The first real Jeep I ever saw in person was a red CJ-7.  Up to that point I had only seen them in my toy box.  I had these action figures that I played with who had super cool rides.  I remember that the toys basically had adventure themes like weekends in the dunes.  There were dirt bikes, boats, a conversion van (probably a bit creepy now days) and a Jeep CJ-7.  The other rides were cool, but the Jeep just spoke to my adventure side.

Since my first experience with a Jeep was as a toy, it always occupied that space in my head.  It was a toy, not something you would spend family money on.  So, I put the Jeep idea aside as something for other people to own and have fun with.  But, over the years, the Jeep fantasy stayed with me.  I saw them evolve into the Wranglers and every now and again I would go price one out just for fun.  That was about it.  I never gave it serious consideration.

Then something changed.  I had been on a trip to California from my home state of Minnesota.  My best friend from grade school is still my best friend.  While we were west on I70 in Utah we decided to trek south on 191 to Moab. We still don’t exactly remember what our plan was or why we detoured.  We were both into photography, so I suppose were thought it would be a cool place to take some pics. Once you get into Moab, its vibe just kind of takes you over.  Everybody there is having an adventure so you want to have one also.

We stayed that night and the next day rented a 2009 Red 2 door Rubicon from Farabees Jeep Rentals.   After 10 hours of trail driving I was transformed.  I got it, I realized why people loved these things and I had to get one.  The same thing happened to Dave.  At this point in his life Dave had had already owned a YJ and 2 TJ’s, but had gotten rid of them for some reason or another.  It was only a matter of a few months before Dave had his first JK.  I was not in any position to get another vehicle.  My wife is wonderful and she has put up with some of my crazy ideas in the past.  The idea of getting a Jeep somehow wasn’t that hard a sell to her. I would later learn she secretly wanted a Jeep also so that helped.

Money was tight but eventually we made it happen.  In 2013 I got my first Jeep.  I have a white 1998 Sahara with plenty of miles on it.   But it’s all mine.  It is better than any new vehicle I have ever had.  I put a 2.5 inch lift in and it sits on 33’s.  I would have gone taller, but as it is I clear my garage by 1 inch.

This blog is my story about the adventure of jeeping, the places, the gear, the friendships the everything.  It’s built on the esprit de corp that I feel in the Jeep community.  That no mater what the ups and downs of life are everything gets better when you get into the drivers seat.  So push through and Just Keep “Jeepin.”