August 1, 2006    The Official Newsletter of the New Mexico 4-Wheelers    www.nm4w.org

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Meeting was held at the well laid out home of Carlos & Laurye Tanner.  There were over 50 people inside for the meeting while it rained cats and dogs outside.  Mark Werkmeister called the meeting to order at 6:27 pm sharp.

Guests:  Dan Pritchard - ’91 Cherokee; Harry Wagner - ’98 Toyota 4-runner & ‘87 Toyota Pickkup; Kenneth Gaw - ’99 TJ; Rodger & Barbara Hall - ’81 Scrambler, ’81 CJ, & ’87 YJ; Tony Lauderbaugh - ’97 TJ.

Members Present:  Abbate, Bontly, Brady, Coe, Finch, Greven, Kennicott, Lavy, Marks, Marx, Meier, Miller (Don), Peeples, Rector, Roberts/Wolf, Rodacy, Simenson, Tanner, Thompson, Werkmeister, Whiston (older), Whiston (younger), and Wolf.

Secretary’s Report – Lauri Rector: Mark asked for my report and then immediately asked for someone to entertain the motion to pass on the reading of last months meeting minutes, which there was no hesitation in the 2^nd of the motion and affirmative vote.

Treasurer’s Report – Paul Thompson: $3,296.83 balance.  Food for the summer quarterly is going to be $1,400.

Vice President’s Report – Jeff Rector:  He’s got nothing.  No fines, no nothing.

Trip Chairman’s Report – Jason Lavy:  Quarterly is coming up.  It will be discussed further in old business.  Tom Hurt will be leading the annual Red River trail ride starting on September 29^th.  Frank Whiston Jr. will be leading a run in the Zuni Mountain on Labor Day weekend.  He can move the dates around some.  He also wants to go to Canyon Lands – Needles District on the 1^st of October.  Information on this run will be posted on the member’s only page.  Fall quarterly is scheduled for the last of September.

Director Environmental Affairs Report – Bob Norton:  Bob was not present.  Mark Werkmeister reported on the status of the Resource Management Plan for Gordy’s Hill.  There is still a delay as they are waiting on the report from the contractors.  He also discussed the Trackways Monument.  This is to protect fossils and tracks found down by Las Cruces.  It encompasses enough land that it would close the Chile Canyons area, which is where most of the trails for the Chile Challenge are located.  We need to write our congressmen and question the amount of protection it would provide.  There would be lots of restrictions in the area, 600 acres are being proposed for closing.  The fossil area only involves about 50 acres.  They have known about the fossils for over 20 years and just now feel a need to close and restrict the area and lots of surrounding land.

Program Chairman’s Report – Jerry Marx:  After a discussion between the President and the Secretary and almost everyone at the meeting, it was agreed that Mark did in fact skip over this part (and Mark’s lame excuse was that I was pulling his puppet strings and I didn’t pull these).  Jerry Marx was kind enough to explain the 50/50 raffle for the guests.  He is going to raffle off (or just hand out to anyone that wants one) some $40 coupons for Tom Wood Driveshaft.  And then later on in the meeting, we went back to Jerry again so that he could announce that we still have t-shirts and hats for sale (he is quite the peddler!).

Historian’s Report – Laurye Tanner:  We are close to loosing our Snapfish account because no one is buying any of the pictures.  She would like our input on whether or not we still want an internet account?  Jerry Marx wanted to know if there was another way to post the pictures.  Frank Whiston mentioned fourbyfour.com – it’s free.  Mike Coe suggested that the club purchase a picture for Laurye – preferably a picture of him (umm, he must know that she likes to throw darts and needs a target). 

Webmaster & Editor’s Report – Glenn Bontly:  We still have a web-site and newsletter.  Good Job Glenn!!!!

Old Business:  Summer Quarterly – Mark Wolf said that most of the stuff is set up and all ready to go.  Registrations are slow at coming in.  Cliff and Jeannie Meier will take over the registrations for Marcia Duggar (she gave birth to twin girls a day or 2 before the meeting – Mom, girls and Dad are reported to be doing fine).  The winch raffle will not happen because the registrations just have not been strong enough to warrant it.  Cliff Meier still needs trail leaders and tail gunners on Imogene, Black Bear, Kendall Mountain, Stony Pass, Alice Pass, Yankee Boy, and what he calls the Gulches trails (and I may have missed one or 2).  The sign up sheets for the trail rides at the Summer Quarterly will be posted each morning for the participates to choose their trail (unlike the Chile Challenge where you choose them on your registration form and just hope you’re getting it in before they fill up).  Mike Coe needs a head count for the caterer.  Mark Wolf said that we should have that about 2 weeks before the dinner.  Mike Coe said that he had promised to have it to them yesterday, but he didn’t call them yesterday either.  It was agreed that they will discuss this after the meeting (please rest assured that no words were exchanged and no punches thrown – their discussion was very civil and calm, just the way we like it).  Cliff Meier has the spreadsheet on the trails, days, and starting times with him if anyone needs to look at it.

It was also reported that Jim Huff will help with the trail ride in Copper Canyon in Mexico.  It’s the Grand Canyon of Mexico, to be held between Christmas and New Years.

New Business:  Laurye Tanner discussed the food donations for Marcia Duggar (the girls will not yet be partaking, but she will share with Leon).  Food donations were only needed because Leon doesn’t know how to boil water.  You can bring the food to Laurye or you can take to Leon at work during the week (RSC at Juan Tabo).

Jeff Rector, who had been standing this whole time and was chastised by our President for doing so, reminded the president that it is during the New Business portion of the meeting that guests, who are present and eligible, are voted in.  We had 3 at this meeting; Rodger & Barbara Hall, Dan Pritchard, and Tony Louderbaugh & Greta Berry.

Mark reviewed the positions that were to be voted in and also got volunteers for the positions that had no nominations yet.  It was agreed that since there was only 1 nomination for each office, no ballots were needed and we could just do a group vote.

It was agreed that the delegate for the SWFWDA could continue to be handled the way it was currently – who ever can attend the quarterly will be our club delegate and will cast their vote for the benefit of the club.

I was also told that the Webmaster and Editor are appointed positions and Glenn is very safe in not being voted out of those positions.

All of the following were voted in unanimously:

It was decided that we would hold off on the election of the New Mexico 4 Wheeler of the Year until next month.  This is again because of our slacker Secretary who had not put it in the meeting agenda for the President (puppet strings?  What puppet strings?)

I discussed the $50 gift certificate from Desert Rat for the voting member that had earned the most points during this club fiscal year.  If you’re going out on enough trail rides to win the certificate, you need it!!!  The certificate will be presented to the winner at next month’s meeting.  So far the leaders are Bontly, Rectors, and the Thompsons, in no particular order.

Meeting adjourned at (Ok, my notes are blank on this one – it was maybe about 7:12pm)

Winner of the 50/50 drawing:  Phil Kenicott had the winning ticket on the $48 pot on the 50/50 drawing & Mike Coe, Mark Werkmeister, & Eric Finch won Tom Wood ball caps.

First, I’d like to say that it is an honor and pleasure to serve as President of the New Mexico 4-Wheelers for the next year.  And, yes, I’m quite intimidated to have to follow Mark Werkmeister and other presidents before him.  I will endeavor to carry out the duties diligently and lead the club in supporting the 4-wheeling community and promoting the sport of off-roading (and whatever else it may say in the By-laws and/or SOPs, which I honestly have not read what it says about what the presidents duties are).  Of course, I think I can trust that the club members will be sure and speak up when I’m doing something wrong in meeting – such as what has to be voted on, when a discussion needs to take place, and things like that, but that’s OK – I’ll take the help. 

I have been thinking and realizing that it will be Beth and I that sit in front of everyone during the meeting.  This also made me realize that we do have many women that participate in this sport, lead trails, drive their own 4X4 or just enjoy riding along with their partner, and the campouts and pot-lucks.  I’m thinking that I need to add a few items to each meeting that would be something that women could benefit from.  Can we bring it up for a vote?  I want to add Manicures, Pedicures, Hair Styling, and Fashion.  Please let me have your thoughts on this at the August meeting (NOT!!!!!!!).

This is a reminder that Four Wheeler of the Year will be voted on at the August 12 meeting.  This long-standing NM4W tradition recognizes the “Members Choice” of the fellow member who has done the most for four-wheeling and the club in the previous year.  We nominate Paul Thompson for these reasons:

Paul has tirelessly served as NM4W Treasurer for several years.  He keeps track of dues and the mailbox, and pays the club’s bills (and we all know how tedious that can be!).  Paul led runs in Silverton in Sept 2005 and at the Summer 2006 Quarterly.  He attends almost every meeting and club event, and always shares his enthusiasm and knowledge of four wheeling with new members.  Paul is an all-around steady, dependable member who contributes much time and energy to four wheeling.  Even though he keeps a low profile, he’s an exemplary member of NM4W.

Hello NM4Wer’s:

This is what we have been waiting for…..the Santa Fe National Forest has started its public input process for the Travel Management Plan.  This is our opportunity to show them just how much we care about our 4WD trails in the Santa Fe National Forest.  A show of force by a large number of interested users will demonstrate that we take this very seriously and will make it easier for us to influence the decision making process.

Pick a meeting (or meetings!) and mark your calendar NOW!  I would highly suggest the Santa Fe, Cuba, and Espanola meetings.

The first step will be to convince them to compile and provide us with a “starting point” map so we know which routes are already on their maps and which ones we will need to submit for consideration.

So come on out and make sure they know that we are VERY INTERESTED, VERY MOTIVATED, and VERY INSISTENT on a great 4WD trail system on OUR Santa Fe National Forest.

On another note, we are faced with another extreme challenge to the trails in the Robledo Mountains.  The New Mexico Off Highway Vehicle Alliance is working closely with the Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club and the Blue Ribbon Coalition to address it.  Here is a brief excerpt from the NMOHVA website:

Quick Summary:  Senator Bingaman (D-NM) has introduced legislation to create a new National Monument in the Robledo Mountains near Las Cruces, NM to protect fossilized tracks left by prehistoric creatures.  This Monument is a threat to all existing recreational uses of the area, including motorized recreation.  The bill specifies a monument of more than five thousand acres and almost completely contains the Chile Canyons 4WD trail system.  It also requires that adjacent lands to be managed to protect the resources in the proposed Monument.  The sad thing is that there are hardly any fossils to protect.  A massive land closure disguised as a new National Monument?  You be the judge!

Did that get your attention?  If so, there is a wealth of information on this issue at http://nmohva.org/job.html.  If you are only mildly interested (but want to write a letter) or VERY interested and want to dig through all of the material yourself, the website has just the link for you.  Check it out, read the information, and act according to your own conscience.

Mark

Ten energetic four wheelers showed up at the Conoco on a sunny Sunday to join me for a leisurely and scenic drive to the southern end of the Jemez Mountains.  Joining me were Pat & Sue Brady in their 93 YJ, Jeff and Lauri Rector in their respective Jeeps (95 YJ & 84 CJ thing), Carlos Tanner in his 99 TJ with Joseph and Jason, Brad Opatz his TJ, Kristy & Mike Coe in her 98 TJ, Jerry Moran in his 05 LJ Rubicon, and my ole pal Tom Hurt in his trusty 76 CJ5.  We also were treated to some guests - Mike Ferguson & Ryan Shaffer in Mike’s 98 TJ with two European guests on board, and Tim Barnaby in his brand new Toyota FJ.  Oh!  Don’t forget me in my Jeepster.  Eleven vehicles in all were ready for a fun day of driving through the cool woods.  We headed out at about 9:05 AM.  I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go today, but after a conversation with Tom and Pat I decided on the Ridge Road to start with and then move on to “Tom’s Trail” over to Peggy Mesa.  Once over Peggy Mesa we dropped down to FS 534 and then over to San Miguel Mountain and back down to FS 534.  I hadn’t been over these routes all summer mostly due to the drought and the closed forest.  I told everyone that I thought I had water in my gasoline and to bear with me on the road.  Pat almost pushed me to the Jemez!

Once we got to the turnoff to the Ridge Road, we all aired our tires down for the fun to start.  The Ridge road has gotten a little more challenging over the years and that is the fun part about this road.  I don’t believe that anyone had any trouble, but Tim did say he wasn’t used to all of the banging and crunching under his vehicle.  Something about “computers thinking” or something like that.  Oh, those new sophisticated traction enhancing computers!  But, I do believe Tim even though he is a complete novice at the sport.  He was a gearhead before he came to four wheeling!  Tom did say his Jeep was getting hot really easy these days and I think that may be due to computers also.  Danged computers!  For me, well, it was a little simpler.

Half way across the mesa, we stopped for lunch and talked awhile.  The camaraderie of four wheelers is always relaxing to me.  We made it over the Mesa and I had to stop the vehicle as it was relay running badly.  I told Pat I thought my points were acting up.  He checked them before I could get out of the vehicle and told me they weren’t even opening!  Well no wonder it wouldn’t run right!  After a brief repair (set the points to open!) we were back on our way and boy, did that Jeepster act differently!  Do you all remember what points are?  My vehicle is antique and doesn’t have computers and such!  Jeff was mumbling something about him still being Sheriff until next month.  I can hear it now!  Guess I’ll just bring some spare change to donate!  Ha!

After the Jeepster decided it would actually run, we went over to the beginning of San Miguel Mountain.  This is a nice, easy trail and everyone enjoyed it.  We stopped at the top and took a look around.  It is a great view for everyone up there.  After a brief look around, we all loaded ourselves back up and headed down to FS 534.  Once we got to FS 534, we turned right and went back to Porter Landing and then to the Gilman Tunnels where we stopped to air up our tires and say good bye.  I left as Carlos was airing up his last two tires.  Tom said he would help him out and make sure he got going.  Thanks, Tom.

It was a great run and one I was glad I made as I wanted to find out if the Jeepster was in shape to go to Colorado and run the Silverton trails.  I went home promptly and tuned her up completely.  The ole Jeepster usually never lets me down but, this time it was me, not the Jeepster that failed.  You have to tune those older vehicles up more than the usual 50K miles the newer vehicles run these days.  It isn’t hard, just time consuming.  I hope that Sheriff and his so called “deputies” go easy on me.  See you next time, and thanks to all who participated.  I hope some of the followers today will remember this run as it was fun and a good one when nothing else is going on.  I also think the International guests were more than happy after this run as they don’t get to do this kind of stuff in England.  I’m glad we could show them a good time and a beautiful place so close to the urban area.  For some reason there is never enough time to go there.  Gotta work on that!

(Wolfie, do “points” have anything to do with 8-tracks?   -ed.)

No one likes to break down, especially while on a vacation.  At the Summer Quarterly in Colorado last week, several of us had our fair share of problems, but we managed to help each other out and make it through the event without anyone’s fun being spoiled.

Upon arriving in Silverton on Sunday evening, I learned that Paul & Mary were having trouble with the refrigerator in their new Lance camper.  It was working okay on A/C power, but wasn’t very reliable on propane.  But Chuck came to their rescue with his portable generator.  It was just enough to get them through Wednesday, when we all moved up to Ridgway State Park and onto electric hookups.  I understand that Phil & Carol had refrigerator problems as well, but I don’t have the details.

I also had problems with my camper; for me it was the water pump going bad.  Similarly, I limped through the first few days until I was able to “hook-up” in Ridgway.

While pre-running one of the trails, Chuck had a major breakdown.  The front track bar bracket literally tore off of the frame of his TJ!  The bracket was fully in tact, but the frame will need some serious work to repair, not something that could easily be done in the field.  This was a big problem, cuz Chuck was scheduled to lead some of the trails for the Quarterly later in the week!  The solution came in the way of he and Ethyl May doubling up with Jimmy and Debbie to lead the trails.  To get the crippled Jeep home (it was no longer flat-towable), they loaded it onto Jimmy’s trailer, and Debbie drove their Jeep all the way home.

On Tuesday, Jan & I did the Old Hundred Mine and the Mayflower Mill Tours.  As soon as we got back on the paved road in Silverton, we heard a “tinkling” sound underneath the Jeep.  (No, the Jeep wasn’t peeing in the street!)  We turned around and found that one of the control arm bolts had sheared off!  The problem was that there was still a 1-inch piece of the bolt stuck in the control arm/bracked assembly.  My options were to load the Jeep on the trailer and watch the rest of the week from the sidelines (although I was also scheduled to lead some trails at the Quarterly), or attempt a repair.  It was about 3:00 in the afternoon when we decided to go for it.  Everyone jumped in (Tom, Chuck, Ed, Jimmy, and Paul) and we started removing the skid plate and long-arm bracket.  I have some “easy-outs”, at home, but that wasn’t going to do us much good.  So Chuck & I took the arm/bracket assembly to the Triangle Service Station in Silverton to see if they could remove the broken bolt.  They could, but not for a couple of days, due to other things they were working on (remember, this was the height of the Jeeping season in this area, so they were swamped with work).  However, to my TOTAL surprise, shop owner Bill MacDougall proceeded to LEND us several tools, including a drill, a set of bits, and a set of “easy outs”.  We took everything back to the campgrounds.  We had the broken bolt out within minutes, although I snapped one of Bill’s drill bits.  I gathered up all of the tools, headed back to the shop, gave Bill a 20 for a couple of bolts, with enough left over to cover the broken bit and a “tip”, and headed back to camp.  Everyone pitched in again and we had the Jeep back together well before our 6 pm dinner reservations at the Handlebar restaurant in Silverton.  What teamwork!  But I am still most impressed with Bill’s willingness to help us by lending us his tools!  So next time you are in Silverton and in need of some fuel, please stop by Triangle Conoco at 848 Greene Street (970-387-9990).  He also has a motel next to the station and does Jeep rentals and repairs as well.

Finally, on the trip home, it was Tom Phillips’ turn for some bad luck.  We were taking an alternate route home, from Ridgway to Durango via Telluride, in order to avoid some of the many passes on Hwy 550.  During one of the few long hill climbs, Tom’s 6.0L Powerstroke, which was towing a 5^th wheel AND his Jeep, started losing power and bellowing out heavy black smoke.  He disconnected the Jeep and Carrie drove that to the top of the pass.  Tom struggled up the hill with the camper and quickly determined that he probably “blew” the turbo.  He drove the rig a few more miles and decided it would be best to drop off the 5^th wheel at a roadside campground.  Thinking that the unloaded truck would make it back to Albuquerque, Tom later decided to leave it at a Ford dealer in Durango.  With his vehicles now all spread out across Colorado, Tom pointed out that the rest of our caravan all consisted of Dodge duallys with Cummins turbo diesels.  Of course, none of us said a word.  It’s a very stressful time when a man’s truck breaks down, and we aren’t the type to kick someone when they are down on their luck (yea, right!).  Anyway, Tom and family all jumped into their Jeep and headed for home, knowing that they would have to make a second trip back up to pick up all of their stuff.

Despite everything that occurred, I believe everyone still had a good time.  Oh, and BTW, there’s only one thing worse than breaking down while you’re on vacation.  That’s having to deal with it all alone.  It was interesting to see everyone’s reactions when these various problems occurred.  When someone broke down, everyone else was more than willing to do whatever it took to help out.  It was no big deal.  Kind of adventurous, actually.  On the other hand, for the individual whose stuff broke, they felt they were being a burden on the others.  But that just isn’t true.  It’s all part of the game.  It’s part of being a New Mexico 4-Wheeler!

For those of you new to the club or those of you who are just cruising our web site; we have slide shows of our runs on the Internet.  The new web site address for the club pictures:  http://www1.snapfish.com/home/t_=30021019

If you do not want to personally register with Snapfish, you can use nm4wphotos@earthlink.net as your login, and jeepers as your password.

For those who are taking pictures on our trips, please e-mail me at lauryetanner@earthlink.net, or give me a CD of the pictures you have taken.  Please let me know the name of the event and who took the pictures.  Remember to save your originals.

Glenn and I are trying to get pictures of our members to add to the web site roster on the Member’s Only Page.  Please e-mail Glenn or me your picture.  If you do not have a good picture; I will try to bring a camera at the next meeting and will be glad to take your picture there.

Your 2006/2007 club dues ($35) are due THIS month.  According to the By-Laws, if you are not paid up by the end of September, you will be dropped from the membership roster and will have to re-apply as a new member, requiring 5 points and a vote of all of the members who paid their dues on time!  Don’t wait till the last minute; just pay now and get it over with.  Send your check or money order to:

NM4W
PO Box 90154
Albuquerque, NM 87199-0154 

Sorry, no credit cards.  Thanks!!  :o)

Aluminum Cans: Our club saves and recycles aluminum cans.  Money from the sale of cans goes into our club treasury.  Please bring your crushed aluminum cans to each meeting, and somebody will take them to the recycling center.

To Our Guests: If you attend a club meeting or event and provide us with your e-mail address, you will be added to our guest e-mail list, and will receive monthly notifications of when the Trail Tales newsletter is posted on our Club web site.  If you are interested in becoming a member of the New Mexico 4-Wheelers, please contact one of our officers for membership requirements, or visit our web site at www.nm4w.org/join-the-club.htm.

Trail Tales on the Web Site: In a continuing effort help save natural resources and to control costs, you are encouraged to read the Trail Tales newsletter on the Club Web Site in lieu of receiving a hard copy in the mail.  Around the first of each month, the current issue of Trail Tales is posted at www.nm4w.org/newsletters.htm and an e-mail notification is sent to all club members.  In addition, a minimum of 2 years of back issues of our newsletter is also available on the web site.  So if you want to help “save some trees”, please send an e-mail to TrailTales@nm4w.org stating that you do not need to receive the hard copy of the newsletter.  Thanks for your participation in this program.

Submission Due Date: The Trail Tales is published on the first of each month.  Submissions for each issue must be received by the Editor not later than the 25^th of the prior month.  Submissions can be sent to TrailTales@nm4w.org, or Trail Tales, 21 Rattlesnake Ridge, Tijeras, NM 87059.

Please see the Events Schedule Page

Trail Tales
11404 Oceola Rd SE
Albuquerque, NM 87123

TrailTales@nm4w.org