Good Times with Good Friends & Gladiators Down in Arizona

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
A few weeks back, Cindy and I got an invite from Mel and Lisa to join them out in their neck of the woods and to do a fun run with good friends. Along for the ride would be Harris in his awesome red JT Gladiator, Tony and Steph in their white JL Wrangler, a customer of Mel's in a white JK Wrangler, Mel and Lisa in their badass EVO Z71 and of course, us in our white JT Gladiator. Being that this wasn't a work trip for us, we decided to relax a bit and not film or take as many pics as we normally do. Needless to say, I don't have a whole lot to show from our trip but there are a few that we just had to get and hope you'll enjoy seeing them. :cool:

Here's a shot of us early in the morning and heading out into the desert to do some exploring.
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Do a little stretching here and there just to work in the joints.
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And, before we knew it, Mel was taking us up some big obstacles and making us work or rigs.
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Funny how from up here, the Jeeps look like toys. Here's a shot of Mel giving Marcus a spot up.
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Harris killing it in his JT.
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Just when you think you've gotten up on top, there's more to climb.
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It really was a beautiful day to be out in the desert.
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Unsatisfied with the wheeling we'd been doing, Harris asked Mel if there was anything he could do that would require 4WD - LOL. This is where Mel took us to.
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After sizing things up on foot, Cindy and I decided to bow out and mostly because we just got our body damage repaired. Everyone else decided to sit it out as well but Harris was determined to give it a go.
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So far so good and right about here, a part of me wanted to give it a try as well.
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But, just as I was thinking that, Harris got into a bit of a tight situation close to the top.
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While he did make it through, it would come at the cost of his driver side bed and tail light. So glad we decided to sit this one out!
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What goes up must come down and the return trip was gonna be a tricky one.
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Unfortunately, gravity isn't always your friend and this time around, it tried to put Harris on his lid. Fortunately, his A-pillar just caught the edge of a bigass boulder and that kept him from going all the way over. Super close call!
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Helping the best I could to keep his Gladiator from doing any more damage, Harris was able to clear the obstacle.
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This is the carnage we saw once we got him on all four again.
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Tip toeing his way though on shoulder lugs.
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Thank goodness for rocker guards.
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Getting closer to getting out but not quite out of the woods.
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A slip and a bounce and TAG! Once again, gravity not being real nice.
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Honestly, with the exception of body damage, there really wasn't anything that could stop Harris and his Gladiator out on those crazy rocks. And, while I was super tempted to give it a try, I'm glad I didn't especially being that there was still a lot more fun to be had.
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Nearing the top of the canyon.
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And we're out!
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Racing across the Arizona desert with the sun behind our backs.
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But, before calling it a day, Mel had one more place to show us.
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This was going to require flash lights.
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Back out on top and with just a bit of light still in the sky.
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And that's how we ended our fun filled day with good friends out in the Arizona Desert. I know it wasn't much but I hope you enjoyed it just the same.

Have a great Presidents Weekend :cool:
 

Napalm

New member
Great photos Eddie. Looks like a fun trip! Sucks about what happened to Harris’ rig, but I’ll give that dude a lot of props. He isn’t afraid of anything!

Thanks for sharing with us!


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Jsouder53

Hooked
Awesome photos! Thanks for making us feel like we were a part of it [emoji106] sad to see Harris’s Jeep take on so much damage, but looks like he got to use 4WD lol
 

wjtstudios

Hooked
Harris gave it his all! Looks like a hell of a place to stretch out the gladiators. Pretty sweet old mine too!


2015 JKUR AEV JK350
1985 CJ8 Scrambler
 
Cool destination,
Is anyone else a little girl on the inside and afraid of what animals are living down there when exploring or is that just me?
 

WJCO

Meme King
Glad to hear you were able to get out for some fun. How much lift is your JT and Harris' running?
 

-AINOKEA-

Hooked
That’s pretty awesome! I’m pretty sure I would’ve needed new pants if I was driving the red one.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE
 

A.J.

Active Member
Looks like a great trip! Rear corner guards or some kind of a dove tail kit seems like a good idea for the Gladiators. [emoji848]


Sent from my iPad using WAYALIFE
 
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