Lost Jeeper

We lost a fellow Jeeper this week.  Here in California a man and his girlfriend left the Sacramento Area traveling over Hwy 50 to Gardnerville, Nev.  It was a collection of simple decisions that when combined put them in a deadly position.  This is not meant to criticize him for what happened but for all of us to learn from.

I am in no way related or in law enforcement so what I know I know from the news reports.  The couple left Citrus Heights on Thursday, November 30 but did not arrive at their destination.  According to family members they had "packed cloths for snow".  A search from the air was called off due to weather.  The storm that weekend made conditions worse with heavy snow and rain.

They were driving his new to him 1989 Jeep Grand Cherokee.  When they got to Hope Valley, at about 8,000ft in the Sierra, they decided to do a little four wheeling in the show.  They proceeded down Burnside Road, a dirt road off Highway 88 at highway 89.  There the drove around a locked gate and proceeded towards Burnside lake.  It was somewhere along that road the Jeep got stuck in a snow drift.  The man went for help but did not return, the woman stayed in the Jeep for days eating tomatoes and snow to survive.  She was lost for a total of six days, but at some point she also left the Jeep and worked her way back towards the highway.  Her boyfriend had only traveled for less than a mile before he succumbed to the cold.  She had to pass his body on the way to the highway.  Her brother, who refused to give up, was the one that found her huddled in a hollowed out tree trunk near highway 88 and 89.  She is in the hospital now recovering after being life flighted Carson-Tahoe Hospital.

So what i wanted to accomplish with this post is to have us all stop and think before we go charging off into uncertain conditions.  I am new to the whole Jeep life, I  know very little about how to off road but what I think I do know is where my limits are.  You also have to know what the limits of your vehicle are.

In this case no one even knew what route they were going to take over the mountain.  No one knew they were going off road.  I have been on that road before and have spent a fair amount of time in Hope Valley over the years and there is no cell coverage in that area.  They went around a locked forest service gate.  They were at 8,000 in inclement weather in an unfamiliar vehicle.

I don't know anything about  the rig but I assume that it did not have a winch or other devices to help get him out of the snow drift.  It was said they had clothes for snow but what does that mean. Again let me say that I don't mean to criticize him, only to prepare others including myself.

So what gear should you pack?  Here are some ideas:
Personal Off Road Beacon.
Carry extra blankets or a sleeping bag.
Emergency food like MRE's.
First aid kit.
Quality jackets.
Gloves.
Boots.
Water
Blankets.
Weapon.
Tools.
Spare parts.

Tell someone where you are going and when to be expected.  

What I took from this sad event was to know and understand your and your rigs limits.  If you are going off road and particularly in extreme heat or cold make sure you have supplies appropriate for the conditions.  Make sure you have the tools and equipment to extract yourself and or your rig from any situation you might find yourself in.  Talk to your friends or family about your trip, let someone know where you are going and when to be expected back.  Be prepared,  food water, appropriate clothes, supplies and gear.

Who said this?

Can anyone tell me who said this?  Now sure you can Google it and find out, but without the help of our friend Google does anyone know who said these words?

"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies."

These words are true, and a sad comment on what this country has become.

The even sadder thing is that they were said by then Senator  Barack Obama in 2006.  The one who called W unpatriotic for spending 4T in 8 years when he spent more then 8T less than 4 year.   When today his "balanced" approach to managing the fiscal cliff is a 4-1 Tax increase to spending cut proposal.  A proposal that also happens to push off the promised tax cuts to offset the last debt ceiling increase deal, and a provision giving him the power to increase the debt ceiling without congressional approval.  Wow, that is really how you put forth a bi-partisan, proposal that is balanced.

Meanwhile Beohner fires 4 key libertarians from key committee positions because they have a backbone and don't want to see this country driven into the ground.

Our grand country has tipped, we have become a banana republic that is embarrassing.  Our two party system has been hijacked and now we have only Republicrats bent only on their own self-preservation and personal wealth building.  We have more takers now then givers and both parties fight each other to see who can give away more.  Whether it is personal welfare or corporate welfare it is time to end it.  The chance that liberty and the freedoms that America was founded on can survive are now in question.

1966 Jeep CJ 6 rebuild project

So I was thinking.... since I decided to build, rebuild rather, a 1966 jeep CJ I should probably blog about it as well.  I have been documenting the rebuild on a great CJ forum at Jeep-CJ.com but wanted my friends to be able to check in on me once in a while and they won't be on many jeep forums so this seemed like the right place to go.

So have wanted to replace the Buggy with a Jeep for a while.  We looked around a bit but nothing we had to have.  Some good friends of ours picked one up to tow behind the RV and we thought that was a great idea.

So we searched around, did some research, and I wanted something Pre-Smog, not too fancy, something to kick around the foothills and the coast in.  As most of you know we have a big dog, Great Dane for those of you that don't know, and we had to make sure she fit in as well.

As we are searching we found the Jeep CJ 6.  Somewhat of a rare bird only about 55,000 made and most were sold outside the US.  Well I really liked the 6, it has a 20" longer wheelbase the the CJ 5 otherwise it is mostly the same as the 5.  So we searched the web for the right one and found a few, some way over priced already fully restored, some in pieces,  then we found one close to home that fit the bill.  We found it on Craig's List and you know how some of those deals go down.  It took over a month from first contact to exchange of cash but we got it done.

We met a nice young couple down in St. Helena and decided to take a road trip to check it out.  This is where it starts to get interesting, and turns into a bit of an adventure.  As it turns out a lot of things that have to do with the CJ turn into an adventure...

Weekend in Napa

Jedd's Hill

What a fabulous weekend we are having in the beautiful Napa Valley. We hit a few wineries on Saturday Judd's Hill winery was awesome. It is by appointment only, which we didn't know, but they managed to squeeze us in, they made a great spot on the patio for 4 of us and our two Great Danes, not easy either. They brought out a giant bowl of water for the dogs and they let them curl up under a tree for some shade while we had our tasting. Then it was time for lunch so we asked for a recommendation and ended up at The Soda Canyon Store. This is a little corner store and deli but the sandwiches were great, we sat out back under the trees in the picnic area. The store is very popular on the wine tours as there were a couple tour vans and limos. We also stopped at Black Stallion,  an amazing winery but was not dog friendly so we couldn't stay long. They serve a complimentary glass (taste) on arrival and have a great looking patio area. It was a bit warm really, in the 90s but a little breeze keep it manageable. We stayed in the Expo RV park near town it is a full hookup park with a nice camp host team. We ended up with a late checkout as no one was coming for our spot. $40.00 a night, not bad at all for full hookup park so close to everything.

Even Leola went wine tasting.

Black Stallion

A few more images from the trip.

Weekend in Bodega Bay

We are in bodega bay for the weekend and it is gorgeous. Came in Friday night in the rain but awoke to sun in the morning. A very relaxing day, we took a trip down to Lawson's Landing where the coastal commissions is distroying a family business started in the 40s. It is a sad state we find ourselves in.

We stopped in Valley Ford for lunch at Rocker Oysterfell's and had a great burger and some hot wings. The burger is hand pressed from local organically raised beef with fresh toppings and get this, baconnaise, we got that on the side.

This is a great spot in a small town, a bar and restaurant with great coastal vibes. There was a small crowd of locals at the bar and plenty of travelers too, just like us. The hotel next door, attached really, was also pulling in some patrons.

Although I don't eat them I understand the oysters on the half shell are great.

So if you make it to the North Coast, stop in the little town of Valley Ford for a great meal.

SEO - Meta Descriptions

Had a conversation with someone about Meta Descriptions so I thought I would post what I thought about it.  The meta description is a part of every web page, well it should be, that helps to describe your page to both search engines and humans.  It does not impact your search find-ability but can help with conversion by showing searchers that you are relevant to what they are searching for.

It should be less than 170 char, each page should have a unique meta description,  use keywords relevant to the page but don't stuff with keywords.  You can also use a call to action like "Learn more" or "Order now" if you have a product page.

So remember, short, sweat, to the point, relevant, call to action.

U.S. Travel and Brand USA

Catch Visit California, U.S. Travel Association, and Brand USA at the International Pow Wow on April 21-25 in Los Angles.  This is the second in back to back California Based Pow Wows.  Thousands of domestic and international travel organizations form every region will be on hand representing more then 70 countries.

The U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow is the travel industry's premier international marketplace and the largest generator of travel to the U.S that generates over $3.5 billion in future Visit USA travel.  Visit U.S. Travel for more event information

That means Jobs in the U.S. and Jobs in California.

Chef Fabio Viviani One of CA's favorite Chefs on Good Morning America

See Chef Fabio Viviani on Good Morning America supporting California Restaurant Month.   See the clip here

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe/fabio-vivianis-italian-wedding-soup-15451261

Chef Fabio Viviani stared on the fifth season of the TV show Top Chef and was a fan favorite. See more on California Restaurant Month at www.Visitcalifornia.com.  Or check out his website at http://fabioviviani.com/

The big silver back

This was the big male silver back at the San Diego Zoo.

The weather was fabulous, we met family there and had a great time.

Memorial Day Weekend

The crew at Bug-O-Rama 2011

Memorial Day Weekend

Bug-O-Rama Memorial Day Weekend 2011. This little Gia was screaming fast, nice little wheel stand coming off the line

Travel Means Jobs

A new campaign from US Travel, Vote Travel a grass roots effort to educate the US on the contribution visitors to the US make to the economy.