Gettin' dirty and getting wet

Back in March I wrecked and totaled my Isuzu Rodeo, putting on hold any kind of off-roading adventure or random road trip. I received a court summons and an insurance check.

Three months later I bought a Jeep Wrangler and my "failure to yield" case was dismissed.

The plan was to spend as much time as possible out in the woods this summer, off-roading and looking for swimming holes with friends.

With help, I've been fairly successful. Every weekend I wasn't out of town I tried to go. My girlfriend, Carrie, went on most of these trips, though she missed the last two because she was readying her apartment for my birthday party (which was killer) and studying for comps. I always went with a full jeep -- four people or three people and a dog.

If I've got a spare seat, you're welcome to go. Just let me know you're down.

The first few trips were spent looking at maps, searching out roads that would lead to adventure. We tried every unmarked, unpaved road we thought looked promising; it took a lot of trial and error to find what we were looking for. Most unpaved roads were dead ends or private drives, which we avoided. A handful dead-ended at creeks -- not a bad thing in this heat.

There were a few solid rides, the best of which prompted Alex to say, "Grant, I think we're driving on a deer trail."

I was surprised how clean the water was in all the little tributaries, and in Cedar Creek itself. The abundance of water creatures testifies to their quality. Tons of amphibians (usually the first things to die from toxins), those little water bugs that are a good indicator (what are they called?), and there were also tons of clams and mussels. I found one clam bigger than a softball.

Click here for a PDF map of the Cedar Creek Ranger District of the Mark Twain National Forest, where we've been doing most of our playing this summer.

The last trip we took was on Wednesday, August 15, 2007. Mike, Drew, Julia (Mike's dog) and I did some pretty decent driving about in the woods in 104 degree heat, and ended the expedition with a dip in Cedar Creek.

We misplaced Julia at one point, and found her starting down at us from the top of a short bluff. She mountain-goated halfway down before getting stuck. She slipped trying to climb back up and jumped into the creek.

Mike jumped from a bit higher, and I followed.




Here's a handful of highlights from this summer. Click to embiggin or go to a gallery with more photos.

This little guy was chillin' in the creek. Can anyone identify?

On my birthday with Layla, Mark and Jake.

Play in the hay! Alex set this one up on my cooler,
propping his camera up with a stick.

This was one of Carrie's and my first forays out of town.

Class started this week, and I hope we'll be able to keep up the pace. Where will we go next?