A nice little rig
Our 1995 Ford Ranger 4x4 is the first rig we ever purchased brand new. Until we got first the '76 F-250 High Boy, and now the '74 CJ5, we did a lot of wheelin' with this rig. It's kind of a weird rig. It is an XL with all the XLT options except for it has manual hubs and a rubber floor mat instead of carpet. It has the sport handling package and open differentials! It also is running the little 2.5l 4 cylinder engine! However, don't let the looks fool you, I've taken this rig where folks with bigger rigs, bigger tires and bigger engines just look and shake their heads! In 65,000 miles, I've only gotten it stuck once. Now that we have the Jeep, the Ranger is mainly a daily driver. After Shayla was born, the front was getting a little cramped with Tanya, myself and a carseat!
Before Shayla was born, we often took our cat, Neko, wheelin' with us. If you look closely you can see Neko peeking through the windshield. This pic was taken on the beach at Ninilchick.
The Ranger made 2 trips to Fairbanks in 1996. The second one, my buddy Kevin and I tried to do a late season fishing/camping trip. The weather turned on us though, and we stayed with Phil in Fairbanks and did other stuff. Notice the little 215/75R15 tires I ran the first two winters. Studded, but kind of small and unagressive. I now run 235/75R5 Goodyear Workhorses, studded, in the winter and have been VERY happy with them. The pic was taken near Cantwell, overlooking the Nenanna river.
Another late season photo, this time in search of both Golden Fin char, and grouse. This pic was taken at Palmer Creek Valley near Hope, Alaska.
Camp on the Denali Highway, near Paxson. This is one of our usual campsites when we drive the Denali. The Ranger and Phil's Dakota both have canopys, which make setting up camp a breeze!
After a hard day's wheelin'! It may not look like much mud, but the fender flares work really well with my Hankook T-34s! Taken a couple weeks after Moose hunting season on the way home from a grouse hunt. The trail is Mystery Creek Road, a gasline that even the map says "four wheel drive recommended". It's one of my favorite wheelin' spots.
Jack of all Trades
My buddy Phil bought this Dakota on a trip down to visit us from Fairbanks. A bit past half way to the Kenai Peninsula his Nissan decided to spit little parts of transmission out on the highway for no good reason whatsoever. Being that this was the second tranny P-chan (a little black Japanese pig) had spit a transmission, Phil was fed up with it and decided to get a new truck. My wife went up and retrieved him (I was on graveyards the day he was coming down) and with nearly no sleep for either of us we went truck shopping. We looked at several rigs, including a nice little Chevy we brought back with mud all over it, before Phil decided he wanted the Dakota. He claims he has always liked the Dakotas, but I think it was because though it was the smallest truck we looked at that day, it had the biggest engine, is why he bought it! Actually, it's a good rig, and we've had fun wheelin it and the Ranger together. It is a very useful rig, just a little low-slung for really extreme off-roading. However, now he has the Toyota for that!
Fording Mystery Creek proper. This is where the road ends and the 4x4ing begins! The Dakota has made several trips out Mystery Creek....After driving 500 miles down from Fairbanks!
Getting radical in a mudhole. This is one of the nastier mudholes out Mystery Creek, but it's hard to tell from the pics. You can't get a good vantage point to take a pic without being in the way of the guy running through the hole.
Another muddy stretch, just past the last pic. This was the first year Phil had the Dakota, and the tires were severly worn BFG Trac-edges. He had some trouble getting out of the ruts here and back on top, but with some extra throttle, finally popped out. Wish the pic showed the mud flying better!
Another camp on the Denali Highway. This one is close to McLaren River. There is a trail out of this pit that goes to some small lakes with some VERY nice grayling. Phil outfished me on this occasion.
Here is both the Ranger and the Dakota, Phil waving from the Dakota. How the leaves got on the hood of the Ranger, well.....
Phil got this rare action shot of me in the Ranger, with his Dakota in behind. Rare because I'm usually the one with the camera! However, Phil is one of the few people that can take a decent pic of me. My wife has only taken one decent pic of me, and I set the camera up and handed it to her! Oh, well.....Still, just us playing in the mud a little!
Phil's new Toy
Phil got this neat little Toyota a couple years ago. It is a '79 Toyota 4x4. It's running an even fire Buick 231 V6 with a Chevy TH350 tranny. Very nice setup. A few kinks to work out yet, and Phil plans to rebuild the motor this winter. Now we both have a off road toy so we won't be busting up our daily drivers! This pic was taken near a small lake. The Jeep (sorry, no pics available yet) got it's first pull out there that day. A couple of kids in a S10 Blazer got buried back in further than this. Still don't quite understand why they tried it. Nice place for Phil and I to play though!
Playing in a mudhole
Still more fun!
