After some debating, Terry and I decided to spend Memorial Day weekend with our 4-wheel drive club in Taneum. Our Jeep was still in the shop, but we knew there would be some open seats if we wanted to hit the trails and decided it would be fun to go over there and hang out with our friends. There was talk of trails and campgrounds being closed, so Terry had the camper loaded on Thursday night so he could leave first thing Friday morning. He also towed up Mark’s Jeep for him so he wouldn’t have to worry about it on Friday afternoon.
Terry ended up leaving out house at 5:00 on Friday morning. It took him about two hours to get to camp. He was able to find a big area for the club to camp and spent the day setting up camp and hanging out with other club members as they arrived. I had to work on Friday, so rode up with Mark and Lori in their RV. We were able to leave their house in Sumner at 4:00 and the two hour drive ended up taking us four hours. There was a ton of traffic on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass. We finally arrived at camp around 8:00.
I made some quick dinner since I was hungry when we first got there and then settled by the campfire. Terry and I both headed to bed early where he went to sleep and I was able to finish my book.
On Saturday, we got up and started to get ready for the day. Terry made some coffee while I cooked a sausage, spinach and egg scramble for breakfast. Terry decided to ride with Mark and I got to ride with Gary since they both had open seats. Once we left camp, we drove on a gravel rode for a while in order to reach the trails. The area was really pretty and there were some nice views of the surrounding mountains.
When we finally hit a trail, we crossed a wooden bridge thru a meadow and then had a few small hill climbs. We got to the top of one of the hills and then heard on the CB “my front right tire fell off” from Rock. Apparently, something happened to Rock’s front end and the passenger side tire sure enough fell off. The Tamers were hoping for an easy fix, but unfortunately, the part was broken beyond repair. The next best option was to get the rig to a point in the trail where a trailer could reach it. So, they were able to fab up a “skid” for the front hub with a tree branch and were able to drag the Toyota closer to the main dirt road. From there, Dan and Rock drove back to camp to get a truck and trailer to get the broken Toyota home. Once Dan and Rock left for camp, the rest of us (Rudi, Gary and Mark) decided to hit more trails. 
Overall, the trails we ran were pretty mild. There were a couple difficult sections but the views were amazing. Rudi hit a tree stump on one of the trails and ripped a hole in the sidewall of his new tires. Luckily, it was a quick fix and then we were moving again. We hit a little snow but for the most part it was warm and dusty. After a couple hours, we returned to where Rock had broke to see there process. Dan-O was back with the trailer and had his rig loaded. We made sure they were able to get the truck onto the dirt road and then decided to find a trail so Dan-O could get some off-road action. Rock headed down the hill back to camp with the truck, trailer and broken Toyota while the rest of us went exploring. 
We decided to take a new trail to check the area out and after a half hour or so, hit a dead end. Gary decided to give me a turn driving. His rig is well built and is basically a “point and shoot.” You steer the Jeep in the direction you want it to go and it goes there. It was a mild ride back to camp with a few sections of mud and snow. The funny thing was that I couldn’t easily reach the clutch. So, when it came time to shift gears, I had to slouch way down into the seat, change gears and then push myself upright again. I also learned how to start in gear and avoid the clutch all together.
We arrived back at camp around 6:30. Lori had put out some chips and dip that we snacked on before dinner. Zeus had stayed back at camp with the Lori’s and when we returned, his nails were polished pink. They said he didn’t seem to mind having his nails polished, but he didn’t like the smell. I just know they were giggling like school girls as they painted his nails. For dinner, I barbequed buff dogs and asparagus and also warmed up some chili. The buffalo dogs were really good; I will definitely do them again. After enjoying some dinner, we relaxed around be fire before heading to the camper for showers and bed.
On Sunday, I decided to stay back at camp and enjoy the sun with my book. I made breakfast for Terry and I before he left for the day. We had chorizo and eggs for breakfast. After breakfast, the guys loaded up the Jeeps and headed out for the day. I grabbed my book and laid in the hammock all day working on my tan. The temperatures reached 75 degrees at camp and I ended up with a nice tan. Around 4:00, I jumped in the shower to clean-up before Terry would come home. They ended up arriving back at camp around 6:00 and from what he mentioned, I didn’t miss out on much. It sounded like their day consisted of a lot of winching and snow. I am sure glad I stayed at camp in the sun and didn’t have to deal with the snow.
For dinner, I made some spaghetti with sausage and vegetables. After eating, we relaxed around the campfire for the last time. Zeus didn’t get much sleep in during the day, so as the evening came around, he ended up getting grumpy. We finally headed to bed around 10:00 to do a little reading before falling asleep.
On Monday, we woke up and slowly started to pack up camp. Everyone was loaded and ready to go around 9:30. We all wanted to get an early start for the ride home to miss some of the traffic that would surely come in the afternoon. The ride was going well over Snoqualmie Pass when we noticed Gary on the side of the highway. About 2 miles east of Denny Creek on I-90, his trailer blew a tire. We were able to get to the shoulder and help him change the flat. However, soon after we got moving again, maybe 10 miles, the other trailer tire got a flat. So, again, we found ourselves on the shoulder of I-90 helping change a flat. He did get lucky though. Gary only had one spare, but luckily, we had a spare tire for our truck that was the same size and bolt pattern of his trailer. After a quick stop, we were moving again. From there, we made it home without any other issues. It took us about 3 hours to get home which wasn’t bad considering we stopped to fix two flat tires.
Overall, we had a nice weekend away. I am glad I got a day to relax and look forward to going back to Taneum to check out the trails when there isn’t snow on the ground. We both can’t wait for the Jeep to be trail ready again!
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