Heart Pounding Action
The most intense
part for me was the Brooklyn Mine Jeep Trail. And just getting there I got into trouble. In the wash, I tried to avoid one of the many natural obstacles and didn't see a large concrete block with a metal pole sticking out of it.
I felt like I had hit a brick wall
and my Explorer kind of stopped by itself. I was just crawling along and wasn't going that fast. I immediately stepped out to investigate. I found I had hit a two-foot chunk of concrete. There was a 12-inch metal pole sticking out of it and I skewered my fog light with the pole and ran the bumper right into the block. It wasn't too bad except that the pole had ripped out the light bulb and broke up some of the plastic where the bulb inserts into the back of the fog light. No big deal, really.
Then when I tried to reverse I got my wheels buried in the loose sand. I dug some of the loose sand from around the tires and placed some flat rocks in my path for traction. Luckily, Josh was following me and attached a tow strap between the two Explorers and gave me a pull backwards as I put it into reverse. This was my first real jam and came out a bit wiser and very thankful for Josh's help.
Next came the rocky up-hill climb that was challenging and exciting but luckily it was less eventful. Dan kept telling us he's done this with a stock Explorer (I think with 31"s?) and we'd all be fine, even me. The Brooklyn Mine really was a great site to visit and was one of the more memorable spots on the run. Dan gave us a lesson in the turn-of-the-century mining operations and the remains there are pretty much still intact.
Another hair-raising event was the bat cave. It was creepy. There were bats flying around inside and one buzzed Ken which gave us all some excitement. Dan knows where all the best kept secrets are in this area. Dan, thanks for spreading the fun around we all enjoyed it.
I've got a couple of more pictures.
Here is a picture of one of the bats that inhabit the bat cave
And here is the concrete block and metal pole that skewered my driver's side fog light
-Mark