i'll sit down tonight and figure out what i'm bringing or have room for and we can go from there.

we'll probly be leaving here around 10 am so we can meet up with matt in va around 1:30 or so. Any time you want to get here wed night is fine with me. The earlier you get here the more beer we can drink

I had a mean bender this past weekend and I honestly think I'm still recovering. Nicki was in OCNJ so me and the boys got a little carried away. I don't know if my throat hurts from screaming so much or if I'm f'ing sick! Nothing more beer can't fix! My only concern with leaving at 10am is that I think it's gonna make it a real bitch to show up late in Harlan. The main reason I say this is because of making sure we buy our passes and square away the camp site. I hate early mornings but I think we'd be better off leaving at like 8am.

what route are you guys taking? I'd like to intercept Nick along the way to pick up a part and drop off some stuff to him.

well be running 70 to 81 out, so we'll be comming right by you Bill.

now nick, easy there boy you act like i'm flying down the road with my lug nuts loose. Reason were leaving at 10 is so we can meet up with the other matt in va about the time he gets off of work and gets on down the road at 1:30, 2:00 which puts us in harlan around 6:30, 7:00. The passes are for sale 24/7 at the gas station about 5 mins from the camp. We were going to stop in before we went into the camp ground. If all goes well we should be relaxing and drinking beer at our camp site by 8:30 watching the sun set.

Now relax take a breath and chill

damn I really have forgotten what its like not to be in a rush before an outing. I really see something major breaking now.

P.S. you don't know nothing about traffic till you have seen 695 out by 70 at 8am, a good day is a 20 min back up.

Ok, I figured that it had something to do with meeting Matt.

Joe just to let you know it took us 12 hours to get there. we left about 5:00 am got there about 5:00 did stop for breakfast and lunch. Have a good time the trail are great.

Damn paul 12 hours that must of been one hell of a breakfast and lunch you had. Map quest has the trip at 8 hours and 45 min. Two years ago i had to run down to a place just outside of knoxville to pick stuff up. it took me round trip 15 hrs with me stopping one time for fuel and to pick the parts up. My truck with trailer averages about 8 hrs drive time (when doing the speed limit) My guess is that nicks truck will be around 5 hrs or so for a fill up ( probly having us stop two times) plus stopping to meet the other matt and crap should put us around 10 hrs tops.

Anyway I talked to the other matt today and he said it wouldn't be a prob if we met earlier so we could get out of here a 9 am. Any earlier then that you going to be fighting rush hour unless you leave at 7am or earlier.

I know when we go to Avon in the OBX it says like 8 hours and it always ends up being closer to 10. I think the earlier we leave the better.

The problem with 81 is there is only two lanes and a lot of trucks in both lanes that go the same speed so it makes it hard to pass and make time.

well were all here and ready to go

Hey Nick, Got yer tow strap?

Well it was an experience! Be glad we ran a recon mission because that "camp site" (parking lot) was the biggest fucking joke. Things improved once the rain stopped and I got out of my floating tent. The trails are pretty damn intense and the park is enormous. I haven't seen open mountain ranges like that other than in Colorado, it was pretty. I must say I felt hellishly under built. You need HP and strong shit. Guys broke chromo birfs, transfer cases, driveshafts, knuckles, steering box and these weren't half assed rigs!! I'm amazed I didn't break an axle because I was beating the shit out of it. I really really wish some of the trails were dry so i had a chance in hell on getting into some other situations. Lion's den was that coolest trail I've ever been on, it had me giddy. Somehow Matt and I ended up being a trail guide and it was mostly just me, joe, and matt and john in the wj.

There are a lot of good stories we'll be sharing with you guys bullshitting and telling lies around the fire at big dogs. The guys from Trucks were there and there is a possibility of us being on TV so that's kinda cool. Some other guys we met had an online magazine you can find at www.moabjeeper.com. They got video footage as well and we're told we can find it by searching Jeep Porn in youtube. The younger guy from Trucks was cool as hell too. He joined us on the Mason Jar trail wheeled the rest of the day/late evening and came back and drank beers. Very cool down to earth guy.

I'm working on getting the pictures up now. That was a ROUGH day of driving. 81 is on my shit list. Every time we'd start building speed we'd come to a screeching halt on and off for like 35 miles. It was about 10 hours 15 minutes of driving for me at like 570ish miles at 9.5mpg OUCH. At the end of the day, would I go there again? Hell yes!! I sure as hell questioned what the fuck I was thinking a few times but it all worked out. If Mandy wasn't along to feed us it would have been much worse!! Next trip we'll be renting cabins with ac, shower, tv, and fridge sitting at the base of the mountain. Speaking of which, can you believe we drove about 30 min on the damn road - some highway to get back to our camp site?!?! I was just cruising down the road with no windshield just trying to think of some story for the cop the whole time I was driving. Well that's it for now, I realize it's scattered commentary but my brain is mush.

Also, keep Matt from Moon Works in mind if you need any parts. Go to www.moonworksoffroad.com He's a hell of a nice guy. After all that talk of running together at Big Dogs we finally managed to get on the trail and wheel for once. I believe Matt and John will be coming up for the Rausch comp and running with us.

Sweet! glad you guys had a good time. look forward to seeing the pics and video.