Sedona Wildflower Run, Sunday 4-17-05

[Sedona Jeep School]

Howdy! I have been watching closely, and now is the time to do our first wildflower run (maybe another one next month for cactus blossoms). Newbies welcome!

When: Sunday, April 17, 2005

Meeting Time: 10:00 AM

Where: Farabee Jeep Rentals, 3009 W. Hwy 89A, Sedona (Just 200 yards east of Dry Creek Road, on the south side of the hwy, between Days Inn and Sedona Tire. Note: there is a Giant across the street with the best gas prices in Sedona, convenience store, and air.)

Trail: Outlaw Trail -- A gorgeous meander through red rock country, old ranch country, and a visit to Indian Ruins, if the group wishes. This is a little-known trail on the west side of Sedona, with great views, and just enough "jeepy" spots to keep long-wheel base or non-4x4 vehicles out. The wildflowers along this trail are typically some of the best, and this year ought to be mind-boggling. Yes, this will be a posey-sniffing trip! :D

Trail Rating: 2.5 trail rating, easy to moderate, see http://www.sedonajeepschool.com/trail.html Stock Wranglers--no problem. Stock Libertys and Grands--you need to be okay with the possibility of a little brush and "kisses" on your undercarriage, but with careful wheel placement, you will have no problem.

Trip Leader: Nena Barlow, who works as a professional guide and instructor, will be happy to expound on the variety of flora, and offer technical four-wheeling suggestions, should anyone desire such assistance.

Group size: We will need to keep this group to less than 10 vehicles, per USFS desires. If more people sign up, we can set up a second wave.

Anyone want to sign up as tail-gunner?

We could also run a quick Diamondback afterwards, for those of you thirsty for more adventure!

Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions.
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1195&stc=1
Picture: This pretty purple flower ("PPF") is in the lily family, and grows out of a small bulb that tastes like a sweet onion. It is called a Blue Dick (I am not making this up.) You can also see owl clover and popcorn flower nearby.

Hope to see you there--Happy trails!

[Mad_Medic]

The wildflowers are AWESOME this year!
Here is a link to some of my pics from White Tanks (and a few from Saguaro Lake).

http://madmedicphoto.com/Nature/

[Bill Ritter]

Nena,

"Anyone want to sign up as tail-gunner?"

I'm in and you gotta tail-gunner.

Bill

Oh yeah..Red Rock pass required.....correct?

[Sedona Jeep School]

Yes, it's a good idea to pickup a Red Rock Pass, in case we stop at the ruins. If you have a Golden Eagle National Parks Pass, that works, too. If anyone needs a pass, Farabee's does have the day and annual Red Rock passes.

[SVanHerpen]

:rolleyes: Stephen and Terri VanHerpen are definites! We'll have the Jeep gassed and the camera's charged. We don't have a tail-gunner accessory on our Jeep, so we'll have to take the rocking chair position...

[rvisokey]

Didn't catch this post in time. However... did visited the ruins that morning and saw you all (I believe) heading in on 525 while were were heading out. Will have to catch the next one.

[bgwhtjp33]

Rich I think you have the dates wrong, not till next Sun. I'll be there Nena, how much for the pass? :D

[Sedona Jeep School]

Passes are $5/day, $20/annual, or I always buy the annual Golden Eagle Pass for $65 which gets you into all the federally run parks, monuments, and fee demo areas in the country. Day passes are available at convenience stores, visitors centers, and Farabee's. The Golden Eagle Pass is available at the Ranger Station in Tequa Plaza on Hwy 179 in the Village of Oak Creek.

Yes, we are talking about this next Sunday, April 17.

Bill, Lyle has signed up as the "drag man", as he has a new Jeep that needs to get good and dusty :D , but thanks for the offer, and I will keep you in mind in case anything changes.

So far, we have 7 Jeeps signed up, so there is room for a few more. I mentioned that we should also do another flower run next month when our cactus blossoms get started.

Happy trails!

[rvisokey]

As usuall... I'm a day off!

R

[Bill Ritter]

Nena,

"Bill, Lyle has signed up as the "drag man", as he has a new Jeep that needs to get good and dusty , but thanks for the offer, and I will keep you in mind in case anything changes.
"

No problem.Looking forward to a great day.

Bill

[mbuckner]

Hello Nena, Please sign me up if you still have room.....Mike

[samdog3]

add my name to list :D

[FlexyXJ]

Howdy! I have been watching closely, and now is the time to do our first wildflower run (maybe another one next month for cactus blossoms). Newbies welcome!

When: Sunday, April 17, 2005

Meeting Time: 10:00 AM

Where: Farabee Jeep Rentals, 3009 W. Hwy 89A, Sedona (Just 200 yards east of Dry Creek Road, on the south side of the hwy, between Days Inn and Sedona Tire. Note: there is a Giant across the street with the best gas prices in Sedona, convenience store, and air.)

Trail: Outlaw Trail -- A gorgeous meander through red rock country, old ranch country, and a visit to Indian Ruins, if the group wishes. This is a little-known trail on the west side of Sedona, with great views, and just enough "jeepy" spots to keep long-wheel base or non-4x4 vehicles out. The wildflowers along this trail are typically some of the best, and this year ought to be mind-boggling. Yes, this will be a posey-sniffing trip! :D

Trail Rating: 2.5 trail rating, easy to moderate, see http://www.sedonajeepschool.com/trail.html Stock Wranglers--no problem. Stock Libertys and Grands--you need to be okay with the possibility of a little brush and "kisses" on your undercarriage, but with careful wheel placement, you will have no problem.

Trip Leader: Nena Barlow, who works as a professional guide and instructor, will be happy to expound on the variety of flora, and offer technical four-wheeling suggestions, should anyone desire such assistance.

Group size: We will need to keep this group to less than 10 vehicles, per USFS desires. If more people sign up, we can set up a second wave.

Anyone want to sign up as tail-gunner?

We could also run a quick Diamondback afterwards, for those of you thirsty for more adventure!

Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions.
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1195&stc=1
Picture: This pretty purple flower ("PPF") is in the lily family, and grows out of a small bulb that tastes like a sweet onion. It is called a Blue Dick (I am not making this up.) You can also see owl clover and popcorn flower nearby.

Hope to see you there--Happy trails!


BUT NENA.......... you forgot to point out the "Cryptobiotic crust" In the picture.....remember, "Dont bust the crust!!!"


Joe

[Sedona Jeep School]

Joe--you did bring up a good point--This run will, of course, practice Leave No Trace ethics--we will LOOK, but not take or leave anything!

Also, we have more people interested than the original 10 slots, so I am setting up a second wave. I am waiting confirmation from my second guide--but, just in case, does anyone else here know the Outlaw Trail?

[Sedona Jeep School]

Second guide is confirmed: Darryl Ranges, formerly a firefighter from New Jersey, now slipped into the irreputable world of Jeep tours and instructing. (Just for clarification: we are doing this for fun, NOT as a paid tour.) Darryl is one of those sick ones, like me, who does it as a profession all week, then goes out for fun on his days off, though I have insisted that he leave his classic Bronco in the parking lot and lead with a Jeep!

We will set up the second group to depart 20-30 minutes after the first group. I will be leading the first group. Let me know if anyone has definite preferences one way or the other, i.e. time constraints, bias against New Englanders, etc... :D

Here is the total list so far:

1. Lyle C. (tailgunner)
2. Tracy M. (tentative)
3. Stephen & Terry V.
4. Bill R. (b/u tailgunner?)
5. "BGWHTTJ"
6. Rick B.
7. Mike & Debbie C.
8. Mike F. "MESA"
9. Peter S.
10. "Samdog3"
11. Tim F.
12. George K.
13. Eric P.
14. Mike B.
15. Curt C.
16. Scott B.

Please advise me of any changes in your status. Looking forward to seeing new faces and old! Well, not old, but familiar...well, some old AND familiar...you know what I mean... :D

(928) 274-0570

Happy trails!

[BillR]

Sorry I missed it.
Any chance of setting one up next weekend? I'll tailgun if you need...

[bgwhtjp33]

Nena
Thanks for leading this trip I had a great time. There sure was a lot of Pink Jeeps on Diamondback, I counted 7, most seemed nice but a couple of them gave us that look like why are you on my trail and in my way!

[Sedona Jeep School]

Howdy!

Thank you to all who came--it was a pleasure to meet so many new faces.
We had a total of 15 in the group, with representation from all walks
of life. As for Jeeps, we had everything: stock TJ's, XJ's, ZJ's,
brand new Rubi Unlimiteds, modified TJ's, one modified LJ, one modified
YJ, and Rick's BEEe-eautiful XJ :D
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1292&stc=1

View the entire photo album at: http://community.webshots.com/album/324980345TiNMew If anyone would like me to email them the full size photo, just email me with the photo number.

In spite of the trip leader's (my) dead CB, and the second-wave trip
leader calling in "stuck at the lake" at the last minute (what is it
with the Jersey boys?), we had a smooth run. Nothing broken, no one
stuck, and we actually returned with more people than we started with
(that makes up for all the times we lost people along the way :D ) It
was fairly slow going, with a group that size, but the scenery was
great, the weather was beautiful, and the flowers were plentiful.
All-in-all, a nice, easy trip, with
just enough "jeepy" spots to keep the rental cars off the trail. http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1293&stc=1 http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1294&stc=1

Thank you to tailgunners George and Alice who kept everyone on track,
and a special thank you to "bellygunners" Lyle and Norma for
translating and relaying. (I hope I got everyone's name right.)

Although we opted to skip the ruins, most of the group stayed on for
Diamondback (I just couldn't shake 'em!) for a little more Jeeping, and
a little less flower-sniffing. We encountered a traffic snarl at the
top of the Gulch, with 4 private vehicles and 6? Pink Jeeps, all but
one was nice. With all of the vehicles out there, I thought I was on
Broken Arrow for a minute! Anyone notice the Land Rover dragging his
side step behind him after he left the gulch?

Diamondback is fun because there are easy lines and harder lines, with
most of the group attacking at least some of the harder lines, just
because. The stock Jeeps did great. I enjoyed finessing one of the
fleet Jeeps with open diffs over some of the obstacles. Rick took every
hard line and showed us what diff guards are for--Rick, I hope I didn't
embarrass you by referring to you as "famous" all day--it was great to
finally get to meet you and your family. The brand new Rubi Unlimiteds
(2) got to try out their lockers for the first time, which of course,
makes it just "point and shoot"--they made it so casually, I think they
were sipping refreshments and reading the newspaper on the way up the
hill.
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1297&stc=1 http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1298&stc=1
I had fun--everyone was very nice, very respectful of the land, and
very patient with the group size. I didn't get to spend nearly as much
visiting time with each of you as I would have liked, but it was
fantastic to meet you all, and we will do more runs!

Thank you all for making it a great day--Happy trails!

http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1295&stc=1 http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1296&stc=1

[BillR]

Howdy!

Thank you to all who came--it was a pleasure to meet so many new faces.
We had a total of 15 in the group, with representation from all walks
of life. As for Jeeps, we had everything: stock TJ's, XJ's, ZJ's,
brand new Rubi Unlimiteds, modified TJ's, one modified LJ, one modified
YJ, and Rick's BEEe-eautiful XJ :D
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1292&stc=1

View the entire photo album at: http://community.webshots.com/album/324980345TiNMew If anyone would like me to email them the full size photo, just email me with the photo number.

In spite of the trip leader's (my) dead CB, and the second-wave trip
leader calling in "stuck at the lake" at the last minute (what is it
with the Jersey boys?), we had a smooth run. Nothing broken, no one
stuck, and we actually returned with more people than we started with
(that makes up for all the times we lost people along the way :D ) It
was fairly slow going, with a group that size, but the scenery was
great, the weather was beautiful, and the flowers were plentiful.
All-in-all, a nice, easy trip, with
just enough "jeepy" spots to keep the rental cars off the trail. http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1293&stc=1 http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1294&stc=1

Thank you to tailgunners George and Alice who kept everyone on track,
and a special thank you to "bellygunners" Lyle and Norma for
translating and relaying. (I hope I got everyone's name right.)

Although we opted to skip the ruins, most of the group stayed on for
Diamondback (I just couldn't shake 'em!) for a little more Jeeping, and
a little less flower-sniffing. We encountered a traffic snarl at the
top of the Gulch, with 4 private vehicles and 6? Pink Jeeps, all but
one was nice. With all of the vehicles out there, I thought I was on
Broken Arrow for a minute! Anyone notice the Land Rover dragging his
side step behind him after he left the gulch?

Diamondback is fun because there are easy lines and harder lines, with
most of the group attacking at least some of the harder lines, just
because. The stock Jeeps did great. I enjoyed finessing one of the
fleet Jeeps with open diffs over some of the obstacles. Rick took every
hard line and showed us what diff guards are for--Rick, I hope I didn't
embarrass you by referring to you as "famous" all day--it was great to
finally get to meet you and your family. The brand new Rubi Unlimiteds
(2) got to try out their lockers for the first time, which of course,
makes it just "point and shoot"--they made it so casually, I think they
were sipping refreshments and reading the newspaper on the way up the
hill.
http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1297&stc=1 http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1298&stc=1
I had fun--everyone was very nice, very respectful of the land, and
very patient with the group size. I didn't get to spend nearly as much
visiting time with each of you as I would have liked, but it was
fantastic to meet you all, and we will do more runs!

Thank you all for making it a great day--Happy trails!

http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1295&stc=1 http://www.virtualjeepclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1296&stc=1
Sounds like fun.
How's this Saturday look for you?