RobBob

Reflecting on the dream/nightmare I had last night (see Which 4WD SUV, page 22), I got to thinking...who would make the most interesting climbing partners? Here are a few that I might pair together: j_b and Mtngoat Sisu and DFA trask and minx AlpineK and Allison sexchoc and Harry Pi

So I had another SUV dream last night. Believe it or not, this time I’m entered in a Pan-American road race. And my sidekick is none other than…you guessed it…Jim. I’ve entered the “leather seated vehicle” (as Jim likes to refer to it) and Jim has brought along his chainsaw and winch to help us negotiate the junglier parts of the route. As we move southward through Chiapas and into Salvador, I am finding that Jim is actually a pretty good raconteur and race partner. There is that touchy incident when I discover that he has packed an entire duffel full of stickers…( which he says he intends to use on a sidetrip on the way home…to put on all the old Suburbans that rumble around on Venezuela’s oil-rich roads)…other than that, the race is going well. We are in the lead, already a half-day ahead of the other racers, with my 4.7-liter V8 engine purring like a well-fed mountain lion. I have discovered that Jim is quite the mechanic, changing the oil each night because of the hard going. Seems he learned the art from tinkering on his first vehicle, a 1970 Dodge Powerwagon that he used to roam the streets of Sea-town with as a kid. Jim gets mad when I attempt to find a stormsewer to deposit our waste oil. By day three, we are racing through the banana-laden fincas of Costa Rica, good-naturedly arguing the politics of groundwater allocation, enjoying the exotic wildlife that we spot as we drive. Jim is frustrated that I cannot seem to avoid running over the scads of treefrogs that we encounter on the road at dusk, just as we reach the border of Panama…but as we watch the alpenglow fade on Vocan Baru to the east, the tension is forgotten. Jim burns one and we stop for supper and cervezas. Midway through day four, the skies darken, just as we leave behind the tall buildings of downtown Panama City. As any of you who have driven southward from there know, this is where the going gets sketchy, to say the least. Twenty miles out of town, the blacktop ends, and we trundle down a dusty, washboard road toward the menacing Istmo del Darien. The going gets harder and harder, but we push on into the night, afraid to stop in the dangerous netherworld that separates Panama and Colombia. Like lightning it happens---we are beset by ambushing drug smugglers. We seem to be losing the battle, when I hear Jim’s chainsaw roar to a start, and I see him parrying and slashing, in a kind of crazed, reverse-Scarface rage! The 4Runner springs to life as I engage all 350 horsepower and we charge away from the bandits, saved only by Jim’s chainsaw prowess and my V8 SUV…the horror…the horror!! I awaken in a terrible sweat.

That looks like DFA's "desert lovenest."

humor, Joshk, humor. And a troll.

WTF??

Joshk, STFU and go fill'er up with your pig-manure biodiesel. We've had enough of your slams for the week.

damn, rbw. It's early, and it's only Wednesday.

happens tonight, if it can be seen. On a recent evening, I aimed my telescope on the moon's perimeter, and called my 5-yo son out on the porch to take a look. "Cool, isn't it?" I said as I let him look through the thing for the first time. He just stood there for a moment, totally speechless. Then whispered "very cool!"

All you greenies who are willing to be fuel tech guineapigs for the auto companies will also be happy to know that you are helping to support mega hog farms. http://www.sltrib.com/2003/feb/02232003/utah/32042.asp

Charlie

Okay all you goobers, I have something to say. There have been all these assertions and slams on people who own SUVs. I think it's just fine that people voice their strong objection to SUVs if they want to. (I don't get why it's okay to own a pickup truck but not an SUV...but whatever.) I DO however object to people putting stickers on other peoples' possessions and thinking that's okay. I am one of several here that probably could and would deliver a good asskicking if I caught someone doing that shit to my vehicle. I also object to people implying that they know what I or others do for a living, or how much we go off-road, etc., and turning that into some kind of insult. Jim is guilty on both counts. He can have whatever opinion he wants---just don't touch my vehicle. He can also do whatever he wants for a living, and it's fine with me. I'm not hurling insults at him, yet he counts frogs for a living, and implies that I have some kind of milqtoast job. I got my SUV Friday night. I have already used the 4WD for work once. You don't know me Jim. I usually like most everybody, regardless of their politics and opinions, and I enjoy hearty debate. Jim however is a misanthrope wanker. I just loaded a 40' ocean container, box by 50-lb box, w/ 3 other guys...going home to shower. Then maybe enjoy driving my new SUV.

If you really felt that way Jim you wouldn't be sneaking around stickering SUVs.

Whatever are ye two puelin' milksops brayin' aboot?

Boy, this thread has been enlightening on a number of fronts! Of all the posts here, this one was my favorite (due to all the love expressed ), and Minxie

Sex, Joshk, I meant sex. While I don't personally know FB, I betcha he'd agree w/ me on that.

Jim eats crab, and occasionally crow, neither of which can be found at McDonalds.

With summer approaching, it might be worthwhile to review everyones' favorite summer sausages...

Gowans---you may end up having the same 4-wheeling dream I had, before this thread is done (page 12).

Oh bullshit. I said the same thing about surfing. Couldn't give a shit about it now. There's only one thing that keeps its appeal over time.

Joshk, I'm not gonna beat this into the ground, but let me try to explain in just a few words: I manage my own co (I started it back in the late 80s); we operate several complexes some distance apart, and I have suppliers even further distances apart. I drive 35,000-45,000 miles per year (10 years ago it was 50+). Goddammit, I don't want to drive an old piece of shit. I want the people who buy stuff from me or sell stuff from me to have a comfortable ride in my vehicle, if I happen to give 'em a ride. Maybe I'm an insecure loser for wanting to drive a new vehicle after I've put 140k on the old one... Fact is that I can afford a new one, and the 'bourbon left me stranded in the rain with a bad fuel pump recently. Was time for a change. Josh, I think your boss may be working too hard to be anti-establishment.

What lies on the road to Pyongyang??

Wha? Huh? Darnit Mountaingoat, didn't we go round and round about that months ago? Or were we arguing about sumthin else?

Maybe we can turn south from there, and help pull the Israelis back out of their 'settlements,' while we're nearby. (This oughta get Goat's attention. )

Hey Iain, I knew that wuz a troll because less than 30 days before you said something like "And I never telemark. Ever."

Chris and Iain, unfortunately I gave up the seat warmers with the 'bourbon. They were the best for sore lower back.