Member Profile: Board Member Donna Gail Schneider

Donna Gail Schneider joined the club in 2007. She drives a 2002 Jeep Wrangler, and I think it's the only yellow one in the club! Riding shotgun is her husband, Clint Schneider. They prefer to hit the Ouray trail system. 

She can be reached at : donnagail@mesanetworks.net   719.201.8548

Birthday (month and day):  June 15

Thanks for sending in your profile info, Donna Gail! 

Member Profile: Dale Bauer, CFW Secretary

Dale Bauer joined CFW in 2011. He drives a black 2010 Jeep JK 4 door Rubicon with a V6 3.8 engine. It has an AEV 3.5 inch lift, AEV Pintler wheels, running 312 Goodyear Duratracks. Dale's Jeep also has a Warn 9.5 winch, AEV front bumper, and Expedition One rear bumper.

 

When she is able, his wife Dee rides along. Dale's favorite trails are Poison Spider, Steel Bender, and the Alpine Loop trails.

 

To contact Dale, you can reach him at 913-488-8951 or at dalbau@msn.com

You can also use his CB handle of Mtntrekker if you're out on the trail!

 

Thanks for sending in your profile, Dale!

Christmas for Kids- the Four Wheel Drive Club Way

When I started dating Jon in 2004, he introduced me to the Colorado Four Wheelers. I was impressed. Then it came to Christmas time. Wow. The club had a couple of people who were really involved in the Christmas for Kids (CFK) gift drive, and it seemed like they always had something going on.

We adopted a couple of kids that year and participated in the group shopping trip that a local store helped us with. And then there was the parade with everyone from all the other clubs.  And all the folks at DHS who came out to pick up gifts. It was awesome. I have always loved Christmas, but it was really cool to be part of something like that.  We participated for a few years, until family obligations took us out of the loop for a bit. This year was our first year back to the CFK event.

Jon and I have pretty small families, which have been getting smaller recently. Unfortunately, I've kind of lost some of my Christmas spirit over the years. This year has been a whole lot different, and I attribute that to our participation in CFK. An event like this brings people together with nothing but good intentions. We connect to the community and prompt involvement from those who might not be aware of the need or of their ability to help out. It helps remind us to be thankful for what we have, and to share what we can. It is also a fabulous time to connect with friends, despite the chaos of the season.

This year, like several others, the CFK raffle event was hosted by Southside Johnny's. Members of the different clubs came together to drop off gifts and support the raffle. It was a lot of fun, and the clubs were able to put together some awesome raffle prizes, such as two winches, a re-gear package that included labor and parts, and a lot of different restaurant and service vouchers. There were also hats, tshirts, and tools, just to name a few. It was impressive to see how well supported our efforts were. Chrystie Marden and I took the gifts from the restaurant, and it took both of our pickups to carry everything!! The raffle raised $2000, which was enough to sponsor another 60 kids! Now, Chrystie is going to shop for more gifts! None of this is news to the folks who were able to make it out to the event. For those who missed it, maybe you will be able to come next year! Sadly, this event is one that will be needed in years to come. With more participation, though, we can support even more needy kids.

I think it also needs to be said that Chrystie and James Marden have earned their candy canes- in past years, R&R Offroad has sponsored about 100 kids. This year, Chrystie was the one heading up all CFK activities. James arranged for the re-gear package and will be doing the labor- for free. So thanks, Mardens, from us to you, for all you've done. And thanks to all the small businesses, business chains, CFW members, and other clubs' members for your contributions and participation. You've all helped a lot of kids have a happier Christmas. And me too. 

The Gulches Trail Run trip report and photos

Today, we ran what may be the last trail of the year. Or at least the last trail for those of us who wuss out when it gets too chilly! Even though the day progressively got colder and we saw a little snow at times, we had a fabulous time. We enjoyed the day with old friends, and a few new ones!

We started the day meeting up at Rudy's. Chrystie and James met up, but couldn't make the run due to a bolt in one of their Jeep's tires. (Chrystie told James he didn't need to put a bolt in the tire just to try to get new ones...) Steve and Stephen H. and Tony C. joined us, along with Robert S. and his daughter, Makenzie.  Our new friends who joined us at Ram Offroad Park,  Danny and JoAnn Miller and their three kids, Liam, Aiva, and Shelby, came too. We also had two new guests join us, Sam Mussbaum, and Austin and Steph Asher with their daughter, Grace. The Asher family came to Colorado from Oklahoma, on holiday. They spotted us at Rudy's and decided to tag along! We picked up Ron B. at Divide, and hit the trail. 

We ran Metbury Gulch first, and everyone did well. We lined up down at the river and Ron found a swing that he took for a test ride (see photo!) As we headed back up the hill, we ran into (almost literally) Chris D. and his friend, Tiffany. They fell in, and we headed off to Longwater. Sam M. took off from there, but everyone else went on. Air was caught at Longwater Rock! I think a couple of the drivers were happy to only catch air with one tire. Robert shined up the bottom of his trailer hitch, but got his Ram down fine.  There were a couple good spotters on hand (Jon & Tony) and everyone made it down to the river safely. There, we broke out the hot cocoa and cider. The temp dropped about 20 degrees and the clouds got a little closer, so we thought it was a good time to head back out. Once we got back up on the ridge, we were in a fog bank that sure seemed eerie, especially with all the burned trees and tree stumps.  Chris likened it to an episode of "Scooby Doo!" 

Coming back up Longwater Rock was a bit more challenging. Ron helped out by giving Robert some momentum to get out of the hole at the bottom of the rock. Everyone else made it up fine, but I think that Danny will be adding "lockers" to his Christmas list, along with the already desired CB.  Once we got off the trail and everyone aired up, we split off to head for home. 

It was a great trip. Thanks to everyone who came!! We will see you for the next CFW adventure!!