Maury spent some time with Lawrence Elliott, a retired jeep mechanic, and took a few photos of him with his jeeps. Lawrence also re-manufactures bell cranks with bearings, so Maury was curious about that, too (see an example here). I’m hoping to visit both during my trip east this May.

Maury writes, “Lawrence thinks he’s owned about 28 jeeps over the years. Now, he has an early 1960’s(?) jeep truck that he has turned into a nice restomod, with a Chevy V6 engine and Ford 9″ rear axle, among many other modifications. He also has a CJ6 under build, as well as an M38A1, which have Chevy motors as well. On the CJ6, he created an adapter to mount a Ford Ranger steering box to replace the original Ross gearbox.”

Blow are a few pics of Lawrence and his vehicles.

Cottonwood Canyon State Park near Wasco, Oregon, was a delightful surprise (read more about it here). We liked it so much, we spent an extra day there. We’ll be going back again when we get the chance.

The park is located 2+ hours southwest of us in Oregon’s farming hills.

Opened September 2013, the former ranch has been turned into Oregon’s second largest State Park. It is nestled amongst Eastern Oregon’s rolling hills and what its camping spots lack in amenities–it’s campground has been left purposefully void of hookups: no sewer, water, cable, electrical, or cell service–it makes up for with a peaceful quiet. The camp sites are widely dispersed, farther apart than the houses in many modern suburb developments. In our book, it’s a gem. Here are some pics:

The wheat fields may be taking the winter off, but we passed endless windmills churning on our way to the park.

The entrance to the park is on the left. The John Day Rive runs quietly through the park.

The day-use area of the park looks very welcoming. I imagine they do special events on the grassy area. There’s an information booth in the foreground and a barn in the background.

Continue reading →