August

We spent the rest of the month just scrambling to get ready for the girls to leave for college. We shopped for some replacement clothes and things for Emily that was destroyed in the crash or just worn out. We shopped for things Caitlyn needs to move into her first apartment. And we shopped for spices, food and snacks that they wanted to take with them since a lot of these items are not available in Rexburg.

We also visited with my family. Almost everyone was in town, so we got together for lunch. It was nice to visit with everybody since it has been a while since we were all together. 

Christian went back to work towards the beginning of the month. There are still a lot of teacher absences so he is still scrambling to cover classes for his colleagues. 

Christian has also been scrambling to finish working on Caitlyn's car for her but it has been so miserably hot all the time that not much can be done and what little we are able to do is done with much suffering and sickness. Plus some of his time has been distracted with getting Emily's vehicle. He's been working with Emily to get much of the fluid replaced and trying to assess what work will need to be done on the vehicle before she takes it next year.

Emily and I have been desperately trying to get her ZJ registered here in California but it has been a horrendous time wasting nightmare. We had been waiting for the title to come from Oregon. The dealer had convinced them to pay a little extra to get a clean title with Emily's name on it from the Oregon DMV.  They said that it would take two or three weeks. At the end of the third week, Emily called the dealer to find out what the situation was and they informed her that it might be another week or week and a half but that she should have started the registration as soon as she returned to California.

We didn't want any trouble or fines or something since she didn't take the information in within the 10 days or so from buying it, so we immediately headed to the DMV to get it sorted out. We waited in no less than three lines and they had to get the manager or supervisor to come help us since they didn't even know how to handle it. We had no title. We wanted to transfer ownership but did not want to register the vehicle for the road. We wanted to keep it on a planned non-operational status so that we can just garage it and work on it without paying insurance since no one will be driving the vehicle for the next year. We were able to pay the taxes and stuff but they required us to bring in the vehicle for an inspection since it is an out of state vehicle. Since the temporary registration from the dealership was almost over, we got a day permit in  order to bring the vehicle in for the inspection.

A day or two later, we brought the vehicle in for an inspection but could not complete it because the Federal VIN sticker is missing from the driver's side door. The guy checked off what he could but informed us that we would now have to take the vehicle to the CHP for a VIN inspection because it was missing in order to complete the inspection. He gave us paperwork but we had to then, go back inside the DMV office to wait in line again to get an extended permit in order to drive the vehicle to the CHP.

Emily called the CHP when we got home. They required us to physically bring in the form in order for us to even get an appointment. So, of course, we drove out there to submit the form. We got an appointment but they informed us that we would need the title for the inspection! We didn't know if we would be able to get the title in time for the appointment and since there was about a week lead time in getting an appointment, and we didn't want to have to have to reschedule and run out of time when the paperwork finally got here...if it got here at all, so we postponed the appointment to the week we were actually going to leave just to give us enough time to get the title.

A week or so later, the title finally came. Emily was able to actually move our appointment up to the week before they were going to leave instead of the week of. We were able to go in for in the inspection. They signed off on the paperwork and we headed for the DMV, once again. We finally completed the title transfer here in California, but are now waiting for the new title in the mail. The lady also informed us that when we are ready to register the vehicle for road use, we would have to come in twice in order to complete it. Once to pay the fees and start the registration, getting a permit to be able to move the vehicle to the smog facility and then another time to bring in the paperwork to get her license plate and stickers. So, the saga will continue. 

Meanwhile, Caitlyn gave her notice to her manager but will continue working until the end of the month. She is finally getting pretty good hours. In fact, for about a month now, she is usually the one to go in early on Saturdays to help open the restaurant with a cook or two. She usually gets a full eight hour day then as well. They will definitely miss her when she leaves...which is good because if the manager is still there when she comes back during the winter, she has the option of just picking back up and be able to continue working there for another three months while she is home. After taking two weeks off to go to Oregon and our Death Valley adventure, it was difficult for her to want to go back to work though so she is now counting down the days until she is done.

The girls and I went to visit my mom one more time as well when the girls and I drove out to shop at the asian markets out there. She took us out to lunch, then we continued shopping a bit before heading home. It was pretty late. We always take way too long going from shop to shop since we don't get out there very often.

We met up with Marian after work one evening. She took us all out to eat at Texas de Brazil.

It was an all you can eat Brazilian meat-fest. It was really tasty but didn't feel like we could quite do it justice. We might have hurt ourselves just trying out all the different types of meat and we didn't even get to try it all before getting too full to eat another bite. Marian helped Caitlyn get a laptop as a graduation present like she did for Emily, so she was able to pick that up along with a few other items Marian got for them including some new Vans for school.

Later in the month, Marian came out to visit briefly before the kids needed to head out. She brought out a some more stuff for Caitlyn for college and took the girls out for some Poké.

Unfortunately, she was not able to visit long as her work schedule is just crazy these days.

Death Valley

Since we didn't get to do anything Christian wanted to do during the summer break, we decide to do at least one of the things he wanted to do since we are basically out of time. He wanted to take the TJ through Steel Pass in Death Valley with the top down and doors off.  We brought Caitlyn's XJ as back up and so that the girls could have fun driving in their own vehicle.

The weather was not great, so it might not have been the best time of year to attempt this. It was pretty hot out but the clouds made for some really great pictures! Caitlyn drove all the way out there but Emily drove the off-road portions. She traded off with her dad between the two cars so she got a chance to drive both. We crossed over a few waterlogged areas going through Eureka Valley from previous storms.

We aired down and had lunch when we hit the dirt roads and entered Dedeckera Canyon in the afternoon. The clouds were getting thick in the distance and we heard a chorus of thunder around us. The clouds were not ahead of us, so we felt safe enough in the canyon.

There are three "steps" going up the canyon that you have to maneuver through. We've been through it a couple of times but because of previous water going through the craggy wash, it seemed a bit more precarious to navigate than before. Some of the sections seemed a bit deeper and more narrow so we had to pick our way carefully through it.

The TJ managed okay. We had to restack a few rocks and Christian had to fill in a hole where it got a little washed out or other vehicles had ended up digging into to try to get their vehicle over. Meanwhile, we started getting some drops of rain and the thunder got more frequent around us.

The XJ didn't make it over the last obstacle on it's own. We were a little worried about the rubbing on the back left tire. We didn't want to get caught in this section if the bead came off so we just winched it up so as not to put too much stress on the tire. 

Christian got to crow over the fact that his TJ made it and that her XJ needed help going through. But it may just be a problem with the gearing and the fact that he has "stickier" tires. Anyway, we didn't want to push our luck and took the easy way our. Plus we got to use our winch for real for the first time. We already knew that we needed to re-gear her vehicle for the bigger tires but that will have to wait.

Anyway, any rain we got dried on us in the heat of the day easily enough and we moved on to somewhat clearer skies. We got to Steel Pass late in the afternoon. We stopped above it so that Christian can survey the road that he and Emily went over in the spring of 2021. It was slick and snowy and when they went down the pass, part of the road gave way a bit under their tires, sliding them precariously off the edge. They had to rebuild part of the road while trying not to let the car tip any more, otherwise it could roll over into the canyon.

As we surveyed the road, we found that part of the road had eroded again since the last time they came through. We decided that if we are going to continue through the pass, it might be prudent to just fix the road first so that we don't have to worry about the vehicle while doing it or risk the road giving out more and throwing us into the ditch this time. There seems to be enough space to pass if we hug the road on the left, but it is extremely off-camber in the area and gets worse the more you hug the hillside on the left.

Unfortunately, the pictures does not do it justice but because we were not in a precarious position and we had the time, we built the road right and it should be pretty solid for a while. Emily's back is still too messed up for her to help, so she got us water and made us dinner. Then she and Caitlyn helped set up camp up above. Emily was a bit frustrated at not being able to do more. Usually, she would be the one next to her dad helping but Caitlyn was a little machine. We got it done a lot quicker than Christian had anticipated. By the time the sun was setting, we were done and will be able to continue on in the morning.

We were hot, tired and dirty afterwards though, so we cleaned up as best we could for the night. In the morning, we were able to drive right down without worry.

Emily wants to dub it Caldwell Pass, since we have rebuilt the road twice now. We got through the trail with no body damage or mishaps. It was pretty fun. When we got into Saline Valley, we ran into some really muddy stretches on our way to Grapevine Pass because it was pretty bad. We could not afford to get stuck out here as Christian had to report in to work in the morning. We had to find an alternative way out of the valley. We turned around to try the Waucoba Road. We didn't find any impediments there. Unfortunately, I'm not sure why, but I did not take many pictures this last day so I do not have many pictures. I know we took some video of the muddy trails but for some reason, I didn't take any pictures. I'll have to check to see if the Caitlyn has any. Christian was driving and focused on trying to find us a way through.

As we finally drove out, Christian and Caitlyn had a contest who could coast down the mountain the fastest/farthest? Since Christian had put more work into the XJ, she easily passed us up and won, but because she stopped and pulled over before she got to the stop sign, Christian was able to slowly pass her up at the stop sign for a "win." Caitlyn claimed daddy was a cheater.

After returning home, and after Christian returned to work, we found out Death Valley had one of those 1,000 year floods and that there were a bunch of people and vehicles stuck in the valley. That was a day or two later. We didn't bother going into Death Valley proper as it is always too crowded now and we avoid it if at all possible. We've taken the kids through all the places worth seeing and don't want to see our beloved places trashed.

Bee Canyon with the ZJ

After we returned from our whirlwind trip up to Oregon with Emily's new car in tow, Christian set about changing out most of the fluids with a little help from Emily as her movement is still limited. Afterwards, Christian wanted to see how the vehicle felt to decide if the transmission really needed to be rebuilt and find out how well the vehicle handled.

We took her ZJ out to Bee Canyon, along with the TJ for backup. The beginning of the trail was pretty drab but it improved towards the end. We were hoping for a little rain from the thunderstorms that were supposed to be threatening the area but only got oppressive heat and some clouds in the distance.

It was a relatively easy trail that was not too far away. The car definitely drove better after the fluid changes but also needs work. The front of the transmission is leaking so we may have to remove the transmission anyway, so Christian is thinking he might as well rebuild it at that point. A few other things need attention (bearings, brakes and the gears in the front axle need replacing). Otherwise, it runs pretty nice and seems fairly capable.

We are waiting for the title to register the thing. Somehow, the dealer convinced them that sending the title in to the Oregon DMV to order a new title under Emily's name would make it cleaner and easier,  but now we are without a title to register it. I am not looking forward to that. Any trip to the DMV always proves a nightmare but registering these out of state Jeeps are a pain in the ass.