Act 2008

[DSLTOY]

Todd and I depart for Alaska in the morning, hauling 3 FJ-40's, Clutchee, Archie, Bob and the other Shirley will fly up on the 9 th. and meet us on the 10 th in Tok. Been so busy gettin ready for the trip that I forgot about meetings and rides, we'll have a Chattannoga meeting and a ride in Aug. will set the date when we return, which should be around July 26th.

[LDowney]

Guys,
Have careful drive and a great time on the trails. We are wishing that we could being going on this trip too, so keep our jealously fueled with lots of stories and pictures.

See you in August.

[Goode]

You guys have a great time and be safe. I can't wait to see some pics and here the "stories, tales, lies and exaggerations"

See ya soon!!

[Bodean]

Talked to Todd about 2 hours ago and they have made it to Tok Alaska. They made great time! Ashley said she would update as info is available.

[LDowney]

Originally Posted by Bodean

Talked to Todd about 2 hours ago and they have made it to Tok Alaska. They made great time! Ashley said she would update as info is available.

Jeff / Ashley,
Thanks for the update and the ones to follow.

[Hugh Heifer]

Pretty sure you guys have gotten these but here is some news from Todd

...or how I'm personally bailing out the US economy...


Well, some of you are aware, but some aren't, so what follows is a brief synopsis of what's happening...written in a Flying J truckstop in Great Falls, MT


I and several friends are making a journey to Alaska to partake in the Alaska Cruiser Trek 2008. This is a semi-annual event hosted by some fine folks up in AK. What, might you ask is the ACT, well pictures are worth a bunch of words, right? So...since a few of you have truoble with polysyllabic words, here's a link to the pictures. These are from a few yrs back, but I hear we might be covering some of the same territory. That's what's great about Alaska, in the words of the illustrious Dr. Emmitt Brown (, "Roads...where we're going we don't need roads." (Hint: He's the mad scientist from Back to the Future Trilogy...in case you were brain dead in the '80s) There are no set trails in Alaska and, much like the US used to be, you can pretty much drive anywhere you want...


So my buddy Roger and I are driving up and the rest of the guys are flying up later this week and meeting us in Eastern Alaska. I know I need to write more here, but Roger's ready to go, and he's old and cantankerous so, to keep him happy, I'll leave you short on details, and try to fill them in soon


So, we headed out Saturday the 5th, from Manchester, TN about 10am CDT...so if you're paying attention, today is Sunday, and as I write this (in Great Falls, MT!) its a little after 10 pm CDT...thats over 2100 miles in 36 hrs...and that ain't in the BMW...


Anyway, expect to be updated as we enter Canada tonight, and the actual trek begins Saturday the 12th.


Go here for some pics of getting things ready, and as soon as I get a chance I'll add some more.


Todd

[Hugh Heifer]

And another

So in my haste to keep Roger from imploading, I forgot to actually insert the link to the pics...


Here they are from the ACT a few years back.


From 2003


Article from TT from 2006

Also in updated news, we crossed the border with no issues about midnight local time. Took about 10 minutes completely painless, but the officer did worry me a bit when he asked if we had Alcohol...I told him it was packed in my rig in the middle of the trailer, and that we couldn't get to it without unloading EVERYTHING....he wasn't that interested...


And for my niece Emily's edification and to assuage any concerns that we won't be carrying enough malted adult beverages...what you see in that pic from the loadout, runs 34" deep and 43" across.
For those that don't have a 12 pack or a case handy (shame on you!) That works out perfectly to Fifteen (15!) 12 packs, or in this case 9 12 packs and 2 cases of Yuengling...Wally World was out of 12 packs, so sacrafices had to be made to the gods of uniformity...they'll get over it. The above mentioned 2 cases of Yuengling, 6 12 packs of Bud Light and Roger's 3 12 packs of that horse piss known to many of you as Miller Light... And, once again, those who graduated from THS, might have missed it but that only totals 13...why you ask? Had to leave room for the case of Coke I need to survive the mornings since I don't drink Coffee


Now for the reason its the middle of the morning and I once again find myself stuck in Flying J writing to ya'll. It seems that the load we're carrying (~23K pounds) is a bit much for the Gooseneck hitch...I noticed it leaning a bit from the stress and pointed out to Roger early this morning while fueling. In an ode to the food gods and our stomachs, we decided to seek out grub and think what we should do with regards to our new found issue...On the way looking for food, we passed a Heavy Equipment Trailer Repair shop...of all the gin joints in all the towns...the road we picked had the perfect shop to re-weld the pipe to the frame...and they brought it directly into the shop after learning of our plight...


So here I sit my buns-a-flexin....givin' birth to another Texan...ain't wifi awesome!


Note, not really, I'm sitting here in the restaurant...sorry for that mental image...


More as it develops!

[HITCHED2CLUTCHEE]

Clutchee and Archie have safely arrived in Anchorage which was about 2 am nashville time. This afternoon they visited with a few people in Anchorage and were heading toward Tok about 6 pm nashville time to meet Todd and Roger. Lucky Bastids! That is all for now!

[Bodean]

Wish we could see the links!

[LDowney]

Originally Posted by HITCHED2CLUTCHEE

Clutchee and Archie have safely arrived in Anchorage which was about 2 am nashville time. This afternoon they visited with a few people in Anchorage and were heading toward Tok about 6 pm nashville time to meet Todd and Roger. Lucky Bastids! That is all for now!

Ashley,
Thanks and I like your mud ID. Academic question for you, why didn't you select a modern confident bride mud ID like MASTERofCLUTCHEE?
Have a great weekend and thanks for the situation report.

[Hugh Heifer]

Originally Posted by Bodean

Wish we could see the links!

Links fixed.

[Bodean]

I know they are out of the woods because I talked to Todd and Clutchee yesterday. They said it was "muddy". Maybe they will post up soon.

Later,

[Hugh Heifer]

I also heard from Todd. He said he was just getting back from trail and was running on 3 cylinders. The dizzy was the suspect due to the amount of water they encountered. That is all he had to say.

[DSLTOY]

Todd and i arrived in Manchester this morning, 85 hours from Anchorage to Manchester. Will post some pics later.

[LDowney]

Welcome home. The pictures that have already been posted on the ACT2008 thread look like you had an amazing trek and will years worth of stories.

[Hugh Heifer]

Originally Posted by DSLTOY

Todd and i arrived in Manchester this morning, 85 hours from Anchorage to Manchester. Will post some pics later.

Originally Posted by LDowney

Welcome home. The pictures that have already been posted on the ACT2008 thread look like you had an amazing trek and will years worth of stories.

Ditto. I put out a look out for you guys with ICE. Gues the system is broken. They were not supposed to let you back in without a set of 2" OME springs with my name spry painted on them!

Glad you guys survived...who has the knuckle sst?

[Hugh Heifer]

In case you have missed it here is the link starting with the good pics:

http://forum.ih8mud.com/trails-event...2008-a-14.html