Ten Years Of Wheelers For The Wounded (WFTW)

In a blink of an eye a decade has gone by and a lot of tears, laughter and hopefully some healing has happened to the Veterans and drivers that participated in a weekend of magic!  I can just imagine what the original founder of Wheelers For The Wounded was plotting while sitting in a tent overseas while doing his job as a private contractor for the military.  Jason Havlik spawned the idea of WFTW in his off duty hours, which often included little to no sleep, to put together a courageous trip wheelin his Jeep and off road trailer across the country! 

After doing some research online, Jason found Del Albright, known at the time as the "Trail Boss" for the Friends of the Rubicon, an all volunteer group of people who keep the trail open by fixing and maintaining it.  That's when things really started to come together for Jason's planning; who better to get with then the planning master himself and very knowledgeable about the trail then Del?

Through several email conversations and occasional phone calls over the months and lots of planning, things were coming together.  Jason's plan was to organize events to take the Veterans out on 4x4 trails through several states on his way from the east coast to the west for a run on the legendary Rubicon Trail.

We were so excited to meet Jason when he finally made it home from overseas and kept up with him along his journey out west.  We finally met for the first time at the trail head at Loon Lake, what a moment that was!

Del, Stacie Albright and Jason Havlik at main camp.

Jason had quite the set up for back in the day!

Just after the first year of his journey on the road, Jason decided to take a different path in life and thankfully Kevin Carey and Dan Hiney took the reins over for several years.  Dan and Kevin are now taking a different road as well.  

Thanks to Jason, there have been a lot of happy Veterans that attend WFTW every year on the Rubicon, including my son who I finally got to take with me, thank goodness, 4 years ago when he finally came home from Iraq and Afghanistan.  

My son on the right, me to the left of him and some of the other drivers for the Veterans. 

Thanks again to Jason Havlik who spearheaded this whole endeavor that has lasted 10 years and will live on for many more!  Look for a Wheelers For The Wounded in your state, don't have one?  Start one, you won't regret it!  For more information about the Rubicon event contact Eric Chennault at MetalCloak in Rancho Cordova CA.  

The Wonderful Fall Colors Of The Eastern Sierra Nevada's.

The time is changing, the temps are falling and there is even a different smell in the air these days.  Fall is in the air and the bug to jump in the rig and head out to see some beautiful scenery in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountain ranges is upon us.  One of my favorite places to go is Hope Valley up Hwy 88 in the California Sierra Nevada range.  Not only is this close by for me but an easy drive and doesn't disappoint through any season. 

 

Some of the "quakies" Aspens donning their beautiful color.

 

 

There are several pull outs along the valley floor off of 88 for easy access to an afternoon picnic area, hiking and of course taking lots of pictures of this wonderful place and colors.  Be sure and bring along a light sweater or even a coat as it is starting to cool down quickly in the area! 

 

Some of these trees are already done, so catch the color while you can!

 



Another favorite place is further down the eastern sierra corridor.  Camping, fishing and sight seeing is a favorite down on the 395 corridor.  Enjoy the fall and enjoy the outside this time of year.  Get out there and make lots of memories with your family and friends and see it while you can. 

 

 

 

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Wheelers For The Wounded of California 2014


I can't say enough about what Wheelers For The Wounded (WFTW) does for our Veterans. By providing a full weekend of camping, great chow and wheeling on the most famous trail, The Rubicon, this program has got a lot going for it and will hopefully spread from state to state.  What is even better is there isn't a charge for the Veterans to come out for the weekend.  Each Veteran is matched up with their host/driver who picks them and sets up their camp for them for the weekend making sure that all of their needs are met.   If you are not familiar with them you can check them out here:  http://wheelersforthewounded.com/ . 




We have had the opportunity to join the group every year since it started in 2007 with the original founder Jason Havlik (see website for info on Jason).  What an incredible trip that was!  There were Veterans there from several wars to include WWII, Korea, Vietnam and others. 




This year was a special one for me as we were able to take my son on the trip after he finally finished his tours and time with the Army. 



The connections that are made during the weekend are memories for a lifetime and in a lot of cases very soothing to the wounded souls that have selflessly served our country. 


Every year the chow is outstanding but they out did themselves this year by bringing in a fresh oyster bar, in fact it was so good that the owner of the outfit is planning on being there again in 2015! 

Easter Jeep Safari 2013! 

It's almost here!  Easter Jeep Safari has got to be one of my favorite events to go to.  The scenery is incredible and the wheelin is even better! 

Yeah, I know it's Easter Jeep Safari and my Land Cruiser is a bit out of place but that's okay!

 

We love the unbeatable trail system with something for everybody from easy day trail riding to pucker yourself up trails that will surely give you a thrill!

 

 

 

 

The dates for this year's Safari is March 23-31st.  Grab your gear and head out.  Hope to see you there!  More info here:   http://www.rr4w.com/event-details.cfm?eventid=1 







Jeep Beach 2013!

If you own a Jeep you know what it's like to be a part of the "Jeepin" crowd.  It's fun to go to events together and hang out with fellow enthusiasts and show off your mild to wild rig with pride. 

If you get a chance there's an event called "Jeep Beach" and it's coming up soon April 24-28th in Daytona Beach Florida.

The event kicks off with a 'say hello' party at Hooter's on Wednesday night followed by a show n shine at the local Chrysler Jeep dealership, and a small vendor show at the hotel. 

What most people come to see and do is the massive vendor show that is set up in the middle of the Daytona Speedway with an obstacle course for all to play on.

The week ends with a huge Jeep parade on Daytona Beach.  Imagine hundreds of Jeeps of every color, make and model, from stock to highly modified cruising down the beach in a parade!

For more information on this year's upcoming event visit their website at www.jeepbeach.com
Hope to see you there! 

The Land Use Land Cruiser Gets New Shoes!

Elsie, my 1994 FJ80 Land Cruiser recently got set up with new Raceline Wheels and new BFG KM's. 

So far I am happy with the way they handle on the road and ever since I went up to 4:88 gears from Sierra Gear & Axle it really moves down the road just fine.  I think I have found the 'sweet spot' set up. 

I can't wait to try her out on some trails! 

These are called "Clutch"

 



Thanks to our sponsors once again for keeping us out there and on the road to help save our trails and public lands! 

http://racelinewheels.com/ 
http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/ 
http://www.sierragear.com/

The Logandale Hump N Bump Event 2012

Logandale Nevada is full of beautiful red rock country and the perfect place to hold the Hump N Bump event.  This year marked the 32nd year of this awesome event with attendees from all over the country.

The area is full of anything from mild to wild trails and offers something for everyone.  Both stock rigs and heavily built buggies love to come out to this open riding area and enjoy themselves.

The Hump N Bump is a family fun oriented event that is a once a year as a fundraiser for the club with a large portion of the proceeds from our event supporting our Local and National land use causes. These include the BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), Nevada based Partners In Conservation, TreadLightly! and the United Four Wheel Drive Association.

The event proceeds are also used to support the facilites at the Logandale Trail System, adapt-a trail cleanups, and user education on a variety of subjects including responsible land use and safe off-road and recovery techniques.  

Please join us for a wonderful time while also supporting our land use advocates that help to keep our awesome trails open! For more information about our 2013 event, visit our website at www.vv4w.org

Cal-Neva Extreme 2012 About To Roll!

Once again the crew over at the Cal-Neva Extreme Rockcrawling series in conjuction with Yukon Gear & Axle announces their season opener May 19-20 at the Giant's Throne at Reno Nevada's Exit 28.  Several teams will be competing in what promises to be a banner year for Cal-Neva Extreme as the event rolls into it's third year. 

"Putting on a comp up at the Giant's Throne is awesome because of the natural terrain that promises to make it especially difficult and challenging for even the best drivers" said Glenn Bonner, President Cal-Neva. 

The rugged natural terrain at the Giant's Throne makes it a challenge to get through the tight courses and challenges any driver.  

Stock classes to Pro Mod are available so nobody gets left behind if they want the chance to compete in a W.E. Rock sanctioned type of event. 

CRAWL Magazine's very own Wendy Nickell with her spotter Brandy Southall will once again take to the rugged terrain and show 'em how it's done. 

"I had a great time last year and I've been working on my moves for the upcoming season and I'm looking forward to it" said Wendy, "considering last year was the maiden voyage for Project Wendy and my first ever competition we did really well!" she added. 

For more information, dates and locations check out their website at www.cal-nevaextreme.com

Hump N Bump 2011 In Logandale NV.

This year's Hump N Bump in Logandale Nevada once again proved to be a success and provided lots of fun, scenery and off road enthusiast comraderie!  Put on by the Vegas Valley Four Wheelers and friends the Hump N Bump is a bucket list item. 

 "Elsie" coming through one of the washes with incredible scenery.

The wheelin in Logandale is anything from mild to wild with several opportunities for casual crusing and checking out the wonderful views and wildlife.  If you're lucky you may catch up to a desert tortoise like we did a few years ago.  What a wonder they are to watch, and be sure to just watch them and take pictures only as it's illegal to handle them. 

We've also encountered big horn sheep which majestically hopped down the mountainous terrain and paraded themselves rightin front of our Jeep, what a sight that was! 

It's not hard to find awesome photograph spots in Logandale!  The red rock scenery is one of my favorites and makes our rigs look great out there in the desert! 

 

 The "Land Use Warrior Machines".

This year I won the contest for picking up the most garbage and returning it to camp for disposal.  Good thing this little guy hopped out of an empty can before I tossed him into the dumpster!  For awhile he decided to live in the "Elsie".  My buddy finally decided to come out and take a peek whileI was working my way through some pretty nasty crevices.  Good thing I don't panick or both of us could have been in trouble on the trail that we were on! 



My little travel buddy.

All in all this is a good event for the whole family and has a growing raffle every year and I won't even tell you about the BBQ dinner they put on Saturday night!  This is mouth watering stuff for sure.  Keep up with the latest and the new dates for the 2012 event here:  http://www.vv4w.org/

Winter On The Rocks 2012, An Epic Event!

Winter On the Rocks 2012 at Sand Hollow OHV area was epic and I would jump at the chance to go again next year.  The wheelin in the red rock country is very similiar to being in Moab and all this is located near the friendly town of St. George Utah! 

There's all kinds of wheeling available from mild to wild!

We took both of our rigs from the well built and equipped 97 Jeep TJ and our mildly built 94 FZJ80 Land Cruiser.  We found lots of places to play including beautiful sand dunes with endless vistas and views. 

The "Land Use War Machine" and the "Land Use Land Cruiser" are ready to go!



Our Buddy Rob Graft enjoys the views from his totally tricked out Nemesis Industries JK complete with a hemi!

There are lots of spots to just sit and watch the 'big boys' play on the harder stuff but for us it was fun just cruising around taking pictures and taking in the scenery! 

The Nemesis rig got a little 'stuck' on a dune pinnacle but the Land Use Land Cruiser yanked him out.



I was also impressed by poking around the friendly town of St. George.  The shopping was great and the people were helpful and I found a lot of interesting things to look at and buy like an antique accordian for my hubby, yes, he really plays it too! 

 Del tuning up the ol' sqeeze box!

Put Winter On The Rocks on your wheelin' bucket list, you won't be disappointed! http://www.winterontherocks.com/

Put Winter On The Rocks on your wheelin' bucket list, you won't be disappointed! http://www.winterontherocks.com/

TAPTour II Will Roll Again In January!

From the desk of Del Albright:

UTAH LANDUSE NEWS AND ANNUAL CONVENTION UPDATE with TAP Tour II


Brought to you by Del & Stacie Albright, Access Advocates, BlueRibbon Coalition

December 2, 2012



BlueRibbon Coalition will be represented by Del & Stacie Albright at “Winter on the Rocks” (WOTR) put on by the Utah 4x4 Club and Canyon Country 4x4 Club. BRC works closely with these clubs and others, as well as the Utah 4Wheel Drive Association. We are proud and honored to be part of this year’s activities and look forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces. Of course, we are all about saving trails and keeping the sport alive, so if you spend time jaw-jacking with us, you can figure that will be the topic of choice.



WOTR will be the first stop of our Trail Access Partnership Tour (TAPT) II. TAP Tours are where businesses join us on landuse adventures bringing off-road businesses together with customers, all in the spirit of saving trails and keep backcountry motorsports alive. Please find more on the TAP Tour here at http://www.trailaccesstour.com.



We want to help raise more raffle prizes for the event so perhaps we can call on you to reach out (again) to any businesses you know of and send them this link and a plea for goodies. We will be doing the same from our end. Sponsor Packages: http://www.winterontherocks.com/?page_id=377



The event made a nice donation to BRC last year as part of our partnership in fighting for all trails in Utah. We hope to make that donation even bigger this year (with your help). THIS is the year to make the fight for Utah even bigger and badder than it’s even been. 2012 is election year and YOU KNOW what that means. We have to make changes at the highest levels in order to keep our freedoms alive and well in the backcountry.



Speaking of elections, please visit and support the new Trail Political Action Committee that just started up (officially, registered, legal). The TPAC is located here at http://www.thetrailpac.com. They are going to help us shape a new congress for 2012.



Stacie and I are able to get to WOTR and be BRC this year because of the help of THREE awesome businesses who support us a lot in our landuse fights: T&T Customs, Nemesis Industries and MetalCloak. Please NOTE! These are three businesses with some market share competition for similar products, BUT they set that all aside to support landuse and access. Say thanks when you when you see them.



On the team,

Del & Stacie Albright

Here It Is, The TAP Tour Schedule!

Trail Access Partnership Tour (TAPT) Update and Directions:

Here is where to join us in our inaugural TAPT tour this fall (next month).

10/30 - 11/3: Circus Circus KOA RV Park, Las Vegas, NV, doing the SEMA show.

11/3 11/6: Hump 'n Bump Camp at Fairgrounds, Logandale, NV, arriving Thursday night; leaving Sunday am.

11/6 - 11/8: Davis Camp RV Park, Bullhead City, AZ, (928) 754-7250; arriving Sunday night; depart Tuesday afternoon (wheeling-touring) both days.

11/8 - 11/9: Crazy Horse RV Camp, Lake Havasu City, AZ, (928) 855-4033, arriving Tues. night; leave Wed. afternoon (after wheeling all day).

11/9 - 11/13: La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ, Desert Splash HQ, (928) 667-2069, arriving Wed. night; stay thru weekend.

RV/Camps both allow tents and have plenty of RV and tent spaces.

Evening campfires will include landuse talks, fun chat sessions, and helpful hints on saving our sport and keeping our trails open. Did I mention surprise musical performances? wink...

Just show up.

CB channel 3 (three) for Music Man (Del) or Lady Red (Stacie).

Del
(209) 304-7693

The Land Use Land Cruiser Gets Some Trail Time!

Elsie, the Land Use Land Cruiser has had a busy summer!  First she landed down at Trail-Gear for some mods including custom front and rear bumpers and sliders, an ARB 2.5 inch tuned suspension and a brand new WARN winch. 

Shiny new bumpers and sliders ready to see some trail.

We were so excited to pick her up and get her out and about on her first trek on the Pardoe Trail in N. CA.  What a great trail that is and a great place to test out some new mods for the moderately built rig.

We were amazed at the awesome flower bloom throughout the trail.

We took a short video of Elsie on a small rock pile, she looks great and I sure did use the sliders!

Elsie VIDEO

Thanks again to the supporting businesses who are helping Del and I stay out there fighting for our trails!  Stay tuned for more trails to come. 

The Land Use Land Cruiser Is Growing Up!

Thanks to Trail-Gear, my "Elsie", the Land Use Land Cruiser is getting a much needed transformation.  Several businesses have stepped up already and contributed to the build. 

We dropped Elise off in the good hands of the R&D race crew and told them to "have at it" and we're anxious to watch the transformation take place. 

Matt Messer, Trail-Gear President, taking Elsie for a spin before the fun begins.

Old Man Emu tuned suspension kit ready to get installed.  

ARB sent over a 2.5 inch tuned suspension lift, a WARN winch is going to sit on top of Trail-Gear's custom built front bumper with sliders and a back bumper to follow. 

Starting to dig into Elsie to install the lift.

Next on the list will be the bumpers front and rear plus rock sliders.  Can't wait to see the results! 

Stay tuned for more of the transformation process!!  Thanks Trail-Gear and all the others who are contributing to the Land Use Land Cruiser!

Cal-Neva Extreme Rockcrawling Competion Round 3

Looking to do something fun and get out of the summer heat? Cal-Neva Extreme will be holding it's 3rd round of the season up at Donner Ski Ranch in Norden CA. These events are always lively and full of excitement. The courses are tough and challenging with over 140 courses run per day and over 30 teams participating. Get more information here: Cal-Neva Extreme

1st Annual King of the Hammers "Team Challenge"

Don't miss out on the 1st Annual King of the Hammers "Team Challenge" held on Wednesday night at 6 in Hammer Town.  This is going to be a lot of fun to watch and for the teams to participate in.  There's going to be awesome prizes and lots of swag for the crowd! 

Picture this, five totally prepared rigs and five hot chicks for judges and an emcee calling out items on the secret list; the first team member to hand off the item to the judge gets a point so speed is key!  Time is running out so get a team together and sign up.  Here's more details: 

5 teams (at least) will be selected to participate. 4x4’s and Side-x-Side (UTV) rigs are welcome. Any team of up to four (4) folks can compete. It’s all for fun and a little fame, with a cool trophy from Raceline Wheels for the winning team. Also, several businesses have stepped up to provide swag, goodies, and freebies to participants and the audience.


HOW it WORKS: Put together a Team of your friends or club members who can be at the event on Wednesday Feb. 8th in time to compete at 6pm. This is a treasure hunt for goodies used on a trail ride. No driving necessary. Rigs will be parked.

Team Challenge Details:

Wednesday night Feb. 9th at 6 pm, Main Stage, Hammer Town.

It will be a TEAM challenge and not just a CLUB challenge. However clubs can be a team. 4 folks max per rig; best prepared trail type rig; treasure hunt of things IN and ON the vehicle. Good lookin' chicks for judges (and a few old guys). In front of the crowd.

LUCKY PARTICIPANTS WILL BE DRAWN (and notified) Tuesday night Feb. 8th at 6 pm during the Land Use Workshop hosted by Del Albright.

Team Challenge participants will be posted in the KOH main booth.

Team Challenge rigs must be near the stage by 5:30pm, Wed. Feb. 9th, and checked in with John Stewart, Cal4 Resource Consultant.

Ok, there have to be rules, so here they are:

No trailers; items must be in or on the vehicle the whole time. You have to dig for everything.

All participants must be in a safe condition to play the game.

Fastest time to the judges with the proper item AS described by the emcee; it’s important to retrieve exactly what is called out.

No dangerous things like large metal objects or spare tires will be asked for. Safety briefing will precede Challenge.

Non-street legal as well as street legal rigs are ok, INCLUDING UTV’s (sidexside).

How to APPLY:

Apply online/email by sending the following information to del@delalbright.com; or bring the info filled out hard copy to KOH and hand it in at the KOH Merchandise Booth, or to the Raceline Wheels booth, or bring it to the Land Use Seminar Tuesday. All applications must be in before the Land Use Seminar Tuesday night, 6pm – that is when we’ll draw the participants.

Please provide the following information (don’t worry if you don’t have your whole team assembled until you get there; we can add their names then).

TEAM MEMBER NAMES:

TEAM MEMBER CLUBS and ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

RIG: (year, make model, type)

TEAM NAME: (make one up if you don’t have one yet).

BRIEFLY Describe what Team Members have done for landuse and access efforts:

Describe why your team should be selected:

Email Del for any more information or questions: del@delalbright.com

More about King of the Hammers at http://www.ultra4racing.com/

Hump N Bump 2010

Thursday, November 11, 2010
The Hump N Bump event proved to be a great success this year and had a huge turn out. We filled the fairgrounds in Logandale NV to capacity with trailers and motorhomes and 4 wheelers from every shape and size

The organizers of the event decided to add a whole new compenent to the Saturday night festivities by holding a car crush. What fun that was to watch and heckle. Even some of the locals showed up to watch the carnage on the junk yard cars.

I was feeling just a little nervous here but no worries we walked right over the pile!

Prior to the car crush there was an awesome barbeque with melt in your mouth ribs and other goodies that stuck to your ribs!

Proceeds from the event go to land use organization that help keep the trail systems open in the area. The wonderful Vegas Valley 4 Wheelers put on a great show. http://www.vv4w.org/

Trail Party: Trail Party Formed and New Voters Guide Issued

Trail Party: Trail Party Formed and New Voters Guide Issued: "Don Amador, noted Recreation Advocate, has founded the Trail Party to assist you with election decisions to ensure our motorized access into..."

Off Road Voters Guide, Be An ORV!

There is a lot of buzz going on about the upcoming election and for some it is a little overwhelming, time consuming and maybe even a little confusing to sit down and read up on all the candidates and propositions.  BlueRibbon Coalition's Don Amador has made it easy and has done all the reading and put together an easy to use "Trail Party Voters Guide".  Essentially it is comprised of the candidates that are OHV friendly and made the propositions a piece of cake to decide on.  Thanks Don for putting this guide together! 

Go here to take a peek: 

Trail Party Voter Guide

CalROCS Season Finale Leaves The Crowds Happy.

CalROCS 2010 championship proved to be more than exciting with all the teams fighting to keep up the points and standings throughout the whole weekend and the crowds that showed up to see the carnage were impressed. 

Teams from as far as Canada and Virginia came out to test their skills and try their luck at the season finale at the beautiful Donner Ski Ranch in sunny California. 

Justin Hall from Team Rockhard showed up in his new Unlimited Class buggy and showed off his driving skills while his dad took on the challenge of hopping around the course spotting his son on some amazing drops and crevices that were a part of the bonus lines.

Good job Justin for taking first place in the Unlimited Class!  A great win considering it was only his third  time driving the new rig. 

Be sure and check back for the dates for the 2011 season of CalROCS!  http://www.calrocs.com/