December 1, 2004    The Official Newsletter of the New Mexico 4-Wheelers    www.nm4w.org

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The meeting was held at the Heights Cumberland Presbyterian Church at 7 pm by President Leon Duggar.

A motion was passed to dispense with the reading of the minutes.

No one thought to send around a member sign-in sheet, but there were a bunch of people there!  As best as I (and the Editor) can remember, the following families were represented:  Brady, Bontly, Capener (Rich), Capener (Glenn), Cline, Duggar, Greven, Juarez, Kausche, Lavy, Marx, Meier, Norton, Peeples, Rector, Tanner, Telepak, Thompson, Werkmeister (Mark), & Wolf (and maybe a few more).

The following guests were introduced: Darrin Miller, Ron Hyman, Preston & Melissa Garner, Jane Bell, and Phil & Ilene Rodacy.

The point system was briefly described by Jeff Rector.

Fines – Jeff Rector

Farmington trip:
-  Leon broke down on the first day, on the first obstacle.  After he fixed his drive shaft, he took the easy way out.
-  The Tanners broke an axle on the first day.
-  Bob Norton broke a power steering hose, which caused all sorts of environmental damage in addition to the vehicle damage.
-  Jeff Rector broke the transmission pan taking a bypass.

 Cimmarron Mesa:
-  Leon broke the read end on the Bronco
-  Lauri gets a 25-cent credit for saying that she was embarrassed for riding in Jeff’s Jeep.

Trip Reports:  The weather was great at the SW 4 wheel drive quarterly.  There were about 74 registrations.  They had a special sight as a B-2 bomber flew real close from a nearby air show.

Cimarron Mesa was lots of fun!  The grass had grown since the last trip and it was hard to find the trail at times.

The trip this weekend to Caballo Lake was discussed.

Thanksgiving trip to Pheonix.  Mark is running two trails Friday and Saturday.  There is only one spot that is labeled as hard.  There is a KOA in Black Canyon City that is the best place to camp.  It is about 28 miles north of Phoenix.  Meet just south of Deer Valley Road at the Cracker Barrel at 6:30 am if you are going to have breakfast there, or at 7:30 if not.  Tell Mark if you are going to go on the trip.

4 Dec is the Christmas Tree run.  Meet at 9am at the Conoco station at the corner of 550 and 528.

1 Jan will be the annual Sagebrush Flats ride.

A suggestion was made that everyone try to lead a trip next year.

Christmas Party:  Will be he hosted by Jerry & Barbara Marx on 11 Dec.  Directions are on the web site, Member’s Only Page.  There will be a gift exchange.  Bring a wrapped gift for a guy if you are a guy and a gal if you are a gal, and mark which it is for.  Keep the cost of the gift under $10.  Chairs, soft drinks, utensils, and plates will be provided.  It will be a pot luck.  Adults only.  RSVP via E-mail.

Environmental – Bob Norton:  Las Cruses group had a meeting with the Dona Ana commission.  There is an article about it in the Las Cruces Sun (reprinted herein).  The commission voted to go along with the lawsuit to re-open the trails.

North American Motorized Vehicle Council had a meeting on 1 Nov.  They are planning a trip to Washington DC the spring of 2005.

The BLM is trying to implement restrictions beyond those of national parks.  See www.sharetrails.org for more information.  They are trying to place severe restrictions on group size, enact mandatory fees, and close thousands of miles of roads and trails.

Historian:  It has been a while since anyone has submitted pictures.  Members can e-mail pictures or send them on a CD-ROM.  The club will pay to have the pictures printed.

Old Business:  Jerry Marx discussed donating money to a charity group this Christmas.  He suggested donating to the All Faiths Receiving Home.  Another recommendation was made to donate to the CYFD in Valencia County.  There was discussion about having a toy run to Valencia County, but there wasn’t enough time between now and Christmas to organize one.  A motion was passed to donate $300 each to the All Faiths Receiving Home and the CYFD in Valencia County.

Treasurer Report:  The balance is $2,288.75.

Hats and T-Shirts – Jerry Marx:  He received a few responses to the e-mail asking what people wanted.  The current inventory is low.  To get good pricing, you need to order a minimum of 50 pieces.  An order of 50 pieces would cost approximately $500.  In the past, the club has not lost any money on keeping an inventory of shirts and hats.  A motion was passes to purchase 50 pieces of various shirts and hats.  Send Jerry an e-mail and tell him what you want before he places the order.

New Business:  A motion was passed to vote in Darrin Miller as a new member.

Jerry would like the members to wear club clothing items to various events as advertising.  He proposed that anyone at the meeting that wears a club clothing item would get one raffle ticket free if they purchase raffle tickets.  The motion passed.

Leon talked about selling raffle tickets for the SW Winter Quarterly raffle in Las Cruces.  Last year they raffled off $10,600 worth of merchandise.  You can either buy tickets or take them with you to sell.  We need to sell lots of tickets!

Meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm.

This is to remind everyone about our annual Christmas Tree Run and Holiday Party/Meeting this month.  The Christmas Tree Run will be held on Saturday, 4 Dec.  We will meet at 9 am at the Conoco Station, on the corner of Hwys 550 and 528 in Bernalillo.  On the way out, we will stop at the Walatowa Visitor’s Center, just north of the Jemez Pueblo, to purchase our tree-cutting permits ($10 per tree).  Then we will proceed to the tree-cutting area, which is in the Santa Fe National Forest, north of the Cochiti Indian Reservation.  After cutting our trees and eating lunch (and playing in the snow if there is any), we’ll head south down FR 289, through Cochiti, and pick up SR 22 back to I-25.  Most of the trip will be on the highway, except for the 10 miles or so that we spend on FR 289, which is a maintained forest road.  You should bring your lunch, drinking water, a saw to cut your tree, some means of securing your tree to your vehicle, and warm clothes. 

The Holiday Party/Meeting will be held the following weekend, Saturday, 11 Dec, at 6 pm, at Jerry & Barbara Marx’ house in Corrales.  Directions are on the Member’s Only Page on the web site.  If you are a guest, or otherwise don’t have access to that page, please e-mail me at glenn@webejeepin.com and I will give you the directions.  We will begin the evening with a pot luck dinner.  Plates, eating utensils, and soft drinks will be provided.  Please bring something to share (salad, main course, side dish, dessert, whatever you want).  If you have any “special beverage” desires, bring that also.  Following a short meeting, we will have a gift exchange.  If you want to participate, please bring a gift marked either male or female, and limit your purchase to $10.  Jerry & Barbara request that you RSVP if you will be attending.  Please e-mail to jdmonline@comcast.net or call 922-9370.

Although Jerry Marx and his Jeep are fairly new to four-wheeling, Jerry thinks the new ARB lockers on his ’99 TJ will take him to new and different trails.  Jerry’s four-wheeling outings include runs in the Jemez Mountains and Rio Puerco, and riding with Ed Kausche up Mt. Blanca.  Now that his Jeep is more equipped and they’re settled into their new home, Jerry hopes to try more challenging trails and test his rig.

Barbara and Jerry got interested in four-wheeling a few years ago when wintering in Yuma.  Some fellow RVers invited them on desert runs and they enjoyed the outings so much, they bought their own Jeep.  The black TJ, with only 3,000 miles on the odometer, was almost like new.  Jerry has added ARB lockers front and rear, 4:10 gears, onboard air, 4” suspension lift, and 1” body lift.  The TJ also features 33” tires and a Warn winch.  The next modification is a skid plate for the fuel tank that Jeff Rector is building.

Barbara and Jerry moved to Corrales 1-1/2 years ago from the Bay Area.  They grew up 45 miles apart in Wisconsin, but didn’t meet until living on the West Coast.  After retiring in 1993, they sold their California home, put their belongings in storage, and set out to travel for two years.  According to Jerry, “The two years stretched to seven.”  They thoroughly enjoyed the RV lifestyle and visited most of the 50 states.  Jerry says, “Every state has something beautiful.  I highly recommend taking some time to really tour the U.S.”  They did not have an agenda and just wandered.  Barbara enjoyed meeting a vast array of people while on their adventure across America.

In their working lives, Barbara was an R.N. and worked in many different areas of nursing.  She later ran her own business in the medical field.  Jerry worked for IBM for 30 years as a hardware engineer, software developer, and manager.  After IBM, he ran his own construction business doing home additions and remodeling.

The Marx’ discovered the Village of Corrales during their travels.  They find the location between Albuquerque and Santa Fe to be ideal and they enjoy the peaceful, small town life.  They’ve jumped into community affairs by joining the Compadres de Corrales civic group where they help with local events as well as socialize.

Barbara’s favorite hobbies are flower arranging, growing orchids, and yoga.  But her real passion is traveling.  Even after seven years on the road and several trips abroad, she still loves to travel.  She’s planning their next big trip, Africa, for next summer.  The Marx’ belong to Friendship Force, which Barbara describes as a foreign exchange group for adults.  In March, the Marx’ will host visitors from the United Kingdom, and in 2005 they may visit Peru and stay with host families there.  Barbara also makes time to visit her son and his family in California.  She’s eagerly awaiting the birth of a new grandchild in January.

Jerry enjoys fishing, woodworking, and skiing.  He’s skied in most of the western U.S. as well as Switzerland and France.  Maybe at the Christmas party he’ll share his story of how the large bell hanging in their living room was acquired (it involved a ski trip in Switzerland).

Motorcycling is another favorite activity and the Marx’ have enjoyed many vacations on their Honda Goldwing.  A new, shared interest is geocaching (sort of modern-day treasure hunting with GPS units).  They’ve found three or four caches in New Mexico and expect the TJ will come in handy on future hunts.

Knowing the importance of club participation, Jerry volunteered to serve as NM4W Program Chair.  He’s spearheading the NM4Wer’s donation to several charities at Christmas, sells raffle tickets at the meetings to benefit the club’s treasury, and is organizing the next t-shirt order.  The Marx’ graciously offered to host the NM4W Christmas potluck at their beautiful Corrales home (Saturday, Dec. 11, 6 pm).  They look forward to getting better acquainted with members.  Hope everyone can come to the party and visit with two of our newest club members.

Wow!  What a weekend of weather!  It rained and rained and rained, and then it snowed!  What a way to enjoy(?) the weekend.  But, 8 vehicles joined me for the trip and we all had fun.  Frank and Donna Whiston with Donna’s brother and his wife, Bill Cline, Erwin & Jeannie Greven, Cliff & Jeanne Meier, Nancy Crowley & Rod Martin, Daniel Juarez & his brother Martin, Glenn Bontly, and Debbie Cade & her son Ben.  This was Debbie and Ben’s first time out ever with Debbie’s new TJ.  I hope she returns.  Her new TJ did great and she was an excellent driver!

The trail was pretty slick due to the all rain on Friday night.  We aired down at the east side of the dam and then proceeded on to the dirt road.  The road was so washed out, you would never know it was a road.  The water had really come down through that wash earlier in the year.  We finally made it to the turn off and proceeded out through the desert to the canyon.  Everyone had fun making the off camber spot.  It brought a thrill to those who had never lifted a tire before!  It was interesting.  We kept going to the first arroyo crossing and yours truly got hung up.  What a hassle!  I had to be pulled back off a rock before I could proceed.  But, thanks to Glenn, I was out and going again soon.  The next obstacle was the worst of the day.  It took two hours to get all nine vehicles through that spot.  Some wanted to turn around, but we all eventually made it through.  Everyone’s patience was appreciated!  That made us a little late, but we kept going. 

Just when we thought we were the only ones there, we spotted some other vehicles parked, one of which was our Sheriff’s.  He had gone with some Las Cruces people to a harder run that paralleled ours.  Obviously, he wasn’t a “big dog” after all and had to stay “on the porch”.  We kept going, as we didn’t have time to watch the crazy people make unbelievable obstacles.

Right after we got out of the wash, Nancy called to say she had a flat tire.  It didn’t take us long to get it changed and going again.  She caught the sidewall on a rock and punctured it.  After driving through a lot of snow, we finally made it to the top of the mountain.  But, it was so snowy and foggy that we didn’t even bother going up to the very top to see the view.  After we went down the mountain a little, we reached the trail turn-off to the Palomas Gap trail.  This is where we stopped to have lunch.  It was already 1:30 PM.  A quick lunch and off we went.

I led until I made a wrong turn at the water tank.  After Glenn checked his GPS log, he got us back on track easily.  It was another canyon of rocks and most people were doing well.  Debbie was starting to not like this stuff as she had heard banging under her Jeep several times.  So did Nancy, and they both were looking for an easier trail.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t one.  Everyone made it through the canyon and over the rocks okay.  No incidents and no damage to anyone.  We kept going to the Gap and that’s where I thought I was going to be strung up by a couple of ladies who do not like heights!  Both stayed in the car as the rest of us looked at the scenery for a short time.  We then got back in and headed down the mountain.

We reached the bottom at about 4:15 and headed north.  Once again, we were able to cross the river, which shortened the trip considerably.  Once we reached the other side of the river, we all aired up our tires and Glenn sold some of that $25 per gallon fuel (He learns well from Chuck!) to Daniel who started out with only ¾ of a tank and no money in his pocket!  (Did you catch that, Mr. Sheriff?!)  Nancy and Debbie headed back to their motels, as they were tired and it was starting to get cold.  Besides, the light (never saw the sun all day!) was leaving quickly and dark descended upon us before we could get out of TorC.  Glenn took Rod back to Nancy’s truck that she parked at the Campground and he headed back to TorC to go to a nice, warm restaurant.

We reached camp just a little before 6:00 PM.  I had been lucky enough to park in the “Rally site” camp (Thank God!  Or I wouldn’t have had electricity and NO heater!) and that opened up the pavilion to us.  We didn’t pay for the lights so we had to eat in the dark.  The worst part wasn’t that, as we all had enough lights between us to see well.  It was the cold wind that accompanied us!  The dinner was good in spite of this weather problem!  Thanks to all who attended and brought goodies.  The dishes were all main dishes that were hot and that was the best part!  I brought the only desert and it didn‘t last long.  And it too was good!

At least there were no incidents in this crazy weather.  Frank mentioned that I need to come up with a ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ rating for this trail and I have to agree.  However, only one tire was punctured and nothing else. Next time, I have to get this weather in order though!  Maybe we’ll go in October?  The drive home was a snowy one!

County sues for Robledos access
By Heath Haussamen
Nov 10, 2004, 07:30 am

The Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to sue the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on behalf of four-wheeling clubs seeking the reopening of roads in the Robledo Mountains north of Las Cruces.

By a 3-2 vote, with County Manager Brian Haines also in opposition, commissioners approved the proposal after a tense debate. Opponents said they feared the lawsuit could sour the county’s congenial relationship with the BLM at a time when the two governments need to work together.

Officials from the BLM said they did not know about the scheduled vote and were not present at the meeting.

The BLM closed about 15 miles of roads in the Robledo Mountains six years ago because of damage to the land, which is part of an 11,000-acre federal wilderness study area.

The Southwest Four Wheel Drive Association and Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club sued the BLM in 2000 to try to reopen the roads, but the lawsuit was dismissed. Earlier this year, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver rejected their appeal without considering its merits, saying the groups weren’t the proper parties to bring the lawsuit. Only a governmental organization has such authority, the court said.

That’s why attorneys for the four-wheel groups asked the county to sue on their behalf. Tuesday’s approval requires that groups pay the county’s legal costs.

Commissioners Gilbert Apodaca, Paul Curry and Kent Evans voted in favor of the lawsuit. Both Curry and Evans said they agreed to the lawsuit to give the four- wheel groups a chance to be heard in court, not necessarily because they want the roads reopened.

Commissioners Arturo Terrazas and Oscar Vasquez-Butler voted against the lawsuit because they don’t want the roads reopened, they said. Both spoke about the importance of preserving the historical and cultural aspects of the mountain range, which runs between Radium Springs and Picacho Peak.

Several national environmental groups, which intervened on behalf of the BLM when the four-wheel groups sued in 2000, will likely seek to intervene in opposition to the county’s lawsuit.

Haines reminded commissioners before the vote that the county must work with the BLM on other projects. In addition, the state’s association of counties has a formal partnership with the BLM, he said.

Most troubling about the lawsuit, Haines said, is “the perception that you will be working with special interests, as opposed to the public.”
In addition, Haines said, if the BLM wins the lawsuit the county could be held liable for the BLM’s legal costs. He asked whether the four-wheel groups or the county would have to pay those costs.

“I guess I’m just not convinced this is about preserving the right of the public at large,” Haines told commissioners. “I just don’t believe that this is the appropriate fight.”

But Apodaca, who worked in the 1970s on the state’s outdoor recreation plan, said he believes “we need to keep our public roads open for recreational access.” Commissioners then voted to sue.
Before the vote, several people in attendance debated the proposal.

“I can imagine 10,000 four-wheelers going up and down these mountains, scaring the Robledos like they did the Doña Anas,” Vasquez-Butler said.

Homer Van Zandt of Las Cruces, a member of a local four-wheel drive club, said “we’re not trying to tear up anything. ... It’s a matter of public resources to be used by the public.”

State Rep. Antonio Lujan, D-Las Cruces, disagreed, and said he feared the county is “becoming a surrogate for a special interest group.”

Nancy Stotz, with the Citizen’s Task Force for Open Space Preservation, urged the commission to protect the “numerous archaeological sites” in the Robledo Mountains. She said working with the BLM would be a good way to identify new areas to open for four-wheel drive vehicle use while still preserving the Robledos.

The BLM will begin in December a review of its land use policy for the county. The BLM plans to work with the county, other local governments and the public to identify BLM land that can be designated for open space preservation or economic development and future roads, said Tim Sanders, area BLM land and mineral supervisor.

Len Brooks, BLM assistant field manager, said in a telephone interview that he, like Haines, doesn’t want to see the relationship between the BLM and county deteriorate. Because BLM officials were not told about the planned vote, Brooks said BLM officials will be in touch with commissioners to learn more about the county’s plans and discuss whether a lawsuit can be avoided.

Heath Haussamen can be reached at hhaussamen@lcsun-news.com

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it to Arizona with Mark & Joan this week, although I very much wanted to.  Susan & I started our Air Force careers in the Phoenix area, back in the early 80’s.  I was a student pilot at Williams AFB, and Susan, a software engineer at Luke, across town.  We had a 4WD Nissan P/U truck at that time, but we weren’t really “off roaders”.  We did do a lot of sightseeing during our 4-year tour in the desert, and fell in love with the area.  That’s why we chose to “retire” back here in the southwest, albeit some place a little cooler than Phoenix!  It’s hard to believe that we’ve been in New Mexico for over 5 years already, and we still haven’t been wheelin in Arizona! . . . some day.

Meanwhile, I knew I would go crazy watching 4 days of television during the long Thanksgiving holiday, so I decided that a local Jeep ride to Cedro Peak would be in order!  It had been a while since I’d been up there anyway.  So I sent out an e-mail the week prior, just after receiving a 4-inch early season snow up here in the mountains.  But the forecast was calling for dry conditions all week, so I figured it would be perfect for the weekend.  Well, if you look back to the April 2003 Issue of the Trail Tales, you’ll find an article I wrote back then, entitled “Slip-Sliding Away”.  And yes, today’s outing would bring back memories of thick, slick, gooey, slippery MUD!  Now those of you who know me, know how much I hate mud.  After sliding around uncontrollably in Ohio for two years, I’d had enough!  Oh well . . .

There were eight of us that met at the Sandia Ranger Station this chilly morning: Chuck Peeples, Cliff & Jeanne Meier (with new 30” BFG A/T’s on their Tracker!), Bill Cline (with new long-travel shocks on this TJ!), Jerry Marx (with new ARB air lockers in his TJ!), Nancy Crowley (with new 31” Goodyear MT/R’s on her CJ-5!), Dixon Patrick, guest Phil Rodacy in his TJ Rubicon, and myself.  After airing down, we headed over to the “big hill” to see who would be foolish brave enough to give it a try under the wet and slippery conditions.  Chuck was the only taker, and he really made the rest of us look silly.  I’ve never seen anyone ascent the big hill with such grace and control.  It seems that the moist soil actually improved the traction on the hill, over the otherwise dry powder-like dirt.  Congrats to Chuck for conquering the big hill!

After that, it wasn’t long before we hit the slippery slop on the far east side of the trail.  I’ve previously referred to this experience like being a “stick of butter on a hot Teflon griddle”, and today was no different!  I was surprised that everyone made it through the entire stretch of slime without getting stuck.  That was a good thing, cuz I wasn’t looking forward to getting out to hook up a strap on anyone!

Once we broke out of the forest, we turned right and headed towards the peak.  The road is gated about a half mile before the top, but there’s a nice open spot off to the side of the road to stop for lunch.  And a terrific overlook of the Village of Tijeras.  On the way down the mountain, we stopped briefly to play on the “steps”.  After airing back up, 4 of us hit the carwash in Tijeras.  Luckily, we were able to get most of the mud off of our vehicles before the proprietor could chase us off--we left quite a bit of mud in his wash bays!  ;o)

We learned today that the snow on the trail provided significantly better traction than the slippery mud.  If we get a “good” season this year, I’d like to do a snow ride sometime in January or February.  Stay tuned.

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.

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Trail Tales
21 Rattlesnake Ridge
Tijeras, NM 87059-7440

TrailTales@nm4w.org