KChurch86 Adventure Thread

[KChurch86]

07-07-2013

Thought that since I've finally got a local wheelin' buddy and that my wife is becoming a little more comfortable with me wheeling my truck, it was about time I could start my own adventure thread where I'll share whatever little adventures I take my X on.

Here's a couple shots from a quick outing on some local fire access roads/reservoir roads, 07-07-2013

"Blockage" in the trail - I snaked through and under these vines, everything was good 'til they grabbed a hold of my rooftop backup lights:



Flexing it out: (Lots from this same area, sadly no shots from the rear )







Gus and I getting the shot:



Had to lock in and take a slightly different path than I wanted to:



Happy X:





Letting the Liberty lead the way:



Liberty Flex:



My buddy and I on our way back to the trucks after checking out the "end" of the trail. 3 big trees had fallen and closed off the trail. I was going to bring my chainsaw but for some reason left it at home.



Shot from the Liberty after making our turn around:



Lush greenery:



Doesn't look like much at all, but some very uneven terrain:



Gus surveying the trail ahead and behind:



Jeep pulled over to make sure we were all good to go:



My buddy on his way back from a quick chit-chat and gameplan adjustment:



Blurrrr:



I dunno what was up with my camera, these came out wicked blurry. Here's the Liberty splashing into a pretty good hole:



And on the way out:



End of the trail: Great view:

 

[Xterraforce]

That looks like a really nice place.

 

[KChurch86]

That looks like a really nice place.

It's beautiful up there. The whole time we were out there was a small line of thunderstorms moving through, once we got to the water they had just moved on and cleared out - perfect timing for us to emerge from the woods.

 

[NismoFire]

That's great, Church. I'm jealous.

 

[KChurch86]

That's great, Church. I'm jealous.

I only wish those trees weren't down and blocking the trail, it looked like it got pretty ugly after that. Definitely lots of opportunity for flex and some wild looking off-camber fun. We're planning on going back, and we'll probably bring some gear to clear the trees.

I'd also like to get on my buddy's case about recovery gear.

 

[Kuroi_Tora]

Wow, looks like a slice of paradise. Glad y'all had a good time.

 

[Macland]

That looks great Church, a very beautiful area.

 

[KChurch86]

Wow, looks like a slice of paradise. Glad y'all had a good time.

That looks great Church, a very beautiful area.

Thanks guys! Yeah, it was really nice up there. Next time I go I want to take a few more breaks to take pictures, there was some cool scenery up there. The reservoir was really great!

There's a few trail offshoots that we passed by that we want to try out and see what they have to offer. In the very least I'd like to clear the downed trees and head further that way.

 

[KChurch86]

07-13-2013

Well, 6 days ago I planted this seed, and have since then been nurturing it and helping it grow.

Today, after leaving my parent's house for a birthday party, both Gus and Allisonn wanted to keep driving around instead of going straight home...and neither one of them wanted to stay on pavement. I think my seed is sprouting...

I knew we didn't have time to go back to where the photos in my OP were taken, but there's a very short fire access road near me that, if nothing else, is a scenic drive through the woods. Sometimes the road can get pretty washed out after heavy rain, so if you're quick enough to get up there after the rains you can find some good "super-stock friendly" wheeling. For the most part it's just a bumpy road with some small patches of thick, sticky mud and a few rocks here and there.

The deer flies are thick out there, I had a swarm of them following the truck the whole time. About a dozen on each mirror, a dozen more at each window, and they seemed very attracted to my snorkel head - another dozen or so there. That being said, we don't have a single photo from outside the truck.

 

[KChurch86]

It feels good to update this thread finally, it's been a while.

Today we took a hike with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend around Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area, a great little spot about 15 minutes away from home that I never knew existed. Our hike today made me really, really want to get my mountain bike up there and tear up the trails. Here are some photos I was able to snap from today's adventure!

Big orange slug:

Big daddy long legs:

Some weird white fungus stuff:

Trees:

Roots:

Some little bridges over a mucky area:

Foliage:

Big busted rock:

Somebody was kind enough to label this tree so there was no mistaking that it is, in fact, a tree:

Rocks:

Crack in the rock, filled in by moss:

'Shroom:

Not sure what these are. Not mushrooms, they're just spherical balls. When they dry out they turn brown and papery, with a weird fluffy seed thing inside of them. I'm pretty sure they're from a tree:

Purple 'shrooms!:

It's like an oyster, but not:

More 'shrooms:

'Uuuge crack in this rock!:

The other side:

Big rectangular piece broken out of this one:

A feather:

Really cool rock:

More walkways. This one features a huge hole under one of the supports, so you get a really great see-saw effect and a big muddy splash, too. It surprised us, haha:

Another mushroom:

Little red fungi, also why it's important to wrap it up:

Great little leafy ground cover:

The best moss ever to moss:

More mushrooms:

Trees, rocks, paths, etc.:

Looking out over part of the lake, I think I was trying to get some ducks in this one? We also saw a Great Blue Heron, but my phone was dead so I couldn't get a pic

 

[KChurch86]

More pics from the hike:


Fungus:

A great big hole!

Hikin':

Yes, it's another mushroom:

Wildflowers:

We didn't have time to explore that way, but through that little bottleneck we could see that the area opened up into another smaller lake:

The main lake:

Milkweed! Haven't seen any of this in years. People hate it, so they destroy it, but it's very beneficial to migratory butterflies!

Black-eyed Susans:

Mr. Bumbles!:

The waters edge:

Crazy purple wildflower:

More wildflowers:

So blue:

You guessed it, another one:

And another:

This little guy was hellbent on not being photographed, so I was pretty happy this shot came out:

Some cool plant:

Queen Anne's Lace:

And that's it! There were tons of other great things we saw, maybe next time I'll bring my regular camera and get some more pics.

 

[Prime]

Dude. Mario would have been big as hell after that hike!

/nice pics

 

[KChurch86]

Dude. Mario would have been big as hell after that hike!

/nice pics

Haha, seriously. We saw waaay more mushrooms than the ones I took pics of, lots of different ones too. When I first saw that red and white-spotted thing, Mario was all I could think of, heh.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[KChurch86]

This past weekend, 08-24-2014, I went on a hike with Allie, Gus, and Allie's Dad. We did a 3+ mile hike around some of the trails at the D.A.R. State Forest where we go camping. On our way home, we stopped by a place called the Three Sisters Sanctuary, which started off as a wood stove repair business. It seems as though the owner then started welding up and displaying his own lawn art, and it just took off from there. Very odd little place with some beautiful pieces of art, both natural and man-made.

Growth in a Mountain Laurel:

Allie, Ed, and Gus leading the way:

Slimy purple mushroom, I belive it's a Spotted Cort:

Indian Pipes! I love this plant:

Cauliflower mushroom (Sparassis):

A blindingly-bright yellow mushroom, which I can only assume is poisonous:

Big white pillowy mushroom:

Water:

Miniature waterfall:

Yellow Finger Coral mushroom, or, as Ed put it - "Guy Fieri Fungus":

A colony of some slimy, jelly-like fungus:

Slimy brown mushroom:

Bright green moss blanketing a dead log:

Allie, sitting atop a very angular tree:

This 'shroom reminded me of a giant pancake:

Big an' busted tree:

Uprooted trees atop a canopy of earth:

Fuzzy white fungus:

GIANT tin man!

Average-size tin man:
http://i741.photobucket.com/albums/xx56/KChurch86/2014-08-24_13-27-23_964_zpsb4d15b88.jpg

Bright and flashy storefront:

(Tetanus) Sculpture, mostly old bicycles and bike parts:

Very cool pedal car:

Neat little lawn art:

Nice old bike:

Old custom chopper bike:

Beginning of the rock garden:

Wagon wheels?:

 

[KChurch86]

(Continued)


Art installation:

Gus standing atop a dirt/stone mound:

Very cool stained glass:

More from the stone garden area:

This dragon head is the chimney to the outdoor stone fireplace:

Very cool:

Garden shack roof:

Nice pair of woofers!:

Patio:

Central pond area:

Garden:

Gus was pretty into her:

The backside of the fireplace with the dragon chimney:

Tools:

Great garden "building":