FAWKING MIND BOGGLING - HitR 2016

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I am closing in on New Mexico and finally reach that sign that just lifts your spirits. I don't know what it is about it, but it has to be the best state sign in the U.S.

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I touch base with C-Dan's protege, and he says that Dan has to get on the road, so I will not be able to have an in-person blessing, but to keep heading to his house; he'll wait for me there.

Eventually, I have the Sandia Mountains in sight. Albuquerque is just on the other side.

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Finally, Albuquerque :bounce::bounce2:

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Like I said before, I am only given GPS coordinates to reach the holy place. I am now given further instructions to park by beno's truck and make my way through the two gates and through the gauntlet of guard dogs. I am told they will let me pass if my intentions are pure. I am nervous as &@$#.

I reach the the GPS coordinates and see the Turkish Chariot. I must be at the right place. I park and look for gates and attack dogs.

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wngrog said:
That guy inspected my 2001 UZJ100 at Cruise Moab in 2004 like it was a 1967 FJ-40........
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That is genius. He puts himself in a position to require you to buy his parts to attend Cruise Moab.
 
I've been in my truck now for almost 20 hours. I'm a little disoriented when I step out and am little wobbly on my feet.

I wobble over to the gate, the ensuing canine commotion attracting the attention of Mrs. Cruiserdan, who comes to welcome me to The Temple. Beno and C-Dan Jr. are not far behind.

The 'dans are gracious hosts and I am quickly invited inside for food and to partake in communion - I am handed one of The Shaman's Coors Light tallboys, and Mrs.The Shaman breaks out some homemade bread & jam. She also fixes me a bowl of pasta.

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View of the mountains from the Temple porch:

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We discuss our plans for the evening. @beno wants to head up to Durango for the evening before going to Halls Crossing. I'm like, "that sounds cool, where are we stopping for the night?" (remember it is Friday afternoon and we don't have to be at the trailhead until noon Sunday)

Beno is all "nah dude, we'll just drive straight to Halls after that. We can sneak in at night so we don't have to pay the park fees, and then I'll have all day to do a front end rebuild in the campground."

I can't hang with this nut. I work in a cubicle and have a wife, two kids, and two dogs. And I've only had about 4-1/2 hours of sleep in the past two days. Beno doesn't sleep. Or even eat really. He is a machine that runs on cigarettes, alcohol, and caffeine.

Luckily, Mrs. Cruiserdan sees the look of terror in my eyes and talks some sense into him. We decide that we will still shoot for Halls Crossing, but will take the direct route and not drive to Colorado to party for several hours.
 
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We say our goodbyes to the 'dans, and as we are leaving, Mrs. C-Dan hands me a carton of her chickens' eggs. Then she asks if we want to take some sausage. She has some personally-harvested venison, as well as pork, both processed by family. Before we can answer, she is also handing me a loaf of homemade bread and a jug of fresh tea.

Feeling fully blessed, we roll out - we just need to make a quick stop at the grocery store before hitting the road.
 
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FJ60Cam said:
Beno doesn't sleep. Or even eat really. He is a machine that runs on cigarettes, alcohol, and caffeine.
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truer words have never been spoken
 
There is no such thing as a quick stop at the grocery store before setting out for a week without a supply stop. Your stomach starts talking and you forget that you have to find a place to put everything in the truck. We carry our haul out to the trucks and are loading up, when we notice a young mom-babe staring slack-jawed at beno's truck. The Turkish Chariot is a babe-magnet, btw. Mine is parked right next to it, but is totally invisible.

She was mesmorized, and rendered motionless and unable to speak, so we had to help break the spell because it was starting to get awkward. We talk to her and it turns out her husband has a cruiser and wants to put a marine diesel in it. Beno goes into consulting mode and tells her that what he really needs is 1HDZT-turbo-something or other (I don't speak diesel, so take it easy), and we have her write it down so she can drop some knowledge on him later.

We can tell that she is looking at the situation in front of her and really just wants to jump in beno's truck and head to Utah with us. But she has a young child in the shopping cart and we don't want her to just abandon it out in the hot sun. So he gives her a Land Cruiser Parts & Consulting sticker and an autograph for her husband and reminds her that she is married and has a kid and is here to go shopping and sends her on her way.

The husband is likely on 'mud, so if you are him, :cheers: sir for scoring an understanding cruiser-babe for a wife!

We get back to packing up the trucks and GTFO of town.
 
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Meanwhile, the fleet is on the move, making their way to Halls Crossing from all directions...

Andy (@Cruiserdrew) is crossing the NV/Utah border...

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Steve1 (@MountNGoat) , from the Bay Area, has picked up his son, Justin (@justintpryor) in Reno and is approaching Austin, NV via the 50.

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Johnny, Steve's other son (@JohnnyOshow22) and his uncle Steve2 (@trout bum) are in Denver, getting ready to hit the road in Johnny's LX. Its worth mentioning that Steve1 & Steve2 are both married to a pair of hot sisters, by the way.

Paul (@PabloVTA) is on I-40, on his way from Compton. He is likely east of Barstow by now, crossing the Mohave, looking for a place to dump a dead hooker.

Fellow Jarbidge summiteer, Alex (@concretejungle), his dad Richard, and his roommate Jason (@jfz80) have been at this for a week already and are coming in from the North Rim in their pair of 80s.

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I would like to add that Pablo does not f@#% around. He has enough beer in his truck to fully stock a BevMo!, he has a full California King sized mattress strapped to his roof, and enough charcuterie (whatever that is, but we will soon find out) to put an entire army in a charcuterie-induced coma.
 
Heading north outta ABQ...

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The 70's recently added turbo gives it quite a bit of extra pep. However, as the altitude climbs and we hit some decent grades, it starts to heat up.

We pull over at the vacant Big Chief so beno can play with the magic fuel screw. The turbo/heat problem will be a recurring theme with beno & Steve's trucks throughout the week.

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I guess it's safe to say @beno will not be at the CLC Crawfish boil...
 
Bodean said:
I guess it's safe to say @beno will not be at the CLC Crawfish boil...
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He is unplugged, and still out west on Sabbatical. Last I heard, he was planning on hitting it on the way home.
 
Latest word I got from the beno red phone was that he'll be there.
 
He's also got his Baofeng if you want to hit him up on the repeater.
 
We keep rolling on into the night. It's going to be after midnight when we arrive.

We stop at a Burger King in Shiprock, NM around 9:30.

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We are in no real hurry, so afterwards, we make the fanciest coffee ever made in Shiprock. The funny part is that we parked right next to a human game trail without realizing it and and sketchy looking drunk Indians pop out of the shadows left and right and pass by us every few minutes.

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