud was worried the motorhome was them.  Bill simply locked it in and drove around in his Ford Ranger towing a tent trailer.  While Bud was back at the scene he found Robin and Jeremy were stranded with two flat tires on their motorhome near the accident scene.  In tow was the CJ-5 many of you have heard Bud mention before.  Bet they were surprised to see the ol'man show up during their distress.

(Addendum) Bud has seen fit to point out a little event I missed that was worth sharing.  Here it is in its entirety.

Ah! I believe theres a thing or two ya forgot now that I think about it Matt. Like when Matt B. and I went out and rescued Jeremy and brought back those tires to fix. We couldn't get one of them to bead after trying everything on earth so Kilby decides we should use the starter fluid trick. He a little tipsy for such work iffin ya ask me but what the hell we ain't making any progress ourselves so we say---go ahead!!  He gets a can of the stuff and ah! Well he squirts it all over the tire getting very little inside IMO. Stands right over it and lites it off.  Hahahaha!!!!  The croud scatters all except Kilby (maybe he knew something who knows) and the flames start to engulf the tire and rim.  We all stand there kinda snickering when I guess the air inside the tire finally super heats (as Steve Friend is standing back there saying it won't work! It'll never work that way!!!!) and it blows up and seats just fine. Course we still had to put the fire out for a couple of feet.  Hahahaha! Oh boy! It was a blast!!

The first thing on the agenda on Thursday morning was Steve F. planned on leading anyone who wanted to participate, over to the new trail created by the San Diego 4 Wheelers near the Superstition Mountain area.  Bill, the fellow we had met the day before, showed for this run.  Bob Bills with his fiance Soraya arrived from their comfy hotel room in Borrego Springs for this run.  But nobody else had really gotten to bed early enough to start off with Steve.  I mentioned to Steve I would head that way soon, figuring some of use would be ready to head out between 10:00 and 11:00.  That didn't happen!  Steve F. and his group headed out and the rest of camp set about getting fed and whatever.  Brad D. pulled his trac bar extension we made a week or so earlier.  Turns out the extension was too high and was causing the trac bar to make contact with the front of the gas tank skid plate.  So he cut it down and grinded it smooth.  Donald and Jennifer showed up in Jenn's XJ and Mikah in his YJ.  Donald let us all in on the details of his Jeep since the roll the day before.  Jay and his wife Marge showed towing their Sammy about the time we rounded up a group for a run out to Pumpkin Patch.  Jay declined since he had to set camp and wanted to relax.   Everyone else was in and we left with about 15 vehicles around noon.  The ride to the trail is really just a sand highway.  Once we turned off the highway we hit the rolling mud hills.  This was really just a nice scenic, roller coaster type ride.  No stress and I'm sure everyone had fun.  We did point out to everyone the gorge where Steve F. led us into the dead end one year ago.  We made it out the Cross-over Trail on to Tule wash.  At that point Dennis' dog got a case of the heevie jeevies and we all took a break.  Once everyone had gotten refreshed, we continued on Tule Wash to the Pumpkin Patch.  There's a sign explaining how these round pumpkin sized mud balls are formed and we all stopped and gandered a bit while Jake fixed a loose shock.  Once Jake was done, we headed back in the direction of camp down Pumpkin Patch Trail.  Pumpkin Patch trail eventually ended in a wash.  I was really hoping this trail continued to the Shell Reef Expressway so we could play on some of the hills there for a while.  Well, this being an ORV area, and being able to see what I thought was the Shell Reef in the distance, I figured I'd just continue on in that direction on a "new" trail.  At one point someone had asked what trail we were on and Pam dubbed it, Ding Dong Drive (she can explain).  Well, just as I expected, Ding Dong Drive led to the landmark I saw in the distance.  It wasn't the Shell Reef hill I was hoping for, but it would provide a playground for anyone interested.  As soon as we topped the dune adjacent to the hill, we watched as an emergency vehicle pulled in with lights blazing.  There were already two sherriffs vehicles there and the emergency vehicle commenced to wetting a very large flat spot.  Bud explained it would be used for a helo pad.  Seems a sand rail had tumbled down one of the hills he was attempting.  We all stayed and watched while the chopper landed.  Progress was slow after that and darkness was quick, so little by little we all trickled out.  We learned later, a woman in the rail had aggravated a previous back injury, but that nobody was otherwise seriously hurt.

We all arrived back at camp to be greeted by Steve F.  He had explained the new trail.  Based on what he said, I think it wasn't quite ready to be called a new trail yet.  Not for me anyway!  Shortly after getting back to camp, Al said his goodbyes and headed back to San Diego.  That evening a few of us took off for what we call a Turkey Hunt.  Someone goes and hides and we try to find them using the meters on the CB.  We have a really corny way of provoking a signal out of the Turkey, but it works.  I get in some of my best wheeling during these games.  If I'm going the direction that my meter is getting stronger, I keep going that direction no matter what the obstacle.  Sure gets interesting sometimes.  I skunked everyone that night and finally had to tell them where I was hiding.
 
That evening was New Years Eve.  Dennis, Brad and Bud provided the fireworks.  Quite an assortment.  Although, all of Bud's were duds.  He admitted they were pretty old.  My bird dog was going absolutely nuts.  She was confused by the popping and thought there would be something to retrieve.  I eventually had to put her in the camper and let her throw her fit in there.  I was praying I didn't ruin another hunting dog with fireworks!

Ok, let's see.  Where are we now?  Friday morning.  For a few weeks prior to this event, MsVicky was organizing a potluck type of New Years Day dinner over a local list.  Her day began with those preparations being brought to bear.  Me, I'm thinking, this ain't much different than home.  My best bet is to get out of her way.  So around noonish, me and several others take off for some hills promising to be back by 3:00pm.  We finished the southern half of Ding Dong Drive and looked for any tough climbs we could find.  Oh yeah, Mike Simpkins was with us by then huh?  When did he catch up?  Mike was camping in another area with some of his other friends and frequently stopped by, but until then, never hit us on a run.  Round about just before 3:00pm, we all peeled off the top of the hill we all had claimed and headed for camp.

We arrived back at camp to find Bud cooking away on two turkeys with an amphitheatre setting of chairs and tables around him and he was entertaining anyone that wasn't working.  MsVicky was busy on two hams, that honestly looked like a photo from a cookbook.  I'm not sure who made what.  Nor could I begin to tell you what all was there.  But I'm tell'n you this was some spread of vittles.  There was ham and there was turkey there was caviare...and long tall glasses with wine up to herrrrre...!  Polished it all off with some of Steve F.'s special homemade ice cream.  Who says the desert is a desolate place with little to eat?

During the run earlier that day, Dennis and I had scouted out some hiding places for the Turkey hunt.  We really thought we'd skunk everyone again.  But Bill and Mark were not gonna have any of that and fairly quickly nailed me.  We played the game several times.  The last one to hide was Brad.  He found the absolute best rock crawl'n trail in the park.  Short but very difficult.  As a matter of  fact, we were sure it would take us a few hours to get through and some rock stacking.  We knew Dave and Pam were soon heading out and we wanted to say goodbye so we passed on finishing this spot.  We'll be back.

After our foolishness was over we all got to say goodbye to Dave and Pam Wills.  They had to be back in Kansas so Dave could go to work on Monday.  So early (like 1:00am) Saturday morning was their planned departure.  They got off right around then too as I remember.  Dave, Pam, I swear we didn't have any fun after you left.  Anything that sounds like fun after you left is made up.

Dave's Jeep has a lot of muscle.  When he fired it up, you couldn't help but grunt.  Here's something Brad D. posted that I thought would put it in perspective.

I camped next to Pam and Dave. Dave has a 52 Willy's with a V-8 and the option of running open pipes. This is a very cool Jeep. It looks like a CJ-5 but is a military version??? The engine is all custom, balanced and blueprinted and the whole Jeep is set up for off-road fun.  I talked Dave into taking me for a ride up Blow Sand Hill on thursday NIGHT! This is a tall dune that lays up alongside a mountain with a steep side and a shallower side. We started towards the hill, the Jeep getting everyone's attention, "BLAT BLAT BLAT" as we slowly make our way over the whoops approaching the hill. As we start up the bottom of the hill people alongside started waving at us and yelling, "let'er rip!!" Once we got past the choppy section and into the soft sand Dave did open it up- I was sucked back into my seat, flames were popping from the open pipes and everything got blurry for a second. Next thing I remember we are on top. I am sure Dave got the whole valley's attention! We went down the steep side, turned around and blasted UP the steep side. That Jeep took the hill ease! We went around a couple more times just to make sure everyone had a chance to see us.  They did! We got a lot of waves on the way back to camp! That's an experience I'll never forget! Thanks Pam and Dave!

Once we arrived back in camp, Jay and Marge had provided steaks for the entire group and they were being prepared as we arrived.  This meant none of us had to do anything but find something to go with these delicious cuts.  Twist my arm!  Bill's vibration had turned out to be a combination of a bad driveshaft idler bearing and the crossmember that supports it was terribly bent.  He called his son Billy on the cell phone and he and my son Rick brought the new bearing that evening from Santee.  Since my son's Jeep is still in the rebuild stage, I decided I'd let him take mine.  I knew that if I rode with him I'd take all the fun out of it so Bud volunteered to take The Boy to school.  So Bud and Brad D. hopped in Pokey and Rick and Brian hopped in my YJ and off they went (I'm really grateful to Bud.  He normally doesn't go out in the evening and did this purely for Rick).  As I understand it, Rick did fairly well considering he was running on street pressure since I had aired up before returning from Truck Haven.  But Rick didn't bring the Jeep back until the gauge was on E!  Teenage son, figures huh?  That evening we threw the remainder of the wood in the fire.

The next morning everyone pretty much packed, said "goodbye" and headed out.

Of all the outings we do, this is one of my favorite.  I can invite anyone, no matter how inexperienced or ill equiped they are.  The facilities there are good and the weather is absolutely splendid, so tents are fine.  The wheeling there is anywhere from easy to extreme and there's bypasses for everything.  You're dead center between Anza Borrego State Park, Superstition Mountain, Pinion Mountain, Truck Haven, Painted Gorge and who knows what else.  Best of all, I get to hang out with some of the coolest people you'll ever get the chance to encounter.

Damn, this Jeep thing is bitch'n!