Run Ramblings – Calico, January 2019
Your Southern California Toyota Land Cruiser Association started the year off right with a local trip to the Calico area. Club members Kirk Mills in his FJ 55 project (coming along very nicely – I’m jealous of Kirk’s rig & his fabrication skills!), Larry Thomas in his lifted FZJ80, and Joe Roy (along with wife Robin & son Danny) in their lifted, armored, and rooftop tented FZJ80 opted to go up a day early for a little pre-run and overnight camping. Arriving around mid-day on Saturday, we found a great private campsite just off Mule Canyon Road that accommodated our 3 rigs (and Danny’s hammock!) just fine, with room to spare. After a nice afternoon loop up Mule Canyon and over to West Phillips Drive, we headed back to camp for dinner and campfire time. We enjoyed a beautiful night sky and cool nighttime temps.
The next morning, Sunday, we met up with the rest of the group (except for Kirk, who had to head home for a prior commitment). Trail Leader Chris Heron (with wife Helga & son David – Welcome back, David!) in their newly locked 100 Series, led the group consisting of: Randy & Polly Lee in their pristine FJ40; Robert McNamee & Allen Faragallah in a nicely built 4Runner; Rich & Kyle Petrulio in their 2WD, original owner 4Runner (well, it was 2WD until Rich decided to do a really great SAS & springover on it – I think I’d get a nosebleed climbing up into it now!), Jerry L’Ecuyer in his Tembo Tusk Tacoma; new member Ken Zamora (Welcome!) in his FZJ80 with longtime member Ed Bailey riding shotgun; Maris Lyu in his very well traveled (judging from all the cool window stickers!) FZJ80; and guest Kevin Mass in his Ford Raptor. Don’t judge – he went everywhere we did (with a little judicious spotting). And, since he’s a friend & co-worker of Chris Heron’s, I’m sure he’ll eventually upgrade to a ‘Cruiser!
We had an enjoyable day on some mild, but fun, trails up Mule Canyon, Phillips Drive, Duran Scenic Drive, Fort Irwin Road, Calico Road, and the Yermo Cutoff. We also enjoyed a nice lunch break and a little target shooting. No carnage, no mishaps – all in all, a great day on the trail. Chris Heron posted lots of great pictures on the club website at: SoCal TLCA | Southern California Toyota Land Cruiser Enthusiasts, follow the Photo Album link.
It was so nice, in fact, that Joe & family opted to spend one more night back at the campsite to enjoy the campfire, starlit sky, and the Blood Moon. What a beautiful evening! After enjoying all of the above, Joe & Robin crawled up into their rooftop tent and Danny climbed into his hammock (hung between a rock on the hill & Joe’s spare tire – no trees up Mule Canyon!). We were all slumbering nicely, until the hurricane hit at about 2:00 AM, that is! Well, OK, maybe it wasn’t an actual hurricane; but the very high winds sure made it feel that way! After getting up in the morning, we secured what was left of our camp and, rather than trying to fix breakfast in the still fairly high winds, headed to Peggy Sue’s Diner for some chicken fried steak, eggs, and biscuits & gravy!
