The Wave

I can remember vividly the interior of my uncles tow truck.  The dingy saddle blanket seat cover embedded with dirt and cigaret smoke.  The quarter inch of dust and smoke layered on the dash, CB and miscellaneous paperwork that wouldn't get touched for months.  I can still remember getting woken up at 5am by my uncles low cool voice and slow demeanor.  A mixing bowl of Frosted Flakes in my lap as I tried desperately to keep up with him at breakfast.

The cab of the truck afforded a great view of the north-east tip of the Olympic Peninsula.  Most of it was viewed with my head out the window gasping for air as my uncle filled the cab with cigarette smoke regularly.

"You smoke yet?" he'd ask every summer when I came to visit.  It was almost ritual.
"Nope," I'd reply.
"Good, don't start, it's a nasty habit." Of course his way with words is hard to recreate in type.  The low voice and almost kung-fu like pace of speaking somehow put extra weight on things.  The irony of him telling me not to smoke as he habitually tapped the pack of cigarettes on the steering wheel and lit another wasn't lost on me, even in my teens.  He should have died of emphysema, not 25 bullets.

Conversations with my uncle were usually short, sweet and to the point.  Much of them fundamental in driving or a great life lesson.  It's amazing how much you learn from a person who doesn't say much.  The company he kept always intrigued me with its wide variety of characters from all walks of life.  He was a man's man but the way he looked out for those around him showed deep compassion.  He seemed to always have an eye out for the future, how his actions now might best affect the world around him later.

My head's out the window, it's mid-afternoon and we're passing Jefferson County International Airport.  As a 15 year old kid I'm watching everything, soaking it all in.  I notice my uncles hand raise up off the steering wheel in an almost obligatory wave.  The truck going the other direction returns the sign.

"He must know that guy," I thought to myself.  A few more cars pass and another pickup truck passes, the hand goes up but this time...no response.

Odd, he's only waving at specific people but not all of them return the wave.  I keep silent and start to monitor this pattern, wondering if I can build the courage to ask about it.  I start to figure it out.  He waves when it's a truck but not at cars or vans.  But then, just as I think I've got it, a couple Harley Davidsons pass and he waves.  Amazingly enough, they return the sign.

Now I've gotta know.  What's with this wave thing.  I finally muster up the courage to ask late in the afternoon.

"Why do you wave at oncoming trucks?"
"I want them to notice the tow truck so I wave," he replies.
"But you only wave at certain vehicles?"
"Most of our customers are local and drive pick-up trucks, plus now that we can tow motorcycles, I wave at bikes too."

How often do you see people waving from the drivers seat?  The friendly gesture intrigued me but disappeared from my memory as life barreled forward.  It was a genius way to drum up a report with the locals and caught potential customers off guard when they received a friendly gesture.

Half a lifetime later I found myself waving just like my uncle used to, but for different reasons.  Now I own a Jeep Rubicon and a Scooter.  Both vehicles build a population of drivers who wave at one another when you pass. It's not about building a customer base but encouraging a community.  The obligatory wave is a recognition of another human in a similar situation.  You might not know them, you might never actually see them again but the wave does something to the soul.  It's hard to be emotional distressed when your riding around with the top off and another Jeeper waves at you.  It's a gentle reminder how good life is and that there are people out there always willing to wave back.

I don't think I got into riding motorcycles or jeeps just to wave at other people but the ever constant reminder of my uncle every time I gesture at a passing rig is a welcomed God-wink.  I'd like to believe that action is paying it forward just a little bit.  Heaven forbid we reach-out to others, even when it's just a simple wave.

Mary's Peak

Today, Sugar and I went on our first Adventure together. Being that it was a beautiful December day...60 degrees with a light drizzle...we headed out to Mary's Peak to explore what we might find. Not knowing what to expect, seeing that neither Sugar or I had ever been to Mary's Peak, we packed up all the necessities; Hi-lift Jack, Shovel, Ax, Flashlight, Dog Toys (including the chuck-it and squirrel), water for Sugar, water and snacks for Jim, camera, gloves and a pocket knife.

This of course would be the first chance to get the Jeep into any mud. Sugar was incredibly excited to see how the Rubicon would fare knowing there was a good chance there might be a trail or two up on the mountain. We loaded up and headed out stopping to top off the gas tank before heading the short 15+ miles to Mary's Peak Road. According to internet research it looked like the road would be left open all winter accept the short access to the very top.

Sure enough we found ourselves winding up OR34 till we reached Mary's Peak Road. We were a little let down when (in contrast to the signs) the road was in good condition and fully paved. We wound ourselves to a high point and parked in a parking lot. Finding a trail to walk we ended up in a rather dumpy area where clearly people had enjoyed shooting their guns a little too much. The ground was riddled with remanence of TV's and propane tanks, plastic and metal objects that could no longer be identified and a slew of shells from 22's to shot guns. Regardless Sugar bounded up a gravel pile to the top and raced down a sheer face before I could even reach the top. Being concerned she might take off somewhere I couldn't see, I called her, trying to make my way back down quickly only to find that she had raced back up the sheer face and tried to meet me at the top from which I had previously called her. Crazy girl.

We headed back to the Jeep excited to head back down and explore some of the dirt trails we had noticed on our way up. We came upon a little gravel road that lead us to an even more exciting trail. The trail drove straight up one of the hills and lead us to a series of moguls that many a 4x4 before had clearly attempted to mount. About 50' above was a 60 degree rock face that posed a clear and exciting obstacle. We hit the moguls in 4 high and rocked about as we made our way up, spinning a few tires here and there. Putting it in 4 low we bounded over the second series of moguls with incredible ease.

Sugar was excited at this point so we jumped out and checked things out. She headed up the trail looking at where we might go and pointed out that this might be a little more than we had intended to find. Sure, with a friend or another rig along this would be easily surmounted but we decided to shy off and put the Jeep to the test later. Today was just exploring.

We backed our way back down the trail and headed back to the road to see what else we might find. About a mile back we found a clearly well used path off the road and bounced over puddles and through the trees till we came to a little clearing obviously used regularly for camping. Off to one side of the trail was a very small mound that had been driven over many a time leaving decent moguls that would cause anything smaller than a truck to get stuck.

We popped it back into 4 High and bounded up and over the mound with ease, spinning the tires a little as you clearly could feel the jeep teater on two wheels! Sugar was a little let down that it was that easy so we spun around for another go, pulling out all the stops. 4 Wheel Low, Anti-Sway Bar disconnected, finger on the locker button. We crawled over the little obstacle and reached the point where we had teatered on two wheels previously. The rear end spun a little so I hit the locker locking the rear end and rolling with ease once again over the hill.

A little let down at how easy it really is to get over anything in this jeep, we rolled back to the highest point and jumped out to snag some pictures. That anti-sway bar disconnect is awesome. It really does increase the travel drastically.

Even with two tires almost completely jammed into the wheel wells and the other two barely making contact with the ground this Jeep holds its own and then some. I can't wait to truly find a real trail to test it out on.

We made it home and I was quite embarrassed at how little mud we had managed to fling on the Jeep. For a lazy Sunday afternoon Adventure, we did ok though. Sugar, the Jeep and I did get muddy and had a little fun doing it. Sadly it was too foggy to get any pictures of the view but I think we had some fun. Sugar agrees and is now sleeping soundly on her pillow getting ready for the next big adventure.

'Nuff Said.