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to be included here.

The scheduled club run for January was cancelled as we intended to join fellow Christian wheelers from 4x4Him.org, our parent chapter, and Extreme Wheelers for Christ for a weekend in Quartsite Arizona, but as time drew near, we were unable to reserve motel rooms at a reasonable rate. Due to the injuries from my accident the previous month (see Dec.16th Exploration Run), we felt cold weather camping was not an option.  In the end, we decided to make a weekend of it but decided to head toward Tucson instead.  We arrived late Friday evening and settled into a motel for the night.  Saturday morning we hit the Waffle House and a Chevron, then decided we would try the Sibley Mansion / Bluebird Mine area.  The weather promised to make things interesting for a run with possibilities of rain and maybe a bit of snow.  The locals did not seem real happy but we were enjoying the day!

A little farther on, the promise was fulfilled with a light rain mixed with snow.  As we headed higher up we started to hit patches of snow on the ground, of which, Pete assumed they needed to be on my windshield!!

We seemed to climb a long time after that but then abruptly dropped into a valley.  There was a little bit of water in the wash at the bottom and a very interesting tree that we had to play at for a few moments.  A left turn in the wash and we were again headed toward Sibley Mansion.  While crossing through one of the rocky sections, a wet tire slid off the rocks and sent the drivers side of the Jeep crashing into the rocks on the opposite side.  Thanks again to Shrockworks rock rails, there was no body damage and the only needed repair will be a coat of paint!  Through the creek and starting up a hill we were blocked by an open crevice.  Before any attempts at crossing the small opening, Pete decided to walk up the trail and see what lay ahead.  Good thinking on his part saved us the work, just around the next curve in the rock face was a locked gate, and no way to continue to the Mansion.  We played a bit longer in the rocks and water before setting our search efforts on Bluebird Mine.

 Once again trouble caught up and at the same rock cluster that bashed the side rail.  The drivers side rear tire, still wet, slid down the sharp ridge of the rock and sliced the sidewall open.  A short stop, four plugs to fill the hole and 15 pounds of air put us rolling down the trail again.

 Back up in the high ground we stopped at some movement in the brush and we rewarded with a chance sighting at a group of Coatimundi.  Back to the trail and the scenery was incredible. As we approached the mine area, they were drilling into a copper mine shaft to determine its size.  The runoff water from the drilling rig was crossing the road and dropping into a small stream on the other side, turning the water an incredible shade of turquoise blue.  I know the pictures look touched up, but that is actually the color of the water with the copper dust.  Soon after, we were back down to the low ground and airing up tires for the ride back to the motel.  Overall, it was disheartening that we did not get to the Mansion, but the trip was great even with out this.  There are a ton of tails in is area to follow, if you have time to wander, it is a good are for it!!

God Bless
Kreation Krawlers