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This gallery replaces the old page and smaller images that I had up for many years. The original text follows:
One of the people along for the Henness Pass trip in August 2002 was Cal 4-wheel's Executive Director, Jack Raudy, who handed out fliers for a new "SUV run" the association had planned for September. This was an easy sell for me as we had fun on the Henness Pass (HP) trip and I was already looking for the next trip. It helped that it was very cheap, one day on a weekend, and was another trip I could enjoy while gaining more offroad experience. I quickly signed up, located someplace interesting to stay the night, and again dug into Sierra Nevada Byways for someplace to do some solo offroading on Sunday. As luck would have it, the Friday before the trip the one band who I still go and see in concert - Rush - is playing for the first time in several years. So I get home from the show at midnight, sleep a few hours and get up at 0400 to drive the 3+ hours to the gathering place at Cisco Grove off Hwy 80 in the Sierras. Blech! The things I do for a little fun... This trip was fun, although not quite as fun as the HP trip which was more involved. Like that trip, this one was a bit too well attended (apparently there was so much late demand they had to turn people away) but that wasn't a serious drawback, and I think it just shows how much demand there is for this sort of thing. We met a lot of really nice people again, including our guides and a few folks we recognized from the HP trip. A wide variety of vehicles and people were present, and I received a lot of nice compliments on my Jeep's behalf. :) We spent the first half of the day going up and back down Signal Peak (7841'), followed by a break for a tasty lunch (chili in sourdough bowl, fruit salad, etc.) and then we spent the afternoon offroading up Cisco Butte (6639') and finally winding down around Kelly Lake. When the trip ended, we aired-up and then drove down Hwy 20 west to Nevada City and the funky old National Hotel (est. 1852?) where we spent Saturday night. Nevada City is a very small rural town with a lot of great old buildings in the historic downtown district where our hotel was. Sunday morning after breakfast we drove south then west a bit to the tiny town of Rough and Ready (I swear I'm not making that name up.) The town is pretty much the proverbial wide spot in the road, but it has plenty of character. Because of the unique name, I had wanted to visit the town for over ten years, and now that I finally know what it looks like I can let my curiosity rest. After taking a few photos, we were off again, back the way we came and then to Hwy 20 heading East, almost to Hwy 80, then we cut north for more offroading by Bowman Lake. As the images show, it's a very nice area and we had a very good time. It's nice to go four-wheeling with a group but it's also fun to head out on your own. There's certainly less dust to deal with! After scouting out possible campsites for future trips to the lake, we headed out and made the long drive home. Random Jeep-geek notes: