groundsage

Hello, everyone. Recently sold my '96 Grand Cherokee 2WD luxury ride and tried to give up jeeping. But... irresistible buy on '92 one-owner, 298,000 miles XJ happened. A few weeks ago I had the head rebuilt by local machine shop in Las Vegas-- and then bought a new short block from 5 Star Engines in Glendale, AZ. It arrived on a pallet with new oil pump and gaskets. Everything went together routinely, and so far have logged the first 100 miles-- a joy to drive.



I've recently moved out here in the desert from Los Angeles where the Grand Cherokee was more appropriate. The XJ is 4X4, with 4.0L engine and a lot more power -- to my surprise. (I only miss the luxury seats in the Grand Cherokee, but getting used to the XJ.)



Having grown up out here in the desert, just 12 miles from Lake Mead, I'm re-exploring everywhere, considering that the lake shoreline has receded, exposing hundreds of new miles of currently navigable shoreline terrain unavailable to regular car access. With a 4x4, there are many miles of private beach for swimmimg and fishing. For me it is less than ten miles to the water's edge, but nowadays, three to five miles of unpaved trails from where the asphalt ends. The lake is much smaller than it used to be. The loss of all the water, caused the flight of a huge tourist industry that supported three towns in what is called Moapa Valley. So the good thing is that now we locals have all that water and shoreline mostly almost all to ourselves. Camping spots are never crowded, and many free places to camp, especially if dry docking, which I do often with my also "1992" motorhome. This is my second year on the road, living out of the motorhome. And so I am addicted, loving the outdoors, and freedom from enslavement of the costs of living in a city.



For those who don't know, Moapa Valley is one of the first OHV designated territories in America to pioneer in the OHV sports and recreation activities. There is still much to discover and develop, much learned from what goes on here, mostly managed by the DMV in conjunction with BLM, providing hundreds of miles of established trails with rated difficulty levels. It is well organized with safety training available, as well as maps which are useful for avoiding trespass on private properties. At least one Jeep club has its home out here, They meet with a crowd from the Las Vegas area, 60 miles from here, but sponsor local events. Checking them out is next on my list of things to do Jeep.

In the mean time, working on my restoration, and shopping around for upgrades and/or modifications. Have been enjoying reading the forums here-- reading about what you are all doing. My next project is learning how to install whatever is needed for competently towing the XJ behind my motorhome. As winter progresses, I will head farther south to Tucson, for a while, and then east to Texas, Indianapolis in the spring, then back up to northern Nevada-- Lake Tahoe by next summer. My base is here in Moapa Valley where my family has a home with some land. We used to raise horses in our younger years. The stables are empty now, but provide a level ground for me to park under a huge fruitless mulberry tree we planted 40 years ago. I have water, electricity, propane, solar, and fiber optic cable internet, on about a sixth of an acre-- chain link fenced to protect my dog from coyotes. I rarely spend summers here, but did this year as it was great to spend time at the lake again, especially driving and exploring spots that used to be under 50 to 80 feet of water-- places I used to water-ski above.



Ok, enough about me. In case anyone reading this is in this area and doesn't know about it, there is an event on Nov 4, "Hump and Bump," -- though I am not sure what that is! But it is sponsored by the Vegas Valley Four Wheelers: vv4w.org and http://vv4w.org/hump-n-bump. Even if you don't attend, their website is interesting.

Happy riding everyone. -sage