10.05.2007

On the rocks

It only took one ride and I was hooked. An early evening drive through Susquehanna State Park with the top down in a Jeep Wrangler was all I needed to get the itch to own a jeep one day. That first ride was about 15 years ago. Only about 3 years ago was that itch satisfied. I had purchased my fathers 90 Wrangler. I was stoked! Finally my own Jeep.

Over the next 2 years, I saved my money and was able to build it to my liking. Of course, all the money you dump into these vehicles, you can guarantee to never see again! My goal with this Jeep was to ride around in the summer with the top down, run it through some mud and hopefully get enough snow in the winter to take it out.

Well, one day browsing through e-bay, I came across a deal I could not pass up. It was a 2003 Rubicon. This Jeep was perfect. Ready for the trail and rocks, built by a guy in Utah. I won the auction, had it shipped and in two weeks it was at my doorstep!









Then "Tico" came into the picture. Tico was the salesmen who sold Kenny and my Mom their new truck. Kenny traded in a Jeep and got to talking to Tico and told him that I was trying to sell my jeep. Tico informed Kenny that he had an off-road 4 X 4 club called Maryland Rock Raiders and that I was welcome to list my Jeep on his forum. What I thought was going to just be a resource to sell my 90 Wrangler has exploded into a new passion of mine...."Rock-Crawling". Tico's club "The Maryland Rock Raiders" are a group of great people who share a common interest. From the stock Jeeps to buggies that will crawl over just about anything, this group takes you in and makes you feel like family. They are here to have a good time and teach you just about anything you would want to know about "off-roading".


Recently the club had their secon annual A.D.A fundraiser, raising over $3800 for a this great cause. The day consisted of music, raffles, donations, good people and of course a lot of 4-wheelin! Check out the video below.





Next is to compete in some amateur rock crawling competition at the off road park in PA call Rausch Creek. October 21st is the practice runs and then the competition is held on November 10th. Stay tuned to see how it goes for me!