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Or, perhaps I just tilted the camera and said that just to make you click for more! Don't you feel bad now for wanting to see burning Joshua trees and FJ carnage? Shame on you! This past weekend, I had the opportunity to join up with co-worker Jason, who piloted the FJ, and a group from the offroadrangers.com forums, to explore the Mojave Trail and surrounding desert area. Starting in Barstow, California, Thursday morning, we made it into Laughlin by Friday night. By Saturday afternoon, we decided a trip to State Line (Primm, Nevada), was necessary for gas. From there, we fell victim to the lure of Las Vegas, resulting in an out-of-the-way visit to Sin City, where we cruised the Strip in our freshly-muddied FJ. Snow, at under 4,000 feet (and really a surprise to me, at least) greeted us during our trip home.
In addition to "miscellaneous camp activities" (which basically means guys being creative with anything that involves the usage of the word FIRE), we also explored mines and mine shafts, miscellaneous desert artifacts, the salt flats (yep, tasted very salty!), some visitor centers, and gas stations often, as our vehicles were especially thirsty.
Being a fellow Source Interlink employee, I had the great privilege of being able to drive the FJ. Now, like you, fellow mini truckers, I am used to lowered trucks, so getting into this thing felt like entering a tank. It had crazy gearing, cornered like a mini truck with a broken four link, groaned like the sinking Titanic, had more squeaks and noises than my S10, and seemed to float as if not really attached to any surface. Kind of like a moon exploration machine, in my opinion. But guys, let me tell you, winding this thing in and out of Joshua trees in the middle of the desert gave me a new lease on life! And to make things even better, the Ranger I was chasing was being driven by a cop; chasing a cop is way fun compared to being chased by a cop! Keeping in mind that this was not my own project, I tried to keep it on the trail, only carrying too much speed into a few corners. All in all, even though this wasn't a sick asphalt-laying mini, I was so stoked to be around this vehicle, and driving it was something I will never forget. Why me, to be so lucky?       
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