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Wild West 2002 Photos

We (Supermom2000 and daugter Lauren) arrived back in Phoenix Saturday around 5:30 pm.

We had a great time on the WW2002 cruise and are already trying to see if we would be able to swing Moab next year.

We had a great 3 days at Disneyland after a LONG 12 hour drive down to LA from Eureka, but is was worth it.

On our nice short 5 hour drive to AZ from LA, we were starting to really sweat while seeing the temp gauge go from 72 degrees Saturday morning in LA up to 113 when we stopped for lunch and a soda in Blythe. Man it was hot.

It's only supposed to be 106 here today, so we will be spending some time indoors for a while. We will sure miss those nice and cool temps we had on our trip.

Take care everyone, it was great meeting all of you.

Malcolm
 
brmiller, yea my engine compartment was really dusty. I opened it up and started the engine and then power washed it off from a distance.

I also replaced my air filter. Wasn't to bad but it was only 18 bucks for a new one so....

Good to hear that everyone made it home safe. I think Chief is the only 1 still out and about now.

 
Did Lauren enjoy Disneyland, Malcom?

By the way, I now have a feather duster for my AV - you folks in sunset orange set a standard for a shiny vehicle I hope to emulate.
 
I'll look for the engine cleaning procedures--thanks. I, too, need to get one of those dusters. After my second washing, I already noticed dust two hours later!

I talked to Chief yesterday afternoon. I think he got home late Friday night (8/30). He lost my number so he kept on going to Seattle, so I have two nice replacement tires I can auction off! J/K

As for infrared photography, that's a new experiment for me as well--those pictures are the 4th, 5th, and 6th ones that I've taken with that filter! So I'm still learning. My only words in a seminar would be "Buy more toys, and try 'em out!"

Speaking of which, when my wife asked me what we were doing for our anniversary (Wed, 9/4), I said, "Putting on a lift kit?" :)

Good to hear from all of you again, and I don't envy the Arizonans heat! What did you say, "After the first half hour of sweating, you get used to it?" Pfft...

Brendan
 
Brendan, I thought that was a UV filter you were showing me at the Redwoods. Was what you showed me the infrared filter you were using there? I have to look further into the filter attachments that you showed me.

Lift kit for your anniversary sounds like a nice idea. Can you get it done for Wednesday?
 
Congrats on your anniversary Miller!!! :love:

I think a lift kit would be a wonderful gift (y) >:D (y)

:B: :B: :B: :B: :B: :B: :B:

I hope Jeff and I didn't corrupt too many of you at WW2002. >:D >:D >:D


 
I had several filters with me on the trip. I left the UV filter on all the time as it also helps to protect the Canon lens which extends and retracts seemingly on its own will. I also had a circular polarizer which I was experimenting with using to get better pictures in bright light, especially when there were reflections off of glass or water. I have had mixed results with the circular polarizer as can be seen in comparing the two shots of the same scene. These are taken at one of the many pullouts along Rim Drive:
Without circular polarizerWith circular polarizer
You can see that without the filter I get clearer pictures of the Avs, but the sky is totally washed out. With the filter, I filter out some of the bright light, remove the reflections off the Avs, and increase the contrast and colour saturation of the sky, but the Avs are way too dark. I needed a combination, I think. They make a filter that is half-clear, half-filter so you can filter only one part of the scene when different parts have different lighting. I'll have to go back and try that sometime. :)

And finally, I also had an infrared filter which filters out everything with a wavelength below 720nm. They're actually not supposed to look orange like the pictures I posted earlier--I just liked them this way. See the link below for the corrected infrared photos.

brmiller's "corrected" infrared shots of the redwoods along the Lady Bird Johnson trail

Granted, I'm no expert on infrared photography, but I'm learning. I've had my Canon G1 for almost two years now and decided it was time to branch out and experiment with filters and stuff. My wife sometimes tells me "Just take the picture!" but she tolerates me pretty well.

Speaking of tolerance, I think a lift kit may be a little over the top! (Hmmm, there's almost a joke there!) I doubt I could get it done by Wednesday anyway, but I'm thinking about it (for later, of course). Of paramount concern would be my garage clearance. flyinhigh--can you do some exact measurements and tell me what the highest point of your truck is? Is it worth the $$$ in order to get the monster waves when going through puddles? Do I have "splash-envy"?

"Realistic" anniversary gifts are likely to be mods like Line of Fire (she was really hyped on that after following Dub all weekend), some Stripeman or other reflective tape accents, and there were a couple other mods she liked from the WW group. Geez, I went figuring that there would be lots of mods on others' trucks to drool over, and she wouldn't have any of it. (Our policy is no mods until the vehicle is paid for since the 3-yr Av loan costs $$$ every month.) But on the way home, she kept talking about all the mods she saw that "we should do"! So Wednesday maybe mod-day; who knows!

And here's something shameless--Rx4fun--if you're reading this--I :love: you! Happy Anniversary!

Brendan
 
Pretty interesting stuff Brendan. (y) I enjoyed seeing all of your pics....especially the ones showing what we missed out on :cautious:. ?;)

Happy Anniversary! Tell your wife I said Hi! (that is unless she reads this herself...)

Our anniversary (Wind4Power and I) is this month too...on the 10th. ?This will be our 14th anniversary.
And...our next mod will be exhaust. ;D
 
Brendon, I don't think you need to have "splash envy":

http://members.shaw.ca/j.world/wildwest.html

Julie took this shot as you were driving through the creek.

As for the lift, I know I only have 3" clearance in my garage currently, so any more height is out of the question. Interestingly enough, Julie also thought Dustin's Line of Fire lights and Jeffs Stripeman decals would be nice mods to have. Another side benefit to WW2002!!


We both wish you a happy anniversary on Wednesday!

j
 
welcome back chasman! man i still got til the 9th until i get back home (i am in texas now) but my brothers and sister have the internet so i still can still post. good to see you had a safe trip home.


~BIGRED
 
Thanks, Eddy. We had a great time at the cruise. Have you got your fogs back on yet?

Back to school on the 9th? Hope you're having fun back home.
 
Regarding the cleaning of the engine compartment, I haven't seen the Chief's instructions, but I've been meaning to get the grit out from under the hood of my lowly 4Runner (left over from climbing mountains last May...bad truck owner! >:D).

Anyhoo...I spritzed the entire engine area down with Pro 409 (the variety in the green and purple bottle), let it sit for a minute or two, then put the garden sprayer on 'jet' and the grime came off really well! Looked like the engine had been babied by a soccer mom instead of me.

I let everything dry in the sun for about 30 minutes, then drove off. I did the cleaning on a cold engine...didn't think I'd enjoy the smell of cooking 409 and dirt. And I can't imagine the brief blast of water is any worse for the engine than all the crap sitting on there for over a year. :p
 
Thanks for the positive comments on the pics.

When you opened the webspace were there any problems with the photo layout? When I open it at the office there are large spaces before each photograph; at home the page comes out just right! Not sure what's happening.
 
Greta looking pictures Chasman. Only a couple comments.

The picture in Fern canyon of me on the tree is not the one you have on the website. Plus I think you need to explain to the people why the picture of me going through the creek is actually a picture of the ground >:D


 
Great pictures Chasman! Brought back some great memories. Must tell you I loved playing tour guide for those four days and wish there was some way I could do that as a full time job!
 
Well I'd like to throw my picts from the Wild West 2002 into the forum here. (Sorry it took so long, but I had to sort thru them and week out the ones that didn't turn out.) I had a blast, as it was great to put some faces (and real names) to the online names.

http://www.picturetrail.com/dub333

I divided them up into groups: Av's, Crater Lake, and then Beyond Crater Lake. Hope you all enjoy them! :D I know I had fun taking them, and now fondly remembering.

Gotta go! Later!!
 
Nice pics Dub!!!

and once again pictures show I am KING of the splash attacks! >:D >:D :cool:
 
flynhigh said:
and once again pictures show I am KING of the splash attacks! >:D >:D :cool:
Click to expand...
What a racket--the picture of flynhigh is in the middle of the puddle at the highest crest of his splash whereas everyone else is "on their way out" and most of the splash has subsided. It's not a fair comparison! Hehehe..

But seriously, good shots Dub. Always glad to see one more set. This way the WW feelings will carry into the winter...

Brendan
 
brmiller said:
What a racket--the picture of flynhigh is in the middle of the puddle at the highest crest of his splash whereas everyone else is "on their way out" and most of the splash has subsided. ?It's not a fair comparison! ?Hehehe..



Brendan
Click to expand...

Actually the picture Dub has is not at its highest crest. To see the real incredible pics... Fish took some that say it all. But they are 2.5 megs apiece. BUt they will remove any doubt form you naysayers. >:D >:D >:D
 
Yeah--I've seen fish's pictures of the splashes, and I agree, yours is the highest. I also agree that it's highest in fish's pictures than in any other's pictures.

BUT, everyone else's splash is the LOWEST in Dub's pictures, so if you just look at Dub's pictures, you come out looking like the hero, and we look like weak sauce. Okay, enough splash envy--I'm proud of my splash nonetheless!

0732_brmillerSplash(Chasman).jpg


Brendan
 
OK OK I know that flynhigh had the best shot (and I love it), but I believe that he was the last one I took a picture of going through there. Mostly because after he came "blasting" through there I was seriously wondering if I was standing (and parked) in a BAD place!! Plus no one took any picts of me going through! :p Of course I didn't even come close to the speed that that flyn' hit coming through there! :eek: Maybe it was BigRed's results that tamed me down a bit!! ;)

So flynhigh needs to thank all those that went before him, because they gave me the practice to find the perfect time to "snap" the picture.

But I'm really happy about the way most of the pictures came out. I was especially happy with the results of the pictures I took of Phantom Ship Island. I've got the zoomed in shot as my background at work.

Anyway, later!
 
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